Promoting democracy, pluralism
and vitality in society
Contributor to a sustainable society
Alma Media’s media brands are committed to defending freedom of speech and a pluralistic and democratic society. They engage in ethical, objective and transparent journalism and help citizens improve their media skills.
Other Alma Media services also strive to enhance the vitality of their communities and support the balanced development of society, often in cooperation with other organisations, educational institutes or other companies.
While the methods vary, the goal is the same: providing people with tools for sustainable growth in both professional and private life.
Contributor to a sustainable society
Let’s get along with each other
Alma Media and the Finnish Children and Youth Foundation organised a panel discussion at the SuomiAreena 2017 event in Pori with the title “Hate speech, fake media and antagonism – young people’s advice for Finns”.
As part of the discussion, a list of 10 instructions was published, based on an online survey of more than 1,000 upper comprehensive school students carried out during the previous spring.
In the spirit of the celebrations of Finland’s centenary of independence, the purpose of the instructions was to help all Finns continue to get along with each other through our next century, in spite of the world becoming more complex and presenting new challenges to us.
The discussion at the SuomiAreena event was part of broader cooperation between Alma Media and the Finnish Children and Youth Foundation, framed by a key partnership agreement that extends until the end of 2018. FCYF has also used the instructions from young people in various contexts in its own activities after the event.
An opposing force to fake news and hate speech
Responsible media companies must internalise how they can best support democracy and open dialogue between citizens.
One way to achieve this is to develop the ways editorial teams work and to open up this information to public scrutiny. Alma Media’s editorial teams have set quality goals for the content they publish. The key indicators used in monitoring their achievement include the number of condemnatory decisions by the Council for Mass Media as well as the results of reader surveys.
If the results decline, the editorial teams take action to respond.
Alma Media’s editorial offices also cooperate with schools in many ways. One of the focuses of this cooperation is media education. We consider it important for schools to produce children who have the capacity to act sensibly both as consumers and producers of content.
Interesting but not irresponsible
Headlines can be bold but they must not upset or insult anyone. Facts must be checked and false rumours exposed, states Iltalehti’s Editor-in-Chief Erja Yläjärvi.