Alongside music, writing has been a natural form of self-expression for Olli Vänskä. Being part of a band, he needed to write about tours and the group’s activities for different grant applications and reports. However, all he ever wrote for the musicology students’ magazine Synkooppi was a mere concert report.

According to Tero-Pekka Henell, another musicology alumnus and a former intendant of Lahti Symphony Orchestra, studying communications is always a good idea. This advice stuck to Vänskä. Although his career plans were not very clear at the time, basic studies in communications led to him writing more.

Vänskä ended up becoming a journalist by chance. A childhood friend, whom he ran into at a grocery store, told him about an opening at the editorial office of Talentum’s magazines MPC and Tietoviikko

Vänskä applied for the job out of curiosity, and he has felt at home there. He works as an editor as well as a webmaster. MPC and Tietoviikko were later renamed Mikrobitti and Tivi.

I find the IT domain interesting especially in that it offers new methods of communication. Hardware and code have never been my thing, but I am fascinated by the IT business and its effects on society.

Even IT is all about people in the end. The humanity and the different motives of the users, manufacturers and service providers bring warmth into the world of cold technology.

The sun is setting on print media, and the IT press is going online. Most days at work are spent writing articles to be published online, where a hunch for sensational stories and a competitive attitude have proven to be a good combination.

Working as a freelancer has obliged me to take an in-depth look into the world that my writing concerns.

There is no way for anyone to know everything, but you can always look things up. A thirst for knowledge and curiosity are vital in journalism. Not knowing is an unbearable condition, so I get acquainted with dozens of new things every day.

The best thing about my university studies was undoubtedly that I learned to strive for thoroughness and be critical of the sources I used. Your gut instinct doesn’t get you far and hastily reported news doesn’t serve the reader.