The UJF Council, the union’s top decision-making body, decided at its constitutive meeting in Helsinki, 13 December, to reappoint Hanne Aho as union president. Her new term will run from 2019 to 2022. Aho was first elected to the post in 2014.
Finland’s ranking in Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index has taken a beating for the second consecutive year.
“Responsible journalism starts with the everyday work at the editorial office. Behind all responsible journalism there’s a responsible journalist,” says UJF president Hanne Aho.
UJF president Hanne Aho is concerned at the lack of progress in the current rounds of talks on the collective agreement covering the press, public broadcaster (Yle – the Finnish Broadcasting Company) and publishing industry. There are only a few days of negotiations left as the current agreement expires 30 November.
A Turkish court has sentenced Wall Street Journal reporter Ayla Albayrak, a dual citizen of Finland and Turkey, to jail for two years and one month for working in the Kurdish region of Turkey. According to the verdict, Albayrak is guilty of having produced terrorist propaganda in an article she wrote that was published byRead More
The serious financial straits facing the commercial media are adversely impacting STT, the Finnish News Agency. So much so that existence of the 130-year-old wire service is in jeopardy. Hanne Aho, the UJF president, warned that the field of journalism is being eroded. “Journalism is crucially important for democracy and social stability. We cannot standRead More
The UJF has issued written responses to the three government ministries responsible for drafting new intelligence legislation. The draft bills, produced by the defence, interior and justice ministries, represent an effort to upgrade Finland’s preparedness to deal with threats to national security from terrorism, spying by foreign states and disruptions to critical infrastructure.
UJF president Hanne Aho says that departure of the director of news and current affairs at Yle promotes the resolution of the crisis that has gripped the public broadcaster in recent months. “The most important thing is that Yle staff are allowed to get on with their work,” said Aho.
UJF president says there should be clear legislation on delineation of powers in public broadcaster.
Yle commissions external review of its journalistic decision-making.