Crisis Communication in the Time of Corona: a comparative analysis of Danish and Swedish public news narratives

Andrea Radlovacki

Media and Communication Studies One-year master thesis | 15 credits Submitted: 2020-08-30 Supervisor: Anders Høg Hansen Examiner: Michael Krona Word Count: 16 812

Abstract

When the coronavirus disease COVID-19 spread through the world’s countries in early 2020 and dominated the news media, a contrast between how Sweden was combatting the virus compared to other countries who used stricter restrictions quickly became apparent and frequently discussed in media. Through a comparative content analysis, this study aims to investigate how narratives concerning the coronavirus have been presented in Swedish public news medium SVT compared to its Danish equivalent, DR. Any differences in such news reporting could indicate the possibility of media influence behind why one country implemented and adhered to stricter restrictions than the other did.

Utilizing a quantitative as well as a quantitative approach, 245 articles from

Danish and Swedish sources were coded and analysed through theory grounded in situational crisis communication (SCCT). The findings however revealed similar results, identifying the same four key SCCT-narratives in both countries: anxiety, blame, flattery and care. The theoretical contribution of this study is centred on the reflection of how these similar results may relate to one another on a societal and sensemaking level. The study ultimately also emphasises the flexibility of SCCT strategies as useful narrative tools for further research.

Keywords: crisis communication, situational crisis communication theory, SCCT, sensemaking, coronavirus, covid-19, public service media channels, narrative analysis, mediation

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Table of Content ABSTRACT ...... II LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES ...... IV

1. INTRODUCTION ...... 1

1.1 THESIS PURPOSE AND RESEARCH QUESTION ...... 4 1.2 THESIS STRUCTURE ...... 5

2. BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW ...... 6

2.1 DANISH AND SWEDISH SOCIETAL CONTEXT ...... 6 2.2 LEADERSHIP WITHIN CRISIS COMMUNICATION...... 8 2.3 PANDEMICS IN THE CONTEXT OF MEDIATED CRISIS COMMUNICATION ...... 11

3. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK...... 13

3.1 SITUATIONAL CRISIS COMMUNICATION (SCCT) ...... 14 3.2 INTRODUCTION TO NARRATIVE AND SENSEMAKING ...... 18 3.3 MEDIA MEDIATION ...... 19

4. METHODOLOGY ...... 20

4.1 RESEARCH DESIGN: CASE STUDY ...... 20 4.2 CONTENT ANALYSIS ...... 22 4.3 NARRATIVE ANALYSIS ...... 23 4.4 RESEARCH STRATEGY AND PROCESS ...... 25 4.4.1. MATERIAL ...... 25 4.4.2. DATA-COLLECTION ...... 26 4.4.3 INTERPRETATION OF DATA ...... 27 4.5 RELIABILITY, VALIDITY AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS ...... 31

5. ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS ...... 32

5.1 ANXIETY NARRATIVE ...... 35 5.2 BLAME NARRATIVE ...... 38 5.3 FLATTERY NARRATIVE ...... 42 5.4 CARE NARRATIVE ...... 44 5.5 DISCUSSION AND SUMMARY ...... 46 5.5 1.LIMITATIONS AND FURTHER RESEARCH ...... 50

6. CONCLUSION ...... 52

7. LIST OF REFERENCES ...... 54

7.1 DR AND SVT ARTICLES ...... 60

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List of Figures Figure 1. Crisis Types Definitions and Cues ...... 15

Figure 2. The Model of Theoretical Variables of SCCT ...... 16

Figure 3. Crisis Response Strategies ...... 17

List of Tables Table 1. Narrative Analysis Model ...... 29

Table 2 .Coding of SCCT Narratives ...... 30

Table 3. SCCT Narratives: Findings ...... 33

Table 4. SVT Narratives in % ...... 34

Table 5. DR Narratives in % ...... 34

Table 6. Positive vs Negative ...... 35

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1. Introduction

The coronavirus disease, COVID-191, is an infectious disease which emerged in the

end of 2019 and whose worldwide outbreak in March 2020 was labeled as a

pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). Apart from the virus’ many

repercussions on the world health care and economy, its impact on the global media

scene has been unprecedented in terms of how it dominates the news cycles around

the globe (Ducharme, 2020). With people now following news coverage to a greater

extent than before, the exposure to media and its influence is undisputable. Media

indeed plays a vital role during any crisis, as it is the main channel between

governments’ crisis communicators and the public (Seeger, 2007). Through the

circumstances surrounding the coronavirus disease, an academic opportunity has

presented itself that allows for a fascinating case study on the relationship between

public service media and crisis communication in times of the biggest crises of a

generation.

As of the summer of 2020, there is currently no vaccine or known treatment available that could help prevent the coronavirus and all that countries can do is to try to contain its spread. In this regard, most countries across the globe have reacted in a similar way: harsh lockdowns (in a variety of forms). With most governments choosing to close their countries at an early stage and using force-measures to keep their citizens staying at home, such a reaction appeared to be the status quo on how to contain the coronavirus spread. Showing a willingness to take measurable action towards this new threat is furthermore a way for governments of demonstrating strength and co-operation (Krastev, 2020). “Lockdown” as a term is in this case also used for describing measures taken by countries like the Netherlands or Denmark, where most of society has been shut down but no force-measures used to keep citizens locked inside.

1 Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses, which include among others Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Source: The WHO.The most recently discovered coronavirus causes coronavirus disease COVID-19, which will hereinafter this study be referred to primarily as “the coronavirus”. 1

In comparison with the majority of countries affected, one country has stood out in terms of its initial public crisis response: Sweden. In Sweden, there were no obligatory shutdown of business, no closure of elementary schools and no enforcement on keeping people isolated in their homes. The Swedish government is acting on advice from Folkhälsomyndigheten, The Public Health Agency of Sweden that falls under the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. The front figure for

Folkhälsomyndigheten’s recommendations has been Anders Tegnell, Sweden’s chief epidemiologist. Self-isolating has been advised for those who are showing symptoms, and recommendations on how to best stay safe with keeping distances from people in public are continuously being shared by the officials. Such an approach was initially shared with a few other countries, like the United Kingdom and The Netherlands, but by April 2020, Sweden appeared to be the odd country out

(Robertson, 2020).

This discrepancy from the rest of the global community did not go unnoticed by the international press. Throughout March and April, leading newspapers around the world such as Le Monde, BBC and The Guardian (see Orange; Savage; Hivert,

2020) were openly questioning and criticizing Sweden’s approach. Through these news channels, the differences between Sweden and the others become, as is customary within media, even more stigmatized and amplified (Hodkinson,

2017:207). As we are living in a strongly politically polarized world, having such differences amplified by media may cause further rifts between countries and the political ideologies that their leadership’s represent. This has previously been particularly exemplified by the difference between how Denmark and Sweden handled the refugee crisis of 2015 (Hagelund, 2020). By having one country not doing as others do in a global crisis further causes questions from the public whether stakeholders have the situation under control or not: “People are starting to ask: are others stupid and paranoid? Or is Sweden doing it wrong?” explained crisis communication expert Orla Vigsø in an interview concerning the coronavirus for The

Guardian (Robertson, 2020). Such practices of communication have been

2 continuously monitored by the Swedish Institute (SI) since the start of the pandemic, which throughout the year of 2020 continues to publish bi-weekly reports on how

Sweden’s approach to the coronavirus has been portrayed in international media

(Svenska Institutet, 2020).

Unlike Sweden, the neighboring country of Denmark was among the first countries in Europe to close its borders in March 2020 and impose a closure of schools and businesses in the early stage of the virus outbreak (The Local, 2020).

Head of the Danish equivalent to the Swedish Folkhälsomyndigheten,

Sundhedsstyrelsen, is Søren Brostrøm. Sweden and Denmark are otherwise two

Scandinavian neighboring countries that on the surface appear to have a lot in common in the areas of for example language, prosperity, equality and innovativeness. They have frequently been noted as a “comparative dream”

(Mahama, 2018:3) due to their many similarities in socio-cultural heritage.

Nonetheless, researchers have over the years identified certain dissimilarities between the two countries (Vallgårda, 2007) which further makes them appropriate for comparative studies in a most similar case design (Christiansen et al, 2016);

Hustedt & Salomonsen, 2017:396; ). It is with this “most similar case design” argument that Denmark has been chosen as a suitable option against Sweden for the comparative analysis of this paper. Such an analysis will be starting with an exploration of the two countries’ societal context concerning the relationship between society and state governance.

With national polls showing higher trust in the Swedish government than before the coronavirus crisis (Novus, 2020) in a time when international news are openly questioning the Swedish government’s stance, it is indeed highly relevant and timely to do a comparative study of how another country is currently reporting on the coronavirus compared to Sweden. As online news reporting in present day is immediate as well as globally accessible, the impact of this mediated crisis communication becomes even more pertinent than if this crisis were to occur in an earlier decade. Identifying whether reporting in Denmark seemingly differs from the

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Swedish reporting in turn has a strong connection to postmodernist philosopher

Michel Foucault’s notion regarding how dominant themes and structures in society are reproduced in media (Hodkinson, 2017:68).

1.1. Thesis Purpose and Research Question

The purpose of this paper is to compare the crisis communication concerning the coronavirus from the two neighboring countries of Denmark and Sweden. Studying two countries’ crisis communication could be a clue to understanding their different approaches to the pandemic. This would shed light on the role of government leaders and spokespersons for health institutions in national crisis communication through public service media. In these times of a global pandemic there is an identified need of knowledge on how the media reports on a crisis. DR in Denmark and SVT in Sweden are both national public news broadcasters that receive state funding, which further puts an interesting inquiry on how the public and most accessible news with ties to the state react to and report on a national crisis.

Through the theory of situational crisis communication (Coombs, 2010), a content quantitative as well as a narrative analysis of public news articles from the Danish

DR and the Swedish SVT Nyheter will be conducted with the purpose of discerning how Denmark and Sweden’s narratives have differed when reporting on the coronavirus. The main research question will therefore be the following:

 How have crisis communication strategies been mediated through Danish

and Swedish public service news during the coronavirus crisis of spring

2020?

More specifically, what will be studied is content and patterns – how are the key crisis communication strategies mediated and what type of content on the topic of the coronavirus is presented? This implies investigating these strategies, or ways of articulating conditions and actions, that come across in the media reporting’s messages and discourses (patterns, particular values, ways of putting into words, insight in how relationships between groups and power come across). As crisis

4 communication may sometimes be ambiguous and in need of subjective interpretation, much focus is given to being clear and transparent on how these strategies are coded.

As crisis communication traditionally also originates from decision makers, certain attention shall furthermore be given to the notion of leadership in crisis and how that is mediated. “Leadership” as a term is for this purpose used for key representatives of leading institutions (i.e position in government or spokespersons and key representatives for health or related institutions). Focusing on the government leaders and the representative epidemiologists, this study will map out what kind of space, which key messages and discourses these groups occupy in the key institutions or news sites.

Connecting the media activities to situational crisis communication theory, the countries are in different ways trying to test or manage particular crisis strategies.

This paper therefore investigates the ways that these strategies are articulated in the news media. In the narrative analysis conducted, the theory of “sensemaking”

(Weick, 2001; Vigsø & Odén, 2016; Stieglitz et al., 2018) is adapted, focusing on what collective meaning may be interpreted from the different strategies.

In sum, the findings shall thus be an attempt to understand in what ways the news reporting has perhaps, if at all, mediated different crisis response strategies from the two countries.

1.2. Thesis Structure

In the following sections, an introduction to Danish and Swedish political culture will be presented, as well as a literature review on previous research that has contributed to the field of crisis communication. The literature review will be followed by a closer presentation of this study’s theoretical framework. This paper’s method will then be introduced together with a discussion regarding the methodological choices that were considered. The methodology section also entails a presentation and discussion on data collection and sampling strategies that focus on

5 operationalization. The study’s empirical findings are then presented and followed by a discussion and analysis. Ultimately, the study findings are recognized in a conclusion together with a few finalizing comments and suggestions on future research in the field.

2. Background and Literature Review

In this chapter, an overview of the Swedish and Danish political culture and societal context will be presented, followed by earlier research on crisis communication.

Studying a currently occurring phenomenon contains the obvious disadvantage of having no distance or clarity of hindsight to the subject. Although there have been recent science papers and reports quickly distributed on the subject (SI, 2020,

Heimburg, 2020, Liu & Liu, 2020), as of the summer 2020 we are still in the very early phases of scientific research and data on the coronavirus and the communication and media around it. There is however plenty of studied material on previous pandemics such as the Ebola and SARS, as well as on crisis communication in general. These can indeed offer insight on any patterns in media landscapes during times of crisis, focusing in particular on production, staging and articulation of crisis communication and its stakeholders. Nonetheless, as the field of crisis communication often touches upon themes of management and theories concerning image repair (Austin et al, 2012), much of the published material is not particularly relevant to the field how crisis communication works in times of a global pandemic.

Research literature with such focus will thus naturally not be presented. Instead, the literature review will instead concentrate on what crisis communication findings are relevant for a community crisis such as the current one of the coronavirus.

2.1. Danish and Swedish Societal Context

As previously argued, Denmark and Sweden share many similarities and account for circumstances that make them ideal subjects for comparison in research projects.

Geographically, they are also linked together via the Oresund bridge, a cross-border

6 access that has fostered collaboration and international business relations between these countries since its opening in 2000 (Savage, 2018). Together with Norway and

Finland, the Nordic countries undeniably do share several cultural, economic, political and geographic similarities (Franks, 2020). The existing dissimilarities most relevant to this paper are related to the Danish and Swedish systems of government’s relationship to civil society. While both of these welfare states are part of the

European Union and have parliamentary systems with minority cabinets (Klüver &

Zubek, 2018), there has been differences noted that speak to a different type of culture within their government systems. Dating back to the year 1979, Esping-

Andersen was among the first to study how Denmark had a shift in attitude towards the existing welfare state system that has otherwise been predominantly considered a positive thing in the Scandinavian countries (Andersen, 2007). The noted rejection of welfare systems in Denmark was in contrast with attitudes in Sweden, where there was no such emergent anti-welfare attitudes. A more recent study on health care differences in Denmark and Sweden similar attitudes were noted: “in Swedish problematisation, the welfare state played a central role and the citizen was seen as part of the community…The Danish approach, on the other hand, implied a more individualistic interpretation… and the state were accorded a less prominent place”

(Vallgårda, 2007:45). Considering the more specific realm of political advisors, who are currently in the heart of media surveillance since the coronavirus outbreak,

Hustedt and Salomonsen (2017) do note how Swedish advisors have far more direct influence and control over government than their Danish equivalents. The overall number of political advisors is also significantly higher in Sweden than it is in

Denmark (Christiansen et al, 2016:1238). Having more of such direct control from advisors gives the country a sense of government unity (Hustedt & Salomonsen,

2017:404). The study also emphasized how having advisors with considerable influence make the topic issues that are presented and discussed become less political and more professional (2017:394). These circumstances could all illustrate the political framework around Denmark and Sweden’s different responses on how

7 to handle a crisis such as the coronavirus on a state level. Sweden, taking in expert advice to a greater extent and having a public community that does not question the system as much as its southern neighbor speaks for a society which has enabled itself of battling a global pandemic in a unique way. “Inherent in Sweden’s social contract is trust in the state, trust by the state in its citizens and trust among citizens”, says historian Lars Tragardh (Economist, 2020), which in turn connects to Rousseau’s idea of a strong social contract. A strong social contract would imply high individual responsibility within civil society (Lundberg, 2017). What this entails is the government having a natural and consented legitimacy over individuals and that a political order largely can be upheld voluntarily by the conscience of the individual citizens. Societies and citizenships are overall socially different (Boje, 2015), which particularly comes through in the circumstances concerning extents of social contracts. Contrary to Swedes, the Danes are furthermore reported as acting in accordance with their self-image of being anarchists and therefore, in the time of coronavirus, “to be made to comply they need to be told directly” (Johnson, 2020).

This referral to Danes as “anarchists” by a non-academic source can however more critically be interpreted as them being a people with stronger sense of individualism, which is in line with other sources mentioned above. In sum, these two countries have entered the political landscape surrounding the coronavirus on quite diverse societal preconditions. The society’s relationship with their governments and other leaders then naturally impact what shapes their crisis response and communication take in extraordinary circumstances. Worth noting is that this summary is indeed a simplified one, as the deeper differences in political landscape between Denmark and

Sweden could in fact be subject of an entire thesis in themselves.

2.2. Leadership within Crisis Communication

Defining what constitutes a crisis is straightforwardly narrowed down to the occurrence of a dramatic and unpredictable event that has considerable impact on any ongoing procedures (Coombs & Holladay, 2010:19). “During crises, people turn

8 to the government for leadership including protection, guidance, and a return to stability” (Christensen et al., 2013 in Liu, 2019:140). Communication then becomes a tool for leaders (governments or other influential stakeholders) that is used for coordination and enhancement of crisis management (Johansson, 2017). With this crisis management, the aim is to reduce the impact of the crisis. Various research exists that explains the relationship between the giver and receiver of crisis communication, with a certain emphasis on presenting what practices are most advisable. One dominant theory in crisis communication is so called Situational

Crisis Communication (SCCT). This theory looks at variables that should be considered when selecting crisis response strategies such as, among others: denial, responsibility shifting, excuse and apology (Kyrychok, 2017:55). Focus in crisis response according to the theory should commence with leaders instructing the public, followed by adjusting information in order to help cope psychologically with the crisis (Coombs, Holladay, 2010:40). Such an approach is recommended by many of the authors mentioned below regarding how best to convey crisis information.

Leaders who respond to the crisis in a timely matter, all while making sure that the unfolding events are being interpreted to the public, tend to achieve the most impact

(Liu et al., 2019:129-130). Within the role of making sure that events are correctly interpreted by the public, leaders have a responsibility of facilitating “sensemaking”

(Weick, 2001; Vigsø & Odén, 2016; Stieglitz et al., 2018) – the collaborative and social process whereby meaning is created within situations of high discomfort and uncertainty. Characterising the process as collaborative and social is connected to how ”actual facts do not have meaning until they are discussed and contextualised”

(Stranberg & Vigsø, 2015:95). Facilitating this sensemaking will in turn stem from listening to the audiences’ needs, including being responsive in case there may be existing fake information spreading. What sets the notion of “sensemaking” apart from general attempts of making subjects comprehensible and clear is that sensemaking is a discipline concept of its own. Its collaborative nature entails “the ongoing retrospective development of plausible images that rationalize what people

9 are doing” (Weick et al, 2005:409). Through the responsibility of sensemaking it becomes equally important to shield the public from any “sensebreaking”, which is what occurs when contradictory information interrupts the process of creating sense for the public (Giuliani, 2016:221).

When further looking into the various do’s and don’ts of leaders in times of crisis, what becomes particularly apparent is the emphasis on transparency and accessibility of accurate, factual information where there exists a vision with the communication (Maal & Wilson-North, 2019). By end of april 2020, Swedish news reported on how Swedish Folkhälsomyndigheten had given the public incorrect numbers on two occassions concerning the coronavirus infect rate (SVT-1, 2020). The first time, Folkhälsomyndigheten adressed the public immediately after the occurence and explained that it had been an error on their end. The second time, they silently removed on the incorrect report and then republished it with corrections, instead of adressing the error they had caused in the first place (Karlsten, 2020). In these types of situations, Maal & Wilson-North (2019:385) urge that leaders best stay honest and admit to their mistakes – since a large emphasis is put on transparency then such strategies should be upheld. In the research from Maal & Wilson, it is further stressed that leaders should refrain from speculations or personal opinions

(2019:387), which has been demonstrated with unpopular reception of the contradictive narratives of for example president Trump in the US and president

Bolsonaro in Brazil (Gerbaudo, 2020). In such cases of leaders and their individual personas becoming the main focus where they ought to be spreading informational facts, sense-breaking tends to occur (Mirbabaie & Marx, 2020:263). With new research findings concerning the coronavirus coming out consistently, leaders in that situation need to be clear on that whatever information is given is based on what they know

”right now”. Having this knowledge of the role of leadership in crisis, it would be difficult studying crisis communication strategies without any focus of how leaders and leadership is manifested in the mediated reporting.

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2.3. Pandemics in the Context of Mediated Crisis Communication

Continuing a literature review on previous coverage practice of other pandemics, the spread of the SARS disease in 2002, and the Ebola disease between 2014 and 2016 fall within the most recent cases. The outbreak of Ebola originated in West Africa where most of its cases were concentrated, but also spread on in few numbers to some countries in Europe and in the United States, gaining considerable media coverage in western media. By the end of its two-year spread, 28 603 cases had been confirmed infected, with 11 301 dead (Folkhälsomyndigheten, 2016). Ebola has since had another outbreak in Kongo, which started in 2018 and continues to this day (CDG,

2018). SARS, a closely related coronavirus to the current COVID-19, spread across 29 countries and resulted in 774 deaths over the course of its 8-month spread. For media scholars, SARS and the recent outbreaks of the Ebola disease have offered an opportunity for analyzing in what way communication spreads during a crisis in the

21st century. With multiple broadcasting channels available that also range from traditional news to municipality websites to social media, today’s media audiences indeed demonstrate how crisis communication is a wide-ranging subject with various sources for information. Such a cross-media landscape invites to a

“multivocal rhetorical arena composed of various voices” (Rodin, 2018:238).

Nonetheless, basic questions that any person wishes to have answered during a time of crisis come down to: “What do I need to know?”, “What do I need to do today to protect my family?” and “Where do I find information I can understand and trust?” (Ratzan, 2014:149). Such fundamental needs urge crisis media coverage to be clear, based on facts and widely understandable. Re-connecting to the notion of

“multivocal rhetorical arena” mentioned above, serious media coverage in times of crisis are still relatively homogenous in terms of following a certain pattern of reporting, as this is what the public needs. Online news are in this matter a common choice due to their immediacy, spreadability and overall accessibility (Lee, 2005:258).

The audience may most often make conscious efforts to retrieve these answers by consulting its regular choice of media for information seeking, where a subconscious

11 rating of media credibility and accessibility occurs (Vigsø, Odén, 2016:74). This information-seeking need within the public is at its strongest when there exists uncertainty about the possible danger. What follows is a collaborative and social process with one’s peers and surroundings on reception and negotiation of meaning concerning the existing information and what future action to take regarding it

(Vigsø, Odén, 2016:82-83). As previously mentioned, this collaborative sensemaking in relation to others has the possibility of being based on a various range of media outlets such as traditional news or social media.

Within these different sources lies also a difference in narrative. In a comparative study of newspaper coverage and news stories shared on social media site Reddit, results showed how speculation that pushed blame and false alarm during crisis was more prevalent in the social media channel (Kilgo et al, 2019:815). The researchers concluded these means as more panic-inducing among the audience. This being said, social media is also presented as a valuable forum where crisis communication can in fact be questioned and discussed among the public. This illustrates a more collaborative form of sensemaking where people together make meaning of existing data. Still, social media has by a study from Johansson (2018:537) been noted as a form of extension of what is reported in traditional media, and ”foremost a complement to the already existing channels for crisis communication”. On a study from an earlier Ebola spread, Ungar (1998) discussed how the media generally play on public fears and panic to a greater extent if the crisis in question is far away from the audience. Some type of media framing indeed focuses on risk, blame and speculation, whilst other is emphasizing solutions and praising efforts of those solving the problem. When close, the media tends to instead present reassuring coverage which would calm the masses – ”The more tangible danger, the less alarmist the content becomes” (Rodin, 2018:245). This is also studied by Kilgo et al

(2019 – mentioned earlier) who has compared how social media vs traditional media covered stories about the Ebola virus.

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Mediated reporting on crises has further been studied by researcher Sherry J.

Holladay (in Coombs & Holladay, 2010:159), where she again underlined the importance of media reports as vital tools for informing audiences. Holladay nonetheless stresses the fact that journalistic subjective choices of course influence what to include in stories that are selected for publishing. This in turn affects the effectiveness of traditional media as a tool for useful crisis communication.

Mohamad H. Elmasry and Vidhi Chaudrhi (Ibis: 141) similarly studied how crisis communication strategies concerning image restoration were manifested in news coverage. In their research the subjectivity of journalists and media outlets are not discussed like with the above mentioned Holladay, but news media are rather seen as part of a national program for crisis management.

The research of this thesis aims to understand what type of crisis communication strategies have been mediated in public service media in two countries who on the outside appear to have vastly different stances on the pandemic. The distinct positioning of this study compared to previous research will thus be that the crisis communication reporting from media is regarded as a separate entity, rather than being a part of a larger encompassing program for crisis communication on a state level. Distinguishing any discrepancies from the mediated reporting vis à vis the state’s applied pandemic approach will also accentuate the journalistic independency in the source material.

3. Analytical framework

In this part, the paper’s theoretical and analytical framework is discussed. In order to find an answer to an established research question, and also to contribute to the development of knowledge in the field, one needs to relate findings to existing theories and research within a related research area (Halperin & Heath, 2012:134).

The following chapter will thus begin with a general review of the theoretical ideas of situational crisis communication theory, hereafter referred to as “SCCT”, which

13 forms the base for this paper’s theoretical framework. Thereafter follows a section which describes and defines the aspect of narrative analysis and how it relates to sensemaking theory. The chapter ultimately concludes with a section on the concept of media mediation.

3.1. Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT)

W. Timothy Coombs, the founder of SCCT, notes in his The Handbook of Crisis

Communication (2010:24) how crisis communication research is a scattered field in terms of how it belongs to a variety of disciplines, posing a challenge for anyone attempting to grasp the most updated and relevant approaches to use it. One of the principal theories within crisis communication is SCCT. True to its above-mentioned flexible field, it has been continuously tested and developed in academic research and is still in evolving as a theory (Coombs, 2010:41). The primary use of SCCT in this study will be its valuable defining aspects regarding crisis communication response strategies and how these are applied through narrative in news media.

The concept for SCCT is a theory that is audience oriented, used for understanding psychological attitudes and attributes that participants/audiences have towards a leading organization during a crisis (Kyrcychok, 2017:55). Coombs himself summarizes SCCT as a “theory-based system for matching crisis response strategies to the crisis situation to best preserve the organizational reputation”

(Coombs, 2004:266). This makes the core of SCCT focused on crisis responsibility within such leading organizations, continuing to further queries on reputation management (Coombs, 2010:38). It would however be wrong to assume that SCCT is a theory limited primarily to reputation management Coombs informs, with other crisis outcomes including factors affect as well as behavioral intentions (2010:39).

Within SCCT, there are two evaluation stages of assessing a crisis. Firstly, a classification of crisis, determining what type of crisis cluster is at hand: victim, accidental or intentional. This is followed by another classification of what precise type of threat this crisis entails (Coombs, 2004:269). Figure 1 below clarifies the

14 different existing definitions for these crisis cluster types. A pandemic like the coronavirus disease first-handedly falls under being an act of nature where all parties involved are victims.

Following the mediated reporting on the virus spread and actions taken to contain it, government leaders and other stakeholders are also subjects to scrutiny regarding if they are handling the crisis properly. The prominent crisis type relevant for an analysis of the coronavirus crisis therefore would fall primarily within the

Victim crisis cluster, containing Natural disaster or also the Intentional crisis cluster, containing Human error accidents.

Figure 1. Crisis Types Definitions and Cues

Source: Table 1 in Coombs, W T. (2004:270) Concerning how SCCT is assembled, Figure 2 below shows a map of the different theoretical variables of SCCT. The figure illustrates how variables such as previous crisis history, reputation and response strategies are determining factors to the crisis responsibility of stakeholders.

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Figure 2. The Model of Theoretical Variables of SCCT

Source: Figure 1.1 in Kyrcychok (2017:56)

As this paper is not in itself a study on audiences or reputational damage in times of crisis, the application of SCCT will in this case instead lie on its useful categorizing features regarding crisis response communication strategies. By knowing what crisis communication strategies exist and what defining features they have, we will be able to discern if any of them are predominant in the narratives of Danish and Swedish news media that reports on the coronavirus. Within Figure 2, this falls within the variable of “response strategies to crisis situations”. The previously mentioned crisis clusters determine the subsequent crisis response strategies that are to be taken in the matter. According to Coombs (2010:40), there are three primary such response strategies: deny, diminish and rebuild. With a deny-strategy, the understandable aim is for the organization to convey that they are not to blame for the crisis. World leaders such as the earlier mentioned president Trump and president Bolsonaro fit within this strategy, with their administration at times denying that any pandemic risks existed. The diminish strategy is useful for minimizing the responsibility of the organization/stakeholder, arguing their minor involvement to the crisis. Within the

Swedish context, this could for example be applied in narratives where Swedish authorities downplay the negative impact that the Swedish coronavirus strategy has

16 had on the death toll numbers. Ultimately, the rebuilding option focuses on taking responsibility, apologizing and offering appropriate compensation. Kyrchychok’s

(2017:55) builds on this work by Coombs and further presents ten main types of such response strategies within SCCT. In short, these include: denial, responsibility shifting, prosecutor attack, excuse, argumentation, flattery, care, compassion, anxiety and apology. These are further exemplified in this paper’s section 4.1.2 on data interpretation. Figure 3 below shows how the crisis types subsequently determine the proposed crisis response strategies.

Figure 3: Crisis Response Strategies

Source: Table 1 from Zamani et al. (2015)

In sum, these crisis response strategies are helpful for categorizing different crisis and taking the appropriate method to respond to them. They offer a guideline on what steps to take for resolving a problem. For the purpose of this paper, they most significantly offer a coding method on how to understand what stakeholders are shown doing through media in their response to the coronavirus disease spread.

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3.2. Introduction to Narrative and Sensemaking

The use of narrative is an established part of research in a variety of academic fields, ranging from communication to literature, political science and many other (Somers

1997:4). Looking past its methodological aspects, studying narratives may show “the explicit and implicit devices used to convey different events and the ways emotional responses are generated”. (Hodkinson, 2017:66). According to Berger (1997:4), narrative is a powerful tool for spreading ideas and knowledge and it helps make the world both understandable and graspable. Such a description can easily be applied to the purpose of news media, which in itself aims to distribute the same type of concepts to the masses.

Berger further describes how narrative is the foremost way for us humans to sort and organize our experiences into being meaningful and educational parts of our lives (1997:10). Narratives can mediate sense by assigning meaning to politically important occurrences, intentions or actions. Narratives can furthermore be framed both positively and negatively; a group can for example be referred to either terrorists or freedom fighters, depending on the narrator’s interests, beliefs and relations. To narrate stories is not merely a simple representation of an already existing reality, but rather a production of a specific way of interpreting the world, where some interests are positioned above others (Faizullaev & Cornut, 2017: 578).

Narratives are therefore selective per definition, and they always compete over other narratives that may discern or emphasize other elements of reality. Dominant narratives marginalize other narratives, while new narratives may grow and become dominant (2017:579). To find out how Denmark and Sweden are reporting on the coronavirus we need to approach it with this theoretical viewpoint regarding what distinct type of reality is being presented to the audiences and how it is framed.

Analyzing narrative is closely connected to the attributes of the previously mentioned sensemaking theory, which the foremost reason for why it is chosen for this thesis theoretical and methodological framework. Together, they both will help bring out the underlying meaning of content found in Danish and Swedish news media

18 concerning the coronavirus. Sensemaking is indeed a collaborative and social process

(Stranberg & Vigsø, 2015:95), where true meaning and impact of a narrative appears only when stated narratives are analysed in relation to one another. By doing so, any confusion of messages regarding the crisis can be mapped out to an comprehensive coherence. As researcher Deborah Ancona explains, “The importance of sensemaking is that it enables us to act when the world as we knew it seems to have shifted. It gives us something to hold onto to keep fear at distance” (2012:6). In terms of using sensemaking for a quantitative content analysis, Robert Gephart (1998:7) explains how quantification plays an important role when analyzing sensemaking in a crisis, where the quantitative measures can validate and socially construct a problem. How this will be conducted for this particular study will be discussed further in the methodology and research findings section. Sensemaking is furthermore particularly appropriate for this study of media in times of the coronavirus as traditional research on sensemaking often coincides with research of unusual events and crisis (Weick,

1995).

3.3. Media Mediation

As this thesis centers on news reporting, it is important to approach the data understanding what mediation of news stories implies. “News can never constitute an unbiased mirror on the world” Hodkinson (2017:120) states, referring to the ever- present bias of journalism. The filtering of news goes through its own subjective selection and construction before culminating in a news article. Accordingly, any news we access are ultimately merely representations of our reality. With this insight,

Hodkinson argues that whatever results in media representation bears within it a story of cultural practices, values and structures of the society that it exists within.

Any such distinction is of course not limited to individual journalists either:

Researchers Liu and Liu (2020) showcase through their research on media exposure during COVID-19 that types of mediums regarding news sources (commercial vs. official for example) have organic perspectives, which in turn influence what type of

19 content they produce to the public. An amplification of any occurrence of exaggerated bias in news reporting is today also particularly present in the polarizing standpoint concerning what constitutes “fake news” (Keener, 2019).

Any standpoint or further discussion on fake news in data from this study is however irrelevant for the purpose of this thesis. What on the other hand is significant is that any data from this study is understood as not reflecting ultimate reality but rather a mediatized version, coming from one particular media source.

4. Methodology

The following chapter aims to present and argue for the choice of methods and operationalization of this study. The chapter starts with a presentation and discussion of the chosen research design, with the subsequent section containing a shorter presentation and discussion of content analysis with both quantitative and qualitative methods. Next, there is a presentation of narrative analysis. Afterwards there is a presentation of this study’s material and sampling strategies, followed by a presentation on the operationalization concerning data collection and interpretation of data. The chapter ends with a discussion around this research’s reliability, validity and ethical considerations.

4.1. Case study

The paper’s methodological purpose is to investigate and analyze the variations of crisis communication between two countries during a particular time in history. The choice of research design therefore qualifies as a comparative case study, which aims to create a better and deeper understanding of how crisis communication works in practice. Within case studies lies the characteristic factor that they invite to deepened understandings of particular occurrences and experiences regarding a specific case rather than an explanation on a general level (Descombe, 2009:61-62). The method of case studies has indeed often been met by this reproach that it is not scientifically generalizable. Flyvbjerg (2006:226) has countered this criticism by commenting how

20 generalizability itself is overrated as a factor for scientific progress. That research can not be generalized does not mean that it is incapable of being part of a collective process of gathering knowledge in a certain research field or a certain community.

Setting the central framework of this case study to the coronavirus is a choice coming from both its timely relevance and for the unprecedented impact that it has had on the global community. The research findings may come to concern this case alone rather than a wider scope of crisis communication in general, but due to the magnitude of the issue they will still be of considerable value to the (crisis communication) research community. As Yin (2007:28) has also previously stated, case studies still do possess the ability to offer an analytical type of generalizing, which in this case can contribute to theory building around crisis communication.

Case studies are furthermore efficient in attributing insight and contextual explanation of actions (King et al, 1994:44). Because of the coronavirus crisis being new, with not much possibility of large scale overview and hindsight perspective, the case study benefits of insight and deepened understanding is therefore a welcomed attribute. SCCT is in this study used as both a theoretical as well as a methodological framework, which generates a deductive research design. A deductive research design “works with prior formulated, theoretical derived aspects of analysis, bringing them in connection with the text” (Mayring, 2000:4). This implies that this case study will be adapting theoretically established perspectives within SCCT as guidance for the analysis of the material, and derive from questions that come from previous studies on crisis communication. The purpose of the study is thus in one way descriptive, with an intention to systematically analyze any difference between

Danish and Swedish media representation of leadership and its mediated crisis strategies during the coronavirus outbreak. This comparative analysis will then make way for the intention of deeper understanding regarding how the coronavirus has been mediated in our society, what patterns emerged on what themes were given most space, and ultimately, if the research displayed any discrepancy from what was expected. The research design of this single case study further makes it possible to

21 conduct research even with limited data and occurrences that are in some way novel and unprecedented.

4.2. Content Analysis

Within a deductive logic there lies the research strength of explanation and prediction. The paradigm that follows the deductive logic is Neo-positivism, which also implies that a researcher in advance defines what it is that will be studied. In this particular case, the neo-positivist paradigm implies that Danish news media follows a narrative with less focus on strategies such as “care” and “flattery”, and more on those that are connected to “anxiety” and “blame”. This is based on the aforementioned notion of how negatively loaded news stories will lead the public into further panic concerning a crisis (Kilgo et al, 2019:815), thus possibly easing the prevalence of stricter governmental restrictions. Discussion around this chosen paradigm is further presented in the paper’s section 5.5.

The choice of research method for a content analysis is always dependent on what type of question one wishes to answer with the research. Some questions can only be answered with quantitative methods. This regards in particular studies where quantifying the occurrence of something is central. As the aim of this study is to identify whether there exist any differences in how Denmark and Sweden’s news have reported on the corona crisis, a measurable method such as quantitative content analysis would seem preferable. In brief, content analysis is: “to identify and count the occurrence of specified characteristics or dimensions of texts, and through this, to be able to say something about the messages, images, representations…” (Hansen et al, 1998: 55). Riffet et al. (2013) have in their chapter, “Defining content analysis as a social science tool”, listed how the strengths of such a method are many, and particularly regarding the research focus on the source’s own language use. This method’s furthermore has a central strength in its ability to with ease analyze large volumes of data in a systematic fashion (Stemler 2001:1). The research is thus

22 conducted in a way that eases material gathering and coding with focus on measuring facts without attaching them with particular subjective contexts.

Comparatively, a qualitative research method stems from the belief that reality is to be interpreted in different ways, with no objective or definite truth. With a qualitative content analysis, a study has the risk of becoming subjective, speculative and tendentious. This interpretive method nonetheless allows for a study of the social reality from within (Blaikie & Priest, 2019:100) and bringing out the essentials within a text while having in mind its surrounding context (Esaiasson et al, 2003:233).

An important factor for a qualitative analysis is diligent reading and an understanding of the above-mentioned surrounding context. The method prepares the researcher to actively read, ask questions about the content and identify with whatever chain of argument is there to guide the reader (2003:240). During an interpretative (qualitative) study, the important task would be to understand what a content is saying in relation to the question that is being asked. In this paper, the interpretation of content would therefore mean seeing what types of narratives the different news media of Denmark and Sweden are presenting.

There is nonetheless an alternative to approaching material strictly quantitatively or qualitatively, and that is to approach the research with multiple methods, a so called “mixed approach” (Collins, 2010:48). This content analysis is indeed primarily quantitative and the data will be measured deductively, but there is also a qualitative analysis step to how the data will be interpreted and coded from the start. Here much focus will lie on the qualitative narrative analysis, which will be presented in the following section. In this way, the content analysis will be coming from a mixed approach.

4.3. Narrative analysis

As a complement to the content analysis, the material will also be analysed with a focus on narrative. Both methods fall under the scope of textual analysis techniques, where the research aim is to analyze a text. The scope of narrative studies is an

23 interdisciplinary field that is characterized by some confusion as well as contradiction. It is not to be considered a particular discipline but rather a specific problem area within a wider research, containing various different perspectives and starting points (Johansson, 2005:20).

The core of the narrative analysis is its interpretive characteristic (Johansson,

2005:27). It is therefore possible to study different practices of leadership in crisis information, with the help of the narrative analysis. According to Vladimir Propp (in

Berger, 1997:23), the most important aspect when studying narrative is to deconstruct it, in order to review the underlying content structure. This is referred to as the morphological study of narrative, which implies that one studies the different parts of content and how they are connected to each other. There are generally three types of texts: argumentative (rhetorical, trying to convince of something), describing

(attempt to reproduce and explain particular facts) and narrative (re-telling of events in time). Few texts are then purely argumentative, describing or narrative, but rather a combination of those (Jansson, 2002:19-20).

The narrative analysis focuses on how people conceptualize and interpret their social lives and organize their experiences in meaningful parts. A narrative analysis is a research method which is based on a constructivist view on knowledge, where knowledge is considered as something personal and subjective. The narrative analysis should be used not only for describing different global occurrences, but also to identify how narrative is used in a strategic and rhetoric way, often on a subconscious level, to conceptualize global events (Wibben, 2016:62). It furthermore makes it possible to distinguish particular nuances in a text, which could otherwise easily be overlooked using more purely technical methods of textual analysis

(Robertson, 2005:226).

As previously mentioned, study of narrative focuses on deconstructing content.

It focuses on reviewing a sequence-based content which takes part during a certain time and contains a change (Berger, 1997:4). Todorov (in Hodkinson, 2017:66) as well as Miskimmon et al. (2013:181) explain how narrative contains an initial normality, or

24 status quo, which then encounters a problem which disrupts this normality, only to ultimately find a solution which will re-instate the primary order. A narrative further contains certain main components. In Hodkinson (2017:66), a list is presented of seven such standard character types within fictional stories, Berger (1997:4) has identified five main components more relevant to this paper’s analysis of news coverage: (1) characters/actors, (2) a plot, (3) an environment/context, (4) a conflict/occurrence and ultimately (5), a solution.

Bamberg (2004:359) describes how readers become subjected to a particular type of narrative, called “metanarratives”, which is an unavoidable occurrence. Also referred to as a “master narrative”, it can be translated as a culturally accepted framework for how stories should be understood and accepted by audiences, which tends to normalize and make certain events appear natural. The master narratives are therefore rather limiting in that they reduce what actions are possible to take within the frame of the dominant story. As this paper will be comparing material from two sources with possible different cultural background, the focus will lie on searching for the master narratives in the chosen articles. How the narrative analysis will be used particularly for this study will be further presented in section 4.4.3.

4.4. Research Process

The methodological aim is to do a comparative content analysis of Swedish and

Danish online news stories regarding their reporting on the coronavirus.

4.4.1. Material In order to identify and analyze any difference in news reporting coming from

Denmark and Sweden regarding the coronavirus, the first question that arose was what news sources to use. As previously mentioned from earlier studies on crisis communication, news media can differ considerably in their reporting depending on what type of audience they are targeting and in what forum (Rodin, 2018; Ungar,

1998 etc.). The news media chosen for the comparative analysis therefore needed to

25 be as similar in structure as possible: one could for example not be a private news entity while the other one was mainly publishing on social media or being state- governed. As the theories of crisis communication focus in large part on how governments and figures of responsibility act in times of crisis, it was therefore deduced that the most appropriate selection of material would fall on national public news broadcasters that receive state funding. It has also been established that public service media is more strongly associated with neutrality and seriousness of information (Liu & Liu, 2010:11). Consequently, the Danish DR and the Swedish SVT

Nyheter, who are both established official news sources in their respective countries

(Statens Medieråd, 2018; Wrede, 2018), would best fit such a most-similar-design.

4.4.2. Data-collection The material gathered from the two news sources more precisely came from their online news platforms, www.dr.dk and www.svt.se, as online news have been established the most accessible and frequented in times of crisis (Lee, 2005). News items collected from the DR website came from the search-string “corona” and

“covid”. News items from SVT, which does not have a search-function, came from the link https://www.svt.se/nyheter/utrikes/25393539 where all of the SVT published articles on the coronavirus are listed chronologically. Both chosen sources classify as public service news media sources, which in itself represents news reporting that has a different agenda and tone than other type of news sources that come from the private sector. Research has shown that there is a distinct difference in content of commercial media compared to that of public service media, even when they report on the same news topic (Liu & Liu, 2020:11). This naturally leads to the fact that the use of market-oriented commercial sources in this study could have resulted in very different findings concerning narrative. A closer discussion concerning this is further presented in this thesis’s limitations section.

Due to the time-sensitive nature of this subject where every day may mean new discoveries and attitudes toward the virus spread, a limitation in time had to be set.

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A limitation in time and in number of articles was also necessary due to the restricted time frame of the study itself. As the two countries’ alteration in how to approach the coronavirus became most visible in mid-March, 2020, after Denmark closed its borders and schools (Olsen, 2020), this research would have the most effective analysis if it studies the news reporting published shortly after this breaking point.

News articles were therefore selected and analysed from in between the dates of

March 25 and April 1s, 2020. It is important to stress that whatever findings result from this data is limited to what articles reported during this particular time frame.

The findings are thus not representative of either countries’ general news reporting during the entire spring season of 2020.

The final material from the news sites consists of 119 articles from DR and 126 articles from SVT, totaling in 245 articles. Using a larger number of articles from a wider range of dates would undoubtedly deepen this study’s research finding scope, with a larger number of possible conclusions. This limited material can nonetheless offer a stringent and focused analysis, which in itself will strengthen the study’s internal validity and make way for a deeper analysis than perhaps a larger and more spread-out scope of material would have been able to do.

4.4.3. Interpretation of Data The Swedish SVT Nyheter and the Danish DR online mediums will have their coronavirus content coded for a quantitative content analysis as well as a narrative analysis.

For the primary quantitative part, the chosen articles will firstly be identified and then categorized according to the main crisis response theme that it adheres.

The second part of the interpretation of data concerns the narrative analysis, which will be undertaken on any articles directly belonging to the most dominant and occurring SCCT narratives from the data findings. SCCT narratives are in this case stemming from the various SCCT crisis response strategies previously mentioned in section 3.1 of this thesis. The choice for operationalizing these strategies

27 into tools for analysis is based on their flexible nature that, unlike other crisis communication strategies found in for example Image Repair Theory (Benoit, 1997), is not centered on merely reducing negative attitudes among audiences. SCCT rather consists of strategies that aid for a codified understanding on various responses to crises, and is therefore well applicable for a study on media representation. Each article belonging to a dominant SCCT narrative will also be reviewed regarding any mentions of leadership action, such as mentioning of the government, governmental leaders or the state epidemiologists Anders Tegnell and Søren Brostrøm for a further analysis on leadership. All the selected articles will then be part of the next step of deeper narrative analysis.

There exist numerous ways of undertaking a narrative analysis (Johansson,

2005:288). This paper’s analysis will be organized from a holistic perspective, where focus lies on content and approaching the story as a hole. Focus will also lie on part- content, which means that one defines some categories and highlight certain extracts from the text which are then classified and put into groups (Johansson, 2005:289).

These identified groups are what this study thus defines as “narratives”. Studies in terms of narrative analysis have this advantage that it is possible to focus on content as well as form, which in comparison to traditional content analysis can contribute to a deeper understanding of the text’s meaning.

In order to answer the research question and distinguish how crisis communication strategies are portrayed in the chosen articles, a coding model has been assembled (see table 1). This will in a concrete way help make the research approach and methodology transparent. This study intends to use narrative analysis to examine how the content of the articles on the coronavirus is built up, with a focus on certain stylistic or linguistic characteristics. Such an approach will uncover what master-narratives are present in the reporting. The narrative analysis is in this case a searching for tools that help explain the construction of social reality, and understanding of how social structures are created, projected and reproduced. The articles will be analysed according to categories mentioned below, with an aim of

28 identifying the text’s themes or key words, and thus identifying possible combined narratives.

As has been mentioned earlier, in the use of content and narrative analysis it is important to avoid an analytic process which is subjective. This requires a structured approach and a thorough outline of a coding scheme. The coding categories outlined in the coding model are a combination of the Johansson universal analysis model

(2015:286), primarily developed for analysis of stories, together with coding content by Coombs (2010), Kyrcychok (2017) and Zamani et al. (2015) based on situational crisis communication theory.

Table 1. Narrative Analysis Model

Plot What is the dominant set of stories told? How is the narrative built up? Actor Who is the main actor of the story? Who else is mentioned? Conflict/Solution Who does what and what are the consequences of this? Is the threat of the coronavirus presented? Is any plan in handling the coronavirus presented? Theme Why is this story told? Are there any underlying themes? What is the master narrative in the story?

The material has been processed in accordance with Lieblich et al.’s (1998:62-63) proposal of a narrative holistic approach with a focus on content. The articles have first been read numerous times, with an open mind. On further reading, an active and systematic interpretation has been carried out with the questions presented in the analysis model, which in turn has made it available to classify and code the material. For the next step, initial reflections on a generalizing level have been formulated about the narrative to see where it fits within the SCCT theory on crisis communication strategies. The initial ten strategies mentioned by Kyrcychok (2017)

29 were compressed in to eight (where care and compassion for example were regarded as being too similar to distinguish and therefore combined). From these eight themes that were identified (see table 2), the articles have then be read through again, to identify how much space the overall theme is present in the text (Johansson,

2005:291). There parts of the texts have been chosen and underlined, in order to be presented as results under the findings part.

Table 2. Coding of SCCT Narratives

Narrative Coding Example Denial  Stating that there is no NO EXAMPLE crisis Prosecutor  Blame of someone else ” Sex medarbetare på Attack/Responsabilty  Attempt to shift äldreboende stängs av” Shifting responsibility

Excuse  Attempt of minimizing the NO EXAMPLE crisis responsibility, admitting control but saying there is no harm intended

Argumentation  Attempt to rhetorically ” Kan den vestlige del af minimize damages caused Danmark slippe lettere for by the crisis coronavirus end Sjaelland og Kobenhavn?” (DR)

Flattery  Praise for concerned ”Professor om dansk corona- parties and/or reminder of krise: Det bliver bedre dag for previous achievement of dag" (DR) stakeholders ”Sydafrika drar igång masstest för coronavirus” (SVT) Care/Compassion  Victims of the crisis are ”App hjälper frivilliga hjälpa being cared for, isolerade”(SVT) compensated  Expressed condolences for victims of crisis Anxiety  Indicated concern about “Första halländska dödsfallet the crisis utanför riskgrupperna” (SVT) ” Corona har slået den politiske tillid mellem EU- landene ihjel” (DR) Apology  Stakeholders take NO EXAMPLE responsibility for the crisis and apologize for the situation

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Ultimately, a simplified coding of the total of 245 articles was conducted where the above-mentioned narratives were interpreted as either reporting a reassuring and positive story to the public, or one that was negative or alarming in any way. In this case, narratives such as prosecutor attack, anxiety, excuse and argumentation would fall in to the “negative” coding while care and flattery would result in a “positive” category.

4.5. Reliability,Validity and Ethical Considerations

When conducting content analysis research it is important to consider reliability, the trustworthiness of the study’s measurements and validity, whether the study is measuring what it is intending to measure. These factors, together with ethical considerations need to be made throughout the research process in order to maintain the quality of the research findings (Bryman, 2008). Questions regarding particularly reliability and validity stem from the qualitative part of the methodology, which requires the inevitably subjective matter if interpretation and it therefore becomes vital to make visible any subjectivity towards what is being researched. Regarding any content analysis containing interpretation, the processes of analysis and interpretation are never fully completed but continuously ongoing, open and connected to unpredictability (Johansson, 2005:316). One way of strengthening any research’s reliability and validity would be to make one’s primary data available, as well as offering information that could describe how interpretations have been made

(Johansson, 2005:316).

Concerning ethical considerations, this research will be centered on a content analysis of published online news and public institutions. Such content is open and the images that they post are therefore available for the general public. There will therefore be no need for me to request any permission to use their material. As this study will not produce or use any personal pictures, there will also be no subsequent consent issues.

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As Collins points out, “it is recognized that research is contextual and that the specific dilemmas that arise are unique to the context in which your individual project is conducted” (2019:83). In this particular context, the ethical question that arises is perhaps whether or the researcher writing the thesis would be in some way biased towards interpreting the data. Being biased refers here mainly to not being objective enough and unknowingly adapt a method where the findings are cherry- picked. Such a possible outcome could come from the fact that one of the countries that is analyzed is the researcher’s own home country (Sweden). Choosing a content analysis where content is coded however diminishes the risk of that. This thesis however also has a considerable qualitative aspect as well, since the coding of narratives still comes from a deeper qualitative analysis. As such, the interpretation conducted by the researcher may still turn out subjective to some extent. In this thesis however there has been no intentional conduct of that sort and the aim has consistently been to present non-biased findings.

5. Analysis and Findings

Through an analysis of the articles by the coding scheme presented earlier (see table

1) and through stringent reading concerned with what actors are presented in the articles and who is given most space, what conflicts exist and how these are suggested to be resolved, what parts of the plot is presented and also what points the articles appear to make, eight themes from SCCT were sought to be identified (see table 2).

Besides the narratives that are present with each article (through looking at their content and structure), it is possible to identify narrative frameworks or master narratives. These are described by Abbot (2002:43) as themes, or narrative-skeletons.

Out of 245 analysed articles, 119 were Danish and 126 were Swedish. From these, the most dominant narratives with the highest number of articles included “flattery”,

“anxiety” and “blame” (prosecutor attack/responsibility shifting) and “care”. The other remaining narratives either did not exist within the analysed data, or only had

32 one or two examples. It is indeed a “finding” in itself that some narratives did not exist in the collected data from Denmark and Sweden, and this will be briefly discussed further in this paper’s section on limitations and future research. A further deepened analysis will thus only focus on the 179 articles coded as belonging to either one or several of these four leading narratives (see table 3).

Table 3. SCCT Narratives: Findings

SCCT Narratives: Findings

Care SVT 15

Care DR 8

Blame SVT 15

Blame DR 14

Flattery SVT 11

Flattery DR 11

Anxiety SVT 57

Anxiety DR 48

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

How much tangible total space of the analysed articles that belonged to the four dominant master narratives is exemplified in percent through table 4 and table 5 on the next page.

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Table 4. SVT Narratives by % Table 5. DR Narratives by %

SVT NARRATIVES BY % DR NARRATIVES BY %

Anxiety SVT Blame SVT Care SVT Flattery Anxiety DR Blame DR Flattery DR Care DR

45,20%

40,30%

11,70%

11,90% 11,90%

9,20%

8,70% 6,70%

Master narratives are often active and influence the reader without notice. The themes, or master narratives, that are identified will be discussed individually, where a discussion will be held on how they have been able to be identified. Such arguments can be emphasized with quotes or selected phrases from the chosen articles. Table 3 in itself presents a quantifiable demonstration of the results, where the number of articles of the different narratives that have been identified are noted.

In some of the articles, more than one master narrative is recognized and therefore the article may appear in more than one category. The occurrence of these master narratives may offer an understanding of any patterns that emerge in Danish or

Swedish mediated leadership during the time of the coronavirus. Such patterns will be analysed qualitatively and more in depth below in sections 5:1 through 5:4 and in the ultimate discussion in 5:5.

Table 6 on the next page illustrates a simplified graphic of how the coding of whether a narrative was positive or negative resulted. The results of this graphic is mainly subject for discussion in the later section 5:5.

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Table 6. Positive vs Negative

Positive vs Negative

100 90 87 80 60 40 26 26 20 10 6 0

5.1. Anxiety Narrative

In 105 of the 245 analysed articles, the narrative of anxiety, which indicated a concern about the crisis was identified. This entailed a rhetoric that provoked an alarming feeling of concern and worry in their texts (Kyrcychok, 2017). Out of the total number of 105, 57 articles were from the Swedish SVT and 48 were from the Danish DR.

One example where such an anxiety theme is identified is “SKF permitterar 1 500 tjänstemän i Göteborg” (SVT, 2020a). The conflict of this narrative is that people are losing their jobs due to the coronavirus. The article lifts the problem that the declining world economy has affected and many industries, to the point that they need to cut down on their work force and expenses. Taking the decision to cut down jobs is justified as both “difficult and necessary”. In the context of this article, a form of resolution to the conflict is presented by mentioning how the government will aid the workers who have been temporarily laid off, and that much help has been offered by the labour union. Similar narratives in Swedish media about a necessity of furlough are found in ”Liseberg permitterar 160 anställda på grund av smittan”

(SVT, 2020b), ”Gefle IF korttidspermitterar all persona” (SVT, 2020c) and ”Luleå hockey korttidspermitterar personal och spelare” (SVT, 2020d). In the reporting about Liseberg (SVT, 2020b), the problem stems from that the public is not able to visit such an amusement park due to risk of disease spread. Again the solution is in

35 this case stressed on how the labour union have managed a good support for the co- workers. Where loss of jobs has affected the sports industry, the sports teams mentioned (SVT 2020c, 2020d) are explicitly reported to save their clubs much money by the necessary downsizing. In this way, the problem of job loss is rationalised as being a solution.

Other articles fitting this master narrative, and that are very similar to the above- mentioned examples, are those further discussing the negative impact the coronavirus has had on specific industries and their economy. In “Taxichaufforen

Dilprit…”(DR, 2020a) , a taxi driver’s regular income has been cut by two thirds, and he has had to implement new working structures to keep the job safe for him and clients alike. The article mentions this solution, where the driver has been forced to take on more working hours to support himself, as unsustainable in the long run. In

Sweden, cinemas are reported as also losing out on income (“Biografkedjorna hårt pressade”, (SVT, 2020e) and the industry moving towards a new form of direct-to- video-release. The hoped-for solution of government aid is problematized as not being big enough. With media companies relying on advertising, “Annonsras efter coronakrisen” (SVT, 2020f) reports on how newspapers have been hit hard as well.

Having less revenue these industries face the consequences of no resources for consistent reporting on the coronavirus.

From a more comprehensive approach to negative economic impact, “Tvärnit i industrin” (SVT, 2020g), “Corona-mörker över svensk industry” (SVT,2020h) and

“IMF-Chef: Corona-recessionen er nu vaerre end under finanskrisen” (DR, 2020b) showcase how all industries are going poorly. These articles all stress the abnormality of the current situation and use alarming language such as “never before in 25 years” (SVT, 2020h) and “just as bad as, or worse than the financial crisis” (DR, 2020b). Much like several previously mentioned articles, even here in these cases the anxiety-ridden start has an ending that hints at a more positive outcome. In the two Swedish cases, the government is mentioned referring to a possible coming shift in economic growth once the pandemic ends. Again, mentions

36 of government aid is present and discussed as a beneficial factor, but also criticised for not being approachable enough (SVT, 2020h). The Danish article ends with a discussion of how the current crisis will bring with it a need for financial aid coming from a global cooperation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Having the narrative of anxiety and “flattery” closely connected in the media coverage of the early stages the virus is also a common recurring theme, as seen in “Tyskland korer det hele store skyts i stilling for at redde landets okonomi fra corona-sammenbrud”

(DR, 2020m). This is a large, complex article which in fact does bring out the steps that the German government is willing to make to ease its economic crisis, but this praise is overshadowed by the weight of the heavy anxiety-driven challenges the country faces.

The master narrative of anxiety is further closely connected to the present reports on health issues and death numbers caused by the coronavirus. This theme is particularly effective in the spread of anxiety in the sense that the language used makes it easy to identify with the victims. With the example of “Mor og far lå syge med covid-19 i stuen” (DR, 2020c), readers take close part in one family’s difficult dealing with the virus. The symptoms of the virus are described from first-person telling, giving the reader a feeling that they know the person. Recognizing oneself in this family’s everyday efforts concerning social distancing and personal hygiene in their attempt to not infect one son who has low immune system further brings us closer together with those telling the story. Their anxiety becomes the reader’s anxiety. In another Danish article, “29-årige Valdemar er corona-patient” (DR,

2020d), this is shown yet again, shocking and scaring the audience with how no age group is truly safe and how even those infected do not always know how it happened. Similar can be said for the Swedish articles such as “Första halländska dödsfallet utanför riskgrupperna” (SVT, 2020l). Reminding of the proximity of the threat also comes through with reporting focusing on geographical location, with stories like “114 medarbjedere i Region Hovedstaden er smittet med coronavirus”

(DR, 2020f), where the disease spread among healthcare workers in Copenhagen is

37 shown as a troublesome circumstance which is hard to avoid. Sweden has also published articles that focus on the mere proximity of the virus: “Första dödsfallet i covid-19 i Västernorrland” (SVT, 2020i) and “Coronasmittad på vårdboende avliden

– första dödsfallet i länet” (SVT, 2020j) are two examples of several Swedish articles where the location of the tragedy is emphasized. With this narrative, they reveal the deadliness of the virus in a local setting, where audiences can relate with anxiety over how this is happening close to them. Throughout the time period analysed, consistent tracking from both Danish and Swedish media has also been reported on the international scale of the virus spread. “Spaniens corona-dodstal er nu hojere end

Kinas” (DR, 2020g) and “”Dubblad dödssiffra i USA” (SVT,2020k) manifest how foreign countries are handling the disease and what their struggles are. With this articles that illustrate the magnitude of the problem where infection numbers are increasing, the only form of resolution to the conflict which is presented is repetition of how the spread may be slowed down by change in social behaviour.

5.2. Blame Narrative

The two crisis response strategies of prosecutor attack and responsibility shifting have for this study been merged together since both of their defining rhetorical concepts were being based on shifting blame to another party and criticizing it

(Kyrcychok, 2017). Hereon forward this narrative will be referred to as “blame”.

With a total number of 29 articles with such a narrative, 14 were identified in Danish media and 15 in Swedish. This narrative showed to be the most diverse out of the ones analysed and also the one easily interpreted to be another narrative when looked at through different perspectives. Reasoning concerning this will be exemplified below.

Among the more evident examples of the blame narrative are the instances where blame is evidently guided towards another individual, organisation or country who in some way is deemed to not act in a way that is covid-friendly.

Negative reports on individuals who are directly hostile by coughing on others can

38 be found in both Swedish and Danish sources: “Rev bort coronatejp - hostade chaufför i ansiktet” (SVT, 2020m) and “Råbte ‘corona’ og hostede betjente i hovedet”

(DR, 2020h). The article “Nattåg till fjällen körs som vanligt i påsk – trots coronaviruset” (SVT, 2020n) on the other hand provides a slightly more nuanced version. Here, the normally positive circumstance of trains operating as usual during

Easter holiday comes in direct conflict with recommendations from the Swedish governmental health body. The article begins with saying how trains to ski resorts are usually crowded to the limit with travellers and that the trains operate despite that the train company has reduced many of its other routes. The narrative of blame is evident in this rhetoric, particularly as it is immediately followed by saying how

Folkhälsomyndigheten now urges anyone who planned a ski holiday to rethink their choices. The article presents a counter-defence from a representative of the train company, SJ (which is furthermore state owned and run by a ministry within the government of Sweden), arguing that they do not find the situation to be troublesome as long as travellers make sure they obey by other public recommendations such as not traveling if displaying symptoms. The article nonetheless ends with yet another input from Folkhälsomyndigheten where the assistant state epidemiologist Anders Wallensten urges everyone to take caution in their choice of transport. Such an ending concludes the master narrative of the article to indeed belong on the blame spectrum. An example of more conflicting mixed messages of narrative can be found in “Ris och ros för regeringens krispaket”

(SVT,2020o) as organisations representing private companies give both praise and criticism towards how the government aid which has been offered to them. Each sentence in the article that presents a positive outcome is immediately followed by a complaint on how things could be handled better. As the article ends on one of the many negative notes, the conclusion still resonates with having the master narrative being about blame. This is connected to the fact that the interpretation space is limited and diminishes different ways that the article could be interpreted

(Miskimmon et al. 2013:74). The blame narrative is in this instance also leaning more

39 towards “responsibility shifting” rather than actual “prosecutor attack” (Kyrcychok,

2017). In further blame on the government response of handling the corona crisis,

“Laege utilfreds med to saet corona-beskyttelse” (DR, 2020i), the problem of the story lies in doctors not receiving enough protective wear and sanitisers. This causes them frustration over not having enough means to protect themselves when in contact with patients who may be carrying the virus. The article begins and ends with the criticism of a doctor who is dissatisfied with the system, while the middle part of the text brings forward the viewpoint of authority profiles such as the responsible regions, Danish Sundhedsstyrelsen and a state-owned research institute. Although the institutions validate the doctor’s concern, they ultimately nonetheless stand by the decision made, with the argument that the risk of becoming infected primarily comes from the home and that they encourage more handwashing procedures. With the article indeed ending with projecting criticism, the conflict of this narrative ultimately does not end up being resolved.

Finally, it is within this narrative of blame that the paper’s two most dramatically written articles were identified: Danish articles that discuss Swedish coronavirus strategies – “Derfor håndterer Sverige og Danmark coronakrisen så forskelligt” (DR, 2020j) and “Nu må höjst 50 svenskere samles: "Debatten om

Sveriges tiltag simrer i alle samfundslag” (DR, 2020k). While the rhetoric in these pieces is indeed centred on projecting blame on another country, the articles themselves could also be recognized as to some extent belonging to the “flattery” narrative as praise is simultaneously given to the home government’s handling of the crisis. The article DR,2020j is the longest news piece found among the assembled data of 243 articles, taking up a lot of space to present its point. Starting the article by saying “While Denmark locked down, the Swedes sent their children to school, went to ice hockey, went shopping and visited restaurants”, the narrative echoes the

Danish sentiment that Swedes are constantly “a week behind with taking measures against the coronavirus spread”. Such declarations, together with the reporting that

“many” are asking questions on whether or not Swedes take the crisis seriously,

40 immediately establishes doubt of the Swedish model and its decision makers. On the subject of having schools close down, the Danish Sundhedsstyrelsen admits that it was a political decision taken by the health ministry. A statement defending this decision then follows, establishing the government’s choices and reassuring the way of the Danish approach. This then however appears to be part of a discussion of different viewpoints, as it is followed by Anders Tegnell presenting his perspective of why the contrary is true. Explanations to the Swedish approach is then presented, covering the facts that it is a more expert-run country where experts work in close connection with politicians and also that the country is less densely populated than

Denmark is. The “easy-going” method of Sweden giving recommendations rather than direct restrictions is further exemplified in a comparison of the Danish state minister Mette Fredriksen’s always “serious tone” in press conferences vis à vis the

Swedish Stefan Löfven’s softer approach. On the whole, the article gives off a unbiased impression by explaining each side’s reasoning and cultural background in length without putting larger emphasis on any side. The Danish experts who are quoted by the end of the article to defend Denmark’s actions and condone some of

Sweden’s still do finish by saying that it is still too early to know what way will prove to be the wiser in the long run. Ultimately, the blame narrative showed to be more poignant in the start of the text and diminished as the story unravelled. Moving on to the rhetoric in the second article, DR, 2020k begins in a more neutral manner, describing what current recommendations the Swedish authorities project to their citizens. Anders Tegnell’s viewpoint that the Swedish model differs from the Danish one in the sense that it is scientific, rather than politically driven, is presented.

Including Tegnell’s direct criticism of the Danish strategy in such a way would appear to mean that the article is considering his viewpoint valid. This is however immediately followed by a statement from a Danish correspondent who reports that she witnesses Swedish people continuously acting against the recommendations and that many of them are at unease, questioning if their government is making the right choices and should do more. With these two statements, it is insinuated that the

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Swedes have no faith in their government and that their social contract with their leaders is in fact broken. The article ends with the Danish correspondent’s comments on how Swedish economy is suffering greatly despite keeping the country open.

From a narrative perspective, this is efficient in soothing any Danish anguish over that much of their own country’s businesses were shut down by the time this article was written during the end of March.

5.3. Flattery Narrative

The narrative of flattery was identified in 22 of the 245 analysed articles: 11 Swedish and 11 Danish. Within SCCT, flattery traditionally means that praise is given to the ruling organisation/decision maker, or that a reminder is presented regarding previous achievements of the stakeholders (Kyrcychok, 2017). For the purpose of this paper, where media transmitting overall crisis communication to the public is studied, the flattery narrative has been coded as also encompassing any flattery of how the trials of the coronavirus are being overcome by the public.

Within the flattery narrative, there certainly are several examples that cover praise for leadership and governance. With “Stödet ökar för Socialdemokraterna under coronakrisen” (SVT, 2020p), it is established that support for the ruling

Swedish party Socialdemokraterna is gaining support from voters during the crisis.

Showing that there is support for a leading party that is responsible for guiding the country forward inspires a sense of comfort. The rising support is then rationalised to stem from the fact that it is mainly representatives from that party are those who attend press conferences concerning the virus, and also that other political questions are less prevalent in these times of hardship. The article nonetheless ends on an alarming note saying that this support will not necessarily last. More positivity on the future can however be found in the Danish “Professor om dansk corona-krise…”

(DR, 2020l), where praise is given to how Denmark has successfully helped slow the spread of the virus with its lockdown method. Starting by describing the problem of how the coronavirus entered Denmark, the narrative is quick to present a solution

42 that a professor expert in the field stands behind. There is an overall optimistic voice throughout the article, even when discussing any troublesome future hardships that the virus may bring. The Danish ”Ny hastelov på vej: Regeringen vil sende håndsprit-tyve i faengse” (DR, 2020n) is in turn an flattery narrative example of rapid government action against those taking advantage of the coronavirus situation by stealing hand sanitizers.

The flattery narrative has at times proven to be a complicated narrative to analyse and identify, as it can at times appear subjective what constitutes as praise and what does not. The leading identifier has nonetheless, as stated earlier, been any prevalence of praise and support of measures taken to improve the crisis situation

(Kyrcychok, 2017). If two or three narratives exist then an effort has been made to discern if there is one that is perhaps more dominant than the other. One such example is “Sydafrika drar igång masstest för coronavirus” (SVT, 2020q). In this article, alarm over the massive strain that the virus has had on the country of South

Africa is prevalent and it could possibly have been coded as belonging to the

“anxiety narrative”. A closer reading however recognizes how the negative reporting is followed by a detailed “solution” to the problem, all coming from government actions to track and stop the virus spread.

Ultimately, there were several identified stories linked to praising individuals’ efforts in combatting the corona crisis. Such flattery was often disconnected from any governmental impact. In some cases however, it was connected to both flattery of the public, as well as the stakeholders: “Brostrom og Molbak roser danskerne: Vores adfaerd har halveret smitten” DR, 2020p). The article starts by stating that the Danish state minster has aired the possibility of gradually re-opening the country since the infection numbers are dropping. Søren Brostrøm accredits this towards to the Danish citizens, for their diligence in following governmental restrictions and recommendations. Together with Brostrøm’s flattery, the director of Danish serum institute, Kåre Mølbak, further praises how Denmark’s numbers are among the best in Europe. Besides flattery, this largely stake-holder heavy article also contains

43 several pointers towards that the public should yet not relax and that further disease preventing actions are needed for the future.

Continuing to examples in the data of praise for individuals and private actors, it is an analysis that offers relevance to this study all the same due to its connection to the notion that media tends to present reassuring coverage when danger is close

(Rodin, 2018:245). When reading about how a centennial bravely survived the coronavirus in “101-årig fodt under den spanske syge - nu har han overlevet coronavirus” (DR, 2020o), the narrative eases the reader’s fears of becoming sick.

With examples such as “Gymnasieelever tar undervisningen i egna händer”(SVT,

2020t) and ”Biografens knep mot coronan” (SVT, 2020u), the narrative further demonstrates resilience and adaptability among the people and businesses against the crisis. In these articles language use like “taking matter into one’s own hands” and the idea of a movie theatre having successful “tricks” against corona are all part of a rhetoric that establishes the master narrative of flattery.

5.4. Care Narrative

The final major narrative identified in the study was the care narrative. In this narrative, the identifying factor is the demonstrated concern for those affected by the virus mainly health-wise, but also economically (Kyrcychok, 2017). Moreover, how the concern results in care-taking. 15 such articles were identified in the Swedish

SVT, and 8 in the Danish DR.

Leading examples of the identified care narrative are for starters those that involve solution to problems caused by the corona crisis: “Så stöttar din kommun företagen under coronakrisen” (SVT, 2020r) is an informative piece that lists in what way the government is offering aid to companies depending on in what Swedish region they are located. The problem of economic recession is here presented with the solution of governmental aid-packages in this narrative. Likewise, the problem of losing income when calling in sick is also taken care of by a governmental decision in

“Försäkringskassan slopar sjukintyg vecka tre” (SVT, 2020s). It is a short piece that

44 informs readers of how the Social Insurance Agency, covering sick-leave, is adhering to the needs of the public. Care-taking concerning the question of whether people will receive health care or not are also a re-curring theme in the care narrative. In these cases, the media informs of actions taken that will facilitate this need. Brostrøm voiced in “Brostrøm i ny test-melding: 5000 er ikke nog - vi skal over 10 000” (DR,

2020q) how he aims for Denmark to be able to test 10 000 people per day. Within the master narrative of care, this would be the solution for mapping the spread and thus overcoming it. Similarly, “ Corona-avdelningar öppnas på länets tre sjukhus” (SVT,

2020v) tells of how a grand re-organising of hospital space and staffing is in place in order to accommodate growing numbers of corona patients. The narrative of the article is overall soothing, informing that measures are being taken on several levels to ensure that care is given to those in need. The article tells of both current re- organising achievements, as well as planned ones to come in the near future thus re- stating the fact that preparation for even worse times is being covered.

Another defining part of the care narrative comes from the media communicating direct instructions and recommendations from governmental bodies or organisations such as Folkhälsomyndigheten to the public. Such an example was not identified in any of the Danish articles, but in the Swedish media it occurred three times in the 7-day period that was analysed. With for example “Detta är de nya direktiven från Folkhälsomyndigheten” (SVT, 2020w), the text does not contain any typical linguistic embellishment but rather directly presents a detailed list of how the

Folkhälsomyndigheten expects Swedes to act here on forward in order to reduce the spread of the disease. Such this minimalistic journalistic involvement in the article gives the temporary impression that it was written and published directly by

Folkhälsomyndigheten itself. Looking at the two other articles mentioned,

“Restriktionerna som gäller i Sverige - regler och råd” (SVT, 2020o) and ”Nya 50- personersgränsen - detta gäller” (SVT, 2020a), the same narrative and rhetorical style applies.

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Within the theme of care narrative, reporting on how foreign countries take care of the public was naturally also present. “Briter går skridtet videre end

Sundhedsstyrelsen…” (DR, 2020r) the narrative tells of how successfully the United

Kingdom is protecting its child-bearing citizens by not allowing pregnant health care staff to work in hospitals and thus risk infecting themselves and their fetus. By quoting a Danish professor in experimental virology and a pregnant Danish nurse, the article clearly showcases flattery over this care provided in another country. This is however followed by also a fair share of blame narrative on the local front, where

Danish authorities and Sundhedsstyrelsen get questioned for not taking similar actions. The article does end on a more positive note, re-affirming that

Sundhedsstyrelsen and hospital worker unions are looking in to the demand at hand and that change may come in the near future. With other examples, such as the

“Senatet i USA godkender gigantisk hjaelpepake” (DR, 2020s) where a promise of a large economic care package in the United States is the main story, there is no similar

Danish self-critique as mentioned earlier. Rather the master narrative focuses on how badly the coronavirus has struck the American health and economy and that this new care package will be the largest in American history.

5.5. Discussion and Summary

The research question of this study addressed the inquiry of how SCCT strategies have been mediated through Danish and Swedish public service media during one week of spring 2020. The initial neo-positivist paradigm was that Danish media would be more inclined to represent strategies connected to negativity (anxiety and blame). Such a paradigm originated in how communication is in fact a tool for leaders to coordinate and enhance their crisis response (Johansson, 2017).

Considering Denmark had been shown to conduct a crisis response policy that was stricter than Sweden’s, it was fair to conclude that their communicated media would promote such a narrative path that could even be considered panic-inducing (Kilgo et al, 2019:815). Having that said, there also existed previous research saying that

46 media will play less on such public fears and panic if the crisis in question is in close proximity to the audience (Ungar, 1998) which would thus perhaps imply that

Denmark would be less inclined to any negatively loaded narratives. The leading paradigm was nonetheless rooted in the aforementioned panic-inducing principle, mainly due to the fact that the crisis of the virus spread was equally present in both

Denmark and Sweden during the month of March and therefore the proximity of the danger was the same.

In terms of quantitative results concerning the analysed media, the findings of this study are somewhat unexpected as they do not present any grand disparity between the two countries. Such a finding indicates that whatever motivated the countries to engage in different actions against the coronavirus, it most probably did not stem from how the media discussed the pandemic. In the simplified terms concerning if the reporting was merely positive or negative, Denmark and Sweden presented almost identical results (see table 6). In both countries, the majority of articles by large reported a negative message rather than a positive or neutral one.

This is however also what could be expected in the early stages of a crisis where people are in constant need of being updated on the severity of the situation - much uncertainty about the danger still exists and the information-seeking need among the public is thus at its peak, as previously explained by Vigsø & Odén (2016). Looking also closer at the results of the identified narratives of “anxiety”, “blame”, “flattery” and “care” (see table 3), the quantifiable findings again showed similar numbers. In both countries, the negatively charged narrative of anxiety is dominant with 45, 20 % of the Swedish articles and 40, 30% of the Danish articles fitting within this narrative

(see table 4 and table 5). The representations are again similar also with the blame narrative (11, 90% for both) and flattery (8, 70 % Danish and 6, 70 % Swedish). What this means is that the Danish and Swedish audiences have in fact been subjected to very similar intake of news messages and influence, at least from sources that represent the public service media. These homogenous results are surprising and almost conflicting given that the countries indeed have had such a different approach

47 to combatting the virus in terms of actual restrictions. The results are furthermore also in a way in accordance with Hodkinson (2017) on that what appears in the news does not necessarily reflect the circumstances found in the real world.

Among the intake of similar messages and themes found in the Danish and

Swedish news, the adaptation of sensemaking to this crisis communication can be applied throughout. When the audiences are for example engaging with anxiety narrative news of how something bad has happened (death numbers, infection rates) or how the crisis is having lasting consequences (economy downfall) or how there are new restrictions in place (maximum 50 people gathering rule), a continuous sensemaking operationalization is happening. In these cases, information about that people have died are for example set against information about where these people lived, how old they were and whatever other health conditions they may have had.

Data on how many are dying abroad, how many may be dying from other causes that the virus also play a part in how simple news on “growing death numbers” are perceived. Exploring this wider system of news and information encourages audiences to test assumptions and adopt multiple perspectives for their sensemaking operationalization.

The one narrative that did result in different results however was the narrative of care. With only 6,70 % of the Danish articles identifying with this narrative compared to 11,90% of the Swedish, a disparity is evident (although admittedly not on a significantly large scale). Sweden was in this case more prone to promote what actions were being taken to in terms of concern for the public regarding health care and economic care. This could be interpreted as an extension of the Swedish societal context. As the Swedish welfare state plays a more central role with strong link to the public community (Vallgårda, 2007), it is thus understandable if this is represented in how the state cares for its people during a crisis. The Swedes’ inherent social contract and trust in state as mentioned by Tragardh (Economist, 2020) where people are expected to follow mere recommendations by governmental organizations rather

48 than adhering to imposed restrictions would naturally require more demonstrated care-taking from those in power.

In terms of noted differences, and closely connected to care-taking, the results also show that no Danish articles from the analysed time period mentioned any recommendations or instructions to the public. As Ratzan (2014) earlier stated, the public has a fundamentally strong need of having basic questions answered in the early stages of a pandemic. Within the Swedish articles, such a subject was both reoccurring and poignant. The clarity of what Folkhälsomyndigheten expects from the Swedish people was consistently available for audiences to read about. Such a reoccurring theme in the SVT news illustrate what Maal & Wilson-North (2019) consider the important transparency and factual information in crisis communication that also expresses a coherent vision with its message.

The role of the state and leaders is a theme that throughout is present within the different articles from both Danish and Swedish news media. As was illustrated with particularly the findings in the anxiety narrative, the solution to problems presented usually brought up the need of further government action. Likewise the flattery narrative frequently discussed what government action had been taken already and was showing positive results. What is interesting to note is how several reporting showed different local public stakeholders at times being at odds with eachother regarding approaches to the coronavirus. The two Danish articles covering the differences between Sweden and Denmark in particular illustrated how

Sundhedsstyrelsen and the Danish government did not have aligning views on the country’s applied lockdown measures. Likewise, Swedish recommendations from

Folkhälsomyndigheten were presented as an opposing contrast to decisions taken by the public train company SJ regarding train travel during the Easter holidays.

Naturally, such clashing information from stakeholders do illustrate mild examples of sensebreaking as mentioned by Giuliani (2016). The idea of sensebreaking nonetheless focuses on contradictory information, which the findings analysis mentioned did not occur often since a leading master narrative was still consistently

49 present in almost all articles. This shields the public from sensebreaking occurrences.

With the coronavirus reporting dominating the news as strongly as it does, DR and

SVT both build on the idea that their readers are themselves continuously engaged and informed about the storytelling around the crisis. With clear master narratives, the articles analysed in general had a limited interpretation space which then impact the likelihoods that the reader will make individual interpretations that differ from the dominant story and sensemaking.

5.5.1 Limitations and Further Research As has been previously argued in section 4.1 regarding the typical limitations of case studies, the research gap also in this paper has largely been connected to the issue of generalizability. The study findings in this paper face generalizability issues mainly connected to its small-scale research, which is limited both in its time scope as well as its geographical range.

Analysing certain articles posted in a one-week time frame, from two large media outlets is naturally a limit in itself concerning what type of data can ultimately be presented and generalized upon. It can be criticized that although the data collected in this study has illustrated narratives circulating public service media news in the very early stages of the coronavirus outbreak in Denmark and in

Sweden, it has not been able to shed light on it from a broader perspective that invites generalizability. Having the advantage of a larger period of time that is analysed, one could for example identify how these narratives have changed over time. If the crisis communication narrative of “anxiety” was the predominant in

March, perhaps this would not be the case during the month of May, in one of the countries or both. The data which has been collected, articles from end-March, has indeed also been close in time with the actual writing of this paper in April and May as well, hindering the advantages that could come from hindsight and adapting a summarising perspective.

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Looking back on the selection of which countries to compare, the choice of

Denmark and Sweden was likewise a limitation in itself. This selection was initially done based on the principle of them being “a comparative dream”, as argued in section 2.1, while also having taken undeniably dissimilar standpoints on how they chose to combat the spread of the pandemic. Since the data collected did not culminate in any discernible differences, opting for more noticeably different countries could have given way for a more comparative analysis. It is for example unquestionable that SCCT narratives such as “denial” or “apology” could have been more prominent if looked for in other non-Scandinavian countries’ media, which could have opened for an interesting comparison with either Denmark or Sweden.

What further needs addressing is the limitation of the chosen form of media itself. By collecting data from only two news media outlets, and more specifically, two public service media outlets, the findings of the study were in a way limited in scope of narrative itself. Public-run news media outlets have a language use which is unquestionably more neutral than news coming from less governed news sources.

The reasoning behind this paper’s choice of studying public service media has been previously addressed, but it is nonetheless worth mentioning that a different approach to where the data was collected from would possibly have resulted in more dynamic and discernible findings. The meaning of “prosecutor attack” as a narrative could suggestively have been manifested in a distinctly different way if looked for in media outlets that used more accusatory language than DR and SVT did in this study.

Drawing on these learnings, future research in this field of coronavirus and crisis communication narratives would in sum benefit from careful selection of wider time scope, different types of media outlets and, when doing a comparative international study, approach countries with more discernible differences in governance.

As this paper early on touched upon the notions of “social contracts” and the role that they play between the state and individuals, it would be my

51 recommendation to take that theory further in future research as well. With countries approaching the disease spread in different ways they are in fact also in in a way trying to test or manage particular social contracts. Here one could investigate further the ways that the relationship between the state and individuals are articulated in statements or media representations of these high-profile governmental positions.

Ultimately, it is worth also mentioning the overall usefulness found in adapting

SCCT strategies into operational narrative coding. As could be seen by this study’s merger of “prosecutor attack” and “responsibility shifting” into the eventual “blame” narrative, SCCT is a flexible tool which can be adapted to meet one’s academic research needs. Further research on other types of crises, such as analysing media reporting on for example the refugee situation in 2015 could likewise benefit from applying SCCT strategies in a similar fashion to this study. This is also true for more recent crises represented through societal tensions between social activists and governing bodies, as seen through movements like Fridays for Future in 2019 or

Black Lives Matter in 2020.

6. Conclusion

This research paper aimed to identify and analyse SCCT strategy narratives present in Danish and Swedish public service news reporting on the coronavirus. As the countries had seemingly adapted different approaches to combat the virus, it was initially expected that the results in media reporting would also differ. Based on a quantitative as well as a qualitative content analysis of 245 news articles from Danish

DR and Swedish SVT, it can be concluded that the narratives within the two countries did not result in considerately opposing findings. From the total number of ten SCCT narratives, both countries primarily reported the same four dominating narratives, where the narrative of “anxiety” was the most occurring one. The other three belonged to “blame”, “flattery” and “care”. It was only in the case of the care narrative that slight differences were noted as the narrative was identified to a larger

52 extent in Swedish rather than Danish media. This has been interpreted as aligning with Sweden’s stronger ties to welfare state and the public’s close relationship with governance. Leaders and leadership were also a reoccurring theme in the various narratives, where they were represented as solutions to occurring problems.

The final results of such homogenous findings from the Danish and Swedish news ultimately indicate that public service media in this study has not played a substantial role in guiding and influencing existing coronavirus tactics through narrative strategies. In our highly media-centric society of today, this finding therefore represents an important contribution for understanding the complicated relationship between media and public opinion with audiences and governance.

It further indicates a certain independence of content choice from these media outlets. The theory of SCCT which has been used has also proved to be an insightful tool for future narrative analysis on crisis. The study is furthermore published fairly early on in our now covid-affected world, which in itself makes it significant for further understanding of how messages and particular themes about the disease have circulated in the news media.

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7.1. DR and SVT References This list of references contains the analysed and mentioned articles that were used for the study’s deeper analysis. The articles are divided between DR and SVT, and referenced in the order in which they are mentioned in the study. All articles were retrieved at the latest April 30th, 2020.

 Danish DR References

DR 2020a, Taxachaufforen Dilprit er "ramt" af corona, 2020-03-31, Available: https://www.dr.dk/mitliv/taxachauffoeren-dilprit-er-ramt-af-corona-jeg-har-aldrig- oplevet-noget-lignende

DR 2020b, IMF-chef: Corona-recessionen er nu vaerre end under finanskrisen, 2020- 03-27, Available: https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/penge/imf-chef-corona-recessionen-er-nu-vaerre-end- under-finanskrisen

DR 2020c, Mor og far lå syge med Covid-19 i stuen, 2020-03-25, Available: https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/regionale/sjaelland/mor-og-far-laa-syge-med-covid-19-i- stuen-soen-med-daarligt-immunforsvar

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DR 2020d, 29-årige Valdemar er corona patient, 2020-03-30, Available: https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/29-aarige-valdemar-er-corona-patient-jeg-har- ingen-ide-om-hvordan-jeg-er-blevet

DR 2020e, Brostrom: Bekymrende, at sundhedspersonale er smittet i så stort et omfang, 2020-04-01, Available: https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/brostroem- bekymrende-sundhedspersonale-er-smittet-i-saa-stort-et-omfang

DR 2020f, 114 medarbjedere i Region Hovedstaden er smittet med coronavirus, 2020- 04-01, Available: https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/114-medarbejdere-i-region- hovedstaden-er-smittet-med-coronavirus

DR 2020g, Spaniens corona-dodstal er nu hojere end Kinas, 2020-03-26

DR 2020h, Available: https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/udland/spaniens-corona-doedstal- er-nu-hoejere-end-kinas

DR 2020i, Laege utilfreds med to saet corona-beskyttelse, 2020-03-29, Available: https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/laege-utilfreds-med-saet-corona-beskyttelse- koerte-i-byggemarked-efter-masker

DR 2020j, Derfor håndterer Sverige og Danmark coronakrisen så forskelligt, 2020-03- 27, Available:

DR 2020k, Råbte "corona" og hostede betjente i hovedet, 2020-03-29, Available: https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/udland/derfor-haandterer-sverige-og-danmark- coronakrisen-saa-forskelligt

DR 2020l, Professor om dansk corona-krise: Det bliver bedre dag for dag, 2020-03-27, Available: https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/professor-om-dansk-corona-krise- det-bliver-bedre-dag-dag

DR 2020m, Tyskland korer det hele store skyts i stilling for at redde landets okonomi fra corona-sammenbrud, 2020-03-25, Available: https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/udland/tyskland-koerer-det-helt-store-skyts-i-stilling- redde-landets-oekonomi-fra-corona

DR 2020n, Ny hastelov på vej: Regeringen vil sende håndsprit-tyve i faengsel, 2020- 03-25, Available: https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/politik/ny-hastelov-paa-vej-regeringen- vil-sende-haandsprit-tyve-i-faengsel

DR, 2020o, 101-årig fodt under den spanske syge - nu har han overlevet coronavirus, 2020-03-28, Available: https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/udland/101-aarig-foedt-under- den-spanske-syge-nu-har-han-overlevet-coronavirus

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DR 2020p, Brostrom og Molbak roser danskerne: Vores adfaerd har halveret smitten, 2020-03-31, Available: https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/brostroem-og-moelbak- roser-danskerne-vores-adfaerd-har-halveret-smitten

DR 2020q, Brostrom i ny test-melding: 5000 er ikke nog - vi skal over 10 000, 2020-03- 26, Available: https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/brostroem-i-ny-test-melding-5000-er-ikke-nok- vi-skal-over-10000

DR 2020r, Briter går skridtet videre end Sundhedsstyrelsen: Hojgravide frarårdes at arbjede på hospitaler, 2020-04-01, Available: https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/briter-gaar-skridtet-videre-end- sundhedsstyrelsen-hoejgravide-fraraades-arbejde-paa

DR 2020s, Senatet i USA godkender gigantisk hjaelpepakke, 2020-03-26, Available: https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/udland/senatet-i-usa-godkender-gigantisk-hjaelpepakke

 Swedish SVT References

SVT 2020a, Nya 50-personersgränsen - detta gäller, 2020-03-27, Available: https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/forbud-mot-sammankomster-over-50-personer- detta-galler

SVT 2020b, Liseberg permitterar 160 anställda på grund av smittan, 2020-03-27, Available: https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/vast/liseberg-permitterar-anstallda-och- skjuter-pa-premiaren

SVT 2020c, Gefle IF korttidspermitterar all personal, 2020-03-28, Available: https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/gavleborg/gefle-if-korttidspermitterar-personal

SVT 2020d, Luleå hockey korttidspermitterar personal och spelare, 2020-03-31, Available: https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/norrbotten/lulea-hockey- korttidspermitterar-personal

SVT 2020e, Biografkedjorna hårt pressade: "Vi klarar oss två månader", 2020-03-31, Available: https://www.svt.se/kultur/biografkedjor-vi-klarar-oss-tva-manader

SVT 2020f, Annonsras efter coronakrisen: Tidningarna kan förlora hälften av intäkterna, 2020-03-31, Available: https://www.svt.se/kultur/sa-mycket-forlorar- medierna-i-annonsintakter

SVT 2020g, Tvärnit i industrin - sämsta siffran på 25 år, 2020-04-01, Available: https://www.svt.se/nyheter/ekonomi/tvarnit-i-industrin-samsta-siffran-pa-25-ar

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SVT 2020h, Corona-mörker över svensk ekonomi, 2020-03-31, Available: https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/analys-corona-morker-over-svensk-ekonomi

SVT 2020i, Första dödsfallet i covid-19 i Västernorrland, 2020-03-31, Available: https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/vasternorrland/forsta-dodsfallet-i-covid-19-i- vasternorrland

SVT 2020j, Coronasmittad på vårdboende avliden - första dödsfallet i länet, 2020-03- 30, Available: https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/orebro/coronasmittad-person-dod- forsta-fallet-i-orebro-lan

SVT 2020k, Dubblad dödssiffra i USA - på tre dagar, 2020-04-01, Available: https://www.svt.se/nyheter/utrikes/dubblad-dodssiffra-i-usa-pa-tre-dagar

SVT 2020l, Första halländska dödsfallet utanför riskgrupperna, 2020-03-30, Available: https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/halland/forsta-hallandska-dodsfallet-utanfor- riskgrupperna

SVT 2020m, Rev bort coronatejp - hostade chaufför i ansiktet, 2020-03-27, Available: https://allanyheter.com/n/200327/rev-bort-coronatejp-%E2%80%93-hostade-chauffor- i-ansiktet_859858.html

SVT 2020n, Nattåg till fjällen körs som vanligt i påsk - trots coronaviruset, 2020-03-27, Available: https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/tag-till-fjallen-kors-som-vanligt-under- pasklovet

SVT, 2020o, Restriktionerna som gäller i Sverige - regler och råd, 2020-03-25, Available: https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/lista-har-ar-restriktionerna-som-galler- i-sverige

SVT 2020p, Stödet ökar för Socialdemokraterna under coronakrisen, 2020-03-25, Available: https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/stodet-okar-for-socialdemokraterna- under-coronakrisen

SVT 2020q, Sydafrika drar igång masstest för coronavirus, 2020-03-31, Available: https://www.svt.se/nyheter/utrikes/sydafrika-drar-igang-masstest-for-coronavirus

SVT 2020r, Så stöttar din kommun företagen under coronakrisen, 2020-03-27, Available: https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/halland/sa-stottar-din-kommun- foretagen-under-coronakrisen

SVT 2020s, Försäkringskassan slopar sjukintyg vecka tre, 2020-03-26, Available: https://www.svt.se/nyheter/nyhetstecken/forsakringskassan-slopar-sjukintyg-fran- vecka-tre

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SVT 2002t, Gymnasieelever tar undervisningen i egna händer, 2020-03-27, Available: https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/varmland/gymnasieelever-tar-undervisningen-i- egna-hander

SVT 2020u, Biografens knep mot coronan - privata filmvisningar, 2020-03-30, Available: https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/halland/biografens-nya-knep-anordnar- privata-filmvisningar

SVT, 2020v, Corona-avdelningar öppnas på länets tre sjukhus, 2020-03-31, Available: https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/orebro/sa-staller-sjukvarden-om

SVT, 2020w, Detta är de nya direktiven från Folkhälsomyndigheten, 2020-04-01, Available: https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/guide-detta-ar-de-nya-direktiven-fran- folkhalsomyndigheten

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