The circulations of Finnish newspapers continued their slow but steady fall last year. The country's six largest newspapers have lost ten percent of their subscribers over the past decade, amounting to some 100,000 subscriptions.

   

Last year, the circulation of Helsingin Sanomat fell by one percent, and Turun Sanomat lost two percent, or 2,600 subscriptions.

   

The only exception in the declining trend is Tampere-based Aamulehti, which has succeeded in increasing its circulation over the past years. In 1992-1995 the number of Aamulehti subscribers plummeted by over ten thousand, but the paper has since recovered some 6,000 subscriptions.

   

According to Aamulehti editor-in-chief Matti Apunen, the newspaper has attempted to write its articles more from the point of view of readers. For example, the consequences of political decisions for regular citizens are explained.

Despite the overall negative trend

in circulations, Apunen believes newspapers continue to be in a strong position among the media. "People think newspapers are very interesting, but the problem is that they are often read outside of the home these days, with someone else paying for the paper."

   

Traditional families are loyal subscribers, but many single adults decide not to subscribe to a newspaper. "The challenge is to find a way to offer something to these people that they find interesting", Apunen says.

   

According to Kristiina Markkula, the head of the Finnish Newspapers' Association, a positive phenomenon is that circulations are not falling as fast as during the worst years of recession in the early 1990s.

However, all newspapers have had difficulties

in attracting new readers after the recession. Internal migration also decreases the number of potential readers of smaller regional newspapers in many parts of the country.

   

On the other hand, Oulu-based Kaleva has not increased its circulation although the city and its technology cluster attracted plenty of new residents in the late 1990s. In the Helsinki region, free newspapers Uutislehti 100 and Metro provide competition to traditional newspapers.

   

Late-edition tabloids were among the largest losers last year: Ilta-Sanomat and Iltalehti both lost over six percent of their circulation. One reason was the slow year for exciting news. On the magazine side, Aku Ankka (Donald Duck) continues to be the most popular in Finland with a circulation of nearly 300,000.