''Aamulehti'' ( Finnish for "morning newspaper") is a Finnish-language

daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, 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 poli ...

published in

Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. Established in 1881 by Finnish patriots in Tampere, the newspaper aimed to bolster the Finnish language and

people The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

's identity during Russia's reign over Finland. Throughout the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, ''Aamulehti'' was accused by the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

of spreading US

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

, leading to protests from the Soviet Embassy in Helsinki. In the 1980s, the newspaper's parent company acquired and later closed down '' Uusi Suomi''. In 2014, ''Aamulehti'' transitioned from

broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of in height. Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper ...

to tabloid format. Until 1992, the newspaper aligned with the National Coalition Party, but it is no longer politically affiliated. Ownership shifted from Aamulehti Corporation to Alma Media in 2003. In 2020, Sanoma corporation acquired Alma Media, thereby assuming ownership of ''Aamulehti''. ''Aamulehtis content includes regular features and supplements like "Moro" for Tampere's culture, "Valo" for entertainment, and "Asiat" and "Ihmiset" for Sunday readers. The newspaper also explores journalism innovation regularly. Circulation-wise, ''Aamulehtis growth was notable, peaking in 2008 when it consistently ranked among Finland's top newspapers. However, circulation figures have varied over time. By 2014, it held the second-largest circulation in Finland. The online version also attracts significant traffic, making it one of the most visited websites in the country by 2010.

History and profile

''Aamulehti'' was founded in 1881 to "improve the position of the Finnish people and the Finnish language" during

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

's rule over Finland. The founders were nationalistic

Finns Finns or Finnish people (, ) are a Baltic Finns, Baltic Finnic ethnic group native to Finland. Finns are traditionally divided into smaller regional groups that span several countries adjacent to Finland, both those who are native to these cou ...

in Tampere. During the Cold War period ''Aamulehti'' was among the Finnish newspapers which were accused by the

of being the instrument of US propaganda, and the Soviet Embassy in Helsinki frequently protested the editors of the paper. In the 1980s, Aamulehti Corporation acquired the paper '' Uusi Suomi'', which they shut down in 1991. ''Aamulehti'' was published in broadsheet format until April 2014 when the paper switched to tabloid format. Matti Apunen 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 editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of the paper until 2010. The paper is based in Tampere and serves the Pirkanmaa region. Until 1992 the paper aligned itself with the National Coalition Party, but it no longer has an official connection to any political party. Aamulehti Corporation was the owner of ''Aamulehti'' until 2003 when the paper was acquired by Alma Media, a large media corporation in Finland, for a reported 460 million euros. In 2020, the Sanoma corporation acquired Alma Media, and thus, also ''Aamulehti''. Since 2006 ''Aamulehti'' has published four weekly supplements — ''Moro'' (meaning "Hi", in the dialect of the Tampere region, and devoted to the culture of Tampere), on Thursdays; the entertainment-centred ''Valo'' ("Light"), published on Fridays; ''Asiat'' ("Matters"), on Sundays; and ''Ihmiset'' ("People"), also on Sundays. The paper covers journalism innovation at least once a month.

Circulation

Peaking in 2008, ''Aamulehti'' grew steadily, regularly reporting the third-highest newspaper circulation numbers in Finland. The circulation was 135,194 copies in 1993, reaching 135,478 copies in 2001. By 2004 the paper had an average daily circulation of 136,028 copies per day and 140,802 copies on Sundays, with an estimated readership of 329,000. ''Aamulehtis circulation was 136,743 copies in 2005; 138,258 copies (2006); 139,165 copies (2007) — reaching a high-water mark of 139,130 copies in 2008, then declining to 135,293 copies in 2009; 131,539 copies (2010); 130,081 copies (2011); and 114,231 copies in 2013. By 2014 ''Aamulehti'' had Finland's second-largest circulation and had the fifth-largest estimated readership. In 2010, with 262,947 weekly visitors, the online version of ''Aamulehti'' was the twenty-third most visited website in Finland.

Controversies

Aamulehti deleted 551 stories written by a long time reporter Matti Kuusela. The stories were deleted after Kuusela admitted in his memoir that he had made up parts of his writings over the years.

Editors

* F. V. Jalander (1881–1884) * Kaarlo Viljakainen (1884–1905) * Aukusti Alhovuori (1905–1912) * Eetu A. Alha (1913–1926) * Jaakko Tuomikoski (1931–1956) * Jaakko Hakala (1956–1964) * Raino Vehmas (1971–1979) * Pertti Pesonen (1979–1990) * Raimo Seppälä (1991–1998) * Matti Apunen (1998; 2000–2010) * Jouko Jokinen (2010–present)

References

External links