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In Focus
Pandemic and Public Service
Media: Lessons from Finland
MINNA ASLAMA HOROWITZ, University of Helsinki, Finland;
email: minna.aslama@helsinki.fi
RITVA LEINO, Yle, Finnish Broadcasting Company, Finland; email: ritva.leino@yle.fi
18
10.2478/bsmr-2020-0003BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2020 / VOLUME 8 / IN FOCUS
ABSTRACT
This essay discusses the global context of public commu-
nication during COVID-19, as well as some specific lessons
learned from public service media (PSM), specifically
from the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yleisradio,
Yle). We address the role of PSM as a national informa-
tion channel during crises and as a sustainable element
in the media system, points to the need to understand its
role beyond news and to develop new interactive alterna-
tives to global platforms, and calls for PSM organisations
to address its audience – not as consumers – but as people
with needs for information, entertainment, learning and
meaningful interactions.
THE FRAGILITY OF PUBLIC We offer an overview of the global context
COMMUNICATION of public communication during COVID-19,
We live in fragile times but cannot blame as well as some specific lessons learned by
the pandemic alone. COVID-19 not only has the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yleis-
created, but also accentuated and revealed, radio, Yle), to highlight the most important
many economic, political and cultural chal- lessons for PSM. That is, the role of PSM
lenges in our societies. One of them is the as a national icon and as a sustainable
state of public communication. element in the media system, the need
The problems of today’s communica- to understand its role beyond news and
tion reality are fuelled by the marriage of to develop new interactive alternatives to
two tendencies; that of diminishing trust in global platforms, and the imperative of PSM
knowledge-producing institutions, and the to listen to its audiences not as consumers
viral spread of disinformation and misinfor- but as people with information, entertain-
mation. These phenomena existed globally ment, learning and meaningful interaction
before March 2020, developing over dec- needs.
ades. The past months have made it clear,
however, that if we care about functioning GLOBAL INFODEMIC,
democracy we must act promptly and crea- FEW GLOBAL SOLUTIONS
tively to strengthen the currently fragile General trust in social and political insti-
communication systems and practices. tutions, including legacy news media, has
Contrary to mainstream arguments declined for years and, in some cases, for
about the redundancy of public service decades (Edelman 2020). Worldwide, gov-
broadcasting (PSB) and its multi-platform ernments are considered the least trans-
variant, PSM; in an era of infinite content parent and least ethical of all institutions,
supply, we argue that it is high time to followed by the media. Yet, a functioning
utilise the brand value, the (relative) inde- democracy is based on an informed and
pendence and the creative talent much active citizenship that relies on public infor-
PSM possesses and can develop – if we are mation, equally available to all citizens, to
allowed and given the resources to do so. form opinions and to make decisions. While
19BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2020 / VOLUME 8 / IN FOCUS
spontaneous communities of care, connec- and Instagram temporarily banning ads
tion and localised information have quickly marketing false treatments or exploiting
grown online and in social media in the the demand for face masks (Lyons 2020),
past weeks,1 so have misinformation, hate- or Twitter deleting accounts related to the
ful and xenophobic speech and confusion. QAnon conspiracy theories (Conger 2020) –
Governments and specific groups are being are not enough to restrict bad actors from
blamed for the crisis all around the globe distributing harmful, false information.
(Frenkel et al. 2020). As an outgrowth of their business models,
Alarms have gone off internationally. the platforms continue to contribute to the
For example, the World Health Organization infodemics, even when simultaneously try-
(WHO) has publicly noted how it has been ing to curb health misinformation with cam-
battling the virus but also an ‘infodemic,’ paigns, grants, hackathons, international
including ‘the trolls and conspiracy theories and national collaborations with govern-
that undermine [its] response’ (BBC 2020). ments and other stakeholders, and so on
Human Rights Watch (2020) lists cases (Skopeliti, John 2020).
where governments have failed to com- The above examples point to the ‘infor-
municate transparently about the corona- mation disorder’ (Wardle, Derakshan 2017)
virus and has stressed the importance of and structural flaws of media systems in
freedom of expression and access to the which no major social media platform is for
internet, as well as of ongoing in-depth and the public interest or free from commercial
trustworthy information and respect for the imperatives. PSM that has been challenged
privacy of health data. The Committee to by commercial and political actors, even in
Protect Journalists has reported on ongo- mature PSM countries (Dragomir, Horowitz
ing censorship of news of the pandemic and 2020), now seem like the most obvious and
related threats against journalists around sustainable remedy.
the world (Committee to Protect Journalists The first lesson from the pandemic
n.d.). The Council of Europe’s Human Rights era for PSM is by no means specific to
Commissioner has urged member states Yle but pertains to structural solutions to
to ensure that the forms of communication the fragility of public communication in
used are reaching all citizens (Council of most media systems. We posit that PSM
Europe 2020). is not made obsolete by the current limit-
Yet it seems there are few global solu- less and cacophonic media landscape but
tions to the global infodemic. Global con- is a necessary counterpoint to chaos in
spiracy theories about the causes and cures that context. While the pandemic is global,
of COVID-19 spread, and metamorphose, countermeasures fall on national govern-
like a virus (Paul 2020). Everything is being ments that are more or less transparent in
questioned. Even the accidental Facebook their information dissemination. Accord-
bug that censored legitimate COVID-19 ingly, related reporting and holding those in
news was quickly interpreted as a deceptive power accountable are the responsibilities
act (Peters 2020). of national news outlets. But there is even
It is indeed ironic that while COVID-19 more work for PSM. Lockdowns, resulting in
is a global crisis, the global platforms that virtual working and schooling, have proven
were once hailed as great communication the centrality of the classic Reithian pub-
equalisers and harbingers of democratisa- lic broadcasting mandates in our lives. Not
tion everywhere have become skilful ‘atten- only information, but also education and
tion merchants’ (Wu 2016). Corporate self- entertainment, are essential tasks of PSM
governance measures – such as Facebook organisations in serving citizens.
1 See, for example, the global initiative: coronavirus- PSM IN FINLAND:
techhandbook.com. (n.d.). Coronavirus Tech Handbook. AN IRREPLACEABLE BRAND
https://coronavirustechhandbook.com/home.
(23 March 2020). A closer look at the Finnish Broadcasting
20BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2020 / VOLUME 8 / IN FOCUS
Company, Yle, reveals that the importance online news stories saw an increase in traf-
of PSM during the pandemic is not only fic of some 50 percent. Yle’s own streaming
a normative aspiration but is verified by service, Areena, also witnessed an increase
impressive audience figures. An overview of almost one third among the audience
of news audiences from a total of 29 mem- segment of under 45-year-olds.
bers of the European Broadcasting Union A national survey on trust and the
(EBU) shows that the average viewing share media in April – May 2020 (Matikainen
of PSM evening news was up 20 percent in et al. 2020) found that Finns trust tradi-
March 2020 compared to the first quarter tional outlets more than social media for
of viewing in 2019. Also, younger audiences COVID-19 news. When it comes to official
started to tune in, with an average increase pandemic-related news and information,
of 44 percent, from 2019. The daily online Finnish residents had high levels of trust
reach and PSM’s YouTube reach peaked in authorities. Confidence in legacy news
in mid-March, 2020 (EBU 2020.) Yle is no media reliability was also strong, accord-
exception. Arguably, its significant role in ing to the survey. Roughly 60 percent of
public communication during the pandemic respondents said they thought news out-
is a given, based on its central role in Finn- lets were generally reliable, and an unprec-
ish society in general. Yle hosts three televi- edented 90 percent said the Finnish Broad-
sion channels, one of which includes both casting Company was either “fairly” or “very”
the cultural channel Teema and the Swed- reliable.
ish-language channel Fem. It also offers According to the study (Matikainen
six radio channels as well as Yle Areena, a et al. 2020), the levels of trustworthiness
highly popular streaming service of its own. that Finns assigned to scientists and doc-
In 2019, Yle’s television channels accounted tors, the Finnish Institute for Health and
for 44 percent of the yearly audience share Welfare, and the media in general were high
(Finnpanel 2019), and 96 percent of Finns compared to similar results from around
accessed one of Yle’s services at least once the world (Nielsen et al. 2020). Even so, the
a week (Yle 2019). The broadcasting and trust in Yle as a specific media outlet is
online news of the Finnish Broadcasting remarkable, especially when almost 25 per-
Company are considered to be amongst the cent of Finnish respondents noted they had
top news brands in the country (Newman encountered misleading information in the
et al. 2020). media [a figure close to that of the United
Yle is for all Finns, not only according States]. The nationwide legacy commercial
to its mission statements, but also as veri- news outlets closest to Yle’s almost perfect
fied by research. According to a recent study reliability score were the Helsingin Sanomat
of public media news in eight European daily (76 percent of respondents) and the
countries, most PSMs, including Yle, are MTV Uutiset outlet (74 percent of respond-
successful at reaching politically diverse ents) (Matikainen et al. 2020: 84–95).
audiences (Schulz et al. 2019: 23). The suc- Based on this data, the second lesson
cess and quality of Yle’s programmes and from the case of the Finnish Broadcasting
services is partly a result of its resources. Company is the enduring brand recognition
Yle is still well-funded and its net turnover of an established PSM organisation and the
in 2019 was €478m, a high figure in a coun- hunger of audiences during crisis to trust
try of 5.5 million inhabitants. Moreover, Yle’s one source of information instead of shop-
funding level has not changed in recent ping for facts from various sources. Recent
years (Yle 2019). studies suggest that such recognition is
In spring 2020, Yle held the attention central to building the overall societal trust
of almost the entire population. News, live that is necessary in crisis management, as
broadcasts and online articles on COVID-19 well as a contributing factor to resilience
gathered the largest audiences. Online against disinformation (Hamerlees et al.
services grew significantly in popularity and 2020; Humprecht et al. 2020). Or, as Tony
21BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2020 / VOLUME 8 / IN FOCUS
Hall of the BBC put it in a speech in August could not be circumvented, hitting Yle in
2020 (BBC Media Centre 2020): April 2020. Studies show that the initial
boom in COVID-19-related news consump-
The forces of disinformation tion was followed by news avoidance (Bae-
and social media tend to feed on kdal 2020). This was seen in the UK and the
fracture and drive polarisation. USA, for instance, partly due to audiences’
perceptions of politically polarising cover-
They’re often specifically age (Mitchell et al. 2020). These tenden-
designed to exploit division for cies went hand-in-hand with more general
commercial or political gain; to attitudes and actions to the extent that,
unsettle societies or undermine in autumn 2020, the WHO became worried
democracy. about Europe, saying that, along with
rising infection rates in different parts of
What we do, as a PSB, is a force in the world, there were also clear signs of
the opposite direction. ‘pandemic fatigue’ (Roberts 2020).
It may be no surprise that audiences
CHALLENGES: NEWS FATIGUE grew tired of the constant news of infection
It would be naive to argue that every PSM rates and repeated reports of changing offi-
organisation is perfectly equipped to cial responses to the crisis. Several interna-
address all crises of public communication, tional studies point to multiple reasons for
even the well-established, well-resourced this; that news about the pandemic tended
and much-loved Finnish Broadcasting to be depressing and often left audiences
Company. While the early months of the feeling powerless, and that many people
pandemic may have reconfirmed the value simply find news – including COVID-19
of PSM, it also highlighted the fragilities of reporting – sensational and misleading
these organisations. One pertains to the (Bedingfield 2020). This is echoed in a Finn-
access to trusted knowledge in the times of ish study of trust in the media (Matikainen
a new, unknown crisis, and the other illus- et al. 2020) that revealed a firmly critical
trates the new demands for bringing people attitude by audiences regarding the com-
together in the digital era of platforms. mercial imperatives of news outlets which,
As documented in a study on trust some respondents of qualitative interviews
in Finnish media (Matikainen et al. 2020), feared, would force Yle to compete with
the uncertainties of the pandemic have similar values and clickbait journalism.
posed significant challenges to journalism In the aforementioned survey of
because new discoveries and developments COVID-19 news in spring 2020, audiences
have occurred daily. When basic trust exists, found news media in general to be help-
even if information about the virus is chang- ful in understanding the pandemic. At the
ing, people are likely to trust the intent, the same time, the majority of respondents also
agenda, of an institution that is consid- noted that the information they received
ered reliable (Hameleers et al. 2020). This on the official national approach was con-
seemed to be the case with Yle, at least. fusing. Even more worrisome was that 43
However, focusing on excellence in percent of Finns felt that the news media
news is a double-edged sword for PSM. At had exaggerated the impact of COVID-19
the beginning of the pandemic, audiences’ (Matikainen et al. 2020). While Yle may have
hunger for news was insatiable. Increase received a record score in trust early in the
in news audiences and impressive levels of pandemic crisis, growing desensitisation,
trust in PSM in Finland, and in many other disinterest and even distrust can spill over
PSM contexts, were an initial result of the to even the most revered news source. The
crisis. Even when a major competitor of Yle, third takeaway, then, is that for news media
national daily Helsingin Sanomat, praised and journalism outlets during a prolonged
Yle’s coverage (Kanerva 2020), news fatigue crisis, the challenge is not only in mere
22BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2020 / VOLUME 8 / IN FOCUS
trustworthiness, but in their ongoing cannot compete. While some PSM organi-
ability to communicate news in new, engag- sations offer their own streaming services,
ing ways (Bedingfield 2020) without falling they do not host specific platforms for
into the trap of clickbait journalism. PSM interactions.
organisations are, at least in theory, in a This is in part because, so far, PSM has
position where such innovations can be been more of a buzzword and less of a spe-
made without consideration for audience cific model featuring public media organi-
ratings, the idea of public value can be sations beyond broadcasting, such as pro-
seen as a measurement of success (Suárez viders of alternative social media platforms.
Candel 2020). PSBs that offer (and are able to offer) a
variety of digital services have experienced
CHALLENGES: a mixed bag of restrictions and support
NEED FOR INTERACTION for digital innovations (Syvertsen, Aslama
While Yle excelled in serving its news audi- 2006).
ence early on, like other media it faced the To be sure, it would be difficult to com-
challenges of the lockdown. Information, pete with the reach of popular global plat-
diversion and uplifting content were also forms. Their reach is undeniable, especially
in demand. Restrictions to face-to-face, (if not only) among young people (Schulz et
in-person interactions and work and leisure al. 2019). Yet, PSM as a participant in the
events intensified the importance of con- ‘surveillance capitalism’ (Zuboff 2019) of
necting via digital means. Unfortunately, the global giants is problematic. The ques-
global platforms and apps have been the tion is about the heritage concept of univer-
winners of attention and use in this regard. salism (Savage et al. 2020). Today, it seems,
A report on internet usage changes universal reach can only be achieved by sur-
during COVID-19 in the United States rendering to the commercial imperatives of
(Koeze, Popper 2020) illustrates the dra- social media networks, including participa-
matic impact of the COVID-19 crisis in digi- tory modes geared towards data collection,
tal modalities of interaction. For instance, and creating a PSM presence on TikTok and
average daily traffic to Facebook, Netflix Twitter alike. A related challenge in Finland,
and YouTube increased by one sixth from as in many other countries, is that trust in
mid-January to late March. Famously, social media platforms has decreased dra-
despite various concerns over its privacy matically over the past decade (Matikainen
and security measures, Zoom became an et al. 2020). This signifies that audiences
extremely popular video conferencing app are getting healthily cautious but also, in
for replacing educational and workplace relation to PSM, that their contents are
meetings. The user base of Microsoft Teams confused with the latest hoaxes and other
also increased rapidly in March. At the same disinformation found in untrustworthy con-
time, daily traffic to Twitch.tv (a website texts online.
that streams online gaming) and the TikTok The fourth lesson, then, highlights the
video sharing app also grew significantly. universalist mission and its ongoing impor-
Although these statistics describe the tance; perhaps even the need for exten-
situation in the US, the realities in many sion rather than narrowing the mandates of
countries have, arguably, been similar. PSM. To us, it seems obvious that PSM as a
Social media won the popularity contest for model must be taken seriously, not only as
public communication during spring 2020, a relic of the broadcasting era with digital
and that poses a challenge for PSM. These presence limitations, but as a truly multi-
sites and apps are global and commercial. platform organisation. Virtual interaction
Social networking and interaction sites will most likely not cease, even if and when
offer limiting, almost uniform, ways of get- the pandemic does. There is clearly a need
ting and staying in touch. Few alternatives for the free, innovative and secure options
are still inclusive, without a paywall. PSM for digital social interaction that PSM could
23BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2020 / VOLUME 8 / IN FOCUS
offer. The BBC, for instance, is experiment- a test laboratory, an opportunity to rethink
ing with such ideas in its Public Service and innovate in a situation where the crisis
Internet project. is not over but creating a new normal, the
details of which are still unknown. That is
YLE’S COGNIZANCE FOR why PSM organisations should invest more
COMING TIMES proactively in content and services that
How did Yle specifically address the above provide interaction and collaboration with
challenges, and what strategies and tac- and among audiences.
tics seemed to work? An internal analysis
of content and delivery value from a user- COVID-19 AND CONSTANT
needs perspective highlights the following CHANGE
aspects: COVID-19 may indeed be a stress test for
Audiences’ demands shifted rapidly many changes to come. Serious global
when the pandemic progressed. Informa- problems abound. As Rasmus Kleis Nielsen
tion needs diminished when educational of the Reuters Institute at Oxford University
and entertainment needs grew. The lock- (2020) posits, regarding the BBC, the world
down created demand for educational con- has changed and is changing faster than
tent, and Yle responded promptly. Yle also the broadcaster. This is not only a challenge
added children’s and music programming, in terms of audience demands and ratings
as well as nostalgic hit programmes, into but also, more broadly, in terms of the value
its offering. of PSM to society.
Yet, perhaps unexpectedly, Yle’s social Robust PSM organisations counter
media activities with interactive live pres- societal fragility by supporting freedom of,
ence and uplifting content were found to and access to, information, sustainable
be the modality that truly met the needs for forms of quality journalism, culture inde-
connection and togetherness. Radio offered pendent of market forces, and a robust,
plenty of programming with audience democratic media system as a whole. In the
engagement, but not engagement between case of the US, it has even been suggested
audience members. Similarly, TV program- that the only way to rebuild trust in journal-
ming used its means for inclusion and ism is to create a true BBC-style PSM
social cohesion, but those cannot replace system in the country (Pan 2020).
peer-to-peer interaction. In this essay, we have gone even
The internal analysis concluded that further and argued that PSM must take its
merely adding volume to programming – multidimensional role in public communi-
whether informational, educational or cation seriously. It must be the communica-
entertaining – is not enough. Audiences/ tive first responder and change its course
users demand ever-better and tailored with the needs of the citizens. But, as Emily
content and services that position them as Bell of Columbia University (Hofseth 2018)
co-creators, not as passive spectators. declared a few years ago:
The fifth, strategic, takeaway is that
PSM organisations must focus even more [R]ight now, there is almost
intensely on audiences’ needs and be willing nothing more important than
to act accordingly, and fast. The experiences having robust public service
at Yle align with general observations about media available to citizens.
newsrooms that have thrived during and (...)
after COVID-19 and other crises (Trewinnard Existing political systems and
2020). That is, organisations with the agility public service broadcasters need
to create new services according to audi- to be free to imagine the kinds
ences’ needs, and with the commensurate of information ecosystems that
ability to engage and keep those audiences, they’d want at the nation/state
are the winners. For Yle, spring 2020 was level and then real freedom to
24BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2020 / VOLUME 8 / IN FOCUS
experiment with and find new with the EU Commission, claiming that Yle’s
paths to deliver that. online textual content is in conflict with EU
state aid rules. Three years later, the Min-
Much of the future of public communication istry – after unpublicised discussions with
rests on PSM organisations themselves. the Commission – considered amending
PSM organisations, even Yle, cannot remain the Act on Yleisradio accordingly, to limit
comfortable and complacent due to their its text-based web content (Yle 2020). In
success during the pandemic. The shift practice, this would mean less competi-
from the licence fee to tax-based funding tion to commercial online news providers,
for PSM in many countries allows relatively but also an old-fashioned understanding of
easy changes to PSM budgets (Public Media the current multimedia ecosystem where,
Alliance 2019). Populism is alive and feed- in practice, different formats merge seam-
ing on the pandemic, PSM organisations lessly. It would also signify narrow services
tend to be demonised by populist politics for certain linguistic and other minority
(Simon 2019), and indeed, past develop- groups. In other words, the proposal points
ments in countries such as Australia, to something quite different than support-
Denmark, Switzerland and the UK indicate ing dynamic and innovative service to the
significant political hostility towards PSM. public.
During these times of economic downturn, Research shows that PSM can, unfor-
political volatility, and fierce global and tunately, be politicised and used in various
national competition in media markets, ways as a symbol, whether of bias, waste-
PSM will be targeted. ful public spending or quality content and
Indeed, in June 2020, after all Yle’s trustworthy information in the midst of
successes during the pandemic in spring, chaos and crisis (Dragomir, Horowitz 2020).
the Ministry of Transport and Communica- This is precisely why PSM must remain vigi-
tions proposed a new amendment to the lant and maintain its image as a constant
law governing PSB. The Finnish Media Fed- trusted partner for audiences’ information,
eration (an advocacy organisation for pri- education, entertainment, interaction and
vate companies in the media and printing open learning, in different formats and
industries) had filed a complaint in 2017 platforms – during and after pandemics.
25BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2020 / VOLUME 8 / IN FOCUS
Image capture: Unoccupied (Toimettomat) documentary series on Yle’s own
streaming service Areena followed young people’s lives with the focus
on mental health during the lockdown in Spring 2020.
26BALTIC SCREEN MEDIA REVIEW 2020 / VOLUME 8 / IN FOCUS
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