I would go as far as to predict that after the election in April, the youth gang issue will disappear. It was the case in Oulu when Finland became hysterical about sexual assaults committed by migrants. We’re in the same situation today. True, we have to address social problems with good social policy. Fortunately, Finland…
Tag: Finnish media
Migrant Tales Media Monitoring: Framing youth gang violence by MTV
When the media speaks of youth gang violence, it usually spikes it with provocative adjectives and fear-mongering. MTV’s interview and good comments by Elina Pekkarinen, ombudswoman for children, were exceptions. If you want a good example of how the media frames this topic, look at the picture behind the host. It reads “violence” next to…
STATEMENT: Yle should stop picking on minority youths and stick to facts
It was in 2020 when Helsingin Sanomat published a big story about the dangers of youth gang violence in Helsinki. The story received a lot of criticism because it spread the misinformation that youth crime is rising in Helsinki and Greater Helsinki. It isn’t surprising that the state-owned broadcaster, Yle, has spread the issue, especially…
Ilta-Sanomat’s message hasn’t changed in the past 30 years: Islam and refugees are a threat to Finland
Ever wondered why tabloids like Ilta-Sanomat continue to publish racist stories? When the first Somalis came to Finland in the early 1990s, the tabloid had a field day (see billboards below). Imagine headlines like “Somalis will remain in Finland,” “Somalis tricked (authorities) to get asylum,” and twenty years later, “10,000 illegal refugees will come this…
Why do the Perussuomalaiset speak in code when referring to Muslims?
Throughout the years, far-right parties like the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* have in recent years mainly used code words to refer to Muslims. Some of the most common ones are sexual offenders, overrepresented in crime statistics, asylum seekers, and, now the latest, vieraskieli, or “people who don’t speak Finnish as their mother tongue.” One article published last…
Finland’s issues with Nazi flags and a too often biased and insensitive media of minorities
Migrant Tales published on Tuesday comments by Yaron Nadbornik, the president of the 1,100-strong Jewish Community of Helsinki, concerning the Helsinki district court’s ruling that carrying Nazi Germany flags in public was not ethnic agitation. If there is one group of people who have a lot to say about Nazi flags and the Holocaust, they…
University of Eastern Finland 14 May: Journalism in times of Covid-19: Representations of Latin America in Finnish Media
Tapahtumapäivämäärä:14.5.2021Aika:13:00–14:30Tapahtumapaikka:OnlineLisätietoja:ZoomAdd to calendar:GoogleOutlookiCal Welcome to a webinar organized by the Research Group Environment, Society and Development in Latin America (ESDLA) at the University of Eastern Finland. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, journalists have the challenging task of gathering and distributing accurate and reliable information. This task becomes more critical and demanding when journalists create international news…
What threatens Finland’s Nordic welfare state? Follow the racism, stupid.
There is a sense of déjà vu as the municipal elections in Finland near on April 18. Once again, the media is not questioning or challenging the toxic message of the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party, but showing its usual tacit approval. The most notable examples of this type of approval demonstrated by the media are silence…
Don’t give racist charlatans a megaphone
Which Finnish politicians are the country’s biggest charlatans? We all know them by name. Finland’s media has learned to pushback more than before and not give a megaphone to political con artists. It is called media responsibility. Who are these charlatans? They are the ones who always pick on the disadvantaged threatening them with a…
Mayday, Mayday! Two women and six children entering Finland
Following on and off news about the repatriation of Finnish citizens from the al-Hol refugee camp raises a lot of questions about our society. The opposition, namely the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* and National Coalition Party (NCP), are working overtime to score brownie points with the voters and fearmongering. The commotion is now stirred by the repatriation…