Finns believe media have grown in power and influence

Power is viewed with some concern, but media are generally regarded as reliable

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By Jyrki Rälkkä
     
      Four out of five Finns (81 per cent) believe that the power of the media has grown in recent times. Nearly a half of those polled consider that the media have too much power at their fingertips.
      The results come out in a questionnaire study that was carried out as part of a Helsinki University research programme funded by the Academy of Finland and examining media, citizenship, and the circles of power.
     
A telephone interview survey arranged by TNS Gallup was answered by just over 1,000 Finns in November 2007.
      Critical attitudes towards the media appear to grow with the passing years: some 62 per cent of those over the age of 60 believe that the media have too much in the way of power and influence, while the corresponding figure for those under the age of 25 is just 36%.
      According to the study, the results might be explained by differences in attitudes and experiences between the generations, but another factor is the much more active use of the Internet among younger people.
      The cohort of those under the age of 35 regards the Net as the second most important source of news, while those over this age-watershed point to the newspapers in this respect.
      In all age-groups, television is seen as the primary media source.
     
Johanna Jääsaari, who was responsible for the practical implementation of the study, finds it slightly surprising that use of the Internet came across so clearly in the telephone interviews.
      One unanswered question is the degree to which the events in Jokela - the school shootings and the media coverage thereof - in early November show up in the findings.
      According to Jääsaari it may show in the respondents’ views on the reliability of the media and further in the demands for a greater respact for personal privacy, something that did come across quite strongly in the answers. “But this is just speculation”, she acknowledges.
     
Respondents felt that the greatest sway on the content of the media was held by the owners of large media corporations, big companies, and by the advertisers.
      Finns were apparently less troubled by an increase in the power and influence of politicians. Few actually believed that the readers, viewers, or listeners could exercise any influence.
      “A well-run media will listen to readers, viewers, and listeners alike, but the greatest power lies with the editorial desks and the people leading them”, charges the Helsingin Sanomat editor-in-chief Janne Virkkunen. “When I look at things from my own position and perspective, then the owners have very little real power.”
     
The questionnaire also measured the reliability of national news organisations.
      The best grades went to the news services of the Finnish Broadcasting Company, YLE. Around 95% of those taking part regarded YLE’s newscasts as reliable.
      Helsingin Sanomat was seen as a reliable source of news by 66 per cent of all respondents, and by 90% of those who subscribe to the paper.
      “The figures display the general public attitude towards Helsingin Sanomat. From our point of view it is enough that our regular subscribers and readers consider us to be a trustworthy source. Reliability is one of the cornerstones of the Helsingin Sanomat operation”, commented Virkkunen.
     
Things are not quite as rosy on the tabloid front.
      Fewer than one in six of those taking part regarded the late-edition tabloids (Ilta-Sanomat and Iltalehti) as a reliable source of news.
      Atte Jääskeläinen, editori-in-chief at YLE News, sees in the background to the results a growing sense of the impact of the media on people’s lives and on their agenda-setting and how they form their opinions.
      Jääskeläinen is nevertheless of the view that there is less and less scope nowadays for the media to abuse the power at its disposal.
      “Violations of that responsibility for being straight can be exposed to the public so much more easily today: people can find their way increasingly easily to the sources of the news and to the horse’s mouth, and the media outlets themselves react increasingly aggressively to any lapses by their peers and rivals.”
     
Jääskeläinen believes that the concept of the media having too much power has been shaped by the rise of sensationalist media, and also by the onward march of editorial content and opinions into a domain that was once merely about “reporting the facts”.
      “The more opinions are expressed in the media, the less convinced the public become of the reliability of the media”, argues Jääskeläinen.
      He also sees differing visions of what is taken for truth in the diverging views on reliability. “People over the age of 60 probably represent that age-bracket who holds that the media should confine themselves to reporting the facts as they are. Younger generations regard it as natural that there is no such thing as objective truth.”
     
Worries about burgeoning media power do not, however, reflect a sense of ebbing confidence among the public.
      Fully 87% of respondents declared they were at least reasonably satisfied with the quality of Finnish media and 70% believed that editorial units adhered to the principle that power would not be surrendered to other hands, outside of the newsroom.
      “The results are admittedly conflicting, but that contradiction also relects much of modern life”, comments Johanna Jääsaari.
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 15.1.2008


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Ombudsman for Children wants study on media handling of Jokela shootings (21.11.2007)
  NEWS ANALYSIS: From deadline to online journalism (8.1.2008)

Links:
  Finnish Media (Virtual Finland)

JYRKI RÄIKKÄ / Helsingin Sanomat
jyrki.raikka@hs.fi