Identiteten ”invandrare” i svensk morgonpress hösten 2007 : - en diskursteoretisk studie

The aim of this study is to go into depth and analyze the identity ”immigrant” (invandrare) and how it is constituted in Dagens Nyheter, Svenska Dagbladet and Sydsvenska Dagbladet. An investigation (SOU 2006:21) by Swedish authorities concludes that immigrants are portrayed in an unfavorable way in Swedish media, whilst Gunnar Sandelin in a debate article in Sweden’s biggest morning newspaper (Dagens Nyheter) meant that Swedish media lies about immigrants, creating an image of them that is too favorable that is not in touch with reality. This gives this thesis momentum to further investigate the identity immigrants are given in Swedish media. The theory and method used in this thesis is Laclau’s and Mouffe’s discourse theory. Discourse theory is well suited for revealing a certain group’s identity using chains of equivalence or chains of analogy. The discourse theory is sprung out of Marxist ideologies, especially Gramsci’s theories. Social antagonism, hegemony and identity are key concepts in discourse theory. The study shows that the word ”immigrant” only appears in articles that concern different problems in the society. No articles underlining the positive aspects of immigrants were found in the study and none of the journalists identified themselves as an immigrant. The newspapers in this study labels individuals ”immigrant” if they are in need of resources and help from the Swedish society. Immigrants were also not able to constitute their own identity though the constituting power was in the hands of the Swedish morning press