Recent studies have confirmed the findings of the 2011 MDM report: journalists and media professionals are largely well educated, and further, share a basic commitment to common quality standards (Rantanen et al., 2020; see also Karppinen et al., 2011).Together with local unions and member associations, UJF is reasonably active in organising further and continuing education for practising journalists (Journalists Union, 2018). According to the respondents, the professionalism among journalists in Finland remains high, and professional and ethical rules are generally well established. Time pressure, however, remains a chronic problem that threatens to decrease the daily time and space available to in-depth journalism and professional deliberation (Haapalainen, 2018; Association of Freelance Journalists in Finland, 2019; see also Karppinen et al., 2011).
The number of staff in relation to the amount of content produced has also decreased, which means less time is available for planning and writing single news items. While an overload of journalistic capacities was widely acknowledged as a real problem in the interviews, many respondents also noted, however, that the resources and tools available for providing quality journalism are still better than before (Rantanen et al., 2020). A tension between increasing demands of output and limited resources thus seems to have become a lasting situation in journalism. One interpretation of these developments is that there is an increasing divide between quality media, which strive to uphold and develop high professional standards, and a largely routinised bulk journalism that is gaining ground, especially online (Kivioja, 2018; Manninen, 2019; Pöyhtäri et al., 2016; see also Karppinen et al., 2011).
