Helsinki Times

{{Infobox newspaper

| image = File:HTbnr.jpg

| caption =

| type = Online newspaper

| foundation = 2007

| ceased publication = 2015 (print)

| owners = Dream Catcher Oy

| headquarters = Helsinki

| editor = Alexis Kouros

| website = {{Official URL}}

}}

Helsinki Times is the first English-language daily online newspaper in Finland providing domestic and international news for the country's English-speaking readers. A weekly printed edition was issued between 2007 and 2015.

History

File:Helsinki Times 2008.jpg in 2008]]

Helsinki Times was established in April 2007 by Iranian-born doctor, writer, journalist and director Alexis Kouros, who settled in Finland in 1990.[http://www.hel.fi/hel2/helsinki-info/arkisto/2010/infosupplement_0610.pdf English Supplement] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140814151814/http://www.hel.fi/hel2/helsinki-info/arkisto/2010/infosupplement_0610.pdf |date=14 August 2014 }} Helsinki Info. Issue 6. 13 December 2010. Retrieved 14 August 2014. A paper version was published in tabloid format{{cite web|title=Newspapers and News Magazines - Europe|url=http://www.infocobuild.com/newsmedia/newspaper/newspaper_europe.html|work=Infocobuild|access-date=5 February 2015|archive-date=5 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205113629/http://www.infocobuild.com/newsmedia/newspaper/newspaper_europe.html|url-status=live}} and was eventually discontinued in February 2015.{{cite web|url=http://www.hs.fi/talous/a1423554237883|title='Emme halunneet myydä propagandalehdeksi' – Helsinki Times lopettaa paperiversionsa|author=Pietiläinen, Tuomo|date=10 February 2015|language=Finnish|work=Helsingin Sanomat|access-date=15 February 2015|archive-date=13 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213033651/http://www.hs.fi/talous/a1423554237883?|url-status=live}} However, helsinkitimes.fi is updated several times per day with domestic news about Finland in English, resulting in a large archive of Finland-related articles.

Helsinki Times has had partnerships with The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, Reuters, Inter Press Service, People's Daily, and other prominent international media outlets. Columns and articles from these media were published in Helsinki Times regularly; some of them also advertised their sites and services. Domestically, Helsinki Times partnered with Finland's main newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, where Helsinki Times was the official English-language edition of {{Lang|fi|Helsingin Sanomat}}. During that partnership, which lasted from 2014 to 2016, in addition to its original columns and articles, some articles from the Finnish paper were translated and published in English on the Helsinki Times website.{{cite web|url=http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/domestic/8349-helsingin-sanomat-and-helsinki-times-to-cooperate.html|title=Helsingin Sanomat and Helsinki Times to cooperate|work=Helsinki Times|date=13 November 2013|access-date=14 August 2014|archive-date=9 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109171750/http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/domestic/8349-helsingin-sanomat-and-helsinki-times-to-cooperate.html|url-status=live}}
{{cite news|title=Helsingin Sanomat ja Helsinki Times yhteistyöhön|url=http://www.hs.fi/kulttuuri/Helsingin+Sanomat+ja+Helsinki+Times+yhteisty%C3%B6h%C3%B6n/a1384327761315|access-date=10 April 2014|newspaper=Helsingin Sanomat|date=14 November 2013|language=Finnish}}

Nowadays, Helsinki Times is a free online newspaper published by media company Dream Catcher. Notable guest columnists included Mikhail Gorbachev, Dilma Rousseff, Calestous Juma, Pekka Haavisto, Yuri Fedotov, Cynthia McKinney, Giovanni Buttarelli, Jutta Urpilainen, Sanni Grahn-Laasonen, Bill Durodié, Veltto Virtanen, and Maria Guzenina.[http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/columns/columns/viewpoint.html Viewpoint] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160806191703/http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/columns/columns/viewpoint.html |date=6 August 2016 }}. helsinkitimes.fi. Retrieved on 22 July 2016.[http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/columns/columns/mp-talk.html MP Talk] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160812155942/http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/columns/columns/mp-talk.html |date=12 August 2016 }}. helsinkitimes.fi. Retrieved on 22 July 2016.

Apart from Helsinki Times, award-winning documentaries and TV series, and books, Dream Catcher also publishes SixDegrees, an online service featuring articles and columns about lifestyle, culture, society, as well as interviews and weekly guest contributions by immigrants in Finland.[http://www.6d.fi/6d/index.php/what-is-sixdegrees What is SixDegrees?]{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. 6d.fi. Retrieved on 22 July 2016.

The website has republished articles from the People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. In 2020, the Helsinki Times published an article from the People's Daily which included a conspiracy theory about the origins of COVID-19.{{Cite web |last=Kinetz |first=Erika |date=2021-02-15 |title=Anatomy of a conspiracy: With COVID, China took leading role |url=https://apnews.com/article/pandemics-beijing-only-on-ap-epidemics-media-122b73e134b780919cc1808f3f6f16e8 |access-date=2021-03-12 |website=Associated Press |quote=On Feb. 22, People’s Daily ran a report highlighting speculation that the U.S. military brought the virus to China, pushing the story globally through inserts in newspapers such as the Helsinki Times in Finland and the New Zealand Herald. |archive-date=13 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210313172917/https://apnews.com/article/pandemics-beijing-only-on-ap-epidemics-media-122b73e134b780919cc1808f3f6f16e8 |url-status=live }} The Helsinki Times said the "barter-exchange" arrangement with the People's Daily was an attempt to balance western media coverage which it said was "at times extremely one-sided and biased".