Even though the consumption of media content in general has increased, the media
industry is facing many difficulties. International competition, changes in consumer
habits and rapid technological development have all put pressure on the media
industry in many countries, Finland among them. The structure of the industry is
changing, and companies from other industries are entering the field. The changes
and the search for sustainable business models necessitate renewal in the industry. In
addition, healthy news media and journalism are vital for the functioning of
democracy. Yet, efforts by legacy media companies in Finland to adapt have been
somewhat ineffective, and there have not been attempts at radical transformation
(Lehtisaari et al., 2012; Lehtisaari & Grönlund, 2015).
According to data provided by Statistics Finland, the total value of the Finnish mass
media market was about €3.8 billion in 2017. Despite recent growth, this was still
about 5% lower than in 2010. In the same period, mass media’s share of total GDP in
Finland fell from 2.1% to 1.7%. Importantly, there are considerable differences in the
development of the various media sectors. The value of the electronic communications sector (television, radio, Internet operations) has grown significantly, while both
publishing and recording communications have declined. After a decade-long
decline, publishing accounted for approximately half of the total value of the media
market in Finland (€2.0 billion; 53%), and newspapers alone about a quarter (€0.9
billion; 24%). By contrast, the electronic communications sector has grown significantly since 2000. In 2017, it constituted over 41% of the total value of the mass
media market, of which television accounted for about 30% and online 10%.
Advertising has long been one of the main contributors to both print and electronic communications. The economic downturn that began in late 2008 halted its
growth, and in 2017 the total value of media advertising in Finland, at approximately €1.2 billion, was still nearly one-fifth less than before the recession.
According to data from Kantar TNS, since 2000 the media advertising structure has
also gone through a major transition. The proportion of online media, expressed as
a percentage of the total value of media advertising, has risen from close to zero in
2000 to almost one-third (32%) in 2017, and has overtaken newspaper advertising.
As in many countries, a large proportion of online media advertising and its growth
in Finland goes to two international players, Google and Facebook.
These developments in the media economy, and especially the decline of
printed press, set the background for the two research projects outlined in this
chapter. The first project shows how media policy can address these developments and spur innovation, while the second explores new business models for
newspaper publishers to seek new growth. The purpose is to illustrate the societal
impact of research (Bornmann, 2013), specifically how media management
research can inform policymaking and strategic decision-making, and how collaborative research can create value for everyday practitioners.