The “Who Tells the Story of Finland?” breakfast event organized by Kärkimedia and Suomalainen Työ on May 21, 2025, discussed the significance of domestic media.
The panel discussion reflected on how journalism maintains trust in an era where technology, algorithms, and global competition shape the media and marketing landscape.
The discussion was hosted by the CEO of Suomalainen Työ ry, Katri Viippola.
The panelists were:
Erja Yläjärvi, Helsingin Sanomat, editor-in-chief
Anna Salo, Dentsu Finland, CEO
Ville Blåfield, journalist and communication expert, program director of the Helsinki Book Fair
Juuso Liljeroos, Kärkimedia Oy, CEO.
Who tells the story of Finland? – The panel discussion opened a conversation about the media’s responsibility and impact
Truth or Fiction? Trust as the Foundation of Media
The discussion started lightly with the panelists’ morning news selections, but quickly shifted to more serious themes.
Viippola raised a concern that in the age of social media and artificial intelligence, the concept of truth has become increasingly difficult to define. “If social media defines what is true and what is not, we have quite a significant trust issue at hand,” she stated.
Anna Salo complemented the thought from a marketer’s perspective: “Marketers want to be where people are; in the future, reliable media will still be needed even though marketers have also taken on roles as media houses.”
Do we need good news?
The discussion also raised the question of the need for positive news. Ville Blåfield was skeptical about “good news” newsletters and emphasized that the role of journalism is to tell the world as it is.
“As a reader, I don’t crave for journalists to gather good news. The role of journalists is to tell the world as it is,” journalist Ville Blåfield said.
Erja Yläjärvi from Helsingin Sanomat saw it differently: “News avoidance is increasing, and especially young adults are looking for alternatives to this negativity-focused news stream. Therefore, it is important to highlight good news, and these are stories that would appear in Helsingin Sanomat anyway.”
Localness keeps the community together
Blåfield raised concerns about the position of local media and referred to the United States, where the emergence of “news deserts” has led to the polarization of societal discourse.
“It is infinitely important that small media outlets survive. It is not enough to have one or two national media brands.”
Kärkimedia’s Juuso Liljeroos highlighted the importance of the vitality of local media from the advertiser’s perspective: “Kärkimedia’s reach comes from those small, local newspapers. And that community context is also important for the advertiser.”
Quality and Trust – Domestic Media is a Strategic Choice
One strong message from the discussion was that the future of media and marketing is built on quality and trust. Domestic news media provides a safe, impactful, and socially significant environment where the advertiser’s message also receives a value-based context.
As Katri Viippola summarized in the end: “Our task is to ensure that domestic media has a future.”