Den svenska fotbollens supporterkultur, huliganism och läktarvåld. En kvantitativ innehållsanalys om hur svensk nyhetsmedia framställer supporterkultur inom fotboll

Abstract

The aim for this study was to investigate, analyze and compare the way Sweden's main five news outlets portray and frame Swedish supporter culture surrounding football. In order to do so we formulated four research questions, all with the purpose to operationalize both the questions and the theories into data and results. The questions reads as follows: 1. What are the dominant portrayals in Swedish news outlets presentation of supporter culture? 2. Which word and concepts are most frequently used in connection to supporter culture and in what sense is this done? 3. Who gets space to actively speak in the articles and in what sense? 4. Are there any differences between different news outlets in their portrayal of supporter culture? The study is of a quantitative nature and utilizes online news articles published in the main five news outlets, those being Aftonbladet, Dagens Nyheter, Expressen, Svenska Dagbladet and SVT Nyheter. These five news outlets provide a wide variety of editorial working practices that may differ from outlet to outlet as some are seen as public-service, some evening papers and some morning papers. This method was employed due to the sheer volume of news articles that we had to analyze in the search for keywords, themes and different ways to frame, as well as it being the most efficient method when going through 300 articles in a relatively short space of time. The study's results showed that Swedish news outlets tend to make use of a portrayal that is based in conflict and with a perspective of public order in a third of the analyzed articles. This portrayal is prone to paint a negative picture of supporters and the culture that surrounds them as well as making them out to be a threat to society and the general public order. In addition to this, the news outlets make use of an episodic and thematic portrayal approximately the same amount with a slight advantage for episodic. Furthermore the keyword supporter was the most recurring during the study and even though the result was fairly even it showed that the portrayal was slightly more negative than neutral. Pyrotechnics was another keyword we included in the research which was almost exclusively framed in a negative manner and in a way that highlighted conflict over the original way pyrotechnics is meant to be used. This puts both supporters and supporter culture in jeopardy due the portrayal that football fans tend to seek out conflict rather than deescalating it. When the prevailing theme was based in conflict, representatives of the club was the actor that was awarded the most medial space and that space mostly tended to be of a negative nature. When it came to portrayals where the public order was in focus, the actor that stood out was the police and they too spoke more in a negative manner. Additionally, Aftonbladet was the news outlet that framed supporters as well as supporter culture in a negative way the most with a focus on public order and pyrotechnics that tend to villainize the supporters and portray them as a risk to the overall security. In relation to these findings, Expressen provided a more balanced coverage regarding supporters that even tended to be of a positive nature. Dagens Nyheter, Svenska Dagbladet and SVT Nyheter all followed a pattern that was made up of both negative and neutral portrayals with the numbers being fairly even and all five news outlets were subject to using an episodic way to frame the news being published. In conclusion, the study shows that Swedish news outlets have an effect in the way the topic is being depicted in the media which is often made up by a negative framing that is based on conflict. The negative discourse surrounding the matter and the lack of a diverse perspective may lead to the general perception of supporters as a whole being subject to negative stereotypes and a perceived threat to society and the public order. The study also highlights the responsibility and the power that is being possessed by the journalist and the editorial office and that a fair and diverse coverage of a subject is necessary in order to avoid marginalization and polarization, both in the media and on the stands in the arena.