Typically, the media are just bringing up the rear. Reporters flock to where things have already happened. According to Airaksinen, those best in touch with the pulse of the times are training planners and seminar leaders - most of whom are women. The organisers of seminars and other similar events have to face the challenge of cost-effectiveness and attract charismatic speakers. The number of seminars organised in this country is absolutely astonishing.
Nobody has the energy to read scientific writings, but people simply flock to hear the spoken word.
Good preachers are more valuable than gold in these modern devotional gatherings. Airaksinen finds the organisation of his various timetables a somewhat heavy duty, yet he considers it part of his job. In addition to lectures on ethics and social philosophy, the professor's time is taken up by newspaper columns and the preparation of various textbooks. Readers of the Helsingin Sanomat , for example, are familiar with Airaksinen's musings. Airaksinen is not interested in political positions, but membership of the matriculation examination board he finds interesting, even considering the future of philosophy.