In June 2018, the International Press Institute (IPI), a global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists for press freedom, visited Finland as part of IPI’s Ontheline project, which aims to identify best newsroom practices for preventing and better responding to online harassment of journalists.
Over the course of five days, the IPI delegation with editors-in-chief, managing editors, web and social media editors, and staff and freelance journalists to better understand online harassment and how it is dealt with in Finland. IPI visited the newsrooms of the leading national daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat; the evening newspaper Iltalehti; the national public broadcaster Yle; regional newspapers Maaseudun Tulevaisuus and Turun Sanomat; local city newspaper Turkulainen; and the regional Swedish-language minority newspaper Åbo Underrättelser. In addition, IPI organized two focus groups: one for female journalists and one for freelancers with the Union of Journalists in Finland (UFJ). IPI also met with Finnish lawyers, media researchers and other media professionals in relation to the Ontheline project.