Pekka Mervola disparaged celebrity women, JSN let him down

In his column, Pekka Mervola criticizes, among others, Anne Kukkohovi

On Thursday, the Public Word Council issued a final decision to the editor-in-chief of Keskifinomali Pekka Mervolan from the column he published in June, in which he wondered whether the pictures published by Finnish female celebrities on Midsummer are sexual harassment. JSN gave the paper a note.

The title of the article published on the Huomioita section was Can a midsummer photo on social media be harassment?and Mervola highlighted three female celebrities in the column – Anne KukkohovinPauliina Laitisen and Noora Karma – summer social media pictures.

– The pictures above are partly noisy, but of course the purpose is that the viewer always only looks the object in the eyes. Flashing elsewhere is inappropriate behavior and bad manners. The pictures represent a genre in which the subject is photographed from the top down, so that the gaze would naturally continue from the face down, Keskisuomainen’s editor-in-chief wrote and continued:

– The pictures also tell about the objects in the pictures and the clothes also tell about the wearer. And sometimes they only tell bad things. And they tell about the behavior of the people in question. An interesting question is when can another person’s clothing become harassment or sexual harassment.

JSN decision

The article had spawned no less than three separate complaints to JSN. JSN considered Keskisuomalainen to have violated Journalist’s guideline 26, according to which “everyone’s human dignity must be respected, and ethnic origin, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, conviction, or a characteristic comparable to these should not be brought up inappropriately or derogatorily.”

In its decision on Thursday, JSN considered Mervola’s way of treating well-known women as demeaning and stigmatizing. According to the decision, the gender of Kukkohov, Karma and Laitinen was brought up in an inappropriate and derogatory way.

“In the column, among other things, based on the pictures, the conclusion was drawn that it is not worth spending even a moment’s time or attention on the persons in question. The Council considers that the perspective and presentation of the column strongly disparaged the people concerned, and this disparagement was linked to gender in an inappropriate and degrading manner”the decision states.

“The council states that the paper had no obligation to hear the objects of criticism at the same time, and they have not asked the paper to be heard afterwards either. According to the council’s assessment, based on the case, there was also no misconception about what is meant by the concept of sexual harassment, but the statements regarding this were dressed up in the form of a question.”

Kukkohovi was delighted

Anne Kukkohovi, reached by Iltalehti on Thursday, was happy with the decision given by JSN. However, he emphasized that he was not one of the three parties that filed the complaint.

– Yes, it was a misogynistic article in a certain way. Many young women contacted me afterwards and defended me. Usually, you only get barks about what you do on social media, so it was a really nice feeling that other women came to the defense, Kukkohovi says.

Kukkohovi also thought Mervola’s writing was comical, but found it annoying.

– I hope that such speeches and writings, where people’s personalities and personal characteristics are discussed, would stop. You shouldn’t fall for that. Personally, I can take things like this a little more lightly, but for some, such writings can be a tough piece.

What kind of greetings would you like to send to Pekka Mervola?

– All the best. I hope all is well in your life. Through love, Kukkohovi said.

Iltalehti also reached Pekka Mervola on Thursday.

– JSN has made a decision and I respect it. Therefore, it is correct not to comment on the matter, Mervola announced.