Helsingin Sanomat

Infobox_Newspaper
name =


type = Daily newspaper
format = Broadsheet
foundation = 1889 as Päivälehti
1905 as Helsingin Sanomat
owners = SanomaWSOY
language = Finnish
political = Neutral
headquarters = Helsinki
editor = Janne Virkkunen
website = [http://www.hs.fi www.hs.fi]

"Helsingin Sanomat" is the biggest subscription newspaper in Finland. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. In 2006, its daily circulation was 426,117 on weekdays [ [http://www.levikintarkastus.fi/english/statistics.php Finnish Audit Bureau of Circulations Statistics] ] (a change of −1.1% from 2005) and 476,211 on Sundays (−1.4%). Its name derives from that of the Finnish capital, Helsinki, where it is published.

In Finland, the paper's name is often abbreviated "HS". Colloquially, it was called "Hesa" in the past and "Hesari" today.

History

The paper was founded in 1889 as Päivälehti, when Finland was a Grand Duchy under the Tsar of Russia. 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.

Originally founded as the organ of the Young Finnish Party, the paper has been politically independent and non-aligned since the 1930s.

"Helsingin Sanomat" has a long history as a family business, owned by the Erkko family. It is currently the flagship of the SanomaWSOY media group.

The relationship between "Helsingin Sanomat" and Finland's government has often been close. For instance, during the run-up to the Winter War, Eljas Erkko was at the same time the paper's publisher and Finland's foreign minister.

Format

The paper is published in Finnish in broadsheet format. The paper also has a monthly supplement named "Kuukausiliite" (Finnish for "Monthly Supplement"), and a weekly TV guide and entertainment-oriented supplement named "Nyt" ("Now"). There are also both Finnish and English-language Internet editions.

Circulation and influence

Helsingin Sanomat has a penetration of approximately 75% of the households of the Greater Helsinki region, and also functions as the local paper of the region. 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 Nordic countries.

The paper is a significant factor in Finnish society. Pertti Klemola calls it a state authority, an institution with its own independent social and political will. [cite book | first=Pertti | last=Klemola | title=Helsingin Sanomat, sananvapauden monopoli | publisher=Otava | year=1981 | pages = page 13 | id=ISBN 951-1-06118-6]

Helsingin Sanomat strongly advocated Finland joining the European Union in the run-up to the decision to do so in 1994. It has also openly expressed support for Finland's membership of NATO.

Helsingin Sanomat International Edition

The English section of the HS website, the Helsingin Sanomat International Edition (often shorted to just HSIE) started in 1999 with the aim of informing readers of news from Finland during the Finnish presidency of the European Union. However it continued after the presidency due to the amount of readers it was getting and it is now seen as one of the major sources of news about Finland in English, making it popular with English-speaking immigrants to the country.

See also

* List of Finnish newspapers
*List of non-English newspapers with English language subsections

References

External links

* [http://www.hs.fi/ Helsingin Sanomat]
* [http://www.hs.fi/english/ Helsingin Sanomat International Edition (English)]