The Impact of Media Concentration on Professional ... - OSCE

financial resources, the co-operators are able to make betteruse <strong>of</strong> editorial resources for content quality.Similar concepts apply in dealing with the advertisementindustry. A group <strong>of</strong> important papers <strong>of</strong>fers a common platformfor national and regional advertising packages. Anothergroup publishes a common weekly TV broadcasting schedulesupplement.Finnish media experts and publishers believe that concentrationand cross-ownership have largely contributed to maintaininga high level <strong>of</strong> pluralism and content diversity. “<strong>The</strong>Finnish market is too small to support a high number <strong>of</strong> smalland independent newspaper companies. Only by incorporatingsmaller media outlets into financially strong groups were weable to guarantee the ongoing existence <strong>of</strong> many titles which, inorder not to lose their readership, had to maintain not only theirtraditional character but their content individuality as well.”Whether this relaxed atmosphere can survive remains tobe seen. <strong>The</strong> benefits <strong>of</strong> the structural reforms <strong>of</strong> the 1980shave been used up. <strong>The</strong> domestic market doesn’t <strong>of</strong>fer anymore substantial growth potential for the four big companies.In addition, Swedish media groups are beginning to show anincreasing interest in the Finnish market. Consequently theFinnish media industry has crossed the borders into hithertounknown territory. For the first time in the Baltic States andother CEE countries, the Finnish media groups face the turbulences<strong>of</strong> international competition.Uncharted waters lay ahead for Finnish pr<strong>of</strong>essional journalism,which has, so far, proven to be extremely resilient tooutside pressure and attacks on its pr<strong>of</strong>essional standards andethics.118 THE IMPACT OF MEDIA CONCENTRATION ON PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISM