Sanoma Media Finland has announced plans to significantly scale back its reliance on STT, the Finnish News Agency, raising questions about the future of news reporting in the country.
A recent survey conducted by Uutissuomalainen reveals a surprising lack of support among parliamentary groups for using public funds to support STT. The Greens stand out as the only group advocating for state backing, while the ruling National Coalition Party and the Christian Democrats favor a market-driven approach.
Interestingly, the Finns Party hasn’t adopted an official stance but its Parliamentary group leader, Jani Mäkelä, has voiced personal opposition to direct funding for STT. Meanwhile, the Center Party, Left Alliance, Swedish People’s Party, and Social Democrats have chosen not to comment on the issue, and the independent Movement Now has explicitly rejected public support for the agency.
The survey specifically asked whether taxpayers should finance STT to ensure the continuation of its news services. There was also a proposal to reallocate funding from Yle, Finland’s national public broadcasting company, to support STT, which drew backing only from the Finns Party’s Mäkelä and Movement Now. The Left Alliance, National Coalition Party, and Greens were opposed to this idea.
As discussions unfold, STT’s largest shareholder, Sanoma, appears poised to consolidate its news coverage strategy, hinting it may either significantly reduce its engagement with STT’s services or potentially discontinue them altogether. The implications of these decisions could reverberate through Finland’s media landscape, affecting how news is produced and disseminated across the nation.