The advance of the heroes. : A comparative rhetorical analysis of journalisms portrayed heroes 

The aim of this study was to examine how heroes are constructed in two article series, “My local hero” and “Swedish Heroes”. The study intended to investigate similarities and differences between a local perspective and a national perspective, similarities and differences between the modern story of the hero and the myth of the hero and journalistic use of stereotypes. We used a rhetorical analysis to study 19 articles from Mitt i Stockholm and 7 articles from Aftonbladet. The result of our analysis showed that there are differences between the journalistic ways of describing the heroes qualities. In summary these are bravery, uniqueness, devotion, self-sacrifice and hard work. We found a pattern that showed that journalism use stereotypes in order to simplify and establish various roles in stories. The hero, as well as the battle and the vulnerable are ascribed stereotypical qualities that we consider establish these roles. We found similarities and differences regarding the journalistic way of describing the hero compared to the myth of the hero. Several dramaturgical differences was shown in the analysis. The hero did not always come from something humble but was placed straight into a battle and these stories contained a battle or a journey but not necessarily both. Our analysis also showed that the articles from Aftonbladet tended to offer stories with a focus towards details that where sensational, spectacular or shocking. Articles from Mitt i Stockholm occasionally had similar characteristics but more restrained and they often tended towards a concrete describing of the hero.