Constructing the ''honor killing'': an analysis of framing in Swedish newspaper media

Official URL: http://192.168.1.20/record=b1558761 (Table of Contents)

This thesis aims to analyze how Swedish media construct news about the murder cases within ethnic and/or religious minorities in the Swedish society which are declared to be “honor killings”. The intention is to examine how ideas about concepts such as gender, culture, religion and violence might influence such constructions through different shapes of media bias. The main argument presented in the thesis is that media has an important role in shaping opinion among the public and therefore has a responsibility to be aware of the message that is communicated as well as of how that message might be received. In order to analyze the Swedish news paper media a discourse analysis and an analysis of headlines has been conducted on the three largest daily newspapers with in Sweden, all with different regional and ideological profiles. The main goal with analyzing headlines was to understand when and why the “honor” aspect of a crime was emphasized in news articles. The main goal for the content analysis was to make visible patterns of framing in the news reporting on cases of “honor killings”. One of the findings of the thesis was that xenophobic and Eurocentric language is existing but rare. However the results showed a tendency in the Swedish newspaper media to sensationalize the “honor crime”. Such search for sensation might add negative attention to already vulnerable minority groups in the Swedish society. Keywords: Newspaper media, ”Honor killing”, Women’s rights, Framing.