Jari Porttila
Encyclopedia
Jari Porttila is a Finnish
sport
s journalist
, columnist
and reporter who works for television channel MTV3
. He has also done commentating and sportsreading jobs. Before MTV3 he worked for newspapers Uusi Suomi
and Iltalehti
.
From 1990s to 2000s Porttila worked as a sportsreader in Tulosruutu, a sports news program on MTV3, and occasionally as a live-by-live commentator. Nowadays Porttila is mainly known for his columns, in which he speaks out in a high-spirited way about the events in the world of sports. He has many contacts in the inner circle of sports. He focuses usually on skiing
, ski jumping
, Nordic combined
, Formula One
and ice hockey
, but is able to commentate on almost everything in sports.
One of the main moments in Porttila's career happened in 1984 when Finnish long distance runner Martti Vainio
failed in doping
-test. Porttila expressed the involvement of janitor Alpo Nyrönen to the doping case, and wrote: "Some people believe in God, some people believe in Santa Claus, but I believe in Martti Vainio". The other memorable moment happened in 1999, during the football
Euro 2000 qualification match between Finland
and Turkey
in Helsinki Olympic Stadium
. A group of Kurdish people
made a pitch invasion in the closing minutes of the first half and the game was suspended. Porttila was reporting live from the field with his microphone
and made interviews.
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
s journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, columnist
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
and reporter who works for television channel MTV3
MTV3
MTV3 is a Finnish commercial television station owned by Bonnier. It had the biggest audience share of all Finnish TV channels until Finnish Broadcasting Company’s YLE1 took the lead. The letters MTV stand for Mainos-TV , due to the channel getting its revenue from running commercials...
. He has also done commentating and sportsreading jobs. Before MTV3 he worked for newspapers Uusi Suomi
Uusi Suomi
Uusi Suomi was a Finnish daily newspaper, which was published from 1919 to 1991.On May 25, 2007, it was announced that the Finnish company Nikotiimi had purchased the rights to the name "Uusi Suomi" from Alma Media and would start an online newspaper bearing that name in the fall of...
and Iltalehti
Iltalehti
Iltalehti is a daily tabloid newspaper and the third largest newspaper in Finland. Of tabloid newspapers, Iltalehti has a market share of 40% and its biggest rival Ilta-Sanomat has a market share of 60%...
.
From 1990s to 2000s Porttila worked as a sportsreader in Tulosruutu, a sports news program on MTV3, and occasionally as a live-by-live commentator. Nowadays Porttila is mainly known for his columns, in which he speaks out in a high-spirited way about the events in the world of sports. He has many contacts in the inner circle of sports. He focuses usually on skiing
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
, ski jumping
Ski jumping
Ski jumping is a sport in which skiers go down a take-off ramp, jump and attempt to land as far as possible down the hill below. In addition to the length of the jump, judges give points for style. The skis used for ski jumping are wide and long...
, Nordic combined
Nordic combined
The Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in both cross-country skiing and ski jumping.- History :While Norwegian soldiers are known to have been competing in Nordic skiing since the 19th century, the first major competition in Nordic combined was held in 1892 in Oslo at the...
, Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
and ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
, but is able to commentate on almost everything in sports.
One of the main moments in Porttila's career happened in 1984 when Finnish long distance runner Martti Vainio
Martti Vainio
Martti Sakari Vainio is a former Finnish long distance runner. In Finland he is recognized as the last of the great runners of famous "V-line", the previous ones being Juha Väätäinen, Lasse Virén, and Pekka Vasala...
failed in doping
Doping (sport)
The use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport is commonly referred to by the term "doping", particularly by those organizations that regulate competitions. The use of performance enhancing drugs is mostly done to improve athletic performance. This is why many sports ban the use of performance...
-test. Porttila expressed the involvement of janitor Alpo Nyrönen to the doping case, and wrote: "Some people believe in God, some people believe in Santa Claus, but I believe in Martti Vainio". The other memorable moment happened in 1999, during the football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
Euro 2000 qualification match between Finland
Finland national football team
The Finland national football team represents Finland in international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Association of Finland....
and Turkey
Turkey national football team
The Turkey national football team represents Turkey in association football and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Turkey. They are affiliated with UEFA...
in Helsinki Olympic Stadium
Helsinki Olympic Stadium
The Helsinki Olympic Stadium , located in the Töölö district about from the center of the Finnish capital Helsinki, is the largest stadium in the country, nowadays mainly used for hosting sports events and big concerts. The stadium is best known for being the center of activities in the 1952...
. A group of Kurdish people
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
made a pitch invasion in the closing minutes of the first half and the game was suspended. Porttila was reporting live from the field with his microphone
Microphone
A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
and made interviews.
External links
- Columns of Jari Porttila in MTV3 (in Finnish)
- "Finns pin Olympic hopes on cross-country women", CTV (quote from Porttila at 2010 Winter Olympics)