In a lengthy article on the Perussuomalaiset (PS),* Helsingin Sanomat reporter tells us we should not consider the PS a far-right party. The article offers a lot of sources to look at the question but the writer, Markko Jukkari, trips and falls on his face when he starts to editorialize the story. He writes: The Perussuomalaiset is…
Tag: media
Media Monitoring Group of Finland:* Plurality and agency are essential
Asmaa is a black woman born in Finland who studies at the South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences (Xamx). She was adamant about why she does not trust, never mind reads, the Finnish media. She emailed a response: I don’t read Finnish newspapers and none in particular. I find them very taxing to read. Constantly, people who…
Media Monitoring Group of Finland: “The media reminds me that I am not wanted here”
I don’t read Finnish newspapers and none in particular. I find them very taxing to read. Constantly, people who look like me are vilified, branded as the devil himself and the root cause of all problems. I have always known the correct term for an event that bothers me, and when I learned it, I…
Have the Perussuomalaiset succeeded in their quest for a migrant crime story to attract voters?
Fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me. The question is neither far-fetched nor provocative: The xenophobic Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party has used and exploited in the past three elections of 2011, 2015, and 2019 the migrant crime theme. Understanding the success that the Sweden Democrats, a party with neo-Nazi roots, and the Moderate Party in…
Media Monitoring Group of Finland: The Finnish media’s too often toxic role in public discourse
The role of the media in shaping public discourse about minorities before the April parliamentary election is evident. We saw this in the case of Oulu in 2018-2019 and its present coverage of “youth gangs” from the fall. It is disheartening that no media has challenged politicians about how they exploit a topic like “youth…
Media Monitoring Group of Finland [1]: Viimeinen sana program left out some important questions unanswered
THE STORY WAS UPDATED Yle’s Viimienen sana invited three guests to talk about Finland’s alleged youth gang problem and how the media treats the topic. The three guests clearly indicated how the talk show would frame the topic. In the first place, there were no minorities taking part in the debate. All of the guests were white…
Migrant Tales Media Monitoring: PS’ Riikka Purra “praises” Ykkösaamu. Complacency devours facts.
Perussuomalaiset (PS)* chairperson Riikka Purra praised Ykkösaamu, claiming that it “has the best news and current affairs format in Finland, led by a professional journalist.” It is further proof of how the host, Seija Vaaherkumpa, didn’t do her job but offered journalistic lipservice to a radical right party with ties to violent groups in the…
How the Finnish media frames “good” and “bad” refugees
Länsiväylä is a community newspaper that lives off advertising revenues. One story on Ukrainian refugees raking a park in Kirkonnummi, a city near Helsinki, is another chapter in framing Ukrainian refugees as “good” refugees, while similar people from the Middle East are viewed as “bad” refugees. One PS politician states: “These Ukrainians are pretty different…
Exposing white privilege in Finland #84: Suomineidot offers refuge to privilege, white power, whitewashing, the far right and racism
Comments about the Yle television series on far-right young women, Suomineidot (Finnish Maidens), went viral, and for a good reason. Apart from revealing how much in the dark Yle is about racism and the far right, it also exposes white privilege in Finland. In a nutshell, the series is about three young women: One of…
The media has power but it prefers driving a moped when confronting racism and the Perussuomalaiset
If there is somebody to blame for Finland’s Perussuomalaiset (PS)* problem, a big part of the blame falls on the media. In that group, you will find politicians and about 17% of Finns who vote for an openly hostile party to Muslims, people of color, and minorities. A good example of the media’s power was…