Leading with precision: Johanna Lahti’s approach to transforming Ilta-Sanomat

This is a shortened version of an article originally published in Finnish by Suomen Lehdistö, a publication of News Media Finland covering the Finnish news media sector. It is translated and republished here with permission.

By Janne Arola

On a Tuesday morning in October, there are few people in Helsinki's central Kansalaistori square. Probably none of them recognises the Senior Editor-in-Chief of Ilta-Sanomat, the tabloid evening newspaper and one of Finland's largest news outlets.

Johanna Lahti has just finished her daily commute and arrived at Sanomatalo, the building that houses the media group Sanoma's news operations, including those of Ilta-Sanomat and Helsingin Sanomat, the largest subscription newspaper in Finland.

Once in her office, Lahti swaps her sneakers for ankle boots and puts on a green blazer. The window offers an impressive view across Mannerheimintie to the Parliament House.

Around 9:30 AM, Lahti starts the morning meeting to discuss the day's editorials. Ulla Appelsin, the Editor-in-Chief, also enters the office. The four other editorial writers join as small squares on Teams.

Jan Hurri, the Special Correspondent for Economics, presents potential topics: the pension debate, funding of social and healthcare regions, employment, and the situation in Ukraine. The consensus of the meeting is that the editorial should focus on the need for Europe to increase its support for Ukraine.

"Essentially, our view is that this falls on Europe's shoulders, and Europe must, whether it likes it or not, get its act together," Lahti summarises.

Lahti has led Ilta-Sanomat for almost six years but has not become widely-known among the general public. She does not, for example, appear regularly on TV or podcasts, nor does she share her opinions on social media.

The more visible Editor-in-Chief at Ilta-Sanomat is Appelsin, whose lively and opinionated columns have attracted much attention over the years.

Partly, this reflects a change in the role of the editor-in-chief: a large part of Lahti's time is spent in Sanoma Media Finland's corporate meetings and considering major business strategies. She also doesn't seem like someone who particularly wants to be in the limelight.

Lahti's office offers a striking view of the Parliament House. (Photo: Vesa Laitinen)

Lahti says she does not believe Ilta-Sanomat suffers from the editor-in-chief not having a more visible public profile. The role of the ditor-in-chief might be different in local media, but at Ilta-Sanomat, what matters most is that the newspaper can deliver a broad range of meaningful content to its readers.

Lahti's path to journalism began, like so many others, from curiosity and a passion for writing. She started her career at the now-defunct local newspaper Jokilaakso. She then moved to the sports desk of Helsingin Sanomat, Ilta-Sanomat's foreign desk, worked as a London correspondent, and held positions leading the TV supplement, and weekend and entertainment sections, later serving as Editor-in-Chief of Me Naiset magazine and heading Sanoma Lifestyle.

Lahti reflects that she partly drifted from one role to another without a crystal-clear career plan, and one reason might be that she is "interested in everything."

"It has always been incredibly important to me to be able to do everything. Everything interests me, even ECB interest rate decisions, but on the other hand, lipstick," she says.

In background interviews, Lahti is described as an editor-in-chief with a strong understanding of the media industry trends. Appelsin, who worked with Lahti on the foreign news desk in the late 1990s, says Lahti has particularly grown as a business leader.

"Her strategic thinking is excellent. And generally as a leader, she gets the people around her excited and working together."

Many consider Lahti's greatest merit to be what she has achieved within the newsroom. She is seen as funny and straightforward, someone easy to communicate with. Colleagues credit her with replacing the old culture of shouting with a fair and open atmosphere.

Lahti says it is important to her that the newsroom has an atmostphere where everyone can play to their strengths. She says she is not good at playing games and therefore does not recognise other people's hidden agendas. For this reason, she favours honest, direct communication so that issues do not fester.

In her leadership career, Lahti says she has made an enormous number of mistakes because, by her own admission, she didn't even realise for a long time that there was such a thing as "people management". She assumed everyone else was like her - direct and fast.

"One of my biggest insights - as stupid as it sounds - is that not everyone is built the same."

Ulla Appelsin and Lahti at the morning editorial meeting. (Photo: Vesa Laitinen)

Lahti leads Ilta-Sanomat's newsroom of nearly 200 people. It is inevitable that the editor-in-chief remains a distant figure to many of them.

In her role, however, Lahti is constantly making journalistic decisions, such as influencing the tone and reliability of stories. She alternates with Appelsin in what is known as the "rear-guard shift," supporting daily news operations alongside section editors and news managers.

According to one reporter, Lahti can sometimes be "very cautious," which may lead to delays in publication decisions. For the editor-in-chief, it is particularly important to carefully consider the societal and other impacts of stories.

"She may not be the brashest or most provocative decision-maker, but often prefers to take a more moderate approach," the reporter says.

"But in my experience, one is never left without a clear direction, and I appreciate that about her. She is also very fair in justifying her decisions and editorial lines."

Lahti herself says she is a quick decision-maker, but in some situations it is better to stop and think a little longer. She doesn't recall Ilta-Sanomat missing major stories, but admits to being meticulous.

"Being behind on a minor issue is better than having to clean up the aftermath of a mistake."

Ilta-Sanomat now categorises stories according to user needs: whether they are guiding, enlightening, touching, or entertaining. Lahti considers it "a matter of life and death" that readers always find something of interest on the front page. (Photo: Vesa Laitinen)

Lahti was surprised when her predecessor, Tapio Sadeoja, announced six years ago that he would retire as editor-in-chief. She had not thought the position would be opening or that she would apply. Initially, she wondered if the job was too difficult. She considered the visibility that came with the role, the huge audience, and the responsibility.

After a moment, however, she began to see far more positives. The future outlook for Ilta-Sanomat is remarkably positive, thanks to digitalisation, which is not a given in the industry. And once she started, she again felt the excitement and reward of working with "smart, funny, and clever" people.

Already her time at Me Naiset magazine and Sanoma Lifestyle had taught Lahti to think more holistically about media strategies, brand voice, and audiences - how people's diverse needs should be considered more carefully than in the print era, when newspapers tried to capture all possible audiences with a one-size-fits-all approach.

"People's dreams can be very small. For some, the highlight of the day might be queuing to get a free bucket at K-Rauta [hardware shop]. Media like ours can in no way dismiss or fail to understand people's small joys and fears."

Lahti sees her main task as ensuring that Ilta-Sanomat as a media outlet continues to grow.

"And that we fulfil our promise to be a media platform for the general public, from which a large portion of Finns seek the information that shapes their worldview."

That worldview, Lahti says, must be comprehensive and multi-voiced. At the same time, the newspaper must also succeed in entertaining and relaxing readers.

"Having a range of entertaining topics is crucial to having an audience of this size."

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