Your performance defines who you are : A critical discourse analysis of the framing of mental illness with elite athletes

The aim of this study was to examine the depiction of mental illness with elite athletes. Mental illness has long been a sensitive object in the public's eye, but in recent years that has started to shift and the subject has destigmatized. More and more people are open and talk about their inner problems. But in one group in society the development has not been up to pace, and that is elite athletes. The study has also looked at the difference between tabloid and daily press. The theoretical framework was constructed by using the agenda setting theory, the framing theory, theories of media logic and the thoughts of news evaluation. The method used in the study was critical discourse analysis, and used in the way through out by Norman Fairclough and his three dimensional modell. A total of 38 articles from the newspapers Dagens Nyheter, Svenska dagbladet, Aftonbladet and Expressen was analyzed. The analysis found that the papers tend to portray mental illness as a negative major problem of today's society. A majority of the articles analyzed tended put the athlete aspect of the person in limelight, rather than letting the athlete just be a suffering person. They way the papers achieved to sustain the image of being a unbeatable hero by reminding the audience about the athletic achievements won, when the athlete was presented in the article. Keywords: Johan Franzén, Jenny Rissveds, mental illness, depression, concussions, concussion, eating disorder and eating disorders