The Council for Mass Media, the self-regulatory media watchdog, has elected UJF president Hanne Aho as the new board chair of its support association. The support association is a registered NGO that administers the CMM’s affairs and selects its chair and members. The election and the appointment of other board members of the support associationRead More
The UJF has expressed concern at the worsening situation in Belarus and the treatment of journalists trying to carry out their work. The police have violently put down protests that erupted following the presidential elections. Violence has also been used in some places specifically to stop the free flow of information. At least 25 journalistsRead More
The UJF and Akava Special Branches last week accepted the conciliation proposal of the National Conciliator, narrowly averting strike action by self-employed, or freelance, translators in the AV translation sector, scheduled for 15-16 February.
“Democracy is not a freeze-frame. It’s a continual process,” former President of Finland Tarja Halonen told participants at the recent Nordic Freelance Seminar. The annual conference was held this year on Suomenlinna Island 15-16 September, and Halonen was one of the guest speakers. The seminar, which drew some 200 participants, examined the future of freelancingRead More
The recent congress of the Nordic Federation of Journalists, the network for journalists unions in the Nordic area, passed the baton to the UJF to lead the organization for the next two years. UJF president Hanne Aho is its new chairperson. The federation’s vice chair is freelance journalist Heikki Jokinen, and its general secretary isRead More
The UJF has welcomed the change to the government’s draft budget, which allows people to use the unemployment benefit they receive to start self-employment. According to the government, the act on unemployment will be amended so that self-employment would not be considered in terms of being a primary or secondary occupation for the first fourRead More
According to the UJF president Hanne Aho, it is hardly surprising that Finland dropped from the top position in the World Press Freedom Index. “It would have been more of a surprise if it hadn’t dropped down,” said Aho.
The CMM also ruled that Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s conduct had curbed freedom of speech. The council found that Yle changed tack after Sipilä made contact, killing follow-up stories and changing others. A hard-hitting and historic decision, says UJF president Hanne Aho.
UJF president highlights importance of trust between chief editors and newsrooms.
Union says robust news operations by commercial TV needed alongside those of public broadcaster.