Jussi Halla-aho, the presidential candidate of the Finns Party, attended a campaign event in Espoo on 15 January 2024. Halla-aho claimed earlier this month that generous funding has resulted in rottenness, corruption and cronyism at YLE. (Heikki Saukkomaa – Lehtikuva)
- Next Article HS: Minimum corporate tax could boost corporate tax revenue in Finland by 10%
MATTI APUNEN, the board chairperson at YLE, has rejected the allegations made against the public broadcasting company by the presidential candidate of the Finns Party, Jussi Halla-aho.
Halla-aho stated during Ilta-Sanomat’s election debate last week that he is in favour of slashing funding for the public broadcasting company by up to a quarter, or 144 million euros, in accordance with the demands of the Finns Party.
“The generous funding and open-tab mentality result in turpitude, corruption and old boy and old girl networks. Especially as we’re cutting from all other important services, it’d be justified to cut rather significantly from YLE’s very plentiful funding,” he commented on 9 January.
YLE, he also alleged, has failed in its mission to produce unbiased information due to its marked ideological slant to the left.
Apunen said Halla-aho’s status as a presidential candidate and desire to engage in critical debate do not justify the serious but vague allegations. The allegations, he added, also do not contribute constructively to media policy discussion but instead offend the integrity and professionalism of staff at YLE.
“The Finns Party has never explained what kind of operational analysis its demand for a budget cut of about 140 million euros is based on. Without such an analysis, the sum seems arbitrarily formed and a politically motivated punishment,” he said in a press release.
Apunen underlined that the guiding principle of journalism and content production at the public broadcasting company is to promote a diversity of voices, with the company seeking to ensure both that minority views are taken into account and the majority views are heard. This diversity is evident in, for example, whom are invited to discussion programmes, how people are portrayed and how they are addressed, according to him.
“It is very hard to see justification for Halla-aho’s accusations about a lack of equality if you examine how representatives of different parties and world views participate in YLE programming,” he said.
Also Tytti Tuppurainen, the chairperson of the Social Democratic Parliamentary Group, voiced her disapproval with the allegations made by Halla-aho, the current speaker of parliament. The Finnish parliament is tasked with overseeing the operations and appointing the administrative council of YLE.
“This is yet another statement that doesn’t fit the speaker, who represents the entire parliament,” she said.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
- Next Article HS: Minimum corporate tax could boost corporate tax revenue in Finland by 10%
Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
