This story is not really news in Finland. I think most journalists, especially foreign ones, who are brought here, accept all forms of "payment" for writing platitudes.
Finland, as a country, is a master of spin.
It is many a time I have drawn attention to articles in prestigious journals, as "Business Week", or dailies, as "Financial Times," where Finland has been reported as the least corrupt country, that the standard of education is the highest in the world, or that my hometown, Oulu, is the Centre of High Technology. (My opinions on some of these have already been aired on this forum, much to the consternation of other Finns on it who have believed what has been written about their country!!)
All of these are planted articles which twist of half-truth or a lie, woefully done by various Government bureaucrats - It is pure spin paid for out of tax-payers money.
I have time and time again called the bluff of authorities who have spun these impressions. They used to call me to try to stop me bringing this to light. However, as the international magazines which I wrote to, complaining about the facts contained in the articles, failed to reply or accept responsibility for the acts of their journalists, it was difficult to proceed further.
From my personal experience, Finland is one of the most corrupt countries on this globe, the "education" of students is pathetic, it does not have the "claimed" highest stand of living, rather it is a country with the highest "cost of living" accompanied with a low earned wage!! Much of this has been covered in a now out-of-print 1994 publication by my wife and myself called "Handbook for Survival in Finland".
Thanks for your update as it was good reading. (You have used the word "conducted" instead of the word "contacted" in the column. Maybe you should correct this!!)
Jacob Matthan
CORRESPONDENCE WITH AN "EDUCATED" AMERICANOulu, Finland