Hufvudstadsbladet is the highest-circulation Swedish-language newspaper in Finland. Its headquarters are located in Helsinki, the capital of Finland. The name of the newspaper translates approximately into "Journal of the Capital", hufvudstad being 19th-century Swedish for capital. The newspaper is informally also called Husis or Höblan.
History and profile
Hufvudstadsbladet was founded by August Schauman in 1864, and the first edition was published on 5 December the same year. During the late 19th century, the paper was the highest-circulation newspaper in Finland. In 1920 the company Hufvudstadsbladets Förlag och Tryckeri AB was founded to operate the newspaper. The company's principal owner and chief executive officer was Amos Anderson, who would also serve as editor-in-chief of the newspaper between 1922 and 1936. Konstsamfundet, founded by Andersson in 1940, took over ownership of Hufvudstadsbladet in 1945, and has wholly owned the newspaper since. Hufvudstadsbladet has an independent and liberal stance. It is owned by Foreningen Konstsamfundet Association and is published by the KSF Media Group. The group also publishesVästra Nyland, Östra Nyland, Hangötidningen, Borgåbladet and Loviisan Sanomat. In the Spring of 2004 Hufvudstadsbladet changed its format from broadsheet to tabloid. In the same year it became Finland's tenth highest circulating newspaper. In 2006 Hufvudstadsbladet was named Europe's Best Newspaper and awarded European Newspaper Award in the category of local paper plus. A weekly supplement called Vision is distributed with the newspaper on Thursdays. From August 2006 to May 2010Hbl also published a full-colour weekly magazine called Volt with focus on lifestyle, features and photography. During its existence Volt was awarded more than 30 design prizes, much thanks to the visionary skills of AD Jesper Vuori. In January 2014Hufvudstadsbladet started a digital evening edition, Hbl Kväll, which is updated daily at 4 pm.
Circulation
In 1900 Hufvudstadsbladet had a circulation of 17,500 copies. However, in the 1920s its circulation fell behind Helsingin Sanomat and the gap between them continued in favor of the latter. In 1996 the circulation of Hufvudstadsbladet was 59,206 copies. The paper had a circulation of 36,719 copies in 2014.
