There are no heroes among refugees : A qualitative content analysis of Dagens Nyheter’s portrayal of refugees during the fall of 2015

This study aims to increase awareness of the portrayal of refugees in Swedish media. In order to achieve this we performed a content analysis of the articles found in the newspaper Dagens Nyheter. Through a strategic selection we chose six news articles published during the fall of 2015 that depicted various refugees’ destinies. We studied the articles in several steps and identified the frames used in the presentation and portayal of the refugees. These frames consisted of roles, characteristics and selected quotations in which the persons were assigned. In the analyzed articles we found that Dagens Nyheter tends to portray refugees in a relatively generalized way, where different categories of refugees are similarly portayed and no refugee gets the role of a hero. They are portrayed in a way that makes them look like they are subordinate to aid organisations and authorities and as if they are in need of help. However, children and elderly tend to be discriminated since they in many cases are being excluded or assigned a subordinate role compared to other categories of refugees.