Helsingin Sanomat
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Helsingin Sanomat is the leading newspaper in Finland, and is known for a serious, somewhat elitist approach that includes a high standard on research and language. It attempts to reach the level of leading newspapers in much larger nations, such as Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung or the New York Times. It is the biggest daily subscription-based newspaper in the Nordic Countries. The paper is affectionately known to Finns as "Hesari."
Since 1932, the paper has been politically independent and non-aligned. Its name derives from that of the capital, Helsinki, where it is published. (Literally translated, the name means "Messages of Helsinki".) It has a penetration of approximately 75% of the households of the Greater Helsinki region, and also functions as the local paper of the region. Its total daily circulation is well over 400,000, or about 8% of Finland's total population, making it one of the world's most successful newspapers by per capita circulation.
The paper was founded in 1889 as Päivälehti, when Finland was a Grand Duchy under the Czar of Russia. Political censorship by the Russian authorities, prompted by the paper's strong advocacy of greater Finnish freedoms and even outright independence, forced Päivälehti to often temporarily suspend publication, and finally to close permanently in 1904. Its proprietors re-opened the paper under its current name in 1905.
Helsingin Sanomat has a long history as a family business, owned by the Erkko family. It is currently the flagship of the SanomaWSOY media group.
The relationship between Helsingin Sanomat and Finland's government has often been close. For instance, during the run-up to the Winter War, Eljas Erkko was at the same time the paper's publisher and Finland's foreign minister.
The paper is a significant factor in Finnish society, sometimes described as an authority in the state (Pertti Klemola, 1981): an institution with its own independent social and political will. However, that will has not manifested itself in radical directions in a long while. The paper is a pillar of the Finnish establishment, and a sober voice of reason. However, individual writers seem to be given a fair degree of latitude, with an editorial voice often coming through even in ostensibly factual articles, though often separated into a sidebar entitled "Commentary". Also, the paper does seem to feel that its dominant position gives it a responsibility for allowing the advocates of differing viewpoints on various national issues an opportunity for debate on its pages.
The newspaper strongly advocated Finland joining the European Union in the run-up to the decision to do so in 1994. It is currently supporting, if not quite so strongly, Finland joining NATO. During the past two years the paper has presented a strong mainstream anti-Iraq war campaign in its editorials. Its articles on the war in Iraq have been written by correspondents known to oppose the war.
The paper also publishes a monthly supplement, Kuukausiliite (Finnish for "Monthly Supplement"); a weekly entertainment-oriented supplement, Nyt ("Now"); and both Finnish and English-language Internet editions.
Unusually for a serious, high-circulation newspaper, the front page of Helsingin Sanomat (below the title) has nearly always been used solely for advertising -- with very few exceptions, the most recent ones being the editions of 2000-01-01 and 2001-09-12.
See also
External links
- Helsingin Sanomat (http://www.helsinginsanomat.fi/)
- Helsingin Sanomat International Edition (English) (http://www.helsinginsanomat.fi/english)fi:Helsingin Sanomat