Finnish podcast journalist selected for Helsingin Sanomat Foundation Fellowship at Constructive Institute 2024-2025

The first fellow of the Constructive Journalism Fellowship of 2024-2025 has been appointed. The 36-year old Finnish journalist, Noora Mattila, will begin her fellowship at the independent journalistic center Constructive Institute, situated on the campus of Aarhus University, in September.

March 7, 2024

She will be part of a larger group of fellows as another 8 journalists, editors or other media employees, all from Denmark, will be selected for the 2024-2025 fellowship program during the spring. Noora Mattila currently works as a podcast producer at the Finnish Jaksomedio in the Finnish capital, Helsinki. She has formerly been a reporter at several Finnish newspapers – amongst others Helsingin Sanomat, the largest newspaper in Finland. She has also worked as an editor of the literature magazine Nuori Voima and during a stay the United States she was a freelancer for several Finnish news media. Noora Mattila is the author of a book about conspiracy theories and vaccine critics which she wrote after the covid 19 epidemic and she has won several Finnish journalism awards.

Noora Mattila will be the 7th Finnish journalist to obtain a fellowship at Constructive Institute granted by the Finnish newspaper foundation, Helsingin Sanomat Foundation. During her fellowship Noora Mattila will investigate how media can react to misinformation on social media in a constructive way that may help combating polarization and strengthen trust in society. During her fellowship, Noora Mattila, will get the possibility of following courses at Aarhus University as well as getting an education in constructive journalism at Constructive Institute. She will be part of Team 8 at Constructive Institute, which began educating journalists, editors and other media employees in 2017.

We are delighted that we shall be welcoming Noora Mattila on the 8th team of fellows in September. It strengthens the possibility of Finnish media walking in the footsteps of Danish, Norwegian and Swedish news rooms that have started making use of constructive journalism as a means of improving journalism.

Orla Borg

Head of the Fellowship Program of Constructive Institute

The entry for applications from Danish media employees is now open and the deadline for applying is April 24th 2024.