In the public eye
Professors are called on to serve as experts and interviewed by dozens of media outlets each day. The Finnish Union of University Professors considers it important for professors to be seen in public through their strong competence – it has an impact on the image of the Union and the entire corps of professors.
The public appearances of professors are influenced by the Union-drafted ethical guidelines for professors, the guidelines for journalists, the Council for Mass Media in Finland and the Act on the Exercise of Freedom of Expression in Mass Communication
Journalistic guidelines and Council for Mass Media in Finland
The journalistic guidelines specify that interviewees have the right to know in advance the context in which their statements will be used. The interviewee must always be told whether the conversation is intended for publication or will be used exclusively as background material. They must also be told if the interview will be used in multiple media.
Interviewees have the right to request to read their statements prior to publication, if the editorial deadline permits. This right only concerns the personal statements of the interviewee.
Essentially incorrect information must be corrected without delay and so as to reach, to the highest extent possible, the attention of those who have had access to the incorrect information. The correction must be publicised on the editorial website of the media in question, as well as in the publication or broadcast in which the incorrect information was originally given.
Anyone can make a complaint to the Council for Mass Media concerning material published by a medium. The complaint should detail the section of the Journalistic guidelines that the complainant feels has been breached.
Act on the Exercise of Freedom of Expression in Mass Media
The opportunities that professors have for demanding a correction or the publication of a reply are determined under the Act on the Exercise of Freedom of Expression in Mass Media.