Problemet med Sverigedemokraterna : En studie i hur Sverigedemokraterna representeras i två svenska tidningar

The aim of this study was to examine how the political party Sweden Democrats is represented in two Swedish newspapers. The study included a national newspaper and a local newspaper, Aftonbladet and Blekinge Läns Tidning. We studied 35 articles from both papers, from 2005 and from 2009. We analyzed the texts using the linguist Norman Faircloughs (1995) method for discourse analysis. Based on his theories, we created our own model to examine the texts. Our model primarily focused on representation. The study was conducted at a time when Sweden Democrats was given much support in opinion polls and knocked on the door to the Swedish Parliament. The study showed that Sweden Democrats in both newspapers, primarily by descriptions, the choice of interviewees, etc., often are represented as racists. Another phenomenon is that SD in a number of texts often are linked with suspicion and assigned with a hidden agenda. In contrary, we have also found examples of articles that portray SD as any other party in the political spectrum, especially in the articles published in 2009. Our study aimed to discuss and also showed that here are several complicated problems, both legally and ethically, when dealing with, and reporting about Sweden Democrats