"Finnish international radio
rose and fell the quickest"

A  German  media  student  wrote in 2009  a  compelling  thesis  about YLE Radio Finland,  Radio Sweden and  the Swiss International  Service  in comparison. Read here.

"Zero  cents  per minute"

"Listen to radio from Finland  at the rate of  zero cent per minute..."  

YLE used the language of contemporary advertising of  mobile media  in its promotion of world band  radio in the late 90s and early 00s, as seen here in an ad  prepared for the annual Travel  Fair in Helsinki in 2001.

The campaign was fairly succesful and sales  of  world band radios   increased in Finland. Tourists  rediscovered the world band radio  as  a reaction to invoices that had been awaiting them on arrival from recent trips at home.  Marketing was eased  through the  all-day availability of  Radio Finland in  western Europe: 11755 and  6120 kHz gave an almost complete coverage from Germany to the Canaries from morning till late night.  When 11755 faded, 6120 opened.   The Finnish  service of  Radio Finland  for  Western and Southwestern Europe was not a typical block broadcast of  a limited duration, but an all day  service, like   domestic radio.

The slogan was phased out in 2003 as it had been found within the company  to give "conflicting marketing signals".

The decision must be understood against the backdrop of the increased  interest  of YLE at the time in the mobile handset media.  The  phrase  lived on some more years though  as part of  a compaign by expatriate organizations  to bloc plans to discontinue  world band radio  from Finland.    

"1-800-221-YLEX"

YLE  Radio Finland  appears to have been the first  European  international broadcaster to open an 800-line (toll free) in the US, and  later in Canada.  Done in the very early 80s  the  move  had  an  expensive look, though the cost actually  was not that  high.  The   calls  never  reached Finland, but an answering system  at the office  of  John Berky,  the YLE  Radio Finland  audience  and distribution representative in North America. 

First  Radio Finland audience events  were  arranged by the  German  service.

More here.

Background was necessary in the early 80s

"Finland is  a democracy in the western sense of the word"

"Northern Report" covered Finland and the North for an international audience.  Read about the ins and outs of covering Finland  for western audiences during the last decades of the cold war. 

Northern Report, also known later as Compass North, entered the international airwaves  in a situation where Stockholm had been the place for covering the North for the world, also in international broadcasting.

Radio  Finland  on  the  international  broadcaster  scene

International  broadcasting is  a  sector  where  your   closest colleagues  may be  in another  country.  Often  there are  that many  political  barriers   between  countries  that contacts  with   at least some of the colleagues  are  occasional  or  do not  exist  at all.     

There  were   groups  of  stations    formed somewhat on political  lines.  Thus,  Voice of  America, the BBC  and  Deutsche Welle   were  co-operating   as a  group.   Then there was  “Group of  Six” (also at a time  seven)  including   Radio Nederland,  Radio  Sweden,  Swiss  Radio International, Radio Australia, Radio Japan  and  Radio Canada  International.      Radio Finland  was not  in any grouping. There  were  Nordic  SW meetings  but   they did not  constitute  much more than  a  framework for  Sweden  showing it was  biggest,  until the   fast  expansion   of   Radio Finland, of course.

  Within the  large  broadcasting  unions    international  broadcasting  (or  external)   did  not have much presence  for  decades, except on the technical side.  It was  not  until  the  late 70s  that   initiatives   were  taken  to change the  situation.    The  idea  was  to  establish   a  forum  within the  EBU  to  share  and  solve  problems   that  external  broadcasters  had in common.    Juhani  Niinistö  of  Radio Finland  was very keen  on  getting something  created,  as  Radio Finland  was  outside  all the groupings.    The initiative – originally  from  the Director General of  Radio Nederland  Joop Acda,  with  intense  support  from the Director General of  Radio Vaticana  Pasquale Borgomeo, S.J..

The  creation of  a space  for  international radio  within the EBU  was  debated  in three  meetings of the  EBU  Programme  Committee, in Istanbul 1980,  Athens 1980 and Lisbon in 1981. Juhani Niinistö  attended  all three  - and  was  allowed  to  promote the  idea even though  YLE had   reservations   as  such a grouping  could  entail political risks, with a view to the neutral position  Finland  pursued.

YLE  was  a member in both the  Soviet bloc  broadcasting   union OIRT  and the  Western  Union   EBU.   OIRT  was actually the original  European broadcast union, but had  been taken over by the  Soviet bloc countries.  The  West had generally pulled out of OIRT, but YLE had  remained. 

Even though  YLE  was  active  in many OIRT  working  groups,   the  OIRT international  broadcasting working group  never  invited  YLE  Radio Finland.  There was one invitation inthe early 80s, actually, a  telex  in Russian, but a  cancellation  came the next day in German.   Had YLE  Radio Finland  been obliged to participated in OIRT working groups, it could not have  implemented many OIRT  campaigns, except through risking its  credibility.

After  approval  of  the plan in Lisbon,  the first  preparatory meeting took place in Geneva in June 1982.   Plenary meetings  continued then to  be  arranged then  at roughly  18 month intervals.  In the late 80s  YLE  became  a member in the “small group”  that  met more often and discussed  upcoming issues.   The  group  often met  in the  Vatican.

YLE  representatives  at the EBU Programme  Committee  meeting in Lisbon that took the final decision to  accept the  establishment of  an international broadcasting forum in the EBU.   From the right  Paul v Martens, Programme Director of  Swedish language YLE radio,  Liisi Lahtonen, a specialist in International Relations,  Jouni Mykkänen,  Director of  YLE Radio 1, Keijo Savolainen, Programme Director of  YLE Radio 2,  Juhani Niinistö, Head of  YLE International Radio.    On the left  there is  Joe Gwathmey  from the US  National Public  Radio. 

Audience  reactions  to  closing  in 2002

The German service
was missed the most

In October 2002  YLE Radio Finland broadcasts in  English, German and French were closed. Domestic news in English and the  Russian service continued. 

There was not much of a response to the closing internationally, except for the German service and the  YLE presence on CBC Overnight in Canada.  CBC Radio One had been relaying YLE in its night format since 1996 and a half hour of English from Finland  had become  a regular part of the night schedule. 

The fact that audience response to the closing of the German service would stand out was no surprise.  The language service had been the best part of  Radio Finland, in terms of  audience relations.

The Press Section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs  had made an attempt to influence the decisions of YLE. With no impact though.  The  services had been financed totally by YLE on the basis of its licence fee recenue. The Ministry had no official role in the service.

There were some  questions in parliament about the move. Among them, conservative member of parliament Mr Pertti Hemmilä submitted in November 2006  a question in parliament about the plans of the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) to end its availability on international SW bands. In his question MP Hemmilä took up the low cost of the world band radio to the consumer traveling or living abroad.  In her response the then minister for communication and transport, Mrs  Susanna Huovinen (sdp)  noted that YLE would now be available via other means such as satellites and internet. She also underlined the fact that YLE is not under government control, but under direct parliamentary supervision.