 During this time he made a film and also wrote "I morgen drar vi til Bahia" ("Tomorrow we're off to Bahia")

Between 1950 and 1952 Borthen reported for the newspaper "Arbeiderbladet".He also made appearances on the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK), and contributed to the leading Norwegian daily newspaper "Verdens Gang", under the pseudonym "Don Segundo", with articles on the cinema, cookery and current affairs.He also became a film and theatre critic, chairing the Norwegian Film Critics between 1959 and 1960.