HELSINGIN SANOMAT international

A Farewell to Ludviginkatu

By Janne Virkkunen, Senior Editor-in-Chief
Helsingin Sanomat's move will be completed by Monday, when the entire editorial staff will be unpacking in the new Sanomatalo, close to the Museum of Contemporary Art. At the same time, this is the end of a period at Ludviginkatu that stretches back to 1907. The editing of the newspaper began in these premises in the autonomous Imperial Grand Duchy of Finland, and we leave Ludviginkatu at a time when Finland is a member of the EU, and briefly holding the Union's Presidency. It is a handsome slice of Finnish history.
   During the construction of the new Sanomatalo building, many have asked what will change or whether anything will change after we have moved. The way of putting the paper together will almost certainly be different in a new and purpose-built working environment, but the essential function of the newspaper will of course remain unaltered: in terms of the spreading of information, it is largely irrelevant whether the task is performed from old stone buildings or modern glass edifices.
   The move to new premises coincides with the celebration of an honourable 110 years in print. The jubilee comes around in just over a month, on November 16th, when the new building will also be officially christened. Sanomatalo is a striking structure of steel and glass, a feature that emphasises the importance of transparency. It is the job of a newspaper to further transparency in all areas of the society, in order that its citizens know an increasing amount of what is going on around them. Membership of the EU also involves a similar demand for transparency in the workings of the Union.
   Helsingin Sanomat today enjoys a stable and strong position. With a regular audited circulation of 450,000 that rises to more than half a million on Sundays, it is the largest daily newspaper in Scandinavia. After a brief dip, the circulation figures also look to be holding up once again. A recent nationwide media survey indicated that the paper's readership has remained more or less steady.
   Nevertheless, there is no room for complacency here. Development work must go on all the time, and hence we shall be revamping the structure and outlook of the paper from next January. The aim is to preserve and improve upon a strong news journal and an invigorating forum for opinions, with the daily input complemented as before by the magazine-format weekly supplement Nyt and the monthly review Kuukausiliite, along with other theme-related supplements. The latest addition, our online net newspaper Verkkoliite (whose International Edition you are currently reading), marked up 100,000 registered subscribers earlier this year.
   In order to succeed, a newspaper must be a natural part of the community in which it appears. Helsingin Sanomat wishes now and into the future to be a paper for the people who live here in the capital region. But at the same time we want to be a paper for all Finns; Helsingin Sanomat is not simply a local newspaper, but a national one.
   The position of the printed press has traditionally been strong in Finland, although the so-called "secondary papers" have seen their status eroded in recent decades. The structure of the Finnish newspaper industry today is based on strong regional primary papers. Belief in the future of papers remains strong, since Finns are among the most diligent readers in the world, coming second only to the Japanese and the Norwegians in their consumption of newspapers.
   The development of electronic media has led many to fear for the future of traditional print media. The question asked is whether the computer and Internet generations will choose any longer to read newspapers in the old printed form. The same concerns were expressed when television invaded homes on a large scale some decades ago.
   Helsingin Sanomat's journalists have no qualms about the paper's future. The newspaper printed on paper has an enormous lead in terms of ease of use. The world of electronic communications and data networks is filled to the brim with information that requires editorial skills if readers are to be able to digest it. The networks do not - at least not as yet - pose a threat to the conventional newspapers. On the other hand, in combination with other technological strides, they do present a clear and present danger to television, and above all to its huge viewing figures.
   The editorial surroundings of Ludviginkatu made possible Helsingin Sanomat's rise to become this country's premier newspaper. Our new quarters in Sanomatalo will set those who make the newspaper a demanding task, to uphold the paper's traditions and success. Realising this task requires a belief in the traditional values of journalism. A newspaper does not succeed by sensationalism; it prospers through quality of content, in which curiosity is blended with scepticism and one's own preconceptions with tolerance and an open mind.

The author came to Ludviginkatu to work for the first time in May 1971.

Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 10.10.1999