Such is Maria Jungner’s memorable legacy – 2024-03-05 14:03:40

Anna Hopi

TV announcer Maria Jungner, who died at the weekend, worked in a profession where she became known to almost all Finns, writes journalist Anna Hopi.

Sunday 3/3/2024 at 16:05

tv-kuuluttajana."/>Maria Jungner became known to the whole nation as Yle’s long-term TV announcer. Down Liesimaa

At the weekend, we heard sad news that we didn’t want to believe. One of Yle’s longest-serving TV announcers Maria Jungner was suddenly gone.

Jungner worked in a profession where he became known to almost all Finns. A TV announcer can be called a common friend of the whole nation with good reason. It’s the legacy that matters.

Maria Jungner worked in this profession for over 25 years. He was the person who got in touch with the people sitting on their couches. He reached out to the bored and those in need of entertainment, the sad and the lonely. And as he has told, for example, in an interview with Helsingin Sanomat in 2023 – he ended up in his profession in 1998 quite by accident, but learned to love it.

In the changing media world, the profession of TV announcer belongs to a long tradition. Teija Sopanen, Tuula Rosenqvist, Riga Sillanpää, Cricket Stormbom, Tutteli Hammermann, Anna-Liisa Tilus and Maria Jungner…. They have all been an important part of Yle’s channel appearance over the years.

According to Jungner himself, the announcer’s job description changed and diversified over the decades. At first, they mainly informed about the twists and turns of the upcoming TV episode, but nowadays the announcer works as a marketer of Yle’s content.

– There are not many people in the house who know as much about Yle’s content as we announcers. We have accumulated quite a bank of information, Jungner told Ilta-Sanom in 2023.

The job made him a public figure, which gave a lot, but also took away. For example, he got into the vortex of the entertainment world when he participated in the Dancing with the Stars program in 2010, but at the time of personal crises, publicity also took its toll.

The profession of an announcer has been questioned in the sled of today’s development, but Jungner saw its importance and did his work with all his heart.

– The media world has become more fragmented all the time. Many people want something familiar, safe and permanent alongside it. So that at least one thing seems clear. That’s my job, he told Helsingin Sanomat a year ago.

In that task, Maria, you performed excellently.