Marja Honkonen appointed editor-in-chief of Journalisti

Marja Honkonen, MSocSc, has been appointed as the new editor-in-chief of the UJF’s magazine Journalisti. Her appointment takes effect immediately. In addition to managing the magazine, she will also be responsible for the union’s communications work.

Honkonen is currently acting editorial secretary of the magazine. She joined the staff of Journalisti as a journalist in 2014 and has since served as deputy editor-in-chief.

Before joining Journalisti, Honkonen was a communications planner for the Greens party, the editor-in-chief of the Jyväskylä student newspaper, and worked for the Keskisuomalainen newspaper, among others.

“It’s important for me to defend good journalism, its practitioners and fair working conditions at a time when many people are questioning them,” says Honkonen.

“Journalisti is a high-quality professional journal. My aim is for readers to get professional value from each issue. I also hope that it can serve as a place for internal debate and constructive media criticism within the industry.[1] 

“I want to be involved in developing the union’s communications in an even more member-oriented and transparent direction.”

“Marja Honkonen has solid experience in journalism and communications and a broad understanding of the work of organisations and the labour market,” says the UJF President Hanne Aho.

“The pool of candidates was challenging. I’m proud that we found the best person for the job from within our own editorial team. We were looking for a person with a broad knowledge of the whole field in which we work, who knows the UJF and is therefore best placed to develop both the magazine and the union’s communications.”

There were18 applicants for the post, which was appointed by the Board of the union.

The editor-in-chief will lead a communications unit made up of the five-person editorial team of Journalisti, which is published by the union, and a communications expert from the union.