The study aims to elucidate the significance of the election funding crisis that started in spring 2008. It seems that the decades-old, established practices of the Finnish political system are in a crisis. This offers an excellent opportunity to shed light on the relationship between the media and the political system.

The objective is to form an overall picture of the election funding crisis and answer the following three questions. First, how has the relationship between journalism and politics developed and how is it developing? Second, to which extent has the crisis affected the credibility of the media and politics in public’s eye? Third, what is the significance of the crisis to the future of journalism?

Answers are provided by interviewing key actors, analyzing media content, and examining public’s impressions on the crisis with two representative surveys and analyses of small group data and online discussions.  The project is linked to a comparative Nordic project on political scandals in the Nordic countries since 1980.

The project is funded by Helsingin Sanomat Foundation and conducted by the Universities of Helsinki and Tampere. The director of the project is university lecturer Anu Kantola and the other researchers in Helsinki are Salli Hakala and Juho Vesa.

Contact person:
Anu Kantola
anu.kantola at helsinki.fi
+358-9-191 24653