Int´l media giants threat to local players: Yle CEO

The Finnish national broadcaster Yle on Tuesday announced the appointment of Merja Ylä-Anttila as its new CEO. She is the first female CEO of the company since 1949.

Ylä-Anttila was long time editor-in-chief in the Finnish Commercial Television MTV. In a press conference on Tuesday, Yla-Anttila called for more cooperation between Yle and commercial media.

She reminded that international media giants such as Google and Facebook are a serious threat to every media house in Finland. "It is possible to seek new companionship", she said.

Yle's CEO has no power in journalistic control. The election of a person with a journalistic background was welcomed widely in journalistic circles on Tuesday. The previous CEO Lauri Kivinen had a background in the Finnish telecommunication giant Nokia.

Local commentators have noted that the increased presence of Yle on the internet has been seen as a threat to commercial print and electronic media. The availability of public radio and TV on the internet both as text and program files has not been restricted in Finland.

However, Yle closed down its regional text news pages last year as regional newspapers increasingly complained.

The company has also outsourced large amounts of programming and thus created opportunities for production companies. This has meant downsizing of staff and facilities in Yle.

Yle maintains four national television channels and several radio channels. It broadcasts in both Finnish and Swedish, as well as Sami language. It also offers limited services in English and Russian.