Helsingin Sanomat

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Helsingin Sanomat

Type	Daily newspaper
Format	Tabloid^[1]
Owner(s)	Sanoma
Editor	Riikka Venäläinen
Founded	1889 as Päivälehti 1905 as Helsingin Sanomat
Political alignment	Neutral
Language	Finnish
Headquarters	Helsinki, Finland
Official website	www.hs.fi

Helsingin Sanomat, abbreviated HS and colloquially known as Hesari, is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. In 2008, its daily circulation was 412,421 on weekdays^[2] (a change of −1.8% from 2007) and 468,505 on Sundays (−1.3%). Its name derives from that of the Finnish capital, Helsinki, where it is published.

The Helsingin Sanomat website HS.fi is one of the most important sources of news in Finnish on the web. In June 2009 the site was the sixth most popular Finnish website.^[3]

History

The paper was founded in 1889 as Päivälehti, when Finland was a Grand Duchy under the Tsar of Russia.^[4]

Political censorship by the Russian authorities, prompted by the paper's strong advocacy of greater Finnish freedoms and even outright independence, forced Päivälehti to often temporarily suspend publication, and finally to close permanently in 1904.^[5] Its proprietors re-opened the paper under its current name in 1905.^[6]

Originally founded as the organ of the Young Finnish Party, the paper has been politically independent and non-aligned since the 1930s.

Helsingin Sanomat has a long history as a family business, owned by the Erkko family.^[7]

It is currently owned by the Sanoma media group.

The relationship between the owners of Helsingin Sanomat and Finland's government have sometimes been close. For instance, during the run-up to the Winter War, Eljas Erkko was at the same time the paper's publisher and Finland's foreign minister.

Format

The paper is published daily in Finnish in tabloid format with the exception of the days after public holidays when the paper does not appear. The only exception to this is the day after Finnish independence day (7 December) when the revenue from Christmas advertising ensures an edition after that public holiday. Subscriptions make up 97% of the newspaper's circulation^[2] and the lack of a need to attract casual readers on newsstands had led to the front page usually being totally devoted to advertisements. (However, a few events have been important enough to be reported on the front page, without any advertisements.)

The paper also has a monthly supplement named Kuukausiliite (Finnish for "Monthly Supplement"), and a weekly TV guide and entertainment-oriented supplement named Nyt ("Now"). Between 1999 and 2012 there were also both Finnish and English-language online newspaper editions.^[8]

The newspaper was published in broadsheet format until 6 January, 2013.^[1]

Helsingin Sanomat is published daily for the iPad. iPad version of Helsingin Sanomat resembles the newspaper's traditional version but is optimized for the tablet device. Content of Helsingin Sanomat can be accessed through other mobile devices as well.

Circulation and influence

In the period of 1995-96 Helsingin Sanomat had a circulation of 470,600 copies.^[9] The paper has a penetration of approximately 75% of the households of the Greater Helsinki region, and also functions as the local paper of the region (together with Swedish-language Hufvudstadsbladet). Its total daily circulation is well over 400,000, or about 8% of Finland's total population, making it the biggest daily subscription newspaper in the Nordic countries.

The paper is a significant factor in Finnish society. Pertti Klemola, a Finnish journalist and scholar, once called it a state authority, an institution with its own independent social and political will.^[10]

Helsingin Sanomat strongly advocated Finland joining the European Union in the run-up to the decision to do so in 1994. It has also openly expressed support for Finland's membership of NATO.^{[citation needed]}