Finland – (E9) Participation
News media has generally shifted from anonymous and open commenting to moderated comments sections. Social media, too, has increased dialogue between journalists and audiences.
Authors: Marko Ala-Fossi, John Grönvall, Kari Karppinen, Hannu Nieminen
Finland – (E8) Level of self-regulation
The common code of ethics overseen by CMM is the backbone for self-regulation in all leading news media organisations in Finland. Beyond these national guidelines, the existence of additional internal guidelines and self-regulation instruments varies from one organisation to another.
Finland – (E7) Code of ethics at the national level
All leading news media organisations in Finland have committed to the common code of ethics, overseen by CMM.
Finland – (E6) Content monitoring instruments
There have been some content monitoring initiatives by the media houses themselves, universities, and public bodies. However, they are mostly irregular and non-systematic. In some regards, the data basis for systematic monitoring has eroded in recent years.
Finland – (E3) Diversity of news formats
Most major news formats are widely available in Finland, with new formats being generated online by both legacy and online-only outlets.
Finland – (F10) Misinformation and digital platforms (alias social media)
The leading Finnish news media rely primarily on internal processes and traditional practices of good journalism as defensive weapons against misinformation. They have also invested in improving the media literacy of their audiences.
Finland – (F7) Procedures on news selection and news processing
Despite radical reforms of strategy for news production and distribution, the ways of processing and selecting the news have not yet been revolutionised.
Finland – (F6) Company rules against external influence
Direct influence by external parties on newsroom decisions is still not seen as a major problem.
Finland – (F5) Company rules against internal influence on newsroom
The autonomy and independence of the newsroom remains a central value in Finnish journalistic culture.
Finland – (F4) Internal rules for practice of newsroom democracy
Finnish journalists seem to have a relatively high level of autonomy in their daily work, but any formal structures or practices supporting internal democracy are not common.