The Finnish News Agency STT has today, 30 September, announced that it may wind down its news and photo operations. The company has stated that it is starting restructuring negotiations, which could involve an end to the agency’s current operations on 31 March and the dismissal of 95 employees. It is still possible that STT could continue to operate on a substantially smaller scale. STT’s communications services are excluded from the forthcoming negotiations. “Winding down STT is truly shocking news given the current security situation, where information manipulation is commonplace, and Finland should be strengthening rather than weakening structures for disseminating reliable information,” says Marjaana Varmavuori, President of the Union of Journalists in Finland (UJF). Research shows that STT is Finland’s most trusted news source, and that it plays a vital role in ensuring the public’s access to reliable information. The vast majority of national and international news carried by regional media comes from STT. “Until now, the content produced by STT has allowed regional outlets to focus on their own reporting. In future, regional and local newspapers will inevitably offer less beyond local news, which will undermine access to information for people living in those areas,” Varmavuori explains. Once STT’s current operations end, media outlets will have to find or develop replacements not only for the news service but also for the photo service and the overnight desk. This will raise their costs or lower the quality of their output. Varmavuori is deeply concerned about the impact that the end of STT’s operations will have on other media outlets. “At worst, STT’s collapse could trigger a domino effect, causing other news outlets to go under too,” she says. “I am somewhat surprised that regional media show so little interest in securing the future of the national news agency." This is likely due, in particular, to the weakened finances of regional and local media outlets. It is also one of the reasons behind STT’s long-standing difficulties. The UJF is calling on the government, above all, to act so that STT can still reverse its plans. “A year ago, Lulu Ranne (PS), the Minister for Transport and Communications, Lulu Ranne (Finns Party) said that STT would not collapse under Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government. Now it looks as though STT’s story will come to an end, conveniently just as the current Parliament has gone into pre-election recess,” says Varmavuori. In February, the Ministry of Transport and Communications informed STT that it was preparing a one-off €1.05 million package of state support for the news agency. In the summer, responsibility for preparing the aid passed to the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom, and STT has still not received the promised funding. But saving the news agency would take more than the million euros already pledged. A larger sum would require the EU state aid prior notification procedure. “That's not a problem if the political will exists,” says Varmavuori. She adds that government bodies, such as ministries and agencies, could also return as clients of the national news agency. The UJF is in contact with the government to find out what it intends to do. “STT’s decision starkly shows that Finland needs not only permanent media support but also a media policy programme,” she says. STT is one of the world's oldest national news agencies still in operation. Its closure would make Finland an exception among Western countries, as most European countries still have a national news agency. The redundancy of skilled employees is also tragic. Varmavuori points out that the media sector has been in a difficult situation for a long time, with a record number of jobs lost in recent years. “The UJF is supporting its members in every way possible in this situation.” Avainsanat: journalists Marjaana Varmavuori UJF