Jukka Kemppinen

Fleeting moments

Education or entertainment: the (Finnish) blogger’s dilemma

Blogs represent modern journalism, the function and justification of which is to enlighten the reader.

The writer believes s/he is slightly or even much cleverer than others and compiles lists of observations, reflections and life advice.

Blogs are a combination of diaries and books of homilies. Posts may contain useful information on world affairs of the stars, and nuggets of advice for each and every day.

In the past we had ‘Word of the Day’. We had the New Testament, which people carried in their left jacket pocket. There were people who read a random verse or chapter of the Bible every morning. There were people who prepared themselves for the daily grind by reading a bit of Marx or Lenin. Advertising has usurped this market. Now we find the day’s stimuli dotted here and there before us.

I believe that blogging may not survive, if its only function is to present the writer in all his or her exceptional superiority. In the 1850s J.V. Snellman [1806– 1881; journalist, professor, philosopher, statesman, senator] started publishing a new kind of newspaper with a printer colleague.

First off he denounced the existing seven newspapers and his old friends for their light-hearted entertaining style. The nation had to be educated, raised into self-awareness, and sentimental historical adventure stories would not help this cause.

J.V. Snellman was the first blogger in Finland – and probably remains the best to date. He wrote, typeset and proofread the publications Saima (published in Swedish) and Maamiehen ystävä (‘Farmer’s friend’, written in clunky Finnish) all by himself. An assistant helped him with the mailing.

Snellman spoke passionately of an issue which may be one of the foremost questions in online publishing today: will ‘university men’ voluntarily, for no remuneration and at the expense of their reputations, engage in public debate essential to the development of the nation?

At the time, the term ‘university man’ meant any person who could read and write satisfactorily and who wasn’t under the bishop’s thumb. At the time there were only perhaps a few dozen such people in the country.

This will be news to nobody, but there were just a couple of people who, following Snellman’s example, set Finland on a path which turned it from a distant, dreary backwater to the wealthiest and most well-educated country in Europe. This is nothing to make a fuss about. Things here are not quite as good as people claim, but they are good nonetheless.

Nowadays we ask ourselves whether debate should remain hidden, whether knowledge should be commercial or become available to more and more people.

I am more than aware that people no longer care for debate or knowledge. This is one of the problems of writing. Writing well is not enough. You also have to grab the reader by the throat.

There is something of a Snellmanesque ethos to blogging. People who do things at their own expense and further their own cause are nothing. They may as well go out into the woods and shoot themselves.

The other option is to educate both oneself and others. Sadly, Snellman’s idea of morality has since become difficult to comprehend and has assumed a host of new meanings.

As colleagues, priests and psychiatrists are closer to bloggers than modern journalists.

The problem with broadsheet newspapers is that the journalist stands on a pedestal and explains to the foolish nation the way things really are. Sometimes this is necessary; sometimes it is not. This is a difficult profession. Sensible people go out of their way, of course, to avoid becoming aware of important information and significant debates. Television has played a crucial role in this, though excess drinking has the same effect, if one has the stamina to do this over a long period of time.

Will bloggers ever become people whose writings are pored over in libraries and museums in years to come? I don’t think so. The world is full of pleasant things which are not meant to be kept, such as concerts, spring and theatre.

Translated by David Hackston

http://kemppinen.blogspot.com