Transformation of self-regulatory media institutions in Finland

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Article

Transformation of self-regulatory media institutions in Finland

Kumylganova I.A. - PhD in Philology, Associate Professor, Chair of Foreign Journalism and Literature, Faculty of Journalism, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia

Romanova R.B. - Interning Researcher Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki

The research underlying a series of several articles is aimed at identifying the features of Scandinavian self-regulatory bodies' functioning on an example of Finland. The paper «The transformation of self-regulatory media institutions in Finland» examines and analyses the modern media landscape of Finland and the key national self-regulatory media bodies - The Council for Mass Media and the Guidelines for Journalists, and identifies its structural and content features. The article describes and divides the latest transformations in the field and discloses specific challenges of contemporary Finnish self-regulatory system.

Keywords: media regulation, journalistic responsibility, Finnish media system, self-regulatory media institutions, Finnish Council for Mass Media, Guidelines for Journalists

Авторы исследования, лежащего в основе цикла статей, изучают, каким именно изменениям подвергается саморегулирование в последнее время на примере функционирования институтов медийного саморегулирования одной из стран Северной Европы - Финляндии. В статье «Трансформация институтов саморегулирования массмедиа Финляндии» анализируется современный медиаландшафт Финляндии и исследуется структура и деятельность ключевых национальных саморегулирующих институтов СМИ - Совета по массмедиа и Рекомендаций для журналистов.

Ключевые слова: медиарегулирование, журналистская ответственность, медиасистема Финляндии, саморегулирующие институты СМИ, финский Совет по массмедиа, Рекомендации для журналистов

Modem world trends aimed at reducing the degree of state control over markets and the process of marketization, gradually lead to a rethinking of established social norms and affect all major fields: economy, business, culture, technology, which in turn affected media and journalism. Many researchers note that new challenges have a powerful influence on the media systems of European countries. In particular, one of the most stable regions, Northern Europe, underwent changes, where the sphere of media self-regulation, which until now was considered as the most effective one in the world, has suffered.

Today, media ethics react very painfully to the problems caused by the trend towards globalization and digitalization, such as searching for universal values and more equitable communication and information order, considered globally. The revision of established values, rethinking and expansion of media ethics concepts, leads to changes in the system of media regulation related to the ethical aspect of journalism and, in a narrower context, structural and content transformation of the main institutions of self-regulation. The importance of the problems arising on the background of these changes has become a fundamental factor for choosing the topic of this work. On the example of the functioning of self-regulation institutions of one of the Nordic countries - Finland - the authors analyze what changes are being made to self-regulation at the present time.

Analyzing contemporary media challenges mentioned above and examining its influence on the current Finnish self-regulatory system as scientific sources the authors use the works of the most authoritative researchers in the field of media and specifically self-regulation of Finland, including the works of T. Harjuniemi, H. Nieminen, K. Nordenstreng, B. Zelizer, etc. The empirical base of this study includes various media resources such as: official websites of Finnish newspapers, official government websites, the official website of the Finnish Council for Mass Media. Statistics was taken from the following media surveys: How effective is media self-regulation (2015), Worlds of Journalism (2016), Digital Reuters Report (2017).

Taking into account global media landscape changes that affected even the most stable region of Northern Europe, the problem of forced media self- regulatory bodies' transformation was identified. Thus, the purpose of the study is to explore and classify last changes in the Finnish media self-regulatory system and to track the impact they had on the level of press freedom in the country.

Since the purpose of the study is to identify the current challenges of Finnish self-regulation in the mass media, the analysis process was divided into three parts: identifying current problems in the field of self-regulation, understanding why they arise, and linking them with the transformations taking place in the media system. Hence, the choice of the overall research strategy was based on the method of data collection and analysis. The goal of the research was achieved with the help of qualitative methods, which is determined by the nature of the phenomena studied and by the fact that the main data is not of a mathematical nature.

The main features of contemporary Finnish media market

For a long time, the Scandinavian countries were partially developing a line of isolating from other countries, which led them to the top of all possible ratings on indicators of the quality of life, the level of economic development and, in particular, the level of media freedom. However, modern realities show that the region can no longer lead its own development line in view of new, global challenges to the media sphere. According to the classification of Hallin and Mancini, the liberal model of the media system, prevailing mostly in North America, gradually began to influence the European media sphere, which in recent years acquired many specific features (Hallin and Mancini, 2004).

The Finnish media policy faced new challenges in the form of a global economic crisis and technological progress, which forced the country to abandon the democratic direction of journalism (designated after the World War II), aimed to build a strong national democratic society. Now Finnish journalism - prior to the early 2000s based on social, cultural and educational missions - has taken a course toward commercialization and tabloidization of the media. Nevertheless, the watchdog function of journalism has recently become increasingly central in the Finnish media (Karppinen K., Nieminen H. and Markkanen L., 2011).

The modern regime is more characterized by economic and liberal foundations, and in this connection, it is becoming increasingly difficult to analyze the Finnish media system in terms of the classification of Hallin and Mancini. Of course, the national characteristics of media development do not allow the liberal model to spread around the world, but, nevertheless, many of its features (explicit or slightly modified) are gradually traced on a global level. This trend is quite understandable because the liberal model is the most practical one in terms of the global economy.

Although the number of print media worldwide is rapidly declining over the past 15 years, statistics show that, unlike in other countries, Finland has not so much loss in the printing press market. Despite the fact that the large Finnish media conglomerates have undergone growing competition and are now trying to retain their audience by switching to online formats, Finland is still at the top of the countries with the highest press circulation ratings.

From the late 1990s until the end of 2010, the Finnish media market showed varying results. For example, in 2014, the value of the media market in Finland decreased by 14% compared to 2013 and amounted to 3.9 billion euros (Statistics Finland, 2015).In 2015 it showed a further decline - the market value was about 3.7 billion (Nordic Information Center for Media and Communication Research, 2016). In 2016, the media market showed a slight increase and reached a value of 3.8 billion euros, which was 1.2% higher than in the previous year (Statistics Finland, 2016).

The decline is indicated by print publications, whose share fell by 3% in 2015 and by 0.2% in 2016. At the same time, the largest daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat lost 5.6% of its circulation, and the second-largest daily newspaper Aamulehti - 1.8 %. Electronic media, on the contrary, have shown stable growth over the past ten years. From 2004 to 2014, their share in total increased by 11%, in 2016, growth was 4.5% compared with 2015. The strongest growth in 2016 was shown by online advertising (+ 13%) and book sales (+ 6%). The biggest drop was observed in video rental (-24%) and in free newspapers (-5%). Digital Reuters Report 2017 noted that, in general, the situation on the Finnish media market can be considered more or less positive. In particular, the turnover of the largest Finnish media companies has increased: Sanoma Media Finland reported growth of 1.4% and Alma Media - 21.2% (Reunanen, E. Digital News Report, 2017). Strengthening Alma in the market is conditioned also by the purchase of the popular news portal Uusisuomi.fi.

Such indicators are partly related to the historical features of the development of the Finnish media, because for a long time Finland is considered one of the most reading-oriented countries in the world - the ratio of printed media per capita is extremely high compared to other countries. Finland ranked third in the press circulation rating, letting ahead only Japan and Norway in 2006 (Statistics Finland, 2007). Also, despite the rapid development of the Internet and interest in online publications, the Finns do not lose their thrust of traditional media - during the past few years the amount of press in the country is almost unchanged. In 2013, 96% of the population over 12 years old read the print press, three out of four Finnish citizens bought a subscription to a printed newspaper (YLE Uutiset, 2013). In addition, in 2016, print newspapers remained the preferred way to follow the news. Now 80% of the citizens aged nine years old read the printed press every week. The second place is taken by reading online news - it is preferred by 51% of the population (Jyrkiainen, J., 2018).

Talking about the current changes in the media field, we note that the increasing role of the Internet and the convergence of the media also did not violate the trend towards high concentration, so the largest Finnish publishers accepted the challenge of modernity and went by expanding by creating new media, or by increasing the coverage of the old ones, and thereby consolidated their revenue base and market positions.

Expansion of media was due to merger with other companies or through its absorption. Therefore, the newspaper business in Finland can still be considered partly monopolized, since it is managed by two largest companies - Sanoma Oyj and Alma Media Oyj.

Finnish self-regulatory bodies: internal and external challenges

High interest in traditional types of media still plays a big role in Finland's self-regulation system. The Finnish Council for Mass Media (Julkisen sanan neuvosto, JSN - Fin.), established as a self-regulatory body in 1968 is still the most effective and respected institution responsible for the ethical standards of the profession. It is important that all the decisions to violate the journalist's professional ethics are taken on the basis of a special document officially approved by the Council - Guidelines for Journalists. It is the main regulatory document for the self-regulation of the Finnish media, first introduced by the Finnish Union of Journalists in 1958 (Finland became the second country in the world to submit such a code). This document is a preamble that defines freedom of speech as the basis of a democratic society and emphasizes responsibility for the use of freedom of speech, for professional activity and selfregulation at the national level (“The guidelines are not intended to be used as grounds for criminal liability or damages”). The purpose of the Guidelines is to support the responsible use of freedom of speech in the media and to encourage arguments about professional ethics. This national journalistic code operates in a system of complaints and rules and is based on the work of the Council for Mass Media. Despite the fact that it does not have a legal basis, traditionally the national code of professional journalistic ethics enjoys high prestige in countries such as Finland (to a lesser extent in the UK). In Finland the Guidelines are recognized throughout the media field, including all relevant media houses (Ylonen O., Nordenstreng K., Heinonen A., 2005).

Under the influence of changes in the media landscape, Guidelines for Journalists are trying to adapt to the new conditions for organizing the work of the media, as a result of which the Media Council's management team adds, removes or edits the main provisions of the Guidelines. Until 2004, the norms described in the document were practically unchanged, however, over the past 13 years, the document has undergone quite significant changes.

For example, in 2005, the document deleted paragraphs related to the idea of rational planning, which consisted in the fact that the development of society can occur through central planning and authoritative regulation. This position was reflected in the paragraphs of the Guidelines on the promotion of democracy and international solidarity (Harjuniemi, T., 2013). In 2005, they were removed from the document, which indicates a change in the paradigm of social development in Finland. Specifically, in this case, the naturalness of the given process is necessary, since the understanding of the bases of protection of private life varies in the course of history.

Also until 2005, the following clauses regarding hidden advertising were present in the Guidelines: "Hidden advertising must be rejected in all its forms. Criticized any material that may be associated with commercial interests. Such material can be published only if the journalist has serious reasons for that". Since 2005, the Guidelines already state: "There must be a clear demarcation kept between advertising and editorial content. Hidden advertising must be avoided". (Harjuniemi, T., 2013).

Researchers note that historically, the Guidelines emphasize that the journalist is responsible for providing truthful information. However, in 2005 another point was added to the document, which demonstrates some departure of the journalistic community from the principles of previous years. Now the document claims that the material can be published even on the basis of limited information.

It is also interesting that from 1983 to 1992 the Guidelines included paragraphs on respect for universally recognized values - human rights, democracy, peace and international solidarity, and in 1992 a paragraph on the protection of the environment was added to the document. Since 2005, the Guidelines do not mention the reference to such values at all.

Systematic changes at the level of national codes often call into question its effectiveness. In addition, modern journalism, long overdue "national" requires new, global approaches. As a result, some media (mostly online) refuse to follow ethical codes, in particular, because they do not find its practical applications. In addition, some political newspapers dispute ethical codes and question them. Thus, the political newspaper of the nationalist and populist party "True Finns" (Perussuomalaiset - Fin.) refused to follow the ethical code, since they believe that they are not third-party / unbiased / neutral journalists, because their newspaper is funded by the party sponsorship. According to the editor-in-chief Mattias Turkkila, their political ideas somehow influence the materials published in the newspaper (Jarviluoma, A., 2016).

Ethical codes are also criticized by media experts for being remnants of an outdated ideal of objectivity, encouraging misleading notions of neutrality, interfering with active journalism, etc. For example, an American expert in Communication Barbie Zelizer believes that ethical codes and philosophical principles just hinder journalists from developing their own ethical practices (Zelizer, 2017). Thus, the ethical code turns out to be too general, abstract, indisputable and mainstream for practical use by journalists, who constantly face political or economic pressure, pressure from the editorial board, lack of time, etc. (Zelizer, B., 2017) Such statements gradually lead to the idea of creating a global ethical code that could establish the universal standards of behavior for a journalist and indicate the scope, in which a modern journalist should act. Of course, such a concept is very controversial, since the national peculiarities of the development of media systems and differences in the interpretation of terms related, for example, to freedom of access to information, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, etc., can not allow the creation of an ideal that would have the same weight in all countries.

In addition to the so-called crisis of the ethical code (Bergman, M., 2017), in recent years, Finnish self-regulation has experienced internal transformations related to the structure of the work of the Council for Mass Media. Former Chairman Risto Uimonen noted that the Council is experiencing organizational problems because of a typical shortage of workers. Until 2016, the Chairman of the Council worked part-time, so the Council simply did not have time to consider all the complaints, and many of them were sent to the archive.

We researched that the number of complaints filed with the Council has been gradually increasing in recent years. So, in 2016, the Council received 468 complaints - the maximum number since the foundation of the body. 67 of them were rejected, as they went beyond the jurisdiction of the Council, four were withdrawn by the applicants themselves, another 68 did not fit the rules of filing. Thus, according to all parameters, 329 complaints were selected by the secretaries. 102 decisions were made, what in general amounted to 31% (2% more than in the previous year). 55 of 102 decisions were acquittal, 38 - accusatory. In addition, the chair made 9 positive decisions herself. 42 complaints were based on materials published in 2015. Twenty-six times the applicants requested the complaint to be re-examined (Julkisen sanan neuvosto 2016. Vuosikertomus).

Despite the fact that the detailed annual report for 2017 was not published yet on the Council's official website at the time of writing this thesis, we managed to contact the secretaries of JSN personally to obtain the necessary information and to compare the data with 2016. So, in 2017 CMM received almost exactly one hundred complaints less than in the previous year - only 369. 316 were selected for consideration and the Council considered 72 of them. Thus, in 2017 the number of examined complaints was only 22.7%, despite the fact that the total number of complaints received is significantly less than in the previous year. Out of 72 complaints, 44 received an acquittal decision, 28 - an accusatory one. In 2017, 32 complaints were made based on the materials from 2016.

In 2015, the Council was also filed more than 400 complaints, 119 of them were rendered a decision (29.8%). In 2014, the Council received about 350 complaints, in 2013 - about 340. At the same time, the number of complaints examined in both years did not exceed 100.

The number of complaints reviewed by the Council remains rather low compared to some countries that belong to the same model of the media system. For example, the AIPCE report showed that in 2015 the proportion of complaints examined in Germany amounted almost to a half (48.3%) although, according to studies, the German Press Council is not very popular compared to Finland (Fengler, S., 2015). The Press Council of Denmark also showed better results: 70.2% of complaints were considered in 2015 (AIPCE Report 2015).

The crisis of the Council: experts' opinion

The statistics raise controversies about the real effectiveness of the work of the Council leading to a question: does Finland need additional institutions of self-regulation?

In this regard, numerous expert discussions are held. Their comparison and the analysis led us to the following conclusion. Some experts believe that Finland should take the example from Sweden and resort to the assistance of the media ombudsman. In the view of others, it is sufficient to carry out certain reforms in the work of the Council in order to increase its effectiveness. It is interesting that some individual media organizations in Finland have already conducted some experiment and resorted to the services of an independent ombudsman, however, this practice was never widely publicized, and none of the editors considered it necessary. The former chairman of the Council, Risto Uimonen, still considers the Finnish system of self-regulation one of the best in the world, along with Norwegian and Swedish, and claims that Finland does not need the introduction of a media ombudsman. According to him, "the ombudsman is the only person who makes important decisions, while the chairman of the Council has only one vote out of 14. The country in which the press is free does not need a media authority" (Uimonen, 2015).

Arto Nieminen, the former chairman of the Finnish Union of Journalists, is of the same opinion. He believes that the main problem of Finnish media is the domination of the liberal model, when the goal of journalism becomes sensationalism. In pursuit of readers, editors often choose more catchy headlines and can change material at the expense of facts. Nieminen does not doubt the effectiveness of the Council. In his opinion, despite the fact that the emergence of the Internet has become a challenge for self-regulatory institutions, the improvement of the Guidelines will be able to solve this problem (Harjunemi, 2013). Then, four years ago, Nieminen expressed the idea that the solution of the Council's internal problems would be the advisability of taking the chairman for a full day. Thus, his role will approach the role of the ombudsman, but will be more proactive. At the same time, the researcher does not see the need to create an institution of the media ombudsman, in particular, because of the experience of Sweden, many newspapers refuse to publish his decisions. Nieminen also added that the media should pay more attention to the accusatory decisions of the Council - journalists should see the results of their mistakes and be ready to discuss them publicly (Harjuniemi T., 2013).

Recent restructurization and prospect

In early 2016, the Council made practical progress in reorganizing its work. First, the chairman of the Council was re-elected, Elina Grundstrom - a journalist, a science fiction writer and a professor at the University of Tampere - took the position. She became the first woman chairperson of the Council for Mass Media. In addition, from January 1, 2016, the chairman moved to a new schedule and now works full-time, and the term of office of the president has increased from three to four years. Some efforts have also been made to simplify and expedite the process of handling complaints, mainly through the development of a standard form for filing complaints and drawing up a list of exceptions where the complaint can not be considered (JSN, 2016). In general, the work of the Council in 2015 and early 2016 showed positive results, as in April 2016 it became known that Finland for the seventh time in a row topped the press freedom rating, according to the Reporters Without Borders (Press Freedom Rating, 2016).

In 2017, the Finnish Media Council continued the trend towards restructuring as a result of the increased workload, as well as the planning of a series of events timed to the 150th anniversary of the Council and the conference of the Alliance of Independent Media Councils of Europe (AIPCE), which will be held in Helsinki in autumn 2018. Thus, vacancies were opened for two additional secretaries for a full working day, and, in November 2017, new members of the public and media and their deputies were elected to the Council for 20182020. The new members of the public are: a head of South Savo, Pentti Makis- sen and his personal deputy, an expert from Helsinki Youth Center Anna Anttila, a commander of the Coast Guard Isma Siikaluoma and his personal deputy, a researcher from the University of Tampere Heta Heiskanen. The position of the media representatives was given to: a chief editor of the municipal newspaper Paimio-Sauvo-Kaarina, Taina Tukia and her deputy, an editor-inchief of the Kuopion Kaupunginlehti Aya Pirinen; an editor-in-chief of the Psykologi-lehti Hannelle Peltonen and her deputy Kaisa Yulhainen from Sa- takunnan Kama; a senior producer YLE Siomka Tuomi and his deputy, a senior producer YLE Nina Stenros; an editor-in-chief of Mediahub Helsinki Ilkka Ahtiainen and his deputy, CEO of RadioMedia Stefan Meller (JSN, 2017). Thus, the composition of the governing group of the Council in 2018 will consist of five representatives of the public (not including their deputies) and eight media representatives.

Conclusions

Thus, summing up the results of a research of the current problems of self-regulatory institutions in Finland, we can conclude that they can be divided into external and internal ones. External problems, closely related to global changes in the media sphere, an emergence of new platforms for information placement, a rethinking of the role of journalist and audience, an economic crisis and a crisis of the ethical code, will remain open for discussion for a long time. The issues of media ethics' transformation, the creation of a global code of ethics, the general impact of globalization and the digitization on the media and other trends require new approaches and solutions.

At the same time, internal problems of Finnish self-regulation, which include organizational and structural changes in the Council for Mass Media, changes in the Guidelines for Journalists, as well as discussions about the need for the media ombudsman, are in practice being solved through an open dialogue between Finnish journalists, media experts and academics.

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