''Hufvudstadsbladet'' (abbr. ''HBL'') is the highest-circulation Swedish-language newspaper in

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, ...

. Its headquarters is located in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, the capital of Finland. The name of the newspaper translates approximately into "Journal of the Capital", ''hufvudstad'' (modern spelling ''huvudstad'') being the 19th-century Swedish spelling for ''capital''. The newspaper is informally also called ''Husis'' or ''Höblan''.

History and profile

''Hufvudstadsbladet'' was founded by in 1864, and the first edition was published on 5 December the same year. The founder was August Schauman. During the late 19th century, the paper was the highest-circulation newspaper in Finland. In 1920 the company ''Hufvudstadsbladets Förlag och Tryckeri AB'' was founded to operate the newspaper. The company's principal owner and chief executive officer was Amos Anderson, who would also serve as

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 newspaper between 1922 and 1936.

Konstsamfundet Föreningen Konstsamfundet (lit. "The Art Foundation Association") is a Finnish association with the goal of supporting the culture of the Swedish-speaking minority of Finland. It was founded in 1940 by '' vuorineuvos'' Amos Anderson, a newspaper ...

(approx. ''The Art Foundation''), founded by Andersson in 1940, took over ownership of ''Hufvudstadsbladet'' in 1945, and has wholly owned the newspaper since. Anna Kaila Snellman, a contributor of the paper, visited Italy in the late 1930s as a guest of the Fascist government, and the paper was asked by the Italians to publish articles in favor of the Fascist rule. ''Hufvudstadsbladet'' has an independent and liberal stance. It is owned by Foreningen Konstsamfundet Association and is published by the KSF Media Group. The group also publishes '' Västra Nyland'', '' Östra Nyland'', '' Hangötidningen'', '' Borgåbladet'' and '' Loviisan Sanomat''. One of the significant interviews published in ''Hufvudstadsbladet'' was with the

Swedish Prime Minister The prime minister of Sweden (, "minister of state") is the head of government of the Kingdom of Sweden. The prime minister and their cabinet (the government) exercise executive authority in the Kingdom of Sweden and are subject to the Parlia ...

Olof Palme Sven Olof Joachim Palme (; ; 30 January 1927 – 28 February 1986) was a Swedish politician and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1969 to 1976 and 1982 to 1986. Palme led the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1969 until as ...

in December 1984. In response to a question Palme stated that Swedish people would choose the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

in the next election because it represented the traditional policy of neutrality unlike the other parties in Sweden. His remarks caused tension in Sweden, and the Swedish paper, ''

Svenska Dagbladet (, "The Swedish Daily News"), abbreviated SvD, is a daily List of Swedish newspapers, newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. History and profile The first issue of appeared on 18 December 1884. During the beginning of the 1900s the pap ...

'', republished the interview and argued that Olof Palme should resign due to his answer. In the Spring of 2004 ''Hufvudstadsbladet'' changed its format 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. In the same year it became Finland's tenth highest circulating newspaper. In 2006 ''Hufvudstadsbladet'' was named Europe's Best Newspaper and awarded

European Newspaper Award European Newspaper Award is a design competition for European newspapers. The competition was founded and organized by newspaper designer Norbert Küpper from Meerbusch, Germany. He co-operates with the journalist magazines '' Medium Magazin'' ( ...

in the category of local paper plus. A weekly supplement called ''Vision'' (television and radio programming information) was distributed with the newspaper on Thursdays. From August 2006 to May 2010 ''HBL'' also published a full-colour weekly magazine called ''Volt'' with focus on lifestyle, features and photography. During its existence ''Volt'' was awarded more than 30 design prizes, much thanks to the visionary skills of AD Jesper Vuori. In January 2014 ''Hufvudstadsbladet'' started a digital evening edition, ''HBL Kväll'', which is updated daily at 4 pm. The newspaper is a member of MIDAS ( European Association of Daily Newspapers in Minority and Regional Languages).

Circulation

In 1900 ''Hufvudstadsbladet'' had a circulation of 17,500 copies. However, in the 1920s its circulation fell behind ''

Helsingin Sanomat , abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of the Finnish capital ...

'' and the gap between them continued in favor of the latter. In 1996 the circulation of ''Hufvudstadsbladet'' was 59,206 copies. The paper had a circulation of 36,719 copies in 2014.

References

External links

Hufvudstadsbladet's website
(in Swedish)

{{Authority control 1864 establishments in Finland Daily newspapers published in Finland Newspapers published in Helsinki Newspapers established in 1864 Swedish-language newspapers published in Finland