Seiska appeared in the midst of the 1990s recession and offered Finns an escape from reality with its wild celebrity gossip. Social media has not taken away the editorial work.
Seiska is a magazine that few people admit to reading, but whose stories are well known.
The magazine, known for its juicy headlines and wild celebrity gossip, turns 30. Officially, the birthday was in February, but due to the coronation, the celebrations will only really start in October.
It’s easy to smile. Print is falling, like everyone else, but online is doing well. Seiska reaches more than a million weekly visitors every month.
Peltomäki says the magazine meets an ancient need.
– Humanity has been gossiping since time immemorial. It is an essential part of communication. Seiska does that gossip openly.
Reality escape in the middle of a recession
The magazine also featured the first Star Girl in history, who was only 17 years old at the time of filming. The column was discontinued in 2015.
In the 1970s, there was Nykyposti, which was later merged into Seura, and in the 1980s, Se, which was closed in 2004.
In the 1990s, Seiska stood out among the evening papers and weekly entertainment magazines, among other things, with tougher revelations than others. In Depression-Finland, there was enough demand for them, because gossip served as escapism in difficult years. Entertainment has also been needed during the corona pandemic.
– People get to escape from their everyday life, to peek into the lives of famous people and social events, to see what’s going on in the circles of Helsinki. I think it’s a welcome escape from everyday life, Peltomäki thinks.
Kortti says that in addition to gossiping and escaping reality, people simply need to get an idea of \u200b\u200bwhat is happening around them and in their own community.
– That’s what people have always done. In the past, when you have lived in a small village community, you have been interested in what the neighbors are doing. There has always been a source of information in the village, a central mantra that tells what is happening.
The interest has focused not only on the neighbors, but above all on the rich and famous.
– Who used to be kings and nobles, now they are reality TV celebrities.
Seiska, who is hungry for information, really answers. According to Peltomäki, it is Finland’s largest producer of entertainment news.
And making entertainment news is not easy. The editor-in-chief describes it as one of the toughest types of journalism.
– It’s easy to say that it’s light, because maybe the topics are thought to be light and you imagine that making entertainment stuff is light. That’s not how it is. Entertainment journalism requires professionalism.
In itself, doing entertainment journalism is easier than ever, because celebrities share their news on social media and feed ready-made stories to entertainment editors. On the other hand, very celebrity journalism requires work and dedication.
Peltomäki still doesn’t see anything problematic in the picture, and the Public Word Council stated at the beginning of September that the paper did not violate good journalistic practice.
The editor-in-chief emphasizes how important it is to get other than filtered social media photos of public figures.
– Many celebrities imagine that they can control the media. However, journalism is about reporting real events. It has become a problem for many that Seiska writes, for example, about their divorce. They are things that they would not have wanted to say on social media. But Seiska tells.
Carefully made hummus
Jukka Kortti also recognizes the magazine’s professionalism.
– Even though the topics are light and we go into the private lives of celebrities, the magazine has survived ethically well. The best proof of that is the fact that Seiskahan has received exceptionally few comments from the Public Word Council. They do know how to go there and follow the industry’s self-regulation system.
The Public Speech Council is a body established by the industry that interprets good journalistic practice and defends freedom of speech and publication. Anyone who believes that good journalistic practice has been violated in the media can file a complaint with JSN. If JSN finds that this has happened, it issues a note to the media, which must then be published in the media.
During downtime, things are carefully reviewed before publication. If necessary, a lawyer will be used.
On the day of the interview, Prime Minister Sanna Marini’s staff has announced that they will complain about Seiska to JSN. The reason is incorrect reporting related to flights to Norway. Peltomäki wonders about the matter, because according to him, the errors have been corrected according to the journalist’s instructions. The future will tell if the incident will result in a warning.
Peltomäki points out that the yellow press and the entertainment press in Finland are quite innocent compared to, for example, tabloid publications in Great Britain, where celebrities are mercilessly trashed.
– Yes, Finnish entertainment journalism, as well as political journalism, is much more toothless than in the rest of the world. Yes, people here are treated quite kindly, whether it’s about people in power or public figures.
Not just entertainment
Jari Peltomäki was selected as Seiska’s editor-in-chief in spring 2020. Pesti was preceded by more than 20 years of experience at Aller Media, which publishes the magazine.
In an interview a couple of years ago, Peltomäki told Yle that his heart \”beats for Seiska and entertainment\”.
Peltomäki talks about Seiska first and foremost as entertainment. The magazine’s motto is: without bowing down to anyone, but through joy and with joy.
– This is where the ups and downs, good and bad sides of celebrities’ lives are told. Of course, unfortunately, it seems that people are always interested in the negative things, and of course they must be told, but yes, we also tell the positive aspects. Let’s try to be joyful and humane.
But can Seiska be thought of as \”just entertainment\”? Politicians and people in power have been celebrities for decades, just like pop stars and TV stars, and publications like Seiska and Hymy have an impact on them.
From August 2022 alone, Seiska.fi has 60 articles with the keyword \”Sanna Marin\”. Visitor records were broken.
Jari Peltomäki does not deny that Seiska influences society through its political reporting, but emphasizes that the paper’s mission is to entertain.
– Do Seiska or entertainment magazines need to have social significance? It is part of democracy and freedom of the press and freedom of speech that there are different media. There are financial magazines, local magazines and entertainment magazines. Seiska is an entertainment magazine that tells about the lives of celebrities.
Jukka Kortti says that entertainment magazines are definitely more than \”just entertainment\”.
– Ilkka Kanerva had to resign from the position of foreign minister, so yes, it has quite a big social significance.
Jukka Kortti says that magazines have been an essential marketing channel for Hollywood since the 20th century at the latest, and thereby also influenced the national economy.
– In the big world of the United States, the entertainment business is a really significant business nationwide. Why not even here in our small circles. Yes, it is important to introduce your own music or acting career or film to people.
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