Mikael Jungner, the managing director of the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE), says that he might consider resigning if it transpires that rules of good journalistic practice were breached in connection with the current affairs programme Silminnäkijä (“Eyewitness”).
Monday’s programme claimed that Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) had been given free construction materials for his home from contractors that had been hired to build apartment houses for the youth housing foundation Nuorisosäätiö. Vanhanen had served as the foundation’s chairman.
Jungner noted that the journalistic responsibility in the matter is with the director of the YLE TV2 network.
So what would be the purpose of Jungner resigning?
“It is not just legalities, but a moral responsibility. If - and this is a big if - journalistic discretion has been misused, then YLE must take corrective measures quickly and decisively.”
“The broadcaster's independence seems incontrovertibly to have been proven. If our reliability is questioned, then we have to think about what to do.”
Jungner did not know of the content of the programme in advance. He has also not called for an investigation into the veracity of the claims.
“There are many experienced journalists there. I trust them”, Jungner says.
Centre Party Parliamentary group chairman Timo Kalli has already called for Jungner’s resignation. Jungner says that nobody else has made such demands.
The issue has not been discussed by the company’s Board of Directors, or elsewhere at YLE.
Jungner does not feel that YLE has been put under pressure by Vanhanen.
The screening of the programme is at least arguably an indicator of a measure of journalistic independence within the company: the government is currently examining the future funding of the public broadcaster (see linked articles).
