ALKU vai alasajo?

Aluehallintouudistus ja ympäristöhallinnon politisoituminen Helsingin Sanomissa

Abstract

The article analyses the politicization of the debate concerning the renewal of the environmental administration
during the reform project of the State Regional Administration in Finland. The data consists of 55
newspaper articles in Helsingin Sanomat during 2008–2009. By using frame analysis, we recognized three
different frames through which the actors gave meanings to the reorganizing of environmental administration.
The future of environmental administration was interpreted through the frames of nature protection,
party politics and the inevitable reform of administrative structure. The most prominent actors in the public
discussion were environmental organizations, the representatives of Social Democrats, the Centre party
and the directors of the regional environmental centers. The newspaper itself was in a key position in terms
of which actors got media coverage in the public debate and what kinds of topics were highlighted. The
article illustrates how the newspaper approached the substantial renewal of the environmental administration
mainly as an unavoidable systemic reform, thus leaving the politicization of the issue in the margin.