Migrant Tales’ 2015 Hall of Poor and Sloppy Journalism will be updated separately. To see other examples of opinionated journalism in Finland about cultural diversity, please go to this link.
December 1
Two rape stories weighed differently – (Helsingin Sanomat)*
What’s wrong with these two stories? Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s largest daily, published two rape stories Tuesday. One, which got half of a spread, was about an alleged rape that was committed by a suspected foreigner or asylum seeker in a Helsinki park. The other, which was a brief, was about a white Finnish man who got sentenced for raping a drunk fifteen-year-old. Why did the story with the foreigner get more attention than the one with the Finnish man, who got sentenced for raping a minor? The easiest answer is that Helsingin Sanomat, which should know better, doesn’t? Why? Because like some sectors of Finnish society it too is inflicted by racism. And why wouldn’t it be? Aren’t the reporters working for Helsingin Sanomat of everything that is good and bad about Finnish society? Finland’s largest newspaper’s poor, sloppy and opinionated journalism sheds light on a wider problem and how we condemn less rape committed by white Finns but demand blood if it is a migrant, refugee or asylum seeker. Sad but true.
* Thank you Reima Välimäki for bringing such double-standards to our attention on a Facebook posting.