Valrapporteringen av ”Border Czar” och ”Fascisten”: En kvantitativ innehållsanalys av svenska tidningars gestaltning av Kamala Harris och Donald Trump
2025 (Swedish)Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE credits
Student thesis
Abstract [en]
This study examines the framing of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump in Swedish newspapers ahead of the 2024 US presidential election. The study's choice of method is based on a quantitative content analysis of newspaper articles from Aftonbladet and Dagens Nyheter. The theoretical frameworks, framing theory and representation theory have then been used for the study's analysis. The results of the study show that Harris was portrayed as a problem solver and competent politician. Trump was also described as a problem solver and a proactive politician. In contrast, Trump was also portrayed to a greater extent through negative character traits such as being dishonest and aggressive. The portrayal of politics as a game was more present when Harris was the dominant candidate, while the incidence of scandals was significantly higher when Trump was the dominant candidate. Regarding framing the politics as issues was approximately equivalent for both candidates. However, Harris was described to a greater extent with feminine substantive issues such as women's issues. Regarding the neutral substantive issues, Trump was also connected to these to the greatest extent where it concerned substantive issues about immigration. Both candidates were presented as serious political actors, however, the results showed that Trump was largely not considered a suitable leader and figures as a threat to the United States and the rest of the world. In contrast, Harris was presented as an important actor internationally and an actor who protects equal rights. Harris's gender and ethnicity/origin were highlighted in the articles, but not to the extent that was expected in line with previous research. However, an expected result was that Trump was more associated with sexism, racism and extremism. In summary, the results of the study show that Harris received more favorable coverage compared to Trump.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2025. , p. 94
Keywords [en]
Aftonbladet, Dagens Nyheter, Donald Trump, framing theory, Kamala Harris, news articles, quantitative content analysis, representation theory
National Category
Media and Communication Studies
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-120955OAI: oai:DiVA.org:oru-120955DiVA, id: diva2:1957243
Subject / course
Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap
Supervisors
2025-05-082025-05-082025-05-08Bibliographically approved