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| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | Sanoma |
| Editor | Janne Virkkunen |
| Founded | 1889 as Päivälehti 1905 as Helsingin Sanomat |
| Political alignment | Neutral |
| Language | Finnish |
| Headquarters | Helsinki, Finland |
| Official website | www.hs.fi |
Helsingin Sanomat is the biggest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. In 2008, its daily circulation was 412,421 on weekdays[1] (a change of −1.8% from 2007) and 468,505 on Sundays (−1.3%). Its name derives from that of the Finnish capital, Helsinki, where it is published.
The Helsingin Sanomat website HS.fi is one of the most important sources of news in Finnish on the web. In June 2009 the site was the sixth most popular Finnish website[2].
In Finland, the paper's name is often abbreviated HS. Colloquially it is called Hesari. In the past, the name Hesa was also used.
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The paper was founded in 1889 as Päivälehti, when Finland was a Grand Duchy under the Tsar of Russia[3].
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.[4]. Its proprietors re-opened the paper under its current name in 1905.[5]
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 [6].
It is currently owned by the Sanoma media group.
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, Eljas Erkko was at the same time the paper's publisher and Finland's foreign minister.
The paper is published daily in Finnish in broadsheet format with the exception of the days after public holidays when the paper does not appear. The only exception to this is the day after Finnish independence day (7 December) when the revenue from Christmas advertising ensures an edition after that public holiday. Subscriptions make up 97% of the newspaper's circulation[1] and the lack of a need to attract casual readers on newsstands had led to the front page usually being totally devoted to advertisements. (However, a few events have been important enough to be reported on the front page, without any advertisements.)
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.[7]
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 (together with Swedish-language Hufvudstadsbladet). 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, a Finnish journalist and scholar, once called it a state authority, an institution with its own independent social and political will.[8]
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.
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.
  | International edition - Helsingin Sanomat - International Edition |
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