Finland Political Orientation
Government
Government Type: Parliamentary System
Leader: Prime Minister Sanna Marin
Political Party: The five-party coalition government consists of Sanna Marin’s party, The Social Democratic Party of Finland (SDP), the Centre Party (liberal-conservative centre party), the Green League (environmentalist liberal party), the Left Alliance (Democratic socialism, Eco-socialism), and the Swedish People’s Party (social liberalism). For more on the political parties of Finland, see here.
Political Position: Center-Left
Press Freedom
World Press Freedom Rank: Finland 5/180
According to Reporters Without Borders, although hate speech is prevalent online in Finland, they are still “The Land of The Free Press.” Further, the Media Pluralism Monitor (MPM) reports that “Finland scores a low-risk rating with regards to the basic legal protections of media freedom, but medium risk in all three other Monitor areas (Market Plurality, Political Independence, Social Inclusiveness).
Media Ownership and Government Analysis
The Government influences media by providing direct subsidies, such as in 2018 when the government provided a 1.5-million-euro subsidy to struggling domestic news agency STT. The Finnish Government also provides indirect subsidies in the form of a reduced value-added tax (VAT) and tax breaks. Further, the state also includes aid to political parties for their publications. This aid is distributed based on the number of seats each party has in the parliament. Further, Yle (Public Broadcaster) is owned by the Finnish state, and is the most trusted national institution, and dominates the mass media in Finland.
In summary, Finland has excellent press freedom with minimal government and corporate influence, which can lead to policy that may be “problematic for the various ethnic and societal minorities, whose access to media remains limited without any support.”
Last Updated on March 29, 2023 by Media Bias Fact Check
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