Column | There is one permanent winner in the distribution of culture money – Yleisradio

State in the last few weeks, there has been a light mood in the distribution of money. Almost everything is saved in order to get society's expenses under control.

What is particularly startling is that, according to the plan, 100 million euros will be saved from basic social services. Cultural services will be cut by EUR 75 million next year and EUR 150 million the following year. In the coming years, 400 million euros will be reduced from the state's operating expenses – including civil servants.

At the same time, there is great silence about the fact that the funding of the cultural giant Yleisradio will increase by 17 million euros this year and will already exceed 600 million euros in the next few years. Increasing the financing of one company in the current economic situation is an underlined value choice.

When basic services can no longer be guaranteed elsewhere in society, the discussion about Yle should not take place separately from all other spending. Public service is a central part of Finnish democracy, but not an isolated island.

Yle is very prosperous for a European broadcasting company. In Denmark, public radio spends about 13 percent less money per inhabitant than in Finland, 18 percent less in Sweden and almost 70 percent less in Estonia.

However, the discussion about Yle is extremely charged. It is also affected by the fact that Yle itself does not have a critical discussion about its own funding. Also, there is no more detailed information on how effectively the budget of just under 600 million euros is actually used. Yle's own company report is fully legal, but excessive. Individual millions are not big money within Yle, unlike everywhere else in cultural life.

Private the media's statements about Yleisradio – possibly also this column – are easily interpreted as just promoting one's own cause. Even a calm reflection on improving the use of money and prioritizing work may be seen as a desire to run down the entire public service.

However, the Yle discussion should not be dulled into a mere media discussion. Now we need a calm speech about what the taxes are enough for. For example, is the sports studio of prestigious competitions really more important than, say, local libraries?

This discussion should take place separately from the contents of Yle. Yle's independence must be defended unwaveringly and political pressure under the guise of a financial discussion must be resisted. Even if the private media market in Finland is financially difficult, the media must also stand behind Yle's work as one front. It is vital to democracy.

Yleisradio the technical form of the offer should not be widely restricted. A detailed discussion about the form in which Yle produces its content is inevitably overdue in a technologically changing world. In the future, the public service must also reach all Finns in the form that Finns want, regardless of age. Therefore, Yle must mainly be allowed to develop its operations in the way it deems best.

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Yleisradio's funding will increase by 17 million euros this year.

However, the level of total funding and the scope of Yle's operations are not laws of nature. And the management of any company should not be rewarded in financially difficult times for making all the money given go every year – efficiency should always be a built-in goal in every company. We should also talk about what is a public service and what can be produced privately.

When society has to make difficult value choices about what public money is enough for, Yleisradio cannot live apart from the debate. The company's management should also dare to think aloud about where efficiency could be sought.

Improving efficiency is definitely possible with Yle's money.

The author is the editor-in-chief of HS.