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 look like me are vilified, branded as the devil himself and the root cause of all problems.“
Asmaa’s reply is an earnest response to a problem that affects the media and Finnish society in general.
What are Finnish media giants like Helsingin Sanomat and others doing to fix this chronic lack of credibility in the eyes of some minorities? I suspect the answer is short and to the point: Nothing much.
Source: The Guardian
Do you want to know why minorities in Finland don’t trust the media? The picture below says it all.
Source: European Islamophobia Report 2019
Although we remain hopeful and trust that the Finnish strive for impartial and equitable reporting that acknowledges the nation’s growing cultural diversity, progress has been sluggish.
In a Guardian opinion piece, Kelly Walls writes about how important the media is and how much it is losing credibility due to misinformation and fake news.
She mentions an important factor that the media must promote:
“The second vital factor is plurality of voice and agency. News organizations must include diverse perspectives and reporting by journalists from a broad range of backgrounds. If certain communities are excluded or misrepresented in the news coverage they see, then trust is lost. To combat this effectively, the barriers to entry and progression in the industry must be broken, alongside the recognition that more inclusive and representative news organizations create better journalism and engage the audiences they seek to serve in a more successful way.”
*Media Monitoring Group of Finland aims to promote fair and accurate reporting by the Finnish media of underrepresented cultural, racial, ethnic, and religious groups. As Finland’s cultural diversity continues to grow, the role of the media in forming public opinion and attitudes about minorities becomes even more relevant.
Read our first report published on 17 March here.
