9. Finland: Maintaining the Fragile Consensus

Financed almost entirely by a special public broadcasting tax, and with no advertising or sponsoring allowed, Yle is one of the ‘purest’ public service organizations in Europe and might be seen as enjoying an enviably secure position in comparison to many other European PSM organizations. In recent years, however, the tradition of media policy consensus has increasingly showed signs of unravelling. The level and justification of Yle’s funding as well as its transparency, efficiency and accountability have been subject to heated political debate, with attacks against its legitimacy spearheaded by the struggling commercial media industry. This chapter reviews the main issues and arguments in the Finnish debates. It concludes that, at least for the time being, the fragile consensus over the importance of PSM is maintained, and it is unlikely that the current government would push through radical changes.