"Salamasanomat" premiered on Finnish television in August 31, 1989 on the children's magazine program "Lasten TV puoli kuusi" at Yle TV1 channel. It aired on Thursdays as various segments across the episodes of "Lasten TV puoli kuusi", featuring the characters of the nameless reporter and a puppet caterpillar called Lukutoukka. At first, the characters also hosted the other series within the episode.
The original storyline ends at the episode aired on June 14, 1990, when Lukutoukka turns into a butterfly and flies away. The second storyline from August 16, 1990 revolves around a magical cabinet promising to tell twelve stories. After stepping into the cabinet, the reporter meets peculiar people (first mainly played by
Harri Hyttinen and then by Aaro Jaronen). The episode titles are also included. The last two (partly compilation) episodes aired on December 12, 1990 (featuring the cabinet) and January 3, 1991 (featuring Lukutoukka).
Some of the early episodes also included reviews of children's books by Pauli Ojala, which (together with Anu Lahtinen) spawned a segment called "Anun ja Paulin kulttuuripalsta". Selected special episodes with host
Raili Mikkanen, titled "Erikoisnumero" were shot in the same studio set, including discussions of children's books.