Finnish Newspaper Portrayal of the Baltic Sea Environmental Problem – Environmental Coverage of the Baltic Sea in Helsingin Sanomat 2008–2017

Abstract

This thesis examines how the environmental problems of the Baltic Sea have been reported in Helsingin Sanomat, the most widely distributed Finnish newspaper. The empirical data consists of 510 newspaper articles from ten years’ time, from 2008 to 2017. The aim of this thesis is to analyse the Baltic Sea environmental news coverage and the portrayal of the Baltic Sea environmental problem, which is essential because the media portrayal influences the public opinion and political agenda for example through creating awareness to certain problems. Longitudinal content analysis allows considerations on shifts and trends in environmental coverage in ten years’ time, as well as the examination on the introduced attributes and solutions to the environmental problem. The changes in the portrayal of the Baltic Sea environmental problem are analysed through the main theme analysis. The study found that from 2008 to the late 2010 the emphasis has been on various maritime activities, from 2012 to the mid-2014 the wastewater discourse has largely stigmatised the news coverage, and in 2011 as well as after the mid-2014 the portrayal has been somewhat more diverse. During this time, eutrophication has been the most raised main theme, but there has been more even concentration between different themes. The overall amount of the news coverage on the Baltic Sea environment has decreased substantially in ten years’ time. Considered main attributes to the Baltic Sea environmental problem are old Soviet countries, especially Russia and Poland and somewhat also the Baltic States, and structural problems that are accentuated in the discourse on intensive production. Both discourses are present in the news coverage for the whole timeline of study, but more and more focus has been on the faults in the system as the point sources in the polluter countries have mostly been halted. In addition, there has been more emphasis on the individual choices in the last years of analysis. Environmental news coverage on the Baltic Sea has not been comprehensively studied and this thesis enhances the knowledge on the raised themes, attributes and preferred solution. Results indicate that there have been distinct shifts in the news coverage in ten years’ time. Acknowledging the portrayal is essential, because media attention is one of the essential factors in constructing some issues as serious environmental problems and highlighting some solutions while attenuating other problems and remedies.