Last night in Sweden : A quantitative content analysis of the view on Sweden in polarized american online media

Purpose: The purpose with this study is to examine the view of Sweden in, polarized, american online medias. We are interested in the way in which Sweden is framed by the media and what underlying factors there are for the frame. Research question: Our main research question for the study is: “How has Sweden been framed in polarized American online media landscape during the last two years?” Theory: The theories that the study will be based on is agenda-setting, framing, nation branding, nation image and public diplomacy. We are also incorporating theories for mass media culture. Method: We are using a quantitative content analysis for this study. We want to examine how Sweden has been framed in, polarized, American medias during the last two years. It is a vast amount of articles, which makes it hard to focus on the small details and what we really are interested in is the overall portrait and general themes. Furthermore we like to examine in what way they may affect the international view of Sweden. The focus for the analysis is to see if the articles on Sweden are positive or negative. This is done by using variables such as overall tonality and variables on specific areas where Sweden, by tradition, used to have a strong international status and whether these areas are covered in a positive or negative way. Results: Our result will be visualized and explained by the use of tables and figures. We have concluded that the overall view of Sweden in the American online medias are negative, and that it is possible to see some some differences depending on if it is a leftist liberal media or a right wing media