A new training project of the AIRPU and partners from Finland — «Media Bridges: Finland and Ukraine» was launched on February 18. Thus, 42 representatives from 10 selected regional newsrooms met at the first practical webinar to share their media experience and requests for strengthening the professionalism of their teams.
Over the next two years, the Finnish colleagues, together with the Association, will organize and hold more than 20 interesting online meetings with Ukrainian media professionals to discuss challenges and opportunities for quality journalism. Some of the participants will also take part in two study tours to Helsinki and Lapland, where they will have the opportunity to see the work of local newsrooms and adopt their best practices.
The program will last for two years
— It will be a rich, useful and effective experience exchange program between Finnish and Ukrainian media. The goal is to increase self-regulation and improve standards in our regional teams. We will implement knowledge through practical things, sharing and exchanging experience with our colleagues from Finland on how to build audience trust, how to attract young users, how to build independent business models in the media, how to use artificial intelligence in our work without compromising the quality of content, etc. I am grateful to our Finnish partners who have been providing a reliable shoulder of support for our editorial offices throughout the years of full-scale war and helping to preserve the free voice of journalism in Ukraine, — said Oksana Brovko, CEO of Association of Independent Regional Publishers of Ukraine.
As we have already mentioned in our previous publications, the Finnish media are leading the way among their European counterparts in terms of media literacy and self-regulation. The public trust in journalists here is absolute. Children are taught to create and distinguish a quality information product as early as in kindergartens and schools.
Everyone follows the principle of self-regulation
How does it work?
— Self-regulation is a voluntary choice of every Finnish newsroom. Anyone can set up a media company, and no license is required unless you plan to broadcast news through an antenna network. The self-regulatory system was created and is led by publishers and journalists’ associations. These rules have been in place since 1968, and joining the system is voluntary, — told Eero Hyvönen, Сhair of Council for Mass Media. — Digital and print media, radio, television — all work under these doctrines. We are an independent agency consisting of 13 members and a Сhair, 8 of whom are media representatives. We meet about 9 times a year. We have analysts who process complaints and prepare resolutions. We have a practical Code of Conduct with provisions on standards, with 37 rules. By the way, we included Ukraine in one of the sections.
Anyone in Finland can file a complaint about a story if the Code of Ethics has been violated. The situation in Ukraine is similar: the complainant does not have to be the victim. However, he or she needs permission from the person involved if it is a violation of confidentiality, etc. In Ukraine, the Commission on Journalistic Ethics is mostly approached by fellow media professionals themselves to check whether their own or their colleagues’ materials meet the standards.
— If a reprimand is issued, the media outlet must publish the resolution as a whole (= complaint, editor-in-chief’s response, and the council’s decision), — the media ombudsman clarifies. — The person involved in the journalist’s material may also apply to a local court.
The main task of the Council is to implement the best journalistic practices and protect freedom of speech.
Exchange of experience and ideas
In fact, protecting freedom of speech in Ukraine and improving the attitude of regional media to the issue of self-regulation is the main objective of this project. The challenges for both Ukrainian and foreign media are largely similar.
Apart from the war, Finnish newsrooms are also fighting for the advertising market, for audience attention, and competing with influencers and social media.
— The advertising market is falling, and a large share of advertising in Finland is taken by American and Chinese tech companies like Google and TikTok. And they often spread disinformation. With the outbreak of a full-scale war in Ukraine, we had to further strengthen the issue of self-regulation in our media, including to counteract fakes and so on. I am happy that together with the Association of Independent Regional Publishers of Ukraine we can build a bridge of mutual support and exchange of experience between our countries. I hope that within two years we will be able to build a reliable partnership, — told Jukka Holmberg, CEO of News Media Finland.
Fighting fake news and propaganda
The topic of self-regulation is not just about a certain set of declared rules, it is about the responsible attitude of media professionals to the presentation of information and the conscious perception of the disseminated information by the audience. According to Susanna Ahonen, an expert on media education and media literacy at News Media Finland, since Russian troops entered the territory of Ukraine, the Finnish media have realized that they need to pay even more attention to media literacy.
Practical experience of newsrooms
Selected teams from Ukrainian media will not only learn more about the experience of their foreign colleagues through webinars, but also see firsthand how it works in practice. For example, one of the planned visits during the study tour to Helsinki is to the Helsingin Sanomat, a 136-year-old media outlet.
— The history of the media is very important to understand how we have come to strengthen editorial standards and self-regulation, which is the foundation of trust in society. We also once faced Russian censorship, so political independence is crucial. We cover various topics related to the everyday life of the local population, but we also touch on economic and political topics that are discussed in the world. Ukraine is present on our platforms. We have a journalist who is constantly covering the situation on the eastern border, — said Erja Yläjärvi, editor-in-chief of Helsingin Sanomat.
She also briefly drew parallels about the challenges in the media market in both Ukraine and Finland: falling advertising revenues, the struggle for audience and subscriber attention, content fatigue, technological challenges, the rapid development of AI technologies, etc.
— I am very glad to be a part of this project and share my relevant experience. And I am very interested in the work of Ukrainian media professionals, — she emphasized.
There is a lot of useful and important work ahead. Association of Independent Regional Publishers of Ukraine records the most interesting cases and shares them with you. Read our in-depth interviews with each project participant soon.
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The project «Media Bridges»: Finland and Ukraine is being implemented by the Association of Independent Regional Publishers of Ukraine in partnership with News Media Finland with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland.
