Panu Pokkinen appointed Director and Editor-in-Chief of Yle's News and Current Affairs unit
Yle’s Board has appointed Panu Pokkinen as Director and Editor-in-Chief of the company's News and Current Affairs unit. Pokkinen will start in this position by 1 January 2025.
He currently works as the Director and Responsible Editor of Yle's Sports and Events unit. Prior to that, Pokkinen worked as, for example, Head of Department of Yle Sports (Yle Urheilu), Editor-in-Chief, News at Iltalehti and News Editor at Ilta-Sanomat. He holds master's degrees in Social Sciences and Military Sciences.
"Panu Pokkinen is a versatile journalist who has held management positions in media for almost 20 years. He has the necessary strategic competence to tune Yle's news and current affairs reporting to the AI revolution, among other things. Pokkinen has excellent social skills and is able to engage in dialogue with various interest groups," says Matti Apunen, Chairman of Yle’s Board.
"It's an honour to be able to take the leading position in Finnish journalism in a situation where artificial intelligence and the fragmentation of society are challenging national media. The foundation is good: Yle’s journalism reliably produces a true and balanced picture of Finland and the rest of the world. I feel that my main duty will be to ensure that, together with our skilled personnel, we can continue to strengthen the vitality of national journalism in the future," says Panu Pokkinen, who has been appointed Director and Editor-in-Chief.
Pokkinen will be responsible for the news and current affairs reporting in Finnish and in other languages, except for content in Swedish and Sami. He will act as the unit’s Responsible Editor and a member of Yle's Management Group. He will report to Yle’s CEO.
"Panu Pokkinen has demonstrated a strong ability to overhaul operations as Director of the Sports and Events unit. He is a collaborative leader who inspires people to get involved in change. Yle is the most trusted news media in our country, and under Panu Pokkinen’s leadership this trust will continue to be fostered throughout Finland by the entire news desk," says Yle's CEO Merja Ylä-Anttila.
Ylen’s current Editor-in-Chief for News and Current Affairs, Jouko Jokinen, will retire this year.
The press release updated on June 5 at 3:07 PM. The director and Editor-in-Cheif of Yle's news and current affairs is responsible for the news and current affairs in Finnish and other languages, except for content in Swedish and Sami.
