Matti Posio: We create our own quality stories that stand out from the mainstream news for a wide readership

In our interview series, media professionals talk about their journalistic approach.

Photo: Nea Alanen

The drastically changed Lännen Media refined its focus from the beginning of February 2021. The focus of the joint editorial team will shift from news coverage to deeper insights into the backgrounds of big issues and impactful true stories. Editor-in-chief Matti Posio opens up about the changed direction of the nine-newspaper editorial team.

Only The message said In February 2020, when the company announced that it would buy Aamulehti and Satakunnan Kansa from Alma, among others, the playing field changed at once. This is what the editor-in-chief of Lännen Media thought Matti Posio after hearing the news.

Lännen Media has operated as a joint news engine for 11-12 regional newspapers since 2014. The virtual editorial team has been responsible for producing both basic news and theme-type stories for its owner newspapers. The largest of these were Aamulehti and Satakunnan Kansa, which is why Alma played such a big role.

In Finland, the large-scale media deal began a “process”, a “transition period”, during which the board of Lännen Media convened 11 times, which, according to Posio, is more than once in a single year. As a result, the scope of the editorial team’s tasks, the composition of the editorial team and even the journalistic focus changed radically.

From now on, the contribution of Lännen Media's six journalists will be visible in the publisher's magazines specifically as backgrounds and perspectives that round out the flow of basic news. A solid factual journalism package will be prepared for the weekend.

Posio describes the members of his LM six as nationally front-line journalists who have a hunger and something to give. In his opinion, the new way of working that is being launched is an investment in quality by independent Finnish regional media, even in the midst of severe economic pressure and media-driven news. Basic news will not be forgotten, but from now on they will rely on the services of the news agency and the print competence center established in the editorial office of Kainuun Sanomat.

In Posio's words, under the pressure of change, it is “more important to do something boldly and in a very limited way than to try to do a lot of the same thing at an ever-increasing pace.” With media financing models and consumer habits changing, staying put is not the safest option.

The core of journalistic quality must be safeguarded under all circumstances. Posio says that a lot of work has been done to achieve this during the tough corona year that has just ended. In the new operating model, none of the shareholder newspapers is taller than the others. The three largest newspapers – Turun Sanomat, Kaleva and Ilkka-Pohjalainen – are approximately the same size.

"We have been a full-service LM department store that has produced news reactions as well as extensive investigative weekend stories, everyday lifestyle and culture, fast online and slow subscriber-generated columns, various columns and social speeches. In the future, we will focus more tightly. We will specifically produce our own, high-quality factual content, the kind that readers can only get by subscribing to one of our partner magazines," says Posio.

Fourth most cited

Lännen Media is known as a hunter of national news. In 2019, the editorial team was STT's fourth most cited source.

In addition, the editorial team has been responsible for feature stories in the shareholder magazines as well as theme-based series on tourism, food, housing, travel, traffic and health. The themes will continue to be produced in the new model.

This is a significant media outlet. The editorial team has been 29 people at the last stage. The total reach of the magazines has been up to two million Finns, when digital services are taken into account.

The total daily readership of the shareholder newspapers in print is 620,000 people, even after Aamulehti and Satakunnan Kansa separated. The circulation check shows that the audience size is in the same order of magnitude as Helsingin Sanomat. Lännen Media's readers mostly live elsewhere in Finland, in and around regional centers.

Delivery shrank by about a fifth

In connection with the separation of the newspapers, the shareholder newspapers decided on a major change in the division of labor.

The partner newspapers – Turun Sanomat, Kaleva, Ilkka-Pohjalainen, Lapin Kansa, Hämeen Sanomat, Keskipohjanmaa, Kainuun Sanomat, Länsi-Suomi and Forssan Lehti – made a strategic choice to focus their editorial efforts on local content. They increasingly rely on STT for their daily national and international news. The Lännen Media producer procures feature stories from freelance journalists.

Lännen Media's editorial team shrank to six journalists, almost a fifth of its previous size. When operations began in 2014, there were as many as 40 journalists in the joint editorial team. However, change is an opportunity, as it forces us to sharpen our work.

Posio is pleased that the reductions in joint editorial did not lead to a comprehensive joint editorial for those who remain shareholders. The editors will return to their home editorial offices, meaning that in practice they will simply stop working for other newspapers in addition to their own. Lännen Media has been an important training and training ground for many.

"This hasn't been completely without sadness. If there hadn't been an old time of greatness, this new phase would be really interesting," Posio says.

“On the other hand, it is the same now.”

Boldly your own, not the same as everyone else

Uusi Lännen Media will continue to serve nine regional newspapers, but with a more focused focus.

The editorial team focuses on reporting and providing background on world events in a way that is not found in other media. The editorial team's stories are subscriber material for the shareholder magazines on digital platforms. The content is also published in print in the mornings.

“When the editorial team shrinks, it means a shift from managing routines to doing your own research and writing well,” says Posio.

“STT follows developing news events in the mornings and evenings. Outside of that, a large monitoring area of ​​national and international politics and economics remains. In that area, we intend to cover the biggest topics and perspectives, crossing the boundaries of thematic departments.”

Each editorial team member has their own areas of monitoring, from which they can identify the most interesting. These include domestic politics, security policy, the economy, significant criminal cases, science and phenomenon-level themes that broadly affect Finns.

Posio is known as an expert on international politics, especially Russia. He says that in the new model, he will primarily be the author of weekend news stories.

“I will continue to open up the US and Russia situations. Someone called me a senior reporter. It sounded scary at the age of 47, but it helps when you remember more elections back.”

“We want to do more stories about companies”

Posio says he misses better stories about the economy, which he divides into two topics: public finance and business finance.

According to him, public sector actors and research institutes usually communicate their issues to journalists in a profuse manner. Instead, companies could be more active in coming forward. After all, that's where innovations are made and the growth that enables the future takes place.

When companies approach journalists, they often suggest stories about topics that are important to them: big orders, the outcome of an important project, or even a new website. If the press releases don't lead to a story, companies feel that journalists are not interested in them.

“They are interested,” Posio says. But in a different way than companies expect.

News reporting has also shifted to a way of telling stories that was previously learned from magazines and tabloid websites: through stories. That requires a protagonist and more than just perfectly smooth twists and turns.

“Modern media is looking for true stories. We would like to do more of them about companies: what their everyday lives are like and how the work they do affects society. But there are many points where we stop: we just wanted to have lunch and provide background on a general level.”

In Posio's experience, both business leaders and experts are good at talking about their issues. They just lack the courage to do it.

A company may want to say that after years of work they have a quality system, which in itself is not very interesting. However, the journey to get there may be: what were the pitfalls, surprises, observations and work gains involved in the development?

“Few business leaders dare to open up ongoing processes. Interest doesn't come from always going well. Sometimes a hero falls, but he gets up again. Communication should be seen as a process with different stages.”

“I hope companies understand that journalistic media is not just a target for spin and campaigns. 99 percent of press releases end up in the trash. Press releases are good on companies' websites, where journalists looking for information can find them if needed. Instead of communicating individual issues, it would be better to really step forward.”