New head of Finnish Broadcasting Company would not have competed for the job

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The new Director General of the Finnish Broadcasting Company is not a journalist, and not really a manager either, but he has black on white about his intelligence - and strong troops to support him.
     
      By Saska Snellman
     
      On Thursday, October 10th, 1991 three demonstrators used tar and feathers to deface the Statue of World Peace that had been donated by Moscow to Helsinki. Before their raid the students, who called themselves the feather warriors, had contacted the media. The evening news of the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) and MTV3 were naturally at the top of the list.
      In the MTV3 news, as well as numerous newspapers, the statue attack received plenty of attention. However, the YLE evening news did not mention the incident.
      Just thirteen years later, one of the three feather warriors was appointed the new Director General of YLE.
     
Last Tuesday, the Helsingin Sanomat headquarters was abuzz due to the announcement of the annual Literature Prize. A representative group of Finnish journalists had gathered on scene. Soon after seven p.m., mobile phones began to beep with the news: Mikael Jungner, 39, has been appointed the new YLE Director General...
      The news quickly spread from one group to the next. Soon everyone knew the name of the new Director General. There was just one problem: who on earth was this Jungner?
     
Dozens of names have been mentioned during the YLE Director General search this fall. Mikael Jungner had been among them, but never in the lead or in the headlines, but he was lurking in the background, lying in wait.
      Jungner has grown used to that position over the past years. As the special aide to three cabinet ministers and as the Director of Information Society Relations at Microsoft Finland, Jungner has learned that big decisions are made behind closed doors.
      This fact was bitterly experienced by Social Democrat Jouni Backman, whose agreed DG appointment was cancelled after the matter became public prematurely.
     
Jungner did not wish to share the same fate. When Markku Laukkanen contacted him one week before the decisive meeting of the Administrative Council, Jungner placed two conditions on his candidacy: the matter must be kept secret from the public, and the decision must be made on Tuesday. And that is what happened.
      Jungner's appointment has been followed by a confused silence. Not even the YLE employees, who easily take to the barricades, have created a fuss. Perhaps they feel that the case is now closed.
      But the surprising nature of the choice seems to have thrown many off guard. If the new YLE Director General is a young man who lacks both journalistic and managerial experience, there must be something else that is really special about him.
      And that something is definitely worth finding out.
     
Really sharp. A smart guy. Intelligent. Damn bright. Exceptional capacity. Everyone who knows Jungner starts by describing his wit.
      One friend from school recalls that while in high school in Vaasa, they used to compete on who could memorise more quotes in Latin, or more decimals of pi. Jungner's record was 250 numbers of pi.
      But Mikael was not regarded a super talent. Everyone in his group of friends was smart.
     
Later on, Jungner's talent impressed Professor Kai Kalima, who taught him at the Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki.
      "Mikael's memory is scary, his brain is very quick, and he has read immensely. I have seen maybe 10,000 students over the past thirty years, and Mikael is among the most talented 5-7 of them. He could have become an international top-level researcher."
      Kalima's praise could be partially written off due to their common Social Democrat affiliation if there was no other evidence of Jungner's intelligence.
     
One friend from his university days reveals that he, Mikael, and a third friend decided to take the Mensa test to see who was who. All three were accepted as members of the association for exceptionally bright people.
      Mikael Jungner sets down his cup of hot chocolate on the table and displays the crooked grin that has become familiar from newspaper photos. He does not seem to mind the question about Mensa membership.
      So how high was your IQ?
      "That was years ago, but I think it was 163."
      But that is an incredible score!
      "Not exactly incredible. Isn't 200 the maximum?"
     
His eyes flash with a wily look behind the narrow-rimmed glasses. Could this be that dry British type of humour that Jungner reportedly uses to get dumber people off his trail?
      Jungner is not ashamed of his Mensa membership, but does deign to explain.
      "The significance of intelligence is often misrepresented in public discussions. For social skills, emotions and wisdom are much more important than an intelligence figure like that. If you talk about height for example, most people would probably want to be of an average height." Jungner himself is 178 centimetres tall.
      But what about the memory, those 250 decimals?
      "I can remember some things easily, others I can't no matter how hard I try. I can recall events, discussions, expressions, and situations, but not the names of people or the grammar of foreign languages."
     
When Jungner was asked to fill the seat of YLE Director General, he considered for a full ten seconds before saying yes.
      But did you think, even for an instant, that you are stepping into shoes that are too big?
      "No, I didn't feel that way."
      Before giving his final approval, Jungner says he asked his wife Henni Rousu for her opinion. She said yes, and five-month-old daughter Karoliina did not protest either, so Jungner focused on pondering the coming publicity.
      "I figured that if there was plenty of negative public feedback, the first six months of a five-year term would be spent only on building my own position - and that would be a pity. It is OK to be critical, but you must be given a chance."
     
Well, now that we are on the topic of criticism, it has been pointed out in public debate that you lack a journalistic background and managerial experience. You have not let that bother you. So do you also lack self-criticism?
      Jungner is not afraid of the challenge.
      "There is a considerable amount of journalistic skill at YLE. I trust that professional managers are there to head the journalism department - and I still have plenty of time to acquaint myself with this job."
      "And as far as managing people is concerned, I have worked for the government and at Microsoft's matrix-type organisation. I believe that the same laws and experiences also apply to YLE. I am not there to manage 3,600 people, but the close inner circle."
     
There have also been claims that you were lifted to the position because you are the favourite of Paavo Lipponen.
      "It was Markku Laukkanen who contacted me and saw the process through. I do not know what negotiations may have taken place on the sidelines, but I did not see Lipponen once during that week."
      Jungner points out that YLE is not as unfamiliar a place to him as some have imagined. As the aide to the Prime Minister, he participated in preparing communications policies. Another perspective on YLE has been offered by the many relatives who have worked for the company.
     
At the same meeting that chose Jungner as Director General, the Administrative Council also decided that YLE would participate in the funding of the planned new Helsinki Music House.
      Which opera did you last see, by the way?
      Up until now, Jungner has answered the questions rapidly, but now he rests his face in his hands.
      "It was at the Savonlinna Opera Festival. One and a half years ago in the summer... But no, I can't recall the name."
     
The new Director General confesses that he prefers to listen to Finnish pop music rather than classical artists. He can easily justify the importance of having YLE's own Radio Symphony Orchestra, however.
      "In addition to its role as a public service provider, YLE is one of the basic pillars of Finnish culture. From an international perspective, music is perhaps the strongest part of Finnish culture - and that must be held on to."
      When discussing the state-held broadcasting company, someone always asks whether entertainment programmes should be left to the commercial channels. According to Jungner, the balance between entertainment and facts is just right at present.
      "Entertainment is a key part of a public service, but in a way that includes less violence and less sex."
     
One would imagine that the former statue activist would agree with the National Coalition party's Ben Zyskowicz, who demanded earlier this fall that YLE' s years of Finlandisation be investigated. But the years in the Social Democrats and Parliament have tamed the warrior.
      "It would be a good idea if a researcher looked into this, but this type of investigation belongs to the academic community. It is not something that YLE should do."
      Do you promise the full support of YLE to the researchers?
      "It is always worthwhile to promote analytical historical research like this. On the other hand, there is a bit of a lynching mentality in Finland concerning that era."
      Jungner also says that YLE's history must not be viewed with hindsight. "The YLE of the 1970s must be compared with the 50s and 60s and consider what happened from that perspective, and whether the changes were for the better."
     
One reason for the appointment of Jungner was that he was acceptable for the conservative parties as well - and no wonder. Jungner's grandfather was Olavi Lahtela, a former minister for the predecessor to the Centre Party, and Jungner himself started out in student politics as a conservative.
      In 1993, Jungner announced that he would rather vote for National Coalition Party candidate Raimo Ilaskivi in the Presidential elections than for Martti Ahtisaari.
      In fact, one person who has followed Jungner's career in Parliament places him at the extreme right within the Social Democrats. "At the right edge of the SDP there is first Lipponen, then Raimo Sailas. Then there is a large gap, and only then comes Jungner."
     
However, Jungner is a member of a group called the Young Socialists of Töölö, one of Helsinki's downtown districts. So what type of socialists are they?
      The silence lasts almost as long as with the opera question.
      "Well... What is closest to my own way of thinking is perhaps the Koivisto-Lipponen kind of policy, pragmatic on one hand, international on the other hand."
      Jungner admits he wound up in a Social Democrat student association half by chance. Those who are familiar with Jungner's ambition point out that it was quite a nice chance. There is no reason to not take advantage of a sharp head.
     
During his time at Parliament, there was a joke about the special aide, whose hobbies include scuba-diving: what is the difference between Jungner and a catfish? One is a carrion eater that likes to dwell in bottom mud, and the other is a fish.
      "The most talented and lazy aide that has been here", one party comrade from Parliament observes. "He seemed to be very interested in his wage."
      According to the same fellow SDP member, routine tasks interested Jungner much less than seeking out green branches.
      "But if he really is as talented as they say, and I guess he is, since Lipponen supported him so much, then the talents will probably surface now."
     
In politics it is impossible to please everyone, and Jungner does not even seem to be trying too hard. He knows how to keep his tongue in check when necessary, but he enjoys situations where he can drop a surprising one-liner that leaves the opponent gasping for breath.
      A couple of years ago, when acquaintances asked him why he switched from the Prime Minister's Office to Microsoft, his answer was: a fancy car and double the money.
      As YLE Director General, he received one small raise more: his pay is now 13,000 euros per month.
     
A criminal or Don Quijote? The student magazine of the Social Democrats asked this of Jungner thirteen years ago.
      In the interview, an angry young man sent out the message that the powers that be should not be too complacent in their positions of power.
      Today Jungner says that he does not regret defacing the statue, although he would not repeat the strike knowing what he knows today. The world cannot be changed with some feathers.
      But the YLE Director General would not be too upset if today's activists targeted the Music House, for example.
     
"Direct action is a part of democracy. What is crucial is that other people are not harmed, you take responsibility for your actions, and accept the punishment that is handed out afterwards. I did three days of hard labour, after all."
      The three feather warriors wound up compensating the damages they caused to the statue by cutting reeds on the shores of the Töölönlahti Bay.
      Has the feather strike aided or hampered your career?
      "Both. It has helped by making people interested, and deepened my personal image. What is bad is that the raid has perhaps created unfounded expectations. Those who are now expecting similar flamboyance may be disappointed."
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 21.11.2004


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finnish Broadcasting Company appoints new Director General (17.11.2004)

SASKA SAARIKOSKI / Helsingin Sanomat
saska.saarikoski@hs.fi