Finnish media: do they give a balanced picture? Ullamaija Kivikuru University of Helsinki Swedish School of Social Science

Media in Finland Medium-size branch of industry: turnover over 4 billion Euro, employees. The three big: SanomaWSOY, YLE, Alma Media. Trend: big companies grow bigger, space for very small also. Medium- sized in trouble. 3% of GNP used for the media sector, average Finnish household uses annually 1100 Euro for the media (computers not included) Around 60 dailies, local papers, weeklies (of these, some 100 titles popular magazines). The biggest magazine publisher Yhtyneet Kuvalehdet. 10 dailies in Swedish ( Swedish-speakers) 2 PSB TV channels, 2 commercial, 6 radio national channels (YLE:3 in Finnish, 2 in Swedish, 1 commercial), 60 local radio stations. One-third of households linked to cable.Digi-TV started in August 2001, 8 channels, digi boxes in around 50% (4 PSB channels, 4 commercial). Print dominance: of the turnover 72% papers & books, 28 % electronic media, radio & TV grow faster. Prognose: 2010 already fifty-fifty. Regional media weakening (traditionally strong). Party press: of circulation only 6-7 percent. Average Finn uses the media 8 hours per day (42 minutes for dailies!) 75% of households use the Internet regularly. One million broadband connections.

Development Development is a social process aiming at improvement of quality of life of the population (or majority of population) without violating the culture and the environment which the population lives in. The goal is to motivate the majority of population to participate in this process of change and thus make these people capable and willing to command over their own life.

Sustainable development UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) established in 1992 Three dimensions: - to review progress globally (Agenda 21, Rio, Johannesburg) - to elaborate policy guidance - to promote dialogue and build partnerships No special communication dimension, strongly environment oriented

What is meant by development journalism? News focusing on development? News-originating journalism, instigating the receiver to think? Advocacy journalism on development? Journalism less bound to news? Experience based reporting (reportage, tv/radio document, etc.)?

News as the dominating genre A growing proportion of journalism is news based, and the news machine rolls faster and faster News work is routine based News work is planned in advance News is far better in reporting on events than processes Tabloidisation stretches beyond the afternoon press “Warehouse” tendencies (multimedia)

Foreign news focus in Finland

Journalistic focus News journalism covers on a regular basis roughly a dozen countries Big Finnish media have a strong and large foreign news coverage and a tradition of multilateralism Continued focus on Europe, restrengthened during the 1990s (two-thirds from Europe) Finnish media covered Africa more in the 1960s than today (breakdown of colonialism vs. floods,AIDS) Latin America has never been covered properly Reporting on Asia focuses on Japan and China Exoticism sells well (stereotypes, oddities)

Development news Scarce, mainly on Finnish projects in the developing world Immigrants (negative, “life standard immigrants”) and refugees (positive, if real) The news machine cannot locate many items at the same time: Darfur/tsunami, Darfur/Libanon Crime, corruption, non-democratic events Embedded paternalism Critique of elites, social structures Exception: sports

“Real” development reporting Extremely rare Stereotypes and simplifications, no background (issues become easily incomprehensible, e.g. Africa’s land policy) Concepts domestic (democracy, human rights) City centred Focus on big issues (elections, etc.) Source criticism weak News agencies often more credible than own reporters visiting Ministry of Foreign Affairs scholarships

Interest spheres in journalism (Guy Tuchman, Ilkka Rentola) The sphere of the intimate (home, children, health, housing, etc.) The sphere of economy (macro and micro economy, companies, trade unions, etc.) The sphere of culture (education, literature, music, sports, entertainment, etc.) The sphere of politics (parliament, government, governance, elections, etc.) Stress on institutional activity and activity threatening institutions (crime, catastrophies, corruption, etc.) News deals with normal (”good”) routine issues and (”bad, dangerous”) exceptions (which collect non-proportional attention) Social construction: an unexpected news is expected as a type of event (Tuchman: ”a demonstration is made into a demonstration”) ”Ordinary people” often treated as symbols for something

Two forms of ethics Responsibility ethics Immanuel Kant -> Christian ethics -> Right and wrong are not negotiable Civic courage Consequence ethics Western profit thinking, cause/effect Basis for modernity thinking Basis for journalistic ethics

Professional ideals in journalism (Jay Blumler) Traditional view: –eyewitness (on-the-spot reporting or an illusion of it) –observer (does not take stand) Blumler: –entertainer –social critic –”member of kibbutz”, participant

Civic Journalism vs. ordinary (Johan Galtung) Peace/Conflict journalism Peace/Conflict oriented Truth oriented People oriented Solution oriented War/Violence journalism War/Violence oriented Propaganda oriented Elite oriented Victory oriented

Advocacy journalism? South-South sources, NGO sources ”Small” items? Narratives, stories Socially responsible reporting (especially public service) Contextual sources Change of jargon, away from number mystique, etc.

What should be done?  More of development in basic education  Student exchange (e.g. North-South)  Journalistic cooperation (IFJ)  Changes in newsroom practice (news criteria, style of reporting)  Connection to domestic issues (globalisation, deforestation, China phenomenen)  Alternative media (BBC Trust, Reuters Foundation, IPS)?