The journalistic culture, as well as the organisational structures and practices in leading news media organisations in Finland has remained the same as in the early 2010s, when the previous report was published. The editors-in-chief and experts emphasised the individual autonomy of journalists in choosing and framing news topics.
The ethical rules of journalism in Finland have been collected into Guidelines for Journalists published by the CMM, which is a self-regulatory organisation of the Finnish publishers and journalists. Most respondents also referred to these guidelines, stating, “The journalist is entitled to refuse assignments that conflict with the law, his/her personal convictions or good journalistic practice” (CMM, 2014).
As in the 2011 report (Karppinen et al., 2011), impartiality and autonomy are on a general level documented in codes of ethics and editorial guidelines. In practice, they are ensured more effectively through journalistic culture and professional norms, rather than written guidelines. A newsroom council does not have a formal status in any of the selected media outlets, and the board of directors or the management normally appoints editors-in-chief and other leading positions, without any requirement to incorporate journalists’ input. However, if there is serious lack of confidence between the editor-in-chief and the journalists, it is possible that the journalists may march out and make their opinion heard in that way:
Reporters cannot affect the selection of an editor in chief. Should there be a really incompentent editor in chief, then if necessary they can march out to demand having him relegated from his position (IL journalist 2020).
