Gestaltningen av Ukrainakriget. En analys av svensk krigsjournalistik

Abstract

This study examines how the war in Ukraine is portrayed in Swedish news media, focusing on two leading newspapers: Dagens Nyheter (DN) and Svenska Dagbladet (SvD). Using a quantitative content analysis, the research analyzes articles published between September 2022 and February 2023 to identify themes and journalistic approaches. The study seeks to answer the following question: How is the war in Ukraine framed in Swedish news media? To research this, the following sub-questions are addressed: Is the reporting positioned in relation to the principles of war and peace journalism? What topics and themes are covered? Which genre dimensions and dramatic structures characterize the reporting of the conflict? The study builds on theories of framing (Goffman, 1974; Strömbäck, 2000), peace and war journalism (Galtung, 2002), and genre dimensions as well as dramatic structures (Fogelberg, 2004). These frameworks provide tools to analyze how media constructs narratives and highlights specific aspects of conflicts. Previous research, such as that by Nygren and Hök (2016) highlights the need for analysis of Swedish conflict reporting, especially in the context of ongoing wars like the one in Ukraine. The material consists of 431 online articles from DN and SvD’s premium services to ensure comprehensive access to content. These were coded based on variables such as themes, primary and secondary actors, framing, and the portrayal of individuals as active or passive. The findings reveal that Swedish media reporting on the Ukraine war follows a war-oriented journalistic framework, focusing on military events and elite narratives while providing limited coverage of humanitarian perspectives. Themes such as international politics and sanctions dominate, while human interest stories and peace-oriented narratives are less common. These results align with Galtung’s critique of conflict journalism and Fogelberg’s observations on genre conventions.