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Alma Media plans to change Pohjolan Sanomat into Lapin Kansa

Alma Media Corporation        Press release                               8 March 2017 at 12:00 noon 

ALMA MEDIA PLANS TO CHANGE POHJOLAN SANOMAT INTO LAPIN KANSA 

Alma Media is planning to merge its two daily newspaper titles published in Lapland, Lapin Kansa and Pohjolan Sanomat, to create one media brand of Lapin Kansa. The plan is to continue publishing a newspaper six days a week in the Kemi-Tornio (Sea Lapland) area and a digital media service by the name Lapin Kansa. 

The operations of Pohjolan Sanomat and Lapin Kansa—editorial work, advertisement sales and production—were consolidated two years ago. The content of the two newspapers has been largely shared. The Pohjolan Sanomat newspaper has been published as the second edition of Lapin Kansa in Kemi-Tornio area. Alma Media plans to end the second edition that has slightly different content and discontinue using the name Pohjolan Sanomat, also in digital.

“Regional administration is advancing strongly in Finland. Social and health care services will be managed regionally, also in Lapland. Many operators, such as universities of applied sciences and business associations, have already joined forces on a regional basis. Focusing the regional media in Lapland into one, strong brand that holds to its vitality in the digital transformation and speaks also for Sea Lapland is a natural choice,” says Antti Kokkonen, Senior Editor-in-Chief of Lapin Kansa and Pohjolan Sanomat.

Kari Juutilainen, Senior Vice President of Alma Regions, says that the number of subscribers and advertisers in the Kemi-Tornio area is not high enough to make publishing an independent newspaper six days a week profitable, even though the respected brand is more than 100 years old. 

“We have tried to make Pohjolan Sanomat profitable as a business by joint operations and reducing the publication dates. However, the newspaper has been heavily loss-making for almost ten years. The aim of the current solution is to build the future of one healthy regional media brand, both in print and as a developing digital media service,” Juutilainen says.

The planned renewal would mean that the subscribers of Pohjolan Sanomat would receive their newspaper and digital services under the Lapin Kansa brand that serves the entire region of Lapland. Town papers Lounais-Lappi and Uusi Rovaniemi would be published as usual.

All the employees of Lapin Kansa, Uusi Rovaniemi, Pohjolan Sanomat and Lounais-Lappi have been today invited to statutory personnel negotiations in respect of the structural change plan. According to the employer’s estimate, if the plan is implemented, potential repercussions may lead to staff reductions of no more than 17 person-years for the Lapland newspapers. The statutory personnel negotiations affect approximately 91 employees.

The total circulation of printed Lapin Kansa and Pohjolan Sanomat was 36,685 in 2016 and the number of readers 93,000. The circulation decreased by seven percent from the previous year. The number of readers for the printed newspaper decreased by three per cent. The number of subscribers for the digital Lapin Kansa has grown gradually and is now ten percent of all subscriptions. 

Alma Regions publishes two other regional papers in addition to Lapin Kansa and Pohjolan Sanomat, namely Aamulehti and Satakunnan Kansa. The company’s newspaper portfolio also includes local and town papers around Finland. The town papers published in Lapland are Uusi Rovaniemi and Lounais-Lappi in Kemi-Tornio. The Regions unit also includes the printing press and distribution house Alma Manu Oy. 

For more information, please contact: 

Kari Juutilainen
Senior Vice President, Alma Regions
 

Tel. +358 50 435 4159

Antti Kokkonen
Editor-in-Chief, Lapin Kansa and Pohjolan Sanomat
Tel. +358 50 343 0379

 

Alma Media in brief

Alma Media is a media company focusing on the service business and journalistic content. The company’s best-known brands are Kauppalehti, Talouselämä, Affärsvärlden, Iltalehti, Aamulehti, Etuovi.com and Monster. Alma Media builds sustainable growth for its customers by utilising the opportunities of digitality, including information services, system and expert services and advertising solutions. Alma Media’s operations have expanded from Finland to the Nordic countries, the Baltics and Central Europe. Alma Media employs approximately 2,300 professionals (excluding delivery personnel), of whom approximately 30% work outside Finland. Alma Media’s revenue in 2016 was EUR 353.2 million. Alma Media’s share is listed on NASDAQ Helsinki. Read more at www.almamedia.com.

  • Published: 8.3.2017, 12:00
  • Category: Press release, Releases

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