Media | Editors-in-chief: Putin appears in the tabloids because of his interest and the war of aggression

Russia leading Vladimir Putin has repeatedly appeared on the covers and front pages of the tabloids since he launched a war of aggression against Ukraine in February last year.

The president has been a familiar face to Finns for 20 years, but Russia’s next moves interest the public now more than ever before.

According to information collected by Ukrainians and Finnish Aktiivs living in Finland and sent to STT, Putin has appeared in more than 75 percent of Iltalehti’s covers in the form of a picture or name being mentioned since February. On the other hand, Putin’s picture or name has appeared on about half of Ilta-Sanomie’s covers.

Ilta-Sanom editor-in-chief Johanna Lahten according to Putin has appeared on the cover of the magazine probably quantitatively more times than anyone else recently, and the reason for this is obvious. The war started by Russia and the fact that Putin holds the keys to ending the war.

“However, Putin leads Russia as a sole ruler and the war is therefore strongly personified in him. It was his decision that initially attacked Russia. In Russia, the justification for the war is based on this false perception of Putin about the threat to Russia, and he is also the person who could end the war.”

“It is also important in that sense that the culprit of the war is not forgotten. The lids and lids help maintain that awareness. The biggest tragedy for Ukrainians and the whole world would be for the war to be forgotten, and especially for the supporters of Ukraine to forget or get tired of the war. Here I see that media reporting plays an important role.”

Also Editor-in-chief of Iltalehti Perttu Kauppinen says that Putin often ends up on the covers and front pages of magazines because of his interest.

“However, this is about an autocratic leader of a neighboring country who is waging a very brutal war of aggression and has really messed up the whole world. Why wouldn’t he be interesting?”

According to Kauppinen, the covers of tabloid magazines are made based on the public’s interest.

“Fundamentally, it’s about what people are interested in,” says Kauppinen and adds that the actions of Russia and Putin and their consequences are more interesting than the everyday life of war.

According to Lahti, uncertainty about Russia’s future is also concentrated on Putin. Finns want to know what will happen next beyond the eastern border.

“Everyone was thinking about how the war could end or how Russia could change its direction. There is no expectation that Putin, for example, would voluntarily give up his power. Through that, the future of Russia, what kind of Russia it is, is also personified in Putin. Russia’s role boils down to him.”

Chief editors also consider the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky as an interesting character, although this is less visible on magazine covers.

“Zelenskyi is an interesting person, but from the point of view of Finns, his thinking and subsequent actions are not nearly as interesting as Putin’s,” Kauppinen says.

According to Lahti, Putin and Zelenskyi are both very interesting, but in very different ways.

“Zelenskyi is a hugely interesting character, especially at the beginning of the war, his heroic persistence in Kiev made him an international superstar.”

According to the data collected by Ukrainians living in Finland and Finns Aktiivie, Ukraine is also mentioned less often than Russia in the slopes.

Chief editors know that Putin’s output is basically not to be trusted. The Kremlin leadership’s comments are still often newsworthy.

“You always have to be able to contextualize as well as possible and tell what is involved and what is its background. And possibly what the truth is, if it can be clarified”, says Kauppinen.

“As for Putin and Russia, their actions are not transparent in any way. Russia and Putin engage in blatant propaganda, and what they say cannot be trusted. When reporting on Russia, this is always present and it must be brought out,” says Lahti.

“The outlook on operations and decision-making is so blurred that it is natural in itself to report on the statements of its visible leader, but it is essential to frame it with, for example, the views of researchers and experts.”

Violence and the most brutal information rarely appears right on the cover. According to Lahti, reporting on the horrors of war requires extensive consideration.

“War topics are, however, very serious topics, so serious consideration is used every day in which words and images are used. However, the media’s task is to tell about the reality of the war and the victims without flattery, so that the horror of the war does not remain in the dark,” says Lahti.

Kauppinen recalls that Iltalehti covered the horrors of war in at least one episode.

“On purpose, because we don’t want to gloss over that reality.”

According to the editors-in-chief of the tabloid newspapers, the image of Putin that is formed in Lööpi is not positive.

Putin causes strong emotions in the Finnish public, says the professor of journalism at the University of Jyväskylä Mikko Villi. According to him, however, it is necessary to think about how to bring Putin and his words to the fore.

“Putin arouses fear and that is also a feeling that arouses interest.”

Villi also reminds that the lops shown in stores are not only a journalistic product but also a media advertisement. The covers of daily newspapers are widely visible in shops and public places, which, according to Vill, can help the public to keep newspapers as part of everyday media consumption.

“Regarding Lööp, a solution will be made so that magazines can be sold. Newspapers are sold with Putin butter.”

The pictures of Putin on the slopes are also news selections. The president usually appears dressed in a neat suit, and only rarely in military gear.

Media however, according to Vill, he often has to use the image of Putin that is available. According to him, also with regard to violent imagery, we should think about how it is presented in the slopes.

“Putin accepts violence, but children, for example, do not directly see in Putin the violence or the horrors that he causes with his actions.”

“It is hard to see the violence of war every day. Iltapäivälehti will definitely be thinking about this.”

Ilta-Sanomat and Helsingin Sanomat belong to the Sanoma group.