''Helsingin Sanomat'', abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, spor ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

and the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sw ...

, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of the Finnish capital,

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, where it is published. It is considered a

newspaper of record A newspaper of record is a major national newspaper with large circulation whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered authoritative and independent; they are thus "newspapers of record by reputation" and include some of the ...

for Finland.

History and profile

The paper was founded in 1889 as '' Päivälehti'', when Finland was a Grand Duchy under the

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

. 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. Its proprietors re-opened the paper under its current name in 1905. Founded as the organ of the

Young Finnish Party The Young Finnish Party or Constitutional-Fennoman Party ( fi, Nuorsuomalainen Puolue or ) was a liberal and nationalist political party in the Grand Duchy of Finland. It began as an upper-class reformist movement during the 1870s and formed as a ...

, the paper has been politically independent and non-aligned since 1932. During the Cold War period ''Helsingin Sanomat'' was among the Finnish newspapers which were accused by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

of being the instrument of US propaganda, and the Soviet Embassy in Helsinki frequently protested the editors of the paper. ''Helsingin Sanomat'' has a long history as a family business, owned by the Erkko family. It is currently owned by the Sanoma media group which also owns '' Ilta-Sanomat''. 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 The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

, Eljas Erkko was at the same time the paper's publisher and Finland's foreign minister. ''Helsingin Sanomat'' strongly advocated Finland joining the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

in the run-up to the decision to do so in 1994. It has also openly expressed support for Finland's membership of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

. In fact, it supports the participation of Finland in all Western institutions. Mikael Pentikäinen was the

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

until May 2013 when he was fired from the post. Riikka Venäläinen replaced him temporarily in the post. After Riikka Venäläinen the post has been held by Kaius Niemi. After the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. A ...

, the newspaper established a Russian language news website to cover the war. In May 2022, Russian authorities blocked access to the website of the newspaper.

Format

''Helsingin Sanomat'' is published daily in Finnish in

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format with the exception of the days after public holidays when the paper does not appear. Subscriptions make up 97% of the newspaper's circulation. The front page is usually devoted to advertisements. The newspaper was published in

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format until 6 January 2013. The paper also has a monthly supplement named ''Kuukausiliite'' (Finnish for ''Monthly Supplement''), and a weekly TV guide and entertainment-oriented supplement named ''

Nyt ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' (meaning ''Now'' in English). Between 1999 and 2012 there were also both Finnish and English-language

online newspaper An online newspaper (or electronic news or electronic news publication) is the online version of a newspaper, either as a stand-alone publication or as the online version of a printed periodical. Going online created more opportunities for newsp ...

editions. Content of ''Helsingin Sanomat'' can be accessed also through mobile devices.

Circulation and influence

The circulation of ''Helsingin Sanomat'' was 476,163 copies in 1993, making it the most read newspaper in Finland. In the period of 1995–96 the paper sold 470,600 copies. Its circulation was 446,380 copies in 2001, making it the largest paper in the country. In 2008 the paper sold 412,421 on weekdaysFinnish Audit Bureau of Circulations Statistics
(a change of −1.8% from 2007) and 468,505 copies on Sundays (−1.3%). In 2011 the daily had a circulation of 365,994 copies, making it the most read paper in the country. The same year it was also the largest paper in terms of readership. Approximately 75% of households in the Greater Helsinki region subscribe to ''Helsingin Sanomat'', and it functions as the region's local paper. 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

. This reaches about 14% of all households in Finland. The paper is a significant factor in Finnish society and in public opinion. Pertti Klemola, a Finnish journalist and scholar, once called it a state authority, an institution with its own independent social and political will. In June 2009 the site was the sixth most popular Finnish website. In 2010 it was the seventh most visited website in Finland in 2010 and was visited by 1,236,527 people per week.

''Helsingin Sanomat International Edition''

The English-language section of the ''Helsingin Sanomat'' website, the ''Helsingin Sanomat International Edition'' (''HSIE''), ran for thirteen years. The ''International Edition'' launched on 14 September 1999 with the aim of informing readers of news from Finland during the Finnish

presidency of the European Union The official title President of the European Union (or President of Europe) does not exist, but there are a number of presidents of European Union institutions, including: * the President of the European Council (since 1 December 2019, Charles ...

. It continued after the European presidency owing to the quantity of readers it was getting became one of the major English-language sources of news regarding Finland—making it popular with English-speaking immigrants to the country. The ''Helsingin Sanomat International Edition'' closed down on 26 October 2012. English material is now published in cooperation with ''

Helsinki Times ''Helsinki Times'' is the first English language daily online newspaper in Finland providing news about Finland and the world for English-speaking readers resident in the country. A weekly printed edition was issued between 2007 and 2015. Histo ...

'' weekly newspaper. For a while, ''Helsingin Sanomat'' also published some of its material in Russian, but the service was discontinued on 6 October 2014.Русскоязычный сайт ”Хельсингин Саномат” закрывается.
5 October 2014.

References

External links

Helsingin Sanomat

Helsingin Sanomat International Edition (English)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helsingin Sanomat 1905 establishments in Finland Daily newspapers published in Finland Finnish-language newspapers Newspapers published in Helsinki Liberal media Publications established in 1905