Finland is a small, affluent country (population 5.5 million), characterized by political, socio-economic and media structures typical to the Nordic welfare model (Syvertsen, Enli, Mjøs & Moe 2014). The small size of the media market together with a distinct language area contribute to a relatively concentrated media system with well-integrated professional norms and high reach of the main national news media.
The Finnish media system is considered to represent the “democratic corporatist model” in terms of Hallin and Mancini’s (2004) categorization. Historically, characteristics of the model include strong state intervention, reconciled with well-developed media autonomy and professionalization. Alongside other Nordic countries, the system has also been characterized with the label of “the media welfare state”, whose distinct features involve communication services as universal public goods, institutionalized editorial freedom, cultural policy that extends to the media, and a tendency to choose policy solutions that are consensual, durable, and involve cooperation between both public and private stakeholders (Syvertsen et al. 2014, p. 17).
In international comparisons, Finland has repeatedly ranked as one of the top countries for media freedom and democracy. The annual Global Freedom report by Freedom House has ranked Finland as one of only three countries to receive a perfect score of 100 (Freedom House 2020). In the latest World Press Freedom Index, Finland ranks second in the world, with strong legal, institutional and structural basis for free media and journalism (RSF 2020). In the V-Dem (Varieties of Democracies) reports, Finland has reached close to top scores in the liberal, egalitarian and deliberative aspects of democracy, but somewhat lower score (23rd) in the dimension of participatory democracy.[1]
The Finnish news media landscape is diverse in relation to the size of the market, including a high number of regional and local newspaper titles, a strong public broadcaster (Yle, with 45 % share of television viewing and 52 % of radio listening), domestic private broadcasters, and some emerging digital news outlets. Despite the high number of newspapers and magazines titles published in Finland, the market is concentrated, with a few major companies (i.e. Sanoma and Keskisuomalainen as the largest publishers) controlling the majority of the market. Most regional and local markets are dominated by one leading newspaper with little direct competition. Media ownership concentration has also been noted as one of the main risks to media pluralism in Finland in the EU Media Pluralism Monitor reports (Manninen, 2018).
Legacy news media also dominate the list of most visited online news sites, led by two competing tabloid newspapers Iltalehti and Ilta-Sanomat, public broadcaster Yle and the national daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, each with a monthly reach of over 3 million visitors.
Despite stability in the main institutions, the digital disruption of the media market has significantly impacted the media landscape in the last ten years. The circulation of newspapers and magazines, in particular, has continued to decline throughout the 2010s. A few major outlets, such as Helsingin Sanomat, have found success in increasing their total readership and gaining new digital subscribers, but overall less than one fifth of the adult population paid for online news in 2019 (Reuters Institute Digital News Report, 2019). The total amount of media advertising revenue has remained at the same level since 2010, but the share of the publishing sector (newspapers and magazines) has declined from over a half to a third. The share of online advertising has increased from 16 to 35%, with global giants Google and Facebook now controlling over half of all digital advertising (Ala-Fossi et al 2020, 18).
As a result of declining circulation and advertising revenues, the total number of employees working the media has been reduced by about a fifth in the last decade, with reduction focused on publishing, television and radio in particular (Ala-Fossi et al 2020, 14). According to some estimates, the number of journalists in Finland has been reduced by as much as a third since 2010.
The journalistic culture in Finland is characterized by a strong professional ethos and an established self-regulatory system, organized around the Council for Mass Media, which represents all main interest groups and oversees the commonly agreed upon ethical codes. The overwhelming majority of journalists are also members of the Finnish Union of Journalists, and according to studies, journalists continue to share a rather uniform commitment to core professional norms (Pöyhtäri, Väliverronen & Ahva 2016). In the Reuters Institute Digital News Report (2019), Finnish news media remain the most trusted among all countries included.
Covid-19 pandemic
During the coronavirus pandemic in the spring 2020, interest in news and journalism has significantly increased. In the early stages of the crisis, the number of visitors to the websites of main national news outlets was as high as double the normal traffic, and even after that, the demand for news has remained higher than normally. Many outlets have also reported an increase of up to 20 % in digital subscriptions.
According to a survey of citizens’ trust in various information sources during the pandemic, the mainstream news media, and public service media in particular, remain the preferred and most trusted news sources for most citizens (Matikainen & Komulainen, 2020; published 1 June, 2020).
On the other hand, the advertising revenue has dramatically declined during the crisis. According to a Finnmedia survey to media organizations, commercial media organizations have seen a decline of at least a third and possibly up to 50 % in advertising, with print and local newspapers and local radio suffering the most. Over half of all newspapers have laid off employees, and a handful of local papers have also suspended publication altogether during the crisis (Grundström 2020).
In response, the Ministry of Transport and Communication commissioned a report on supporting journalism during and after the crisis. The report, authored by a former chair of the Council for Mass Media, includes proposals for both short-term and long-term support (Grundström 2020). In a supplementary budget proposal in June 2020, the government channeled 5 million euro for supporting journalism and 2,5 million for news agencies. While the need for short-term support is less contested, the idea of more permanent support to journalism has been a more divisive topic within the industry. Unlike other Nordic countries, Finland has abandoned practically all direct press subsidies since the 1990s, apart from minor support to minority and cultural outlets. While industry actors have generally preferred indirect subsidies, such as reduced value-added tax, the issues of direct subsidies and other support mechanisms are now firmly back on the media policy agenda.
News Media Sample
In addition to general observations based on statistical data and existing research, six Finnish news media organizations representing different sectors and ownership were selected for closer analysis and interviews. For each news organization, the editor-in-chief and one other member of the newsroom were interviewed. The sample media include one national, one regional, one local and one tabloid newspaper, as well as the leading public and private broadcasting companies. The selected news media organizations remain the same as in MDM 2010, except that the local newspaper Borgåbladet has since then merged with another local paper into a new title Östnyland. The commercial broadcaster MTV3 is now owned by the Nordic telecom company Telia. In addition to editors and journalists, we have interviewed the directors of the Finnish Union of Journalists and the Finnish Media Federation (Finnmedia). In total, 14 interviews were conducted.
[supsystic-tables id=36]
Summary
Based on the above criteria, the overall assessment of the performance and structure of the Finnish mainstream media is fairly positive, although we find that in some areas there is reason for concern. In an international comparison, the equal availability and reach of the main news outlets remain on a high level. The problems that were there already in the early 2010s, such as increasing market pressures, declining news consumption among young people, and mounting workload and haste in journalistic work, are similar to those of most other countries. A new trend causing much concern is increasing harassment, hate speech and targeting that growing number of journalists face today.
Despite these trends, many respondents were quite optimistic, noting that the preconditions for providing quality journalism in Finland are to some respect also improved. In the last years, the financial situation of the major media houses has improved, although the flip side is redundancy for a great number of journalists and other media workers. The legal preconditions for freedom of expression and access to public information are generally considered adequate, although some problems were noted with the reluctance of public officials to serve journalists with their information requests in a timely manner.
Professional ethos among journalists in Finland has remained strong. It is reflected in the established ethical guidelines and professional norms, as well as in the recognized position of the Union of Journalists. However, due to diminished resources, there is growing concern with the state of journalists’ advanced professional training. Other issues that were discussed more critically include the lack of organized media criticism, the resources for more daring and critical journalism, and somewhat inward looking professional circles.
The independence of the news media from political power holders was generally considered strong, but many respondents called for a more critical attitude toward private companies and economic power holders. However, novel ways of engaging with public issues e.g. by deploying social media platforms and other digital affordances that fall outside the scope of traditional journalism, are largely beyond the scope of this report. Their potential influence on the relationship between the media and democracy in Finland remains to be discussed.
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