MTV3 Wins Industry Award

Finland's MTV3 and its news program 45 minuuttia (45 minutes) have won the journalism of the year award from the Finnish editors' association. The prize is given out every few years, and this is the first time a TV program has won.

"It's a great pleasure to get an award from the editors-in-chief of Finland," says Jussi Eronen, executive producer for 45 minuuttia. "Top executive journalists are picky and they don't want to reward just anything. The board wanted to give the prize to a team which has been capable of doing quality investigative journalism over a long period of time. This was our secret."

Eronen describes the program as a mix between 60 minutes and a regular news program. "The show consists of investigative reporting, on-the-spot news journalism and profile stories mainly about culture," he says. "Many stories center on allegations of wrongdoing on the part of corporations or politicians. We undertake investigations but we also cover plenty of positive human interest stories."

This isn't the first prize for 45 minuuttia. Since 1996, when the first episode was broadcast, the show has gotten a lot of recognition, including the Suuri Journalistipalkinto, Finland's Great Journalist Award, which it won in 2008. 

"We don't exactly know yet but, sure, we're going to celebrate," says Eronen. "Our studio is going to be renovated during the summer but we won't buy new chairs with this money!"