Iltalehti reported based on the observations of the reporter and cameraman and other information that Iivo Niskanen approached his rival.
Three-time Olympic champion Iivo Niskanen at the Ruka World Cup last November. PASI LEISMA
At its December meeting, the Public Speaking Council has given Iltalehti a decision to release the article in which the paper reported that a top skier Iivo Niskanen approached his rival and brutally called him names. By voting 9–4, the council considers that Iltalehti’s news was in accordance with good journalistic practice.
The news was about the skiing Finnish Cup in February 2024, and Iivo Niskanen himself complained to JSN about it. Niskanen claimed that he had not approached anyone or barked at anyone. According to Niskanen’s claim, the story was false and tarnished his reputation. Niskanen claimed that the headline remained misleading even after the editor had added information about Niskanen’s denial.
Iltalehti’s editor-in-chief Perttu Kauppinen asked Niskanen’s thinking in his answer. According to Kauppinen, Niskanen completely questioned whether a journalist can write about events based on his own observations. Kauppinen wrote that a large part of journalistic work is based specifically on the description of the journalist’s observations.
The Public Word Council estimated that the story was based on the findings of both the journalist and the cameraman, which the journalist still sought to verify from several sources and from the parties involved themselves. Iivo Niskanen refused to comment on the situation when he was recently asked about it.
According to the Council, Iltalehti’s interpretation of access was not an essential factual error. It was about a controversial situation, about which an interpretation was presented. Iltalehti added information to the story as they appeared and marked the changes in the story appropriately. There were no demonstrable flaws in the source criticism, the council estimated.
About his language, Niskanen himself admitted in the complaint that he had rained in the finish area and also possibly called another skier a clown.