The recipe for a healthy lifestyle to an unhealthy population : A qualitative content analysis of exercise on Swedish morning tv

This study examines Swedish morning TV’s framing of the phenomenon of exercising. Morgonstudion in SVT, and Nyhetsmorgon in TV4, is the morning shows that has been investigated. The aim of the study is to enlighten and enhance the understanding of how the phenomenon of exercising are framed in Swedish morning television, as well as to contribute to the theorization of media’s representation of exercise. A qualitative content analysis has been used to capture the language, to see how they present exercising and if they legitimate it. Theoretical framework applied are framing theory, representation, legitimize, healthism and public service vs commercial television. The research fields are health communication, exercise in media and morning television journalism. The result shows that Swedish morning television, through different methods and lexical choices, legitimize the phenomenon of exercise. SVT is more focused on exercise that suits everyone and that viewers can change their lifestyle by making small changes in their everyday life. For example, they have an idea of how to get the pulse up by exercises in the garden while TV4 is aiming at reaching out to those that is already exercising and specifies types of exercising during the show. They give advice on how to find out what training tools you need to complete a triathlon for example. Lexical choices reinforce that exercise is something positive and both the guests and hostess sees exercise as a norm. The elements of exercise differ between the programs, as well as the studio environment and the content. On the other hand, there are similarities such as the language that is used and they are both visited by experts