Framing Mali Swedish media portrayal of an armed conflict
Niklas Norberg
Department of Media Studies, Department of Journalism, Media and C ommunication Studies (JMK) Master’s Thesis in Journalism 30 EC TS Journalism Studies Master’s Programme in Journalism (120 EC TS) Spring term 2018 Supervisor: Magnus Danielson Examiner: C hristian C hristensen
Framing Mali: Swedish media portrayal of an armed conflict Master's thesis Niklas Norberg VT18
Abstract
Research has shown that news media reporting on foreign affairs tend to rely heavily on official sources (e.g. Schwalbe, 2013; Entman, 2004; Lawrence, 2009). This thesis analyse whether this is the case in Swedish news media reporting on the armed conflict in Mali, where Sweden has troops sanctioned by the UN. A more broader perspective is also analysed: How does the news media portray the armed conflict, and are there any differences between national daily newspapers (considered more “sober”) and national evening newspapers (considered more sensational)? An inductive framing analysis is used to identify frames not available in previous research. These frames, together with frames identified in other studies, are then used in a quantitative content analysis to measure to what extent the frames occur in the texts. Among the most important findings were that Swedish news media did in fact rely on Swedish official reporting to a large extent. The two evening newspapers, Aftonbladet and Expressen, used Swedish official sources in approximately 60% of their articles. The daily newspapers, Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Dagbladet, used Swedish official sources in about 35% of their articles. The main source used was also analyzed: This showed that Swedish official sources were the most common, in between 23% to 62% of the articles. The second most used source differed, but were in the range 9% to 18%. Other important results of the main themes of the articles showed that direct actions of war and other types of violence were the most commonly used. Peace efforts/negotiations and life of Mali civilians were the least common. The thesis also concludes that while there are variables where the evening newspapers and the daily newspapers can be grouped in those categories, that is often not the case.
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Table of contents
Abstract 2
Table of contents 3
1. Introduction 4 1.1 Research question and purpose 5 1.2 Outline of thesis 6
2. Background 6
3. Theory and previous research 8 3.1 Framing theory 8 3.1.1 Schemas 10 3.1.2 News framing 11 3.1.3 Framing and armed conflict 13 3.2 Armed conflict in the media 15 3.2.1 Peace journalism 16 3.3 Summary and hypothesis 17
4. Method 17 4.1 Identifying frames 18 4.1 Frames 21 4.1.1 Five common frames 21 4.1.2 Peace or war journalism frame (Beyond the here and now) 23 4.1.3 Orientalist frame 23 4.1.4 Aggressors frame 25 4.1.5 Official bias frame 25 4.1.6 Criticism frame 26 4.1.7 Mention of Swedish military operation frame 26 4.1.8 Main theme of article frame 26 4.2 Quantitative content analysis 26 4.2.1 Coding scheme 27 4.2.2 Coding manual 27 4.4 Methodological limitations 33
5. Results and discussion 34 5.1 Results of the inductive framing analysis 34 5.2 Results of the quantitative content analysis 38
6. Conclusion 51
List of references 55
Appendix 1. News articles and blog posts 64
Appendix 2. Code book 73
Appendix 3. Tables 76
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1. Introduction
News media play an important part in how events is presented and perceived, and what is discussed in public debate (Lu, et. al., 2016). Frames used by politicians, the media and citizens are often taken over by other politicians (Chong & Druckman, 2007: 109). Analysing news framing “help us to understand how news norms and practices translate into patterns in news content that potentially affect public thinking and attitudes.” (de Vreese, 2009, p. 190). What journalists write thus has implications beyond simply entertaining and informing - it forms our whole understanding of certain issues. It is therefore important to analyze how news media portray events. In this study, f raming theory is going to be used to analyze some aspects of reporting on armed conflicts. Specifically, Swedish news media portrayal of the armed conflict in Mali, where Sweden has employed military personnel, will be analyzed.
So why is this important to analyze? Since December 2014, Sweden has an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) task force in Mali - staff officers arrived in the spring of 2013 and military personnel that built the camp for future troops arrived in november 2014. As of now, when this thesis is written, another task force is preparing for deployment in Mali - “Mali 08” arrives in june of 2018. The resolution that gives the Swedish forces mandate to operate in Mali, Resolution 2100, was adopted by the United Nation Security Council in April of 2013. This established the mission MINUSMA (United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali). The resolution authorizes MINUSMA - and thereby the Swedish forces thereof - to use “all necessary means” to perform certain tasks. Such tasks are for example protecting civilians and UN personnel, as well as stabilizing key population centres. In later UN resolutions, building on resolution 2100, some tasks are added - such as supporting the peace agreement signed in 2016 (Försvarsmakten, 2017; Försvarsmakten, 2018; United Nation, 2013; United Nation Security Council, 2017). In short, the resolution gives MINUSMA and the Swedish forces authority to kill, if necessary.
The United Nation Security Council do, however, call upon MINUSMA and all military forces to take previous resolutions regarding protection of civilians in armed conflict; children and armed conflict; women, peace and security; into account and to abide by human rights, refugee
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and international humanitarian law (United Nation Security Council, 2017). Are they abiding by these rules and regulations? The UN themselves of course try to analyze this, but an organization is not always the best actor to scrutinize its own behaviour. This is certainly where the media has to do its part. But is it doing that? What is the media actually reporting, and what parts of the conflict does it portray?
This is where this thesis comes into play. Is the news media reporting on Mali similar to the reporting of the Swedish Armed Forces, or do they in fact take a critical stance of their own, with different sources and different stories? This thesis is not going to analyze why the portrayal is what it is, but rather w hat that portrayal - that framing - is. The w hy will, however, be reflected on in the Discussion section of the thesis.
1.1 Research question and purpose
The aim of this thesis is to analyze Swedish news media framing of the conflict in Mali, and specifically of the military deployment of Swedish soldiers in the country.
Semetko & Valkenburg finds that the use of frames differs between what they call serious/sober and sensationalist news outlets (2000). This thesis build on those findings, and analyse whether Swedish national morning newspapers (considered more “sober”) differ in their reporting from the national evening news papers (who tend to be more sensationalist).
According to previous research (described further in the following sections of this thesis), news media reporting on armed conflicts tend to rely heavily on official sources - making the reporting skewed in favour for the ruling power in the country. Swedish news media reporting of armed conflicts where the country itself is involved as a third party should then arguably be skewed in favour for, and be similar to, Swedish official reports and/or use them as a source. Building on this literature, a hypothesis is crafted:
News media reporting of the conflict in Mali is likely to be similar to the official Swedish portrayal and/or use Swedish official sources to a great extent.
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Based on previous literature and the hypothesis above, the research questions this thesis seek to answer are the following:
How is the armed conflict in Mali portrayed in Swedish news media?
To what extent does Swedish news media rely on official sources when reporting about the armed conflict?
What are the differences between the publishers?
How is the conflict in Mali portrayed by the Swedish Armed Forces?
How does the framing of the news articles in the news media differ or resemble the Swedish Armed Forces’ reporting?
1.2 Outline of thesis
This brief introduction is followed by a section that present and discuss previous research - on framing theory in general, but also more specifically framing related to schemas, news media and armed conflict. A method built on previous literature is then brought forward. An inductive framing analysis is used to identify possible frames. Those frames, together with frames used in previous research, are then analyzed in a quantitative content analysis. This section is followed by (relevant) Results and discussion, and a conclussion of the thesis thereafter.
2. Background
Mali is a country in West Africa, with no sea at its borders and seven neighbouring countries. The country is almost three times as large as Sweden and consist mainly of desert. However, the rivers Niger and Senegal that flows through southern Mali makes the areas close to these rivers fertile. This is where the majority of the population lives and the Niger River function as the main trading and transport route. The city of Timbuktu has historically been a trading and learning centre, where caravans from North Africa crossed the Sahara desert and met in
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Timbuktu with caravans from the south. Because of this meeting point, Mali has developed a rich cultural tradition and Timbuktu still functions as a meeting and market place for Malians - even if it’s not the melting point it once was (Landguiden, 2016-a; Britannica Academic, 2018-a).
In 1992, a period of relatively stable democratic rule begun in Mali - after being a dictatorship for many years - up until 2012 when the military staged a coup and ousted the sitting president after discontent with the handling of an armed rebellion in the north of Mali. The coup was met with international condemnation, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) - a regional economic union - imposed strict sanctions against Mali. After a few weeks, the military gave up their power and let the Speaker of the parliament function as an interim president. During this political turmoil, armed groups attacked and took over several cities in the north of Mali (Landguiden 2016-b; Landguiden 2016-c).
The tuareg is a minority population in Mali who traditionally made a living on livestock and controlling caravan routes. Famine and lack of grazing land have forced many tuaregs to move south, and some to go from making a living on livestock to agriculture. People from the tuareg population have been involved in several rebellions over the years, the last one starting in 2012 by a group called MNLA, the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad. Apart from the MNLA - consisting mainly of tuaregs - other armed groups joined the rebellion. These were groups such as Aqim (al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb), Mujao (the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa) and Ansar al-Din. Ansar al-Din also mainly consisted of tuaregs (Landguiden 2016-b; Landguiden 2016-d).
During the 1990s and 2000s (mainly) tuareg groups fought for an independent territory in northern Mali, which they called - and many still call - Azawad. Especially the tuareg, but also the north of Mali in general has historically been neglected, both politically and economically. On top of this, a brutal - southern - military presence and severe drought has worsened the situation - leading to discontent and armed conflict on several occasions (UCDP, n.d.).
Al-Qaida Organization in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) settled in northern Mali in 2003, with the stated goal of enforcing sharia law. In 2009, fighting over government power flared, and also
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re-erupted two years later. Another islamist group, Ansar Dine - mainly consisting of tuaregs, started fighting to impose sharia law as well. Late 2012 Ansar Dine, together with several other armed islamist groups, controlled the vast desert in northern Mali. In 2013 they moved south, which led to the intervention by France and the armed groups were pushed back. They have since then been attacking the military and the UN - mainly in the north, but attacks in the south do happen on occasion. They have also “carried out spectacular attacks on western targets, such as the luxurious hotel Radisson Blu in Bamako” (UCDP, n.d.).
3. Theory and previous research
In this section, previous research on framing theory and reporting on armed conflict will be presented. First in general terms, to be followed by research more specific to the subject at hand - news framing and news media framing of armed conflicts. In short, framing theory can be summarized as describing what in a story that has been selected to be portrayed and emphasized - and what is being left out. What v ersion of reality is being told, that is.
3.1 Framing theory
Most scholars I have come across start with the sociologist Erving Goffman when describing the origins of framing theory. Some, however, states that Goffman was inspired by Gregory Bateson (e.g. Allern, 2014, p. 1) - described as an anthropologist among other titles. Bateson argues that frames aid or instruct the receiver of a message to understand it in a certain way, and that choosing what to include in a message excludes other interpretations (Bateson 1972, p. 187 - 188). Goffman (1974) described framing as “schemata of interpretation”. These schematas, or schemas, will be described further later on in this thesis.
In his 1993 study, Entman (1993) describe the field of framing theory as being fragmented into multiple definitions, and urged researchers to find common ground. Although there is no single definition of framing, his wishes seems to have come true to a certain extent. A commonly cited definition among scholars is a definition put forward by Entman himself: “To frame is to select some aspects of a perceived reality and make them more salient in a communicating
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text” (Entman, 1993, p. 52). E ntman has since then also suggested that a standard definition of framing could be the following:
[S]electing and highlighting some facets of events or issues, and making connections among them so as to promote a particular interpretation, evaluation, and/or solution (Entman, 2004, p. 5).
The selection of what information to present is also brought up by other researchers as a main function of framing (Gitlin, 1980, p. 7; Norris, Kern & Just, 2003, p. 11; Allern, 2014, p. 3). Norris, Kern & Just states that this selection “thereby unconsciously promot[es] one particular interpretation of events” over another (2003, p. 11).
Another basic definition of framing is according to Chong & Druckman “the process by which people develop a particular conceptualization of an issue or reorient their thinking about an issue” (2007, p. 104). Reese argues that framing develops from interaction between a message and the psychological characteristics within the receiver (2009, p. 18). Framing is thus not only described as how a message is presented, but also how that message is perceived by the audience. However, due to the scope of this thesis, only the portrayal itself is going to be studied. To analyze how texts are perceived, the thoughts of the audience would have to be recorded, doing both a text analysis and for example audience interviews would be out of this study's’ magnitude and time frame.
So, framing is simply put how an issue or event is portrayed - what is excluded and included in the text (in a wider sense - images, footage and so on can of course be the subject of framing). On top of this, words that are linked with previous meaning is also part of a frame. This can be exemplified with the war on terror, as described by Reese. By using the word war, the frame is linked to wars in the past - for an american audience, this might be World War 2, Pearl Harbor (Reese, 2009, p. 25), Afghanistan or any other war that comes to mind. For a Swedish audience, World War 2 will arguably also come to mind due to its widespread effects and trains passing Swedish territory. Afghanistan, where swedish troops has been deployed, could also be thought of. For a researcher using framing theory, this means that latent as well as manifest
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meaning must be analyzed. Reese further exemplifies the importance of words with the word terror :
“Terrorist” and “terrorism” suggest a specific actor and action, while “terror” conveys a condition, an ideologically laden term often contrasted with “freedom” or “civilization”, (Reese., 2009, p. 29).
Visual framing is similar to verbal framing in that it analyzes the choices made for the final message. When taking a picture for example, the journalist choose what view, scene or angle to take or use; how to crop and edit the image; camera angles; which images to publish; if the characters are going to be active or passive; and of course what subjects or people that are going to be included (Coleman, 2009, p. 237-238 & 248).
According to Coleman, visual framing - “content that is processed by the eye alone” - may in some cases matter more than verbal framing. “More ordinary news events include the stereotypical visuals laces with racial and gender stereotypes that would never pass newsroom muster if communicated in words” (Coleman, 2009, p. 235-236). Due to the scope of this study, visual framing will, however, not be analyzed extensively.
3.1.1 Schemas
Some would say that s chema theory describes how people filter new information through their pre-existing knowledge and beliefs (e.g. Coleman, 2009, p. 240). Others that schemas are the cognitive ideas and representations that a frame consist of - the parts that make up a whole (e.g. Scheufele & Scheufele, 2009, p. 116-118; Entman, 2009, p. 336). When multiple reports consistently frame an issue in a certain way, the audience understanding will gradually change towards that consistent framing. Kept up long enough, the framing can alter schemas - ideas, knowledge and beliefs, that is (Scheufele & Scheufele, 2009, p. 115).
Being on the receiving end of a frame - a certain type of portrayal in a news article for example - activates a schema that makes the recipient understand the article in a certain way, by linking the current event to ideas or events in the past. That sounds pretty much like a frame, doesn’t it? Well, the two terms have often been interchangeable (according to for example Scheufele &
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Scheufele, 2009, p. 116-118). Having two terms that basically mean the same thing makes one of them obsolete. In this thesis, “schemas” will be used as parts of a frame. For example, the orientalist frame - further described later on in this thesis - consist of several variables. These different variables are called schemas (e.g. the “Demonizing labels schema”).
3.1.2 News framing
Journalists do not simply pass information from political leaders to the public, “they participate in frame construction, just as do others in the deliberative arena” (Reese, 2009, p. 18). The use of framing is not a choice journalists make: It is unavoidable. The choice is not whether to use framing or not, it is how to best frame the message ( Nisbet, 2009, p. 44).
Nisbet argues that “[m]edia frames work by connecting the mental dots for the public” (Ibid, p. 47). A frame is successful when the audience associate a message with pre-existing understanding of a concept or issue. If no association is made, the message will likely be ignored or receive less attention (Ibid, p. 47-48)
Allern links the selection of what frame(s) that is being used to news selection values in general. How journalists and news organizations make sense of information and produce news. Journalists choose what sources to use, the dramaturgy and what is going to be emphasized in the text. The factors going into these choices is for example personal and organizational values, genre conventions and the perception of what the audience wants - all of which can change over time (2014, p. 3-4). A fitting example for this thesis of how an event could be framed, would be an event in Mali relating to the armed conflict. Let’s say that an armed group has attacked the Mali state army. The framing, or focus, could for example be on the context of the attack - who the armed group are, why it happened and under what circumstances they act. They may have been neglected by the government for years, they may be criminals working for their own gain, and so on. Another type of framing could be focusing on the specifics of the attack - how many that have been killed in what way, or what buildings got destroyed in the process. A third type of framing could be focusing on how the specific event affect civilians in the area. And what label is put on the armed group? Terrorist, jihadist, islamist, rebel, extremist? All of these choices affect how the message is received.
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Van Gorp argues that Journalists cannot tell stories effectively without “[p]reconceived notions about how to order story elements and about what meanings they could or should impose upon those story elements” (Van Gorp, 2009, p. 84). Journalists already have cultural elements such as values, narratives and archetypes in the back of their mind before even becoming journalists. That alone may make these cultural elements shine through in their reporting, but culturally embedded frames can also be used as a tool to increase the emotional and dramatic appeal. However, using these techniques, e.g. simplifying a story to actors being good-bad or advocate-opponent, may miss represent what has really happened. This also contribute to cultural values and norms being reproduced in news media (Van Gorp, 2009, p. 87-88). Van Gorp gives quite an extensive list on what types of factors that can go into a frame:
“Metaphors, historical examples from which lessons are drawn, catchphrases, depictions, and visual images … themes and subthemes, types of actors, actions and settings, lines of reasoning and causal connections, contrasts, lexical choices, sources, quantifications and statistics, charts and graphs, appeals (emotional, logical, and ethical)” (Van Gorp, 2009, p. 91).
A number of factors influence what the portrayal, the framing, is going to be. Journalisms democratic function versus the current logic of the market - the financial situation of news media corporations - is such factors. Journalism is closely linked to democracy - independent journalism is needed to scrutinize the powerful and prevent corruption and mismanagement. Journalism informs people to make rational and informed choices (McNair in Wahl-Jörgensen & Hanitsch, 2009, p. 237-240; Nord & Strömbäck, 2012, p. 16-17). It does, however, need to take market logic into consideration to be able to exist at all. This has led to a commercialization of journalism, where its societal function in some cases risk being under prioritized when it cost to much or when advertisers want something else (McManus in Wahl-Jörgensen & Hanitsch, 2009, Sid. 218-220 & 222). Stories that are easier to digest, spectacular or entertaining risk pushing these democratic functions out of newspapers (Esser, 1999, p. 291-292). When it comes to reporting on foreign policy - and thereby armed conflict - journalists tend to rely on official government sources and therefore - consciously or not - reinforce the official foreign policy put forward (Schwalbe, 2013: 240).
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News values is a subject in itself and could be described in great detail, but for this thesis the following conclusion based on the literature above will suffice: Journalists make choices regarding what to report and how to report it for a whole number of reasons, based on for example economic circumstances (and what they think their audience or advertisers want), values, storytelling qualities they are striving for, and so on. Why they make these choices is not going to be analyzed in this study, but rather what these choices are and what framing they lead to. The why will, however, be discussed and reflected upon in the Discussion section of this thesis.
3.1.3 Framing and armed conflict
Framing has in previous research been linked to armed conflict. Desrosiers describe how framing can help mobilize both for solidarity and action, resonating with a mass public willing to take up arms (Desrosiers, 2015). Granzow et. al. find that “... conflict situations only escalate into violence if framing efforts of political leaders are successful” and that “... the development of a successful frame implies that political leaders find the necessary ideas and arguments that convince an audience that an armed conflict is both necessary and promising” (2015, p. 115). Desrosiers and Granzow et. al. mainly argues for the importance of framing in the context of civil war (intrastate conflict). However, this can arguably be the case when states assembly support for intervening as a third party, which is what this thesis is analyzing.
Schwalbe have studied visual reporting (pictures) related to the war in Iraq in american news media. The results showed an american centred reporting, where brave troops and advanced weaponry was shown, rather than death and destruction. This, argues Schwalbe, strengthened the perspective brought forward by the US government, which contributed to a consensus and shared spirit towards the war. Pictures of “regular” iraqis everyday life, of women, children and wounded - images that potentially could decrease the support for the war - was not shown to the same extent (2013, p. 254).
Entman (2004) argues that a free press should balance official - government - sources with a more impartial perspective, which gives the public a possibility to make informed decisions based not only on what the government wants to portray. In reality, Entman claims, this is not the case:
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But in practice, the relationship between governing elites and news organizations is less distant and more cooperative than the ideal envisions, especially in foreign affairs (Entman, 2004, p. 2).
Lawrence comes to a similar conclusion, stating that the “ mainstream media typically show less independence in framing issues and events, instead tending to rely heavily on high government officials to frame the news” (Lawrence, 2009, p. 267).
Reese argues that journalists’ use of the word terror, when referring to “the war on terror”, instead of terrorism or terrorist shows a naturalization of the frame provided by official sources (2009, p. 29). The same goes for the word war - it is not a war in a traditional sense, with front lines and specific territories that is contested, but the word war arguably suggest military solutions to the problem (whereas other types of framing would increase the likelihood for other kinds of solutions). Van Gorp uses a clear example of linking a current event to previous meaning: “[S]tating that Saddam Hussein was even worse than Adolf Hitler sufficed for President George Bush to explain what was going on in Iraq” (2009, p. 102).
The aim of this thesis is to analyze Swedish news media framing of the conflict in Mali, and specifically of the military deployment of Swedish soldiers in the country. Does the reporting reflect the views of official Swedish sources, as Lawrence and Entman argues is common with reporting about foreign policy, or do they take a more critical - impartial - approach? Does this vary between different types of newspapers? To analyze this, the frames identified will be examined in relation to both news media and official reporting, and compared to find similarities and differences in the frames used. What sources that is used will also be analyzed.
3.2 Armed conflict in the media
Armed conflict in the news media is ever present. Many of the factors of a commercially viable story - in the beliefs of many newsrooms, as described earlier in this thesis - can be applied to armed conflicts. They are spectacular to the extreme, and can be made into easily digested entertainment and stories of good and evil.
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According to Luostarinen & Ottosen, state authorities influenced the media to write in their favour during the cold war - which continue to this day, even if it may not be to the same extent. One example of this is independent citizen movements that has been shamed into being untrustworthy sources - such as the western peace movement that was labeled “the fifth column” of the Soviet Union. This led to journalists to rather depend on official state sources, and marginalize these movements (2002, p. 41). A military organization - like other organizations - develop aims and goals, apart from the democratic goals they are there to uphold. These can for example be gaining resources, social respect and/or political influence (Ibid., p. 42). One way to achieve these goals is portraying certain issues in certain ways - that the media pick up on and spread further, legitimizing that portrayal. When militaries try to legitimize their existence, there is a risk that they do this by inventing or emphasizing new risks, “and because danger sells well in the media, journalists often are willing to be used as conduits for distribution of enemy images” (Luostarinen & Ottosen, 2002, p. 42-43).
Many journalists are now a days aware of them being an active part of warfare, and not only reporting what happens in it. Some journalists are - instead of trying to take a step back and try to be as objective as possible - taking it a step further and tries to enforce their view of who in a conflict is right, and who is wrong, in their reporting. This is called Journalism of Attachment and promotes that journalists cannot stay neutral or detached when it comes to evil and atrocities (Kempf, 2002, p. 59). Kempf points out that an issue with this style of reporting is that it has no vision of constructive conflict transformation, and no analysis of political and social root causes of armed conflict: “Journalism of Attachment depicts war as an exclusively moral struggle in which Right fights Wrong” (Ibid).
3.2.1 Peace journalism
Peace journalism and war journalism is essentially producing content about similar issues, but telling it in different ways. They may both inform the public about a particular armed conflict, but where war journalism describe what armed group has struck what place at what time, how many died, and so on, peace journalism may tell the story of a peace initiative or talk about long term goals and place an event in a wider context. With that being said, the two forms of journalism may just as well find completely different issues to write about, that cater to their
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different ambitions. Peace journalism may for example talk more about peace initiatives, or how the incompatibility among the parties (and civil society and other groups) could be solved, or transformed for the better. An analogy often made when describing war journalism is that of sports like commentary. The parties involved are often reduced to two - when there in reality often are multiple parties, and of course parties that does not carry out physical violence. These two parties are then assumed to fight a battle with a clear start and an end, and the reporters are keeping the score - who seems to be “winning” the physical violence game at the moment? Peace journalism, does not, however, necessarily leave out the violence - it simply includes more in the story than j ust the violence. (e.g. Lynch & Galtung, 2010, ch. 1; Galtung, 2002, ch. 14).
Galtung describes this as peace journalism being a “complex process, not linear, demanding a style of reporting which reflects multitudes of small dramas rather than one big dominant narrative. War is more linear, towards ‘victory’ for one side or a stalemate” (2002, p. 268).
Galtung gives mainly two reasons for why peace journalism is needed. The first, moral, reason is that a “focus on solving conflicts rather than winning them, given the horrors of modern warfare, may reduce human suffering” (2010, p. 262). The second reason is that peace journalism “gives a more realistic image of what goes on in the world” (Ibid). More realistic in the sense that more knowledge about context, reasons for the conflict (and not just the armed conflict), and so on, gives a deeper understanding of it. These ideas will be explored further later on in this thesis.
3.3 Summary and hypothesis
According to previous research, news media reporting on armed conflicts tend to rely heavily on official sources - making the reporting skewed in favour for the ruling power in the country. Swedish news media reporting should then arguably be skewed in favour for, and be similar to, Swedish official reports and/or frequently use them as a source. Building on this literature, a hypothesis is crafted (and stated again to have it fresh in memory when reading further):
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News media reporting of the conflict in Mali is likely to be similar to the official Swedish portrayal and/or use Swedish official sources to a great extent.
To summarize the research questions stated earlier, this thesis seek to find out how Swedish news media portray the armed conflict in Mali, if they use Swedish official sources to a great extent, and compare the news media to each other and to the Swedish Armed Forces reporting.
4. Method
In this thesis, a quantitative content analysis is going to be carried out, to try to answer the research questions above - how the conflict in Mali is portrayed, and to what extent the different types of portrayal occur. Those different kinds of portrayal will first be identified through framing analysis. Framing analysis is built upon the abstract ideas of framing theory, described above. Some useful types of portrayal (or frames) have been identified in previous literature and will be incorporated into this thesis. However, an inductive (qualitative) framing analysis is also carried out to identify other frames that could occur in the news coverage. These results are presented in the Results and discussion section.
To then analyse this quantitatively, the method of quantitative content analysis is used, searching the material - the news articles and blog posts - for the frames identified. What a quantitative content analysis is and how it will be conducted in this study is described later on in this method section. A coding manual, describing how to code each variable (what to have in mind when filling out the coding scheme), is also presented.
4.1 Identifying frames
Nisbet argues that a framing analysis “should be approached both deductively and inductively” (2009, p. 51). Van Gorp claims the same thing, and suggest that an inductive analysis can be performed to identify the frames that define a certain topic. A systematic, in depth, analysis of what the frames consist of allow a coding scheme that has minimal or no subjectivity to it. This coding scheme, or frame matrix, is then used to perform a deductive analysis. Each row
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represents a frame and a column represents the reasoning devices by which the frame can be identified (2009, p. 92-93).
Frames are used by others than journalists. Van Gorp therefore suggest to, in the inductive phase, identify frames not only by analysing news media, but also actors with different stakes in an issue. These can be NGOs, political parties or any other actor with incentive to portray the subject in a specific way (2009, p. 94). This is the first step in the four steps for inductive framing analysis, proposed by Van Gorp. The second step is O pen coding of text. Van Gorp suggest that open coding is done without a predefined coding instrument, as to not fail to notice important frames. It is here crucial to investigate how the story is told, as opposed to what the story is about, and what selections the journalist has made (Ibid). Reading between the lines is here permitted, and useful. This should not be done in the deductive phase later on in the research process (Ibid, p. 103). The third step, Van Gorp calls A rranging the Codes Around “Axes” of Meaning , in which similarities, differences, and contrasts between the conclusions from each text is identified. During this phase, examining the literature for finding previously identified frames is advisable (Ibid, p. 95-96). The fourth step is Se lective Coding, where codes are sorted out and the matrix is filled. Links between the different codes is identified, and grouped into mutually exclusive frame packages - some deemed irrelevant is sorted out (Ibid, p. 96). One way to test if the list of identified frames are complete and useful is to test them out - to analyze a message to see if it fits to any of the frames, are frameless or - if neither - there are any other frames not identified the message fits into (Ibid, p. 97). An other question one need to ask oneself is whether the frame is sufficiently abstract. It need to be abstract enough to apply to other messages than simply the one that the frame was identified in (Ibid, p. 99).
Van Gorp states that the deductive phase of the framing analysis “is based on principles of doing quantitative content analysis which deal with measuring the extent to which inductively reconstructed frame packages are actually applied in a representative sample of texts” (2009, p. 99). So, in short, the quantitative analysis of the material is simply put to search for the frames identified in the inductive phase and previous literature. This can, according to Van Gorp, be done by asking questions that grasp the core idea of the frame. Yes/no questions increases the reliability when using different coders (Ibid, p. 99), which arguably also applies to the same
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coder - answering yes or no reduces the risk of subjectivity, compared to analysing each text in depth.
Chong & Druckman also describe four common and successful steps for taking on framing research, based on analysing different studies that use framing theory (2007, p. 106-108). Some of the steps is quite similar to those proposed by Van Gorp explained above.
First, an issue or event is identified (Ibid). This is not one of Van Gorps four steps, but to analyze anything whatsoever, of course some kind of issue or event to analyze must be identified. Different issues have different framing, and the same issue may have different framing during specific time periods. In this thesis, different time periods will be analyzed, to identify if the framing differs before and after Swedish soldiers entered Mali. The second step, is isolating a specific attitude. In the case of this thesis, attitudes towards Mali and how the people affected by the conflict is portrayed is analyzed. The latter to analyse whether they are portrayed as similar to people “at home” or described as something else. Third, an initial set of frames, for each issue, is identified to create a coding scheme. A good start, the authors suggest, is previous literature, along with frames produced by elites on every side of the argument or issue. Fourth, sources is selected for content analysis. Articles is then identified through, for example, searches on specific keywords. The articles can be quantitatively analysed by identifying a set of words or phrases to search for. This allows the researcher to analyse a large number of articles, but at the cost of a blunt measurement. An alternative is to go in depth to a lesser number of articles, with the advantage of more accurately identifying the frames searched for, but also to identify frames that was not initially identified in previous steps. This can make the results somewhat less generalizable, due to the lesser number of articles (Chong & Druckman, p. 106-108).
To make the most out of this thesis, the steps and suggestions from Chong & Druckman and Van Gorp will be incorporated into the analysis. An in depth inductive analysis, analyzing the news articles and statements from other actors, will be used to identify a set of frames - together with previous literature.
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The first Swedish troops - not counting staff officers - arrived in Mali november 3, 2014 (Försvarsmakten, 2014-a). To narrow the scope of this thesis, but to still be able to compare the reporting before and after the troops arrived, a time period of one year prior and one year after the third of november 2014 was chosen. During those two years, a search on “mali” in the Retriever database resulted in 571 articles when filtering the results for Dagens Nyheter (DN), Svenska Dagbladet (SvD), Expressen and Aftonbladet - two of the most influential national daily newspapers and two of the most popular national evening newspapers. Semetko & Valkenburg finds that the use of frames differs between what they call serious/sober and sensationalist news outlets (2000). In this thesis, both daily newspapers (considered more serious/sober) and evening newspapers (considered more sensationalist) will be used.
The daily newspapers had approximately double the amount of articles to that of the evening news papers. In these results, non-relevant articles for this thesis was of course included. Non-relevant results that was excluded from this thesis was for example reviews of music albums from Mali musicians; articles about the ebola epidemic, that did not describe Mali in any way; articles that are about something completely different, but where a person is named Mali, or the persons Mali origin is mentioned but not described; debate articles signed by persons or organizations outside of the newspaper; or articles about the kidnapped Swedish citizen Johan Gustafsson, that was not concerned with the country itself, but rather what the family back in Sweden was feeling, and so on. To increase the number of articles to analyze, and to get a better grasp of the portrayal, editorials and think pieces from newspaper staff was included.
To reduce the subjectivity of the relevant articles chosen, all articles concerning Mali or the Swedish military operation in the country - whether small or large in scope - was included. The total number of relevant news articles were 126. Of these, 43 could be found in DN, 40 in SvD, 35 in Expressen and 8 in Aftonbladet.
The Swedish Armed Forces blog about the military operation in Mali will also be analyzed in this thesis and compared to the newspaper articles. “Malibloggen” (the Mali blog) has for the period of the study - the third of november 2013 to the third of november 2015 - a total of 151 blog posts. To narrow the scope of those posts - and to make sure the articles are relevant to analyze - a fruitful selection could be to exclude the posts the Swedish Armed Forces
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themselves categorize as taking “less than one minute” to read - very short posts, that is. Reading through these, most of them seem to be links to radio shows or video clips. Articles categorized as taking one minute to read (and not less) will be included in the study. When excluding the posts estimated to take less than one minute to read the total number of blog posts is 121.
4.1 Frames
This sub-section will present the frames chosen to be analyzed in the quantitative content analysis, based on the inductive analysis in the results section below and previous research. Formal variables that measure date, headline and so on will also be used, and the full list of variables can be viewed in its entirety in the coding manual later on in the thesis. See section 5.1 Results of the inductive framing analysis for more in depth information regarding what results led up to the frames presented below.
4.1.1 Five common frames
As for previous literature, five frames that can be found in a majority of all news texts in Europe and the US have been identified and is frequently used: the C onflict frame ; the Human interest frame; the E conomic consequences frame; the Morality frame; and the Responsibility frame (Semetko & Valkenburg, 2000, p. 95). Semetko & Valkenburg describe one method of operationalizing these frames as a series of binary questions, specific for each frame. To clarify this, they provide one example question for each frame:
“Does the article reflect disagreement between parties/individuals/groups?” (c onflict) ” “Does the story emphasize how individuals and groups are affected by the issue/problem? ( human interest )” “Does the story suggest that some level of the government is responsible for the issue/problem? ( attribution of responsibility) ” “Does the story contain any moral message? (m orality) ” “Is there a mention of financial losses or gains now or in the future? (e conomic) ” (Semetko & Valkenburg, 2000, p. 98).
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In this thesis, a series of “is X described as Y” questions will be constructed, a part from the five frames described above - which will also be used. For example, “is the Mali population described as passive (rather than active)?” (Orientalist frame), “is the main source linked to the Swedish government?” (Official bias frame). Binary questions will mainly be used, as suggested by Semetko & Valkenburg, to increase reliability when coding (2000, p. 99).
Based on Galtung's classification of peace journalism, Lee et al. classified 13 coding categories for frames - involving 13 indicators for war journalism and 13 indicators for peace journalism - when analyzing asian newspaper coverage of armed conflicts. They then classified the story as war journalism or peace journalism depending on which category got the highest score - or neutral if the score of the indicators were identical (Lee et al., 2005, p. 316-317 & 325-326). This list of indicators will not be used in its entirety in this thesis. Rather, it will be used as guidance in building relevant frames - and operationalizations to those frames - to answer the research questions of the thesis. As a quick reminder, those research questions can be summed up as follows: How is the conflict in Mali portrayed by Swedish newspapers and the Swedish Armed Forces blog, how do they differ from or relate to each other, and what sources do they rely on?
So, how does the indicators described by Lee et al. correspond to the research questions of this thesis? Some of the 13 indicators are arguably irrelevant in their current form. For example, indicator 1. Reactive versus Proactive, describes if a story is produced when an armed conflict has started or before that. Since the armed conflict in Mali had already begun at the starting point of this study (and continue to this day), this does not make sense to measure. Some indicators are also too similar to identified frames to make up a frame of their own. Indicator 12. Demonizing language, is for example similar to the Orientalist frame described below - and could very well be part of that frame instead of being a frame in itself.
4.1.2 Peace or war journalism frame (Beyond the here and now)
What are relevant of the indicators are, however, indicator 5. which reports causes and consequences of the conflict (as opposed to only report on the here and now). Similar thoughts were explored in the inductive analysis above. The inductive analysis concludes that few articles seem to write about the long term goals of the military operation. Furthermore, some -
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but not many - articles mention that the conflict is complex, with multiple actors that need to come to an agreement. Put together, the indicators of Lee et al., other research on peace journalism and war journalism and the results of the inductive analysis a b eyond the here and now f rame is arguably quite relevant. That is: Does the text include anything about long term goals or achievements of the conflict, the complexity of the conflict, causes and consequences of the conflict at large (as opposed to the specific event reported).
Based on the inductive analysis, the frames below have been chosen to be the most relevant - apart from the what has been described above. Some have been left out, due to the scope of this study - and some have been excluded because of being too similar to the five common frames identified by Semetko & Valkenburg.
4.1.3 Orientalist frame
Hardin & Whiteside argues that framing reflect and normalize political, economic and cultural power relations (2009, p. 314). Mitchell builds on Saids analysis of orientalism when he describe it as the Western portrayal of the non-West based on the idea of an unchanging cultural or racial essence. Mitchell identifies distinct features of such portrayal, which in all cases are in distinct opposition to the West: Passive rather than active; static rather than mobile; emotional rather than rational; and chaotic rather than ordered. The Oriental opposite - or Other - is described as having absent desirable features. These are described as absent of: movement; reason; order; meaning; and so on. This portrayal legitimizes the West to “help” the Other by every means necessary - such as colonialism, war and violent action (Mitchell in Dirks, 1992, p. 289). As Sara Ahmed puts it:
When freedom is used as a justification for war and empire, it too can become a cultural attribute: what we h ave; what we g ive them; what they must have. We can learn from how racism can be exercised by or even as the language of freedom [italic text in original] (Ahmed, 2011, p. 126).
An orientalist frame, then, could be defined as follows: The Mali population is described as something other than that of Sweden, Europe and/or the West. To operationalize this, the following questions (variables) will be applied in the coding scheme, based on the literature
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above. The full list of variables and what schema/variable names these questions have been given can be viewed in the coding manual further below in this thesis.
“Is the Mali population described as passive (rather than active)?” “Is the mali population described as emotional (rather than rational) and/or chaotic (rather than ordered)?”
As well as the following question based on the inductive analysis:
“Is the Mali population described as different from the Swedish/European/Western population?”
From the inductive analysis of the articles, the latter question can be identified, in relation to the country at the very least. There are quite a few articles that describe Mali as being out of control, or that the government and/or military is weak or cannot live up to its duties (e.g. Aftonbladet, 2015-a; DN, 2014-c; SvD, 2013-a). Follow up questions/variables to operationalize an orientalist frame could be the following:
“Is the mali aggressors described as being absent of reason and/or meaning?” “Is the mali aggressors described as being absent of order?”
To build on the indicators by Lee et al., a variable measuring d emonizing labels of aggressors will be used. Lee et al. exemplifies demonizing language with the following attributes: Vicious, cruel, brutal, barbaric, inhuman, tyrant, savage, ruthless, terrorist, extremist, fanatic and fundamentalist. Some of those labels have also been identified in the inductive analysis. Exotifying of Mali and its environment is identified in the inductive analysis. This is closely linked to the “orientalist” frame, and will be treated as part of it (a schema). To operationalize this, the following questions will be used:
“Does the article emphasize that the country is dangerous apart from the armed conflict?” “Does the article emphasize that the environment is different from Sweden/Europe/the West?”
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4.1.4 Aggressors frame
The aggressors in Mali is described with various labels, as described above. A variable - Aggressors - to identify the most common labels (including terrorist, jihadist, rebel, tuareg, islamist, named group, armed group, separatist, other and none) will be used.
4.1.5 Official bias frame
As explained above, one aim of this study is to analyze to what extent the news media rely on official sources. This will be measured in two variables: one variable with multiple values - the Source schema described below; and one measuring precisely this, whether an official Swedish source is used - including the Swedish Armed Forces - or not.
Source schema This schema will be narrowed down to a single variable with the following values: Mali official sources; Swedish official sources; experts and/or researchers/scientists; US officials; France officials; ordinary Malians”/civilians; swedish soldiers; author as witness; and other. The source most prominent in the article/blog post will be used.
How is the variable value “Swedish official sources” in the Source schema different from the official bias frame above? In a sense, it is not - they measure whether a Swedish official source is used. But in this variable, the main source is counted. The official bias frame measure what amount of the articles refer to official sources (whether it being the most prominent source or not). The Official bias frame could thus be coded 1, but the Source schema coded 3 for example - in this case an official Swedish source is used, but it is not the main source.
4.1.6 Criticism frame
The inductive analysis concluded that criticism of the military operation seemed scarce. This will be operationalized with the following question:
“Does the article reflect any criticism towards the military operation?”
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4.1.7 Mention of Swedish military operation frame
This variable measures whether the Swedish military operation is mentioned at all. The inductive analysis has identified a whole number of different frames and types of portrayal in the articles and blog posts. To answer the research questions of how the armed conflict in Mali is portrayed, knowing to what extent the military operation is mentioned is arguably relevant.
4.1.8 Main theme of article frame
To get some sense of what the main theme of the articles that is the most common, a variable measuring precisely this will be used. The following themes have been identified as the most common (including many more would dilute the usefulness of this frame): Direct actions of war; Other types of violence [including, but not exclusive to, kidnappings not clearly belonging to the conflict at large, etc]; Peace efforts/negotiations; General description of conflict; Life of soldiers; Life of Mali civilians; Politics concerning the conflict; Other.
4.2 Quantitative content analysis
To analyze to what extent the frames described above can be identified in the news articles and Malibloggen, content analysis is going to be used. Since the research aim of the thesis is precisely that - to what extent framing occur - quant itative content analysis is used, to - that’s right - quantify the findings. Quantitative content analysis is particularly suited for questions that can be measured and counted - quantified (Østbye et al, 2004, p. 64). A qualitative content analysis often goes deeper than the quantitative, trying to answer w hy a phenomenon is the way it is, or try to analyse what the intention of the author was when producing the text ( sympathetic reading) , analyze the inner structure of the text (obj ectifying reading) , or to find latent, hidden, meaning (s ymptomal reading) within the text (Østbye et al, 2004, p. 64-65). Because this thesis rather seek to answer questions regarding what the reporting is, and to what extent, quantitative content analysis is going to be used, rather than qualitative.
Quantitative content analysis is a method that in a systematic, objective and quantitative manner describe certain content. Systematic in the sense that general rules is set up and followed, and objective that the researchers’ influence is minimized and that different researchers would
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come close to the same result using the same rules - the ability to replicate the study should be high (Østbye et al., 2004, p. 213-214; Bryman, 2011, p. 281-282; Nilsson, 2010, p. 122). There are different purposes for conducting a quantitative content analysis of media content: To describe patterns and tendencies in media publishing; to test hypotheses regarding goals, selection criterias and working methods of the media; compare the media content to the real world; to analyze how the media portray certain groups in society; and to draw conclusions about media effects (Østbye et al., 2004, p. 214). And it is precisely this that this thesis is analyzing - first and foremost to describe patterns of media publishing and their working methods. Quantitative content analysis is thus a reasonable method to use.
What to quantify - to be counted - in a content analysis is determined by the research questions (Bryman, 2011, p. 287). In this thesis, what is going to be quantified is further determined by the framing analysis, which, in turn, of course is informed by the research questions.
4.2.1 Coding scheme
When performing a quantitative content analysis a coding scheme is created. Here, all the variables identified is put in a spreadsheet, placed at rows with the texts (unit of analysis) in columns, for example. The texts are then analyzed one by one, and the correct value is placed in the correct cell in the spreadsheet. According to Nilsson, the coding scheme must include variables to identify each article - such as a unique ID, date and so on - but apart from that there are no rules for what variables should be included in the study, the choice of variables is informed by the aim of the study and the research questions (2010, p. 144).
4.2.2 Coding manual
To get a study that is as objective and systematic as possible, the rules and instructions for how variables and values should be interpreted - and when to choose what value - should be described in detail. This is done by writing a coding manual - a manual where variables with each possible value are explained. Or as Bryman puts it: “A coding manual includes all dimensions that will be used in the coding process, instructions for the coders and the categories that has been created for each dimension” (2011, p. 292). Apart from having clear instructions in the manual, to not create confusion when coding it is important to have mutually
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exclusive categories when creating a coding scheme. The different values for a variable must be different enough for the coder to be able to know which one to choose (Ibid, p. 294).
The following variables is included in the coding scheme, and will be described in this coding manual.
Article ID A unique ID-number is given to each article/blog post.
Headline The headline of the article/blog post.
Publication Which publication the article/blog post belongs to. Can take the following values: (0) Svenska Dagbladet, (1) Dagens Nyheter, (2) Aftonbladet, (3) Expressen, (4) Malibloggen.
Date The date the article/blog post was published.
Main frame of the five common frames Variable where one of the five common frames identified by Semetko & Valkenburg functions as variable values. The most prominent frame/value is selected. How to identify these values is described below.
The Conflict frame answer yes to the question: “Does the article reflect disagreement between parties/individuals/groups?”
The Human interest frame answer yes to the question: “Does the story emphasize how individuals and groups are affected by the issue/problem?”
The Economic consequences frame answer yes to the question: “Is there a mention of financial losses or gains now or in the future?”
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The Morality frame answer yes to the question: “Does the story contain any moral message?”
The Responsibility frame answer yes to the question: “Does the story suggest that some level of the government is responsible for the issue/problem?”
Peace or war journalism frame (Beyond the here and now) Variable with three possible values, answering the following question: “Does the text include anything about long term goals or achievements of the conflict, the complexity or context of the conflict, or causes and consequences of the conflict at large (as opposed to the specific event reported)?” If no, 0 for “war journalism” is chosen; if yes, 1 for “peace journalism” is chosen; if it is not possible to identify either one, 2 is chosen for “not clear”.
Orientalist frame The following variables/schemas will measure the orientalist frame:
Passive Mali population schema Dichotomous variable, yes/no (1/0) to answer to the following question: “Is the Mali population described as passive (rather than active)?” If the population is not described as passive (by using the word passive or describing the notion), 0 is chosen.
Emotional Mali population schema Dichotomous variable, yes/no (1/0) to answer to the following question: “Is the mali population described as emotional (rather than rational) and/or chaotic (rather than ordered)?” If the population is not described as emotional or chaotic (by using the words or describing the notion), 0 is chosen.
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Different Mali population schema Dichotomous variable, yes/no (1/0) to answer to the following question: “Is the Mali population described as different from the Swedish/European/Western population?” If the population is not described as different (by using the word or describing the notion), 0 is chosen. Note: A comparison/mentioning of Swe/European/West is needed for the value “1”.
Mali civilians mentioned schema To put the variables above into context, another dichotomous variable that measure if the Mali civilian population is mentioned is used. The following question is used to measure this: “Does Mali civilians occur in photographs or text?” If Mali civilians does not occur in written text or photographs, 0 is chosen.
Aggressors absent of reason/meaning schema Dichotomous variable, yes/no (1/0) to answer to the following question: “Is the mali aggressors described as being absent of reason and/or meaning?” If the aggressors is not described as being absent of reason or meaning (by using the words or describing the notion), 0 is chosen.
Aggressor absent of order schema Dichotomous variable, yes/no (1/0) to answer to the following question: “Is the mali aggressors described as being absent of order?” If the aggressors is not described as being absent of order (by using the word or describing the notion), 0 is chosen.
Demonizing labels schema Dichotomous variable, yes/no (1/0) to answer to the following question: “Is demonizing language used to describe the aggressors?” Demonizing language can for example be the following words or notions: Vicious, cruel, brutal, massacre, barbaric, inhuman, tyrant, savage, ruthless, terrorist, jihadist, extremist, fanatic and fundamentalist. Examples of what is not demonizing labels:
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“Armed group”, separatist, name of group, tuareg (even if that may be problematic in itself), islamist - islamism is the idea that islam should be basis for society and politics (e.g. SVT, 2011; Britannica academic, 2018-c), and so on.
Dangerous country schema (exotifying) Dichotomous variable, yes/no (1/0) to answer to the following question: “Does the article emphasize that the country is dangerous apart from the armed conflict?” If Mali is not described as being dangerous (by using the word or describing the notion), 0 is chosen.
Different environment schema (exotifying) Dichotomous variable, yes/no (1/0) to answer to the following question: “Does the article emphasize that the environment is different from Sweden/Europe/the West?” If the Mali environment is not described as being different from Sweden/Europe/the West/what the author has ever seen (by using the words or describing the notions), 0 is chosen.
Aggressors frame A variable with multiple values is here used, to identify the most common labels. The following 9 values can be chosen: (0) terrorist; (1) jihadist: (2) rebel; (3) tuareg; (4) islamist; (5) Named group; (6) armed group; (7) separatist; (8) other or none.
Other = another label of the armed group is used. None = no armed group is mentioned specifically. If multiple labels is used in the article, the most prominent one is chosen. If they are used the same number of times, the one in the heading or earlier in the text is chosen (unless it is obvious that another label is the most prominent one).
Official bias frame Dichotomous variable, yes/no (1/0) to answer to the following question: Is an official Swedish source used in the article (including the Swedish Armed Forces)?
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This can be the Swedish government, a government agency, or anyone affiliated with the government - including staff of the Swedish Armed Forces with the rank officer or higher. If an official Swedish source is not used, 0 is chosen.
Source schema Variable with multiple values, to measure to what extent different sources is used. The variable counts the m ain source and contains the following 11 possible values: (0) Mali official sources; (1) Swedish official sources; (2) experts/researchers/scientists; (3) US officials; (4) France officials; (5) ordinary Malians/civilians; (6) swedish soldiers; (7) author as witness; (8) Armed group; (9) other; (10) United Nations If multiple sources is used in the article, the most prominent one is chosen. If they are used the same number of times, the one in the heading or earlier in the text is chosen (unless it is obvious that another source is the most prominent one).
Criticism frame Dichotomous variable, yes/no (1/0) to answer to the following question: “Does the article reflect any criticism towards the military operation?” If no critique is presented (by using the word critique or describing the notion), 0 is chosen.
Mention of Swedish military operation frame Dichotomous variable, yes/no (1/0) to answer to the following question: “Is the Swedish military operation in Mali mentioned?” If it is not mentioned (by using the specific words or describing the notion), 0 is chosen.
Main theme of article The main theme of the texts are identified with this variable, that contains the following values: Direct actions of war (0); Other types of violence [including, but not exclusive to criminal activity and kidnappings not clearly belonging to the conflict at large, etc] (1); Peace efforts/negotiations (2); General description of conflict (3); Life of soldiers (4); Life of Mali civilians (5); Politics concerning the conflict (6); Other (7).
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Before or after Swedish troops Dichotomous variable with the values “before 3 november 2014” (0) and “on or after 3 november 2014” (1). This is simply coded by choosing the value that matches the date the article was written.
4.4 Methodological limitations
Reese states that frames may not be visible in a texts manifest content, and that “it must be interpreted in its latent message” (Reese, 2009, p. 24). This is of course not an easy thing to do, and puts pressure on the researcher to have extensive knowledge about the subject analyzed. As Nisbet puts it: “... the process of framing is frustratingly subjective and therefore difficult to map out and measure” (2009, p. 45). This subjectivity can be reduced to a minimum by developing a strict methodology and coding scheme. However, subjectivity cannot be avoided altogether (Van Gorp, 2009, p. 90).
An other issues with framing analysis is the researchers own embedded values and view of the world. When the researcher belongs to the same culture as the news are being produced in, obvious frames can be overlooked (Van Gorp, 2009, p. 88).
Semetko & Valkenburg address an issue with having binary questions for the deductive analysis: The validity decreases (2000, p. 99). Intuitively, this if of course the case. If complex issues is reduced to a number of yes or no questions, some aspects may not be identified. However, by constructing a coding scheme based on the inductive analysis and careful consideration, the potential lack of validity can be minimized. This thesis also complement dichotomous variables with multiple choice variables that are more in depth.
Multiple frames can exist within a single article. Therefore, a researcher that sets out to classify each article to one single frame risk missing important variations. In some instances, competing frames can be found in the same text (Shah et. al., 2009, p. 216). For this thesis, a method of searching for every frame that has been identified useful for the study - even though one is found in an article - will be used a way to get around this issue, and increase the reliability. To not stop analyzing an article before every frame has been taken into consideration.
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A critique towards quantitative content analysis is that it rarely takes “the full” context into consideration when analysing texts. Separate news articles may, for example, be analyzed, but where on the page it is located, how big the heading is and what articles is placed next to it may not - due to practical reasons and/or time limitations. However, the habits of the internet using audience can to some extent mitigate this issue - they may very well click on article, read just that and then shut the homepage down or browse somewhere else. On top of this, a quantitative content analysis often analyze findings in relation to other factors - thus placing it into a context even if it is not the f ull context (Nilsson, 2010, p. 125-126).
5. Results and discussion
In this section selected results will be presented and discussed. Selected in the sense that a whole number of variables could be measured, presented and compared, but there is not within the scope of this thesis (or practically any study) to do so. First of all, the results of the inductive framing analysis is presented. These are the results that - together with previous literature - led up to the frames described in the Method section above. Findings relevant to the research questions and aims of the study from the quantitative content analysis is then presented. To not repeat the findings more than needed or create confusion, results and discussion are merged into one section - commenting on the results as the section moves along, instead of having a seperate section doing that afterwards.
5.1 Results of the inductive framing analysis
As suggested by Van Gorp, an inductive analysis with open coding, without a predefined coding instrument, is first carried out to search the material for possible frames. Here, the findings of this inductive analysis is presented.
Orientalist frame Despite tuaregs being a minority group in Mali - that are both civilians and members of different armed groups - the Swedish media reporting have a tendency to use the word “tuareg” as a definition for the aggressors in Mali. For example, in an editorial in Aftonbladet, the following
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can be read (directly translated): “In january of 2012, tuaregs, in collaboration with jihadists, tried with armed force to declare a state of their own in northern Mali” (Aftonbladet, 2015-a). “Tuaregs”, not MNLA or Ansar al-Din, were described as the aggressors. Choosing the name of a population, rather than that of an armed group, may arguably the consequence of an orientalist view of the world - that “the other”, in this case tuareg people, are one and the same, despite if they are members of an armed group or not. What “tuareg” is seems to rarely - if ever - be explained. Orientalism will be described in greater detail below, and an orientalist frame will be operationalized.
Exotifying of Mali and its environment, and expressions of fear towards the country itself, seems to be quite common. An article in Expressen claimed that “the dangers not only consist of terror groups raging in the country, but also diseases and the vast distances” (2014-a). Another article in the same newspaper stated that “the most dangerous is as usual everything besides the war. Such as the roads, animals and diseases” (Expressen, 2015-b). DN cites a lieutenant colonel saying that “when we get there nothing else than sand exists” (DN, 2014-a). The article does not mention that while nothing else than sand may exist where they are building the camp, Timbuktu is a city that historically has been an important trading post on the trans-Saharan caravan route, much due to its location as a meeting point of the Sahara desert and the water of the Niger River, making it “an ideal trading centre” ( Britannica Academic, 2018-b). While Timbuktu may have lost it significance as a trading post, there is certainly more than sand to be found in the area. This can also be part of an orientalist frame.
Exotifying of Mali and its nature does occur in the blog produced by the Swedish Armed Forces as well as articles posted on their website, with sweeping statements that the environment in Mali “punishes you straight away if you do something wrong” - without stating exactly what punishes in what way (Försvarsmakten, 2014-a) - and that “africans know how to solve problems with simple means” (Malibloggen, 2015-a). However, the opposite does occur. In a blog post about a sandstorm, the author likens the sandstorm to a snowstorm back in Sweden, stating that the phenomenons is quite similar (Malibloggen, 2015-b).
35 Framing Mali: Swedish media portrayal of an armed conflict Master's thesis Niklas Norberg VT18
Aggressors frame The aggressors is not only called tuaregs, however. Variations on that occurs, such as tuareg separatists, tuareg rebels and tuareg combatants, but Mali aggressors are also described as islamists, rebels, jihadists, terrorists, armed groups, criminals and fanatic islamists. An “Aggressors” frame will be adopted, to examine what label is the most frequently used.
Mali civilians mentioned SvD and Expressen seem to have more articles about “regular” people living in Mali, than the other newspapers. SvD has for example a series of articles where they portray Mali emigrants that are returning to the country (e.g. SvD, 2015-a). Whether this is the case, and to what extent, will be analyzed as well. How much of the everyday life in Mali do the newspapers portray? Such a frame could be called “Mali civilians mentioned” and measure whether Mali civilians occur in the texts or not.
Mali civilian life is also portrayed in the Swedish Armed Forces blog. In Malibloggen, civilian life seems to be shown mainly through images (rather than texts, e.g. Malibloggen, 2015-c). To get an accurate result of this, a visual analysis would thus be needed. Again, a simple yes/no question will be used - “Does any Mali civilians occur in text or images?”.
Criticism Criticism towards the military operation in Mali or bringing forth negative views of it seems to be scarce. It does, however, occur. in an article in Expressen, a man named Touré Nouhoum is describing how Minusma killed his brother in law, and says he used to think Minusma would help them but that he was not sure anymore (2015-a). An editorial in SvD hade the following critique (directly translated):
Why is a full 235 Swedish soldiers in Mali at this moment, but only 35 in Iraq to educate the Iraqi army in the struggle against [ISIS]. In what way is Malis stability more important for Swedish interests than to fight the Islamic state? In no way (SvD, 2015-b).
36 Framing Mali: Swedish media portrayal of an armed conflict Master's thesis Niklas Norberg VT18
A “criticism towards the military operation” frame could thus be analyzed, to see whether that is the case - that criticism rarely occurs in Swedish news media.
Peace or war journalism The portrayal of long term goals of the military operation at large seems to be close to non-existent, and the reasons why Sweden is participating is often left out. There are, however, some articles mentioning this, such as the following article in DN (directly translated):
The reasons that is specified in the governments proposition for Sweden to send 250 soldiers and using 378 million kronor next year is Sweden's dedication for peace and development in Africa. Furthermore, a Swedish interest of working against terrorism and human trafficking in the area is mentioned and a possibility for the Swedish Armed Forces to gain experience of the UN peace-promoting activities (DN, 2015-b).
The Swedish government at the time described in a debate article why Sweden, according to them, was sending troops to Mali. It is there stated that the purpose is to contribute to security in the country, thereby decreasing the suffering for the population, and that the military operation will counteract terrorism and human trafficking (SvD, 2014-a). Whether the long term goals of the military operation is succeeding or not, or what the soldiers actually have managed to do in Mali is rarely reported. A frame could thus be whether long term goals of the military operation and/or the reasons for Swedish intervention is mentioned in the articles. Furthermore, the complexity of the conflict is surprisingly rarely mentioned. Some articles report that there are several armed groups (DN, 2014-b; SvD, 2015-c), and som specifically mention that the armed conflict is complex or even messy (SvD, 2014-b; Expressen, 2015-e). However, the majority of the articles seem to include one armed group - and does not mention any kind of complexity. “Sports like” commentary, that group X have done Y att location Z, seems to be quite common. A frame could thus be whether any sort of complexity in the conflict is mentioned and/or if long term goals/achievements is discussed. This fits quite well with the war journalism and peace journalism concept, as described earlier in this thesis - a frame incorporating the findings in this inductive analysis together with the previous research on war journalism and peace journalism is used, and will therefore be named accordingly
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Official bias and sources One frame that is essential to the aim of this study is the sources used by the newspapers, to analyze whether official - or military - sources is used, or if they go beyond official reports and find other kinds of sources. In the inductive analysis, quite a few sources has been identified: Official Mali sources, such as the prime minister, the president, its defence department, the Mali police and so on; Swedish official sources, such as FOI - the Swedish Defence Research Agency, the prime minister, the defence minister; researchers/scientists of universities; “experts”; US sources; France officials seems to be quite common; Swedish soldiers; and “ordinary Malians/civilians”.
Main theme of article Malibloggen, the Swedish Armed Forces Blog, does also seem to publish more information about people with other professions than strictly armed soldiers, in contrast to the news papers. These are for example mechanics, “the supply group”, physiotherapists, health care workers and chaplains (Malibloggen, 2014-a; Malibloggen, 2014-b; Malibloggen, 2014-c; Malibloggen, 2015-d; Malibloggen 2015-e). Malibloggen also seem to have more posts about the everyday life of the soldiers - such as tabata workouts, what they do to get their laundry done and how the showers work (Malibloggen 2014-d; Malibloggen 2015-f). This will be measured with the “life of soldiers/staff” variable value in the “Main theme of article” frame.
5.2 Results of the quantitative content analysis
Before and after the employment of Swedish troops On November 3, 2014, the first Swedish troops (not counting staff officers) arrived in Mali. This is also the point in time this thesis has chosen as basis for the period under study - one year prior to and one year from November 3, 2014 and onwards is analysed. For the before/after analysis, only the news articles are examined - since Malibloggen (the Swedish Armed Forces blog) starts when the troops arrive. So, is there any differences in the reporting before and after the Swedish troops have arrived? As it turns out: Yes, there is.
First of all, the number of written articles is greater after November 3, 2014. In total, 77.8% of the articles were written after the Swedish soldiers have arrived. The numbers of articles
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written after that date for the separate newspapers are 88.6% for Expressen, 80% for Svenska Dagbladet, 69.8% for Dagens Nyheter and 62.5% for Aftonbladet. This strengthen the notion that general news values, such as that proximity to the reporters - geographically and/or culturally - increases the chance of a story being written about it (e.g. Golding & Elliot, 1979), and that this can be applied to reporting about armed conflicts as well: The incentives to report about the conflict in Mali increases when there are Swedes in the country, that is - quite dramatically in this case.
As for the variable Official bias (which measures if a Swedish official source is used in the article), there were quite the difference before or after Swedish troops arrived in Mali. Before they entered, 21.4% of the articles are counted as Official bias. After November 3 2014, that number was 49%. This m ay suggest that it is also a higher chance of writing about Mali when there is more sources - such as the Swedish Armed Forces - available.
Table 1. Official bias before and after Swedish Troops arrived in Mali
Official bias
No Yes Total
Before or after before 3 november Count 22 6 28 Swedish troops 2014 % within Before or 78.6% 21.4% 100.0% after Swedish troops
on or after 3 Count 50 48 98 november 2014 % within Before or 51.0% 49.0% 100.0% after Swedish troops
Total Count 72 54 126
% within Before or 57.1% 42.9% 100.0% after Swedish troops
There were also changes in which of the five common frames - identified in previous literature - were counted as the main frame (of those five frames) in the articles before and after Swedish troops. Before November 3 2014, 39,3% of the articles were counted as mainly belonging to the Conflict frame. After that date, 57,1% were counted as having the Conflict
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frame as the main frame of the article. As for the Human interest frame, the numbers were 50% before Swedish troops arriving, and 27,6% after they had arrived. These results, that the majority of the news articles were mainly about conflicts - and in fact increased at the expense of human interest type reporting, match the findings of Schwalbe (2013), discussed earlier in this thesis. Schwalbe found that the everyday life of Iraqi civilians was not shown to the same extent as brave troops and advanced weaponry, in american news media reporting about the armed conflict in Iraq.
The responsibility frame increased from 7.1% before to 12.2% after. The Economic consequences frame and the Morality frame were 0,8% respectively 2,4% for the full time period.
Official bias and sources When it comes to the individual newspapers and official bias, some differences can be seen. Here, the daily newspapers and the evening newspapers do differ from each other. The amount of articles that were counted as official bias for the two daily newspapers were 34,9% for Dagens Nyheter and 35% for Svenska Dagbladet. The numbers for the evening newspapers were 62.5% for Aftonbladet and 57.1% for Expressen. Since Malibloggen is written by the Swedish Armed Forces and published on their website, the whole thing could of course be considered Official bias. However, when counting officers and above as official bias (not counting “low level” soldiers and staff), the number or posts that were considered official bias were 73,6% - still quite high.
So, what sources are the most prominent in the different newspapers? The variable Source measure the most prominent source in the articles (when there are several sources, only one is counted in this variable). As stated earlier, the Official bias frame - presented above - counts Swedish official sources even if it is not the most prominent one, the Source variable do not. Swedish official sources were one of the most prominent values in all of the news articles: Svenska Dagbladet 32,5%; Dagens Nyheter 23,3%; Aftonbladet 62,5%; and Expressen 34,3%. The second most used source (apart from other/none) were the following for the different newspapers: Svenska Dagbladet, Ordinary malians/civilians at 17,5%; Dagens Nyheter, Mali official sources at 11.6%; Aftonbladet, equal between France officials and Armed group at
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12,5% each; and Expressen, equal between France officials and the United Nations at 8,6% each. Worth noting is that the source Ordinary Malians/civilians differ quite alot between the publishers. Svenska Dagbladet peaks at 17,5%, followed by Expressen at 8,6% and both Aftonbladet and Dagens Nyheter at 0%.
That Swedish official sources is the most prominent in the news articles is in line with previous literature and the hypothesis of this thesis. As stated earlier (referring to e.g. Entman, 2004 & Lawrence, 2009), when it comes to reporting about foreign affairs - armed conflict included, media outlets tend to rely on official sources to a great extent, at least in the cases studied. Based on this notion, the hypothesis argued, quite correctly, that this should be the case with the Swedish news media reporting on the armed conflict in Mali as well.
Orientalist frame As for the Orientalist frame, a number of different variables (or schemas) was said to go under this umbrella. The “Yes” occurrences for the schemas Passive, Emotional or Different Mali population were very low - close to 0% on all of them. The same goes for Aggressors absent of reason/meaning or order. In other words: the newspapers did not to any greater extent use the kind of orientalist language described earlier in the thesis - the titles of the variables also explains quite well what that language include: The “Passive population” variable simply measures if the Mali population was described as passive, as opposed to active, and so on. As stated earlier, Mali civilians did not occur in the news articles to a great extent. This may also have affected the low percentage for the Passive, Emotional or Different Mali population schemas. If they are not mentioned at all, they of course cannot be said to be any of these things.
Demonizing labels was another schema included in the Orientalist frame. This variable measure if the aggressors were described with demonizing language or labels (such as jihadist, brutal, and so on). Being the most demonizing, according to this variable, was Aftonbladet at 50%. However, they only had 8 relevant articles published for the whole time period - here one article leaning a different way would alter their result alot. Aftonbladet did not, however, differ greatly from the publisher with the second highest usage of demonizing language. In descending order, the occurrence of demonizing language in the newspapers were the following: Dagens Nyheter,
41 Framing Mali: Swedish media portrayal of an armed conflict Master's thesis Niklas Norberg VT18
46,5%; Expressen, 40%; and Svenska Dagbladet 25%. Malibloggen had demonizing language regarding the aggressors in 0,8% of the blog posts. So why is this the case? The Aggressors frame give some insight. This frame is presented more in depth below, but one term used to describe the Aggressors to some extent is for example jihadist - this is one term that would result in demonizing language (as well as describing the aggressors as brutal, and so on).
Two other schemas belonging to the Orientalist frame are Dangerous country and Different environment. Dangerous country measures if the articles state that Mali is dangerous in itself, apart from the armed conflict, and Different environment measures whether the Mali environment is different compared to Sweden, Europe and/or “the West”. As for Dangerous country, Aftonbladet had no articles stating that Mali is dangerous apart from the armed conflict; in 5% of the articles in Svenska Dagbladet, this was expressed; 9,3% in Dagens Nyheter; and in 14,3% of the articles in Expressen this was stated. The amount in Malibloggen were 2,5%. The numbers for Different environment were quite similar to the results of the Dangerous country schema (see table below). One major difference was that the Mali environment were described as different from Sweden, Europe or “the West” in 12,5% of the articles in Aftonbladet. Another clear difference were that this occurred in 18,2% of the blog posts in Malibloggen.
Table 2. Different environment schema in the individual publications
Different environment
No Yes Total
Publication Svenska Dagbladet Count 37 3 40
% within Publication 92.5% 7.5% 100.0%
Dagens Nyheter Count 39 4 43
% within Publication 90.7% 9.3% 100.0%
Aftonbladet Count 7 1 8
% within Publication 87.5% 12.5% 100.0%
Expressen Count 30 5 35
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% within Publication 85.7% 14.3% 100.0%
Malibloggen Count 99 22 121
% within Publication 81.8% 18.2% 100.0%
Total Count 212 35 247
% within Publication 85.8% 14.2% 100.0%
The higher numbers in both variables for the evening newspaper Expressen could suggest that media outlets leaning more towards tabloid press, more often describe countries and events in a sensational fashion - that Mali is dangerous and that the environment is different from the “home environment”. The other evening newspaper considered more towards tabloid press, Aftonbladet, was in the higher range only in the Different environment schema, however. This of course lessen the certainty of that statement, but the low number of articles in Aftonbladet may also skew the results. Evening newspapers may, still, be more inclined to heighten the dangers and differences of a country.
The five common frames Five common frames were identified in previous literature. At least one of these frames can, according to said literature, be found in close to every written news article. These were coded as five values in one variable. The most prevalent in an article were selected.
The most common frame was the Conflict frame (Expressen, 60%; Dagens Nyheter, 55,8%; and Svenska Dagbladet 55%). However, Aftonbladet had the Responsibility frame as the most common at 50% and Malibloggen had the Human interest frame as the most common one - in 91,7% of the articles. Aftonbladet was quite deviant in this particular analysis, down from Aftonbladets 50% of the Responsibility frame, Dagens Nyheter was second at 11,6% (and the rest of course even lower). The articles in Aftonbladet that had Responsibility frame as the main frame was about Swedish soldiers not getting enough food; lack of resources for the UN mission; Swedish military missions in general; and Swedish citizen kidnapped years before. Quite reasonable that Aftonbladet was so deviant in this case then, but the high number can also be explained by the lack of articles. As stated earlier, only eight relevant articles from
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Aftonbladet were published during the time period under study, and a few “deviant” articles thus have great effect on the outcome. That Malibloggen had such a high number is not unsurprising - most of the blog posts concern the daily life of Swedish soldiers in Mali. The newspapers all had the Human interest frame as the second most common frame, ranging from 30,2% to 37,5% (see table below for the full spread).
Table 3. The main frame of the five common frames in the different publications
Main frame of the five common
Economi c Human conseq Respon Conflict interest uences Morality sibility frame frame frame frame frame Total
P Svenska Count 22 13 1 1 3 40 u Dagbladet b % within 55.0% 32.5% 2.5% 2.5% 7.5% 100. li Publication 0% c Dagens Count 24 13 0 1 5 43 a Nyheter ti % within 55.8% 30.2% 0.0% 2.3% 11.6% 100. o Publication 0% n Aftonbladet Count 0 3 0 1 4 8
% within 0.0% 37.5% 0.0% 12.5% 50.0% 100. Publication 0%
Expressen Count 21 12 0 0 2 35
% within 60.0% 34.3% 0.0% 0.0% 5.7% 100. Publication 0%
Malibloggen Count 10 111 0 0 0 121
% within 8.3% 91.7% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 100. Publication 0%
Total Count 77 152 1 3 14 247
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% within 31.2% 61.5% 0.4% 1.2% 5.7% 100. Publication 0%
Peace or war journalism In the Peace and war journalism frame, peace journalism was defined as the answer yes on the following question: D oes the text include anything about long term goals or achievements of the conflict, the complexity or context of the conflict, or causes and consequences of the conflict at large (as opposed to the specific event reported)? So, to what extent was this in depth type of reporting occurring in the texts? The difference between the publishers were quite pronounced, all were, however, more prone to war journalism. Including Malibloggen, the following were the percentage of articles and blog posts that were considered war journalism: Malibloggen, 81,8%; Aftonbladet, 75%; Expressen, 68,6%; and Svenska Dagbladet, 55%. Swedish news media were thus more inclined to write event based reporting, not giving much context or going in depth when reporting about Mali, in the majority of the articles. This could arguably be applied to Swedish news reporting about armed conflicts in general, but that of course would have to be investigated in further studies.
A variation could, however, be seen when comparing the time period before Swedish troops came to Mali with the time period starting at their arrival and onwards. The earlier time period had a 82,1% of the articles being considered war journalism, and the later time period 65,3% of the articles. The newspapers were thus more inclined to write about the bigger context of the conflict - including causes and consequences and long term goals - when Swedish soldiers had arrived in Mali. The vast majority of the articles were still considered war journalism, however. That the outlets had a higher number of articles when Swedish soldiers were in the country is not all that surprising. This is in line with common newspaper values, such as the closer (geographically or culturally) something gets, the more likely it will be published, as stated earlier in this thesis.
Mali civilians mentioned This frame could somewhat explain the low numbers in the Passive, Emotional and Different Mali population schemas - if civilians are not mentioned at all, they of course cannot be stated to carry any of those attributes either. And that is the case in the majority of the articles and
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blog posts: Mali civilians are mentioned in between 23,3% and 37,1% of them (ranging from Dagens Nyheter at the lower end, to Aftonbladet and Expressen at the higher - see full range at the table below).
Table 4. Mali civilians mentioned in the different publications.
Mali civilians mentioned
No Yes Total
Publication Svenska Dagbladet Count 26 14 40
% within Publication 65.0% 35.0% 100.0%
Dagens Nyheter Count 33 10 43
% within Publication 76.7% 23.3% 100.0%
Aftonbladet Count 5 3 8
% within Publication 62.5% 37.5% 100.0%
Expressen Count 22 13 35
% within Publication 62.9% 37.1% 100.0%
Malibloggen Count 83 38 121
% within Publication 68.6% 31.4% 100.0%
Total Count 169 78 247
% within Publication 68.4% 31.6% 100.0%
These results, that the majority of the news articles does not include civilians, also match the findings of Schwalbe (2013), discussed earlier in this thesis. Schwalbe found that the everyday life of Iraqi civilians was not shown to the same extent - as brave troops and advanced weaponry in Schwalbes case, as acts of war and other types of violence in this thesis. Here, an
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honorable mention perhaps is in place. As stated earlier in this section, Svenska Dagbladet had Mali civilians as their second most used main source - in 17,5% of their articles.
Aggressors frame The Aggressors frame measure the most occuring label on the Aggressors of the article - the armed group. If several labels occur, the most prominent one is selected. The by far most common value when coding this variable was “Other or none” - not very surprisingly since the number of possible labels are, well, infinite (apart from the other variable values), and that this value is also chosen when no armed group are mentioned at all. The latter is the case for Malibloggen - which had the value Other or none in 92,6% of the blog posts. There, aggressors are rarely mentioned at all, the main subjects are predominantly Swedish soldiers and their experiences.
As for the news articles, the second most occurring value differ substantially between the publishers. Svenska Dagbladet hade rebel as the second most common value at 20%, and islamist third at 10%. Dagens Nyheter had “named group”second at 16,3% - they specify the name of aggressors that is, and islamist third at 14%. Aftonbladet had four labels as the second most common (jihadist, tuareg, islamist and named group) at 12,5% - with one article each, however. Expressen had jihadist and named group as the second most common values, at 17,1% each. As stated earlier, the high number in jihadist can partly explain the demonizing language variable (since that is one such label that would result in the article being counted as using demonizing language). The daily newspapers differed from the evening newspapers in this analysis. The evening newspapers, Aftonbladet and Expressen, were both more inclined to use labels that would be considered demonizing under the Demonizing labels schema (jihadist in this case). The daily newspapers, considered more “sober”, did not use those kinds of labels at their most used labels - neither rebel nor islamist is considered demonizing, which is explained in further depth earlier in this thesis.
Criticism frame All in all, the publishers rarely brought up any criticism towards the military operation in Mali, in the news articles and blog posts. Perhaps unsurprisingly for Malibloggen, since it is published at the Swedish Armed Forces homepage, but the newspapers were not far behind. In
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total, criticism towards the military operation occurred in 7,9% of the news articles. 0% in Aftonbladet; 2,3% in Dagens Nyheter; 11,4% in Expressen; and 12,5% in Svenska Dagbladet. This also in line with what previous literature - described in this thesis - have found (e.g. Schwalbe, 2013; Entman, 2004; Lawrence, 2009), and which was the premise for the hypothesis crafted: When reporting on foreign policy, official sources tend to be used - and they are often used uncritically.
Mention of the Swedish military operation frame The Swedish military operation were mentioned in the majority of the news articles. The only newspaper that did not mention it in the majority of the articles were Svenska Dagbladet, who mentioned it in 45% of their articles. The Swedish military operation was mentioned in 50% of the articles in Aftonbladet; 51,2% of the articles in Dagens Nyheter; and 74,3% of the articles in Expressen. This can of course also be linked to the news selection values described above - stories increase in chance of being written when they are about events that are in close proximity, geographically or culturally, to the journalist or news media.
Main theme of article frame In total, the most common themes in the newspapers were Direct actions of war (23,8%) and Other types of violence (19,8%). Declining from there were General description of conflict/context (15,9%), Life of soldiers/staff (14,3%), and politics concerning the conflict (11,9%). The least common frames were Peace efforts/negotiations (4%) and Life of Mali civilians (4,8%). This can be linked to the concept of peace and war journalism described above - apart from the frame used in this thesis. The Peace or war journalism frame in this thesis focused on a more in depth style of reporting (with context, long term goals and achievements, causes and consequences and so on). The result of these main themes strengthen that of the Peace or war journalism frame, and the concept of peace and war journalism in general: Newspapers are more inclined to write about specific, spectacular events, such as actions of war and violence, negative news and their own soldiers, rather than peace efforts or the “dull daily life” of civilians.
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There were some variation between the different publishers. The theme Peace efforts/negotiations were, however, quite low for all publishers (ranging from Aftonbladets 0% to Svenska Dagbladets 5%). One interesting variation were the Life of Mali civilians theme, where Svenska Dagbladet bumped up the average with their 10% of the articles, compared to Dagens Nyheter and Aftonbladet with 0% each and Expressens 5,7%. Another variation were Expressens percentage of Direct actions of war (34,3%) and General description of conflict/context (22,9%). The former with the following values for the other newspapers: Dagens Nyheter, 25,6%; Svenska Dagbladet 15%; and Aftonbladet 12,5%. General description of conflict/context ranged from 9,3% to 17,5% within the other newspapers. The theme Other types of violence can at least in part explain this variation, where Expressen had 14,3% of the articles, compared to the other publishers that ranged from 20% to 25%. Another such theme were Politics concerning the conflict, where Expressen only had this as the main theme in 5% of their articles, whereas the other outlets ranged from 11,6% to 25%.
Comparing evening and daily newspapers One question this thesis tried to answer were whether daily newspapers (considered more sober) or evening newspapers (considered more sensationalist) differed in their reporting about the conflict in Mali. Did they? Well, oftentimes they did, but in some cases they did not.
The Official bias frame were one such example where there were substantially different results for the two daily newspapers, as opposed to the evening newspapers - the former had around 35% of the articles that were considered official bias, and the latter had around 60%. The Different environment schema had this same pattern - the evening newspapers were more prone to state that the environment in Mali is different to that of Sweden, Europe or “the West”. The evening newspapers also included Mali civilians in more articles than did the daily newspapers - 37,1% and 37,5% vs. 35% and 23,3%. Furthermore, the evening newspapers used more demonizing labels in the most common values in the Aggressors frame. The evening newspapers both had “jihadist” as one of their most used labels for the aggressors, whereas the evening newspapers did not - they rather used rebels, islamist and the name of the group.
The Demonizing labels schema - language that describe the aggressors as brutal, savage and so on - is an example where no such relationship can be seen. Here the pattern is daily, evening,
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daily, evening. The Criticism frame saw the same pattern. Another example is the Peace and war journalism frame. Here, a pattern could be seen where one daily newspaper were the most prone to war journalism (Dagens Nyheter at 81,8%) and one daily newspaper the least (Svenska Dagbladet at 55%).
Comparing newspapers and the Swedish Armed Forces’ blog Comparing Malibloggen with the newspapers has not been all that easy, and quite frankly not very fruitful with many of the variables. Take the main theme of the texts, for example. The vast majority of the blog posts is about the daily life of the Swedish soldiers - that is essentially the function of the blog. Are 75% of the newspaper articles about the daily life of soldiers, as is the case with Malibloggen? Of course not. The same goes for the Five common frames. Three out of four of the newspapers had the Conflict frame as the main frame in the highest number of articles. Malibloggen had the Human interest frame as the main frame in 91,7% of the blog posts. Yet again: Because the blog posts are generally about the everyday life of soldiers at camp. Perhaps surprisingly to some, Malibloggen had the least amount of texts with demonizing language. 99,2% of the articles was coded “No” in the Demonizing labels schema. The newspaper with the least amount of articles with demonizing language was Svenska Dagbladet, with 75% of the articles coded as no demonizing language.
There are however, variables/frames that can be compared with the newspapers. The Peace and war journalism frame is one of them: Malibloggen is at the higher end, at 81,8% of the posts that are coded as war journalism, but the newspaper with the highest amount of war journalism coded articles, Dagens Nyheter, is not far behind at 81,4%. In the frame Mali civilians mentioned, Malibloggen were also quite similar to that of the newspapers. Malibloggen mentioned civilians in 31,4% of the articles. The newspapers ranged from 23,3% to 37,5%.
Despite Malibloggen and the newspapers being hard to compare with each other, there is, as described above, results that show that Swedish newspapers often rely on Swedish official sources. In that category, the Swedish Armed Forces is included. To what extent is not measured in this thesis, but they are referred to - what I would describe as - a lot. That last statement is of course completely unscientific, but the Official bias and Source variables alone
50 Framing Mali: Swedish media portrayal of an armed conflict Master's thesis Niklas Norberg VT18
show that Swedish news media rely heavily on Swedish official sources (including the armed forces).
6. Conclusion
This thesis set out to investigate how Swedish media portray armed conflicts, and more specifically the armed conflict in Mali. With the support of previous research, a hypothesis was created: Due to this being the case in other countries during other armed conflicts, the Swedish news reporting will likely rely heavily on official sources. More open questions seeking to answer questions of how Swedish news media portray the conflict and its actors - and how the publications differ from each other and from writings of the Swedish Armed Forces - were also sought out. Using inductive framing theory - basically reading through the material with an open mind, other frames were identified. A quantitative content analysis was used to measure to what extent the frames occured in the texts.
Did the newspapers rely on official sources? The short answer is yes. The long answer: They absolutely did. The evening newspapers that were considered more sensationalist, Aftonbladet and Expressen, stood out when measuring whether a Swedish official source was used. These two used Swedish official sources in about 60% of the articles. The numbers for the two daily newspapers that were considered more “sober”, Svenska Dagbladet and Dagens Nyheter, were around 35%. Another variable measured what sources that were the most frequent as the m ain source in the articles: Swedish official sources stood out as the most used main source, ranging from 23,3% to 62,5% between the different newspapers. The second most used main source differed, but the range was between 8,6% and 17,5%. It is quite safe to say that Swedish news media relied heavily on Swedish official sources, then. On top of this, among the second most used sources were France official sources, Mali official sources, the United Nations and so on. Svenska Dagbladet stood out as the only newspaper having Mali civilians as their second most used main source at 17,5%. The three other newspapers had Mali civilians at 8,6%, 0% and 0%.
So, what does this mean in a broader perspective? As for research, this strengthens previous findings of when reporting about foreign affairs - including armed conflict, news media tend to
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rely on official sources at the expense of for example the views of civilians (e.g. Lawrence, 2009, p. 267; Entman, 2004, p. 2; Schwalbe, 2013, p. 254). As this thesis show that this is the case for Swedish news media as well - in the case of Mali at the very least. As other results in this thesis shows, news media also tend to not only disregard civilians as sources, but also to not mention them in the texts at all (ranging from 23,3% to 37,1% of the articles). This can also be linked to previous research, where e.g. Schwalbe (2013) finds that pictures of iraqi civilians everyday life was not shown to the same extent as images of brave troops and advanced weaponry, during the war in Iraq. Another noteworthy result are that the most common main themes of the articles were Direct actions of war and Other types of violence, at the expense of - above all - Peace efforts/negotiations and Life of Mali civilians. These results can be linked to the broader ideas of framing theory: To frame something is to select and present some aspects of reality at the expense of something else, and in doing so influence the understanding of the event or issue being framed (e.g. Gitlin, 1980, p. 7; Entman, 1993, p. 52; Norris, Kern & Just, 2003, p. 11; Allern, 2014, p. 3). Journalists have, in general terms, chosen to present violence through the views of official sources to a large extent when reporting about the armed conflict in Mali. So why have they done this? One reason could quite possibly be that market logic influenced the choices to do so - to present the spectacular through the perception of well known sources and elites. As previous research shows, the societal function of journalism is often under prioritized when it cost to much to obtain those stories. Stories that are easier to digest and/or spectacular may rather be chosen (McManus in Wahl-Jörgensen & Hanitsch, 2009, Sid. 218-220 & 222; Esser, 1999, p. 291-292). In the case of Mali, because it is in Africa where few Swedish correspondents can be found, and an armed conflict is taking place, the costs for journalists may be considered too high. They could, however, get around this by for example contacting Mali migrants or refugees in other countries to get more easily accessible information, and voices of civilians with first hand knowledge about the country and the situation.
In practical journalistic terms, these results can help journalists and publishers get a bigger picture on what they are actually reporting - and whos stories they are telling. As Entman (2004) argues: A free press should balance official sources with more impartial ones so that the public can make informed decisions. What journalists do with this information is perhaps not my place as a researcher to decide or even propose, but the newspapers themselves could quite
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frankly take a good hard look at these results and ask themselves if that is what they want to portray. One question to ask is this: Is the “credibility” of using official sources worth the lack of insight into other kinds of perspectives - other kinds of stories? If it is, fine. If it’s not, make some changes.
The question of how the daily and evening newspapers differ or resemble each other? In some frames, patterns that there were a split between daily and evening newspapers could be seen - in others not at all. The Official bias frame mentioned above was of course an example of such a split between daily and evening newspapers. This was the case with mentioning Mali civilians as well. Here, the daily newspapers were less likely to include civilians in their articles. The Different environment schema is another example - daily newspapers were less likely to state that the Mali environment is different from that of Sweden, Europe or “the West”. An example of where this pattern could not be seen - where there rather were individual differences - were the Peace and war journalism frame. In this case, one daily newspaper, Svenska Dagbladet, were the least prone to war journalism, and the other daily newspaper, Dagens Nyheter, the most. The same applied for the Criticism frame and using demonizing language (even if the evening newspapers were more prone to use demonizing language in their main labels for the aggressors - such as jihadist). So what does this actually mean, in relation to the idea of tabloid and so called sober newspapers reporting in different ways? Well, in some instances, this notion is true, but often it is not. Assuming that a newspaper would report in a certain way, on simply the basis that it is “tabloid” and not based on research is thus quite precarious, and a hit-or-miss endeavour. One could assume that Dagens Nyheter (considered “sober”) would report more in depth in the peace journalism style described in this thesis, for example. However, that is the newspaper with the highest amount of articles considered war journalism (at 81,4%). These results could make a good input to the research debate on style of reporting linked to labels such as tabloid/sensationalist and “sober” newspapers.
The comparison between the Swedish Armed Forces blog Malibloggen and the newspapers were said to in many variables not being very fruitful. There were some instances where they were very similar, however. In the peace and conflict frame, Malibloggen had 81,8% of its articles classified as war journalism, while Dagens Nyheter had 81,4% of the articles classified as war journalism. Malibloggen were also within the range of the newspapers in the amount of
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texts that mentioned Mali civilians.There are thus frames where they report in the same kind of way. So, all in all, are the Swedish Armed Forces blog similar to the newspapers? In some ways they are, and some ways they are not, but no, you can’t really say that. However, as stated earlier, the Official bias and the Source frame in themselves show that Swedish news media rely heavily on Swedish official sources (where the Swedish Armed Forces is also included).
That conclusion, that Swedish news media rely on official sources to a large extent, could be grounds for further research, looking into if this applies to other subjects than armed conflict - and if this applies to armed conflicts in general, beyond Mali. Previous research suggest that this is the case, and this study further strengthens that, but it could be proven further with additional studies. Studying how the audience - the receivers - interpret the reporting, and if they take note of the findings of this study, would be very interesting and could also be ground for future research. Additionally, a larger quantitative study could be performed, using relevant frames identified in this study. The qualitative, inductive, framing analysis in this study swallowed quite some time in itself - using these findings at a larger scale could prove fruitful.
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Appendix 1. News articles and blog posts
ID Headline Publisher Date (YYYY-MM-DD)
001 2014-04-23Fransk gisslan har dött i Mali - inga nya Aftonbladet 2014-04-23 uppgifter om svenske Johan
002 2014-06-14Insatserna är långsammare än någonsin Aftonbladet 2014-06-14
003 'Bolagen struntar i flygvarningarna' Aftonbladet 2014-07-26
004 Sveriges insats i Mali är livsviktig Aftonbladet 2015-01-07
005 Lågmäld galenskap Aftonbladet 2015-02-20
006 Utan mat i Mali Aftonbladet 2015-04-10
007 FN-styrka saknar utlovade resurser Aftonbladet 2015-05-07
008 Kidnappad svensk vädjar efter hjälp Aftonbladet 2015-06-23
009 Journalister dödade i Mali Dagens Nyheter 2013-11-03
010 al-Qaida bakom dubbelmord i Mali Dagens Nyheter 2013-11-07
011 Ödet för kidnappad svensk ännu okänt Dagens Nyheter 2013-11-24
012 Bilbomb mot FN-styrkor Dagens Nyheter 2013-12-15
013 Massaker i norra Mali Dagens Nyheter 2014-02-08
014 Planer på svenskt förband till Mali Dagens Nyheter 2014-02-19
015 Kidnappare: Fransk gisslan är död Dagens Nyheter 2014-04-23
016 "Öppet krig råder" Dagens Nyheter 2014-05-19
017 Vill ha svensk Mali-styrka Dagens Nyheter 2014-05-29
018 Ovisst för kidnappad svensk i Mali Dagens Nyheter 2013-11-24
019 Malis president: Planet är funnet Dagens Nyheter 2014-07-25
020 Svenska soldater bygger ökenläger Dagens Nyheter 2014-09-07
021 Fransk soldat dödad i Mali Dagens Nyheter 2014-10-30
022 Svenskar redo för det farligaste uppdraget Dagens Nyheter 2014-11-29
023 Terrorister, hetta och ebola några av hoten Dagens Nyheter 2014-11-29
024 Utrotad fattigdom på landsbygden enda vägen fram Dagens Nyheter 2014-11-29
025 Ewa Stenberg: Insatsen kan avgöra försvarets framtid Dagens Nyheter 2014-11-29
026 Terrorgrupp släpper gisslan efter tre år - svensk fortsatt Dagens Nyheter 2014-12-10
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fången
027 Drömskt skön och stenhårt politisk Dagens Nyheter 2015-02-20
028 "Den verkliga segern förvandlar ont till gott" Dagens Nyheter 2015-02-20
029 Avtal ska stoppa våld Dagens Nyheter 2015-02-20
030 Fredsuppgörelse nära i Mali Dagens Nyheter 2015-03-01
031 Förlängt för Malistyrka Dagens Nyheter 2015-03-18
Maria Schottenius: Världsarvet behöver kärlek för att Dagens Nyheter 032 överleva terrorismen 2015-03-23
033 Nederländsk gisslan fri - svensken kvar Dagens Nyheter 2015-04-07
034 Politisk ilska mot Försvarsmakten Dagens Nyheter 2015-04-10
035 Försvaret får kritik efter avslöjande Dagens Nyheter 2015-04-10
036 Försvaret skickar ingen mat till Mali Dagens Nyheter 2015-04-11
037 Sverige tackade nej till FN:s materbjudande Dagens Nyheter 2015-04-14
038 Svensk styrka beskjuten i Mali Dagens Nyheter 2015-04-15
039 FN-bas attackerades Dagens Nyheter 2015-04-16
040 Födelsedag i jihadisternas bojor Dagens Nyheter 2015-04-18
041 Två FN-soldater dödade Dagens Nyheter 2015-04-19
042 Svensk Malistyrka saknar helikoptrar Dagens Nyheter 2015-05-07
043 Terrorledare dödade av franska styrkor Dagens Nyheter 2015-05-22
044 FN-soldater dödad Dagens Nyheter 2015-05-27
045 Kidnappare: Släpp fångar mot svensken Dagens Nyheter 2015-06-24
046 Svenskens kidnappare efterliknar IS Dagens Nyheter 2015-06-28
047 FN-soldater dödade i Mali Dagens Nyheter 2015-07-03
048 "Vägbomber största hotet från rebellerna" Dagens Nyheter 2015-07-10
049 Mali kan bli FN:s dödligaste insats Dagens Nyheter 2015-07-10
050 Mausoleer i Mali återuppbyggda Dagens Nyheter 2015-07-21
051 Utlänningar gisslan på hotell Dagens Nyheter 2015-08-08
052 Franska journalister dödade i Mali Expressen 2013-11-03
053 Unik chans att bryta dödläget Expressen 2014-02-04
054 36 DÖDA EFTER OFFENSIV I MALI Expressen 2014-05-19
055 FN-soldater dödade av landmina Expressen 2014-09-04
056 Komplicerad insats i Mali Expressen 2014-11-30
65 Framing Mali: Swedish media portrayal of an armed conflict Master's thesis Niklas Norberg VT18
057 Hotet mot FN - svenskarna Expressen 2015-01-06
058 Svenska styrkan har landat i Mali Expressen 2015-01-17
059 Frontlinjen mot terrorn Expressen 2015-01-28
"MOHAMMED HADE TOLV BARN, VEM SKA FÖDA DEM Expressen 060 NU? 2015-01-30
061 Vad gör man när tolken plötsligt faller ihop i malaria? Expressen 2015-01-31
062 Fredsfåran mitt i kriget Expressen 2015-01-31
063 Ankeborgs campkamp Expressen 2015-02-01
064 "På ren svenska: Vi ska ta reda på vad som händer" Expressen 2015-02-02
065 "Jag ser fram mot att hjälpa" Expressen 2015-02-03
066 På gravpatrull i öknen Expressen 2015-02-04
067 Vackert - och fruktansvärt Expressen 2015-02-19
068 I Mali är spelet utan boll det enda spelet Expressen 2015-02-22
069 MALI SKRIVER UNDER FREDSAVTAL Expressen 2015-03-02
070 Kvinnohatet på film Expressen 2015-03-08
071 TRE DÖDA I ATTACK MOT FN-BAS I MALI Expressen 2015-03-09
072 Hot mot svenska förbandet i Mali Expressen 2015-03-14
073 Kom ner på jorden Expressen 2015-03-31
074 FRI - EFTER 1 224 DAGAR Expressen 2015-04-07
075 SVENSKA SOLDATER LIDER AV MATBRIST Expressen 2015-04-09
076 Stöd våra trupper Expressen 2015-04-10
Terese Cristiansson: Rebellernas budskap: Ni befinner Expressen 077 er i krig 2015-04-15
078 SVENSKA SOLDATER BESKJUTNA Expressen 2015-04-15
079 Soldater skadade i självmordsattack Expressen 2015-04-16
080 SVENSKA SOLDATER BESKJUTNA Expressen 2015-04-29
081 REBELLER BESKÖT SVENSKA SOLDATER Expressen 2015-05-02
082 Sverige kräver Mali-möte med FN Expressen 2015-05-07
083 JIHADISTLEDARE DÖDADE I MALI Expressen 2015-05-22
084 Två FN-soldater dödades i Mali Expressen 2015-05-27
085 Nya filmen på Malisvensken Expressen 2015-06-23
086 Konvoj anfölls i Mali - FN-soldater dödade Expressen 2015-07-03
087 Tio greps för mord på reportrar Svenska Dagbladet 2013-11-05
66 Framing Mali: Swedish media portrayal of an armed conflict Master's thesis Niklas Norberg VT18
088 Mali fruktar nya attacker Svenska Dagbladet 2013-12-15
089 Många oroshärdar för FN att stävja i år Svenska Dagbladet 2014-01-02
090 40 miljoner kronor skulle Svenska Dagbladet 2014-05-16
091 Rebeller i Mali släppte gisslan Svenska Dagbladet 2014-05-20
092 FN-anställda i Mali dödade vid sprängdåd Svenska Dagbladet 2014-06-12
093 Plan störtade i rebellområde Svenska Dagbladet 2014-07-25
094 "När vi kommer dit finns inget Svenska Dagbladet 2014-09-07
095 Var det första bästa lämpliga uppdrag? Svenska Dagbladet 2014-11-15
096 Säkerhetsrådet mål för Löfvens offensiv Svenska Dagbladet 2014-11-21
097 Löfven försvarar farlig FN-insats Svenska Dagbladet 2014-11-22
098 Insats i Mali kan bli svensk mardröm Svenska Dagbladet 2014-11-25
099 Mali utlovar nya försök få svensk gisslan frigiven Svenska Dagbladet 2014-12-20
100 Sverige står fast vid insats i Mali Svenska Dagbladet 2015-02-01
101 Ryktesspridning försvårar för FN Svenska Dagbladet 2015-02-07
102 Konflikten i Mali Svenska Dagbladet 2015-02-07
103 Sjukdomar och hetta förvärrar Svenska Dagbladet 2015-02-07
104 Drillas i djupsnö inför Mali-insats Svenska Dagbladet 2015-02-07
105 Uppdraget passar Löfvens FN-offensiv Svenska Dagbladet 2015-02-07
106 Mali sluter fred med rebeller Svenska Dagbladet 2015-03-02
107 "De våldtog, slog, och plundrade" Svenska Dagbladet 2015-03-08
108 När världsarv blir militära mål Svenska Dagbladet 2015-03-18
109 Två FN-soldater döda i krasch Svenska Dagbladet 2015-03-18
110 1800 kilokalorier per person Svenska Dagbladet 2015-04-10
111 "Ett fordon försökte köra in Svenska Dagbladet 2015-04-16
112 " Inga svenskar är inblandade. Svenska Dagbladet 2015-04-19
113 "Jag var så rädd när jag tittade ut över havet" Svenska Dagbladet 2015-04-27
114 "Med hårt arbete kan man lyckas överallt" Svenska Dagbladet 2015-04-28
115 "Jag vill förändra kvinnors villkor" Svenska Dagbladet 2015-04-29
116 Svensk Malistyrka saknar helikoptrar Svenska Dagbladet 2015-05-07
117 FN i Bamako attackerades Svenska Dagbladet 2015-05-21
118 "Videon sätter press på förhandlingarna" Svenska Dagbladet 2015-06-24
119 FN-soldater dödade i Mali Svenska Dagbladet 2015-07-03
67 Framing Mali: Swedish media portrayal of an armed conflict Master's thesis Niklas Norberg VT18
120 8 Svenska Dagbladet 2015-07-21
121 Gisslandrama på hotell i Mali Svenska Dagbladet 2015-08-08
122 Insatsen i Mali är feltänkt Svenska Dagbladet 2015-08-28
123 "Av de åtta barn jag har är bara ett mitt eget" Svenska Dagbladet 2015-09-07
124 Kulturminnens förstörelse kan vara krigsbrott Svenska Dagbladet 2015-09-27
125 "Alla i Timbuktu såg på och grät" Svenska Dagbladet 2015-10-05
126 Barnen i Mali kan dö av svält Svenska Dagbladet 2015-10-14
127 FRÅN VAKTPLUTON Malibloggen 2014-11-20
128 TRAUMAGRUPPEN Malibloggen 2014-11-24
129 INGENJÖRPLUTON HAR LANDAT Malibloggen 2014-11-25
130 STABSGRUPPEN HAR ORDET Malibloggen 2014-11-29
131 FRÅN FÖRRÅDET Malibloggen 2014-12-02
132 CO HAR ORDET. Malibloggen 2014-12-03
133 FRÅN VÅRA KOLLEGOR I VÄSTER Malibloggen 2014-12-06
134 MASKIN PÅ G Malibloggen 2014-12-08
135 LITE NYTT FRÅN BRAVO PAPA Malibloggen 2014-12-11
136 NOAK Malibloggen 2014-12-11
137 SJUKVÅRD PÅ VÄG Malibloggen 2014-12-12
138 CAMPBYGGARNA FRÅN SMÅLAND. Malibloggen 2014-12-18
139 ETT LIV I VÄRME, LÅDOR OCH MOZZIE DOMER. Malibloggen 2014-12-19
140 ”KAN DET GÅ ÅT H*^?=)(E SÅ GÖR DET I REGEL DET” Malibloggen 2014-12-22
30 GRADIG JULHÄLSNING FRÅN ETT SANDBLÄSTRAT Malibloggen 141 GÄNG 2014-12-23
142 FÖRRÅDET HAR ORDET Malibloggen 2014-12-25
143 HEJ, MYCKET HAR HÄNT SEN SIST. Malibloggen 2014-12-29
144 NYÅRSHÄLSNING FRÅN NORRA MALI Malibloggen 2014-12-31
145 DE TUNGA GRABBARNA Malibloggen 2015-01-02
146 TVÅ MÅNADER I TIMBUKTU Malibloggen 2015-01-04
147 FÖRRÅDSGRUPPEN PÅ FLYGPLATSEN Malibloggen 2015-01-06
148 HÄLSNING FRÅN NOAK Malibloggen 2015-01-07
149 1:A INGENJÖRPLUTON Malibloggen 2015-01-09
150 VAD HÄNDER PÅ SJUKVÅRD? Malibloggen 2015-01-10
68 Framing Mali: Swedish media portrayal of an armed conflict Master's thesis Niklas Norberg VT18
151 HÄLSNING FRÅN VAKTPLUTON Malibloggen 2015-01-13
152 MASKINTROPPEN Malibloggen 2015-01-17
153 SANDIGA HÄLSNINGAR FRÅN S6 Malibloggen 2015-01-18
154 CAMPBYGGARNA FRÅN SMÅLAND. Malibloggen 2015-01-21
155 CAMP ANKEBORG Malibloggen 2015-01-24
156 HEMÅT DET BÄR FRÅN SJUKVÅRD Malibloggen 2015-01-27
157 HEMÅT DET BÄR …….FÖR DELAR UR MALI 00 Malibloggen 2015-01-28
158 TRE MÅNADER I TIMBUKTU Malibloggen 2015-02-03
159 MOVCON OCH TERMINALTJÄNST Malibloggen 2015-02-12
160 TIDEN GÅR….. Malibloggen 2015-02-21
161 MED EN TACKSAM BLICK ÖVER AXELN Malibloggen 2015-02-25
MALI 01: VÅR RESA OCH VÅRT UPPDRAG HAR Malibloggen 162 BÖRJAT 2015-02-25
163 VERKSTADSINVIGNING I ÖKNEN Malibloggen 2015-02-27
164 1:A INGENJÖRPLUTON, TIMBUKTU Malibloggen 2015-02-27
165 DET VAR DET… Malibloggen 2015-03-01
MALI 01: MAT, VATTEN OCH UTRUSTNING LÅNGT, Malibloggen 166 LÅNGT HEMIFRÅN 2015-03-02
167 FYRA MÅNADER I TIMBUKTU Malibloggen 2015-03-03
168 LIVET PÅ CAMP NOBEL Malibloggen 2015-03-04
169 ATT BYGGA EN KYRKA Malibloggen 2015-03-05
170 MALI 01:S SJUKVÅRDSPLUTON Malibloggen 2015-03-07
171 NEDRÄKNINGEN ÄR PÅBÖRJAD! Malibloggen 2015-03-08
172 HUR STORT ÄR EGENTLIGEN MALI? Malibloggen 2015-03-09
173 1:A INGENJÖRPLUTON SÄTTER PUNKT. Malibloggen 2015-03-10
174 FINNS DET HOT MOT MALI 01? Malibloggen 2015-03-14
175 NU HAR VI INVIGT VÅR KYRKA Malibloggen 2015-03-17
176 MALI 00 HUVUDSTYRKA ÄR ÅTER I SVERIGE Malibloggen 2015-03-18
177 JOBB, SKORPIONSAFARI OCH PÅSKPYNT Malibloggen 2015-03-21
178 LIVET I MISSIONEN Malibloggen 2015-03-24
OM KALORIER, FLÄSKPANNKAKAN FRÅN DEN 5 MARS Malibloggen 179 OCH ANNAT 2015-04-10
180 VI SVÄLTER INTE PÅ CAMP NOBEL Malibloggen 2015-04-11
69 Framing Mali: Swedish media portrayal of an armed conflict Master's thesis Niklas Norberg VT18
MALI 01:S KOKGRUPP: VÅRT ARBETE FÅR MYCKET Malibloggen 181 UPPMÄRKSAMHET JUST NU 2015-04-12
182 SOLDATER UR MALISTYRKAN I STRID, INGA SKADADE Malibloggen 2015-04-14
183 FALLSKÄRMSJÄGARE I ÖKNEN Malibloggen 2015-04-22
OBS: NY UPPDATERAD VERSION: SOLDATER UR MALI Malibloggen 184 01 I STRID UTANFÖR TIMBUKTU. INGA SKADADE. 2015-04-28
185 FORTSATT SPÄNT LÄGE I NORRA MALI Malibloggen 2015-05-01
186 VI HAR FÅTT EN IKON TILL VÅR KYRKA Malibloggen 2015-05-11
187 FYSIOTERAPEUT OCH ERGONOM I INSATS Malibloggen 2015-05-14
188 TROSSEN RULLAR GENOM ÖKEN OCH SAVANN Malibloggen 2015-05-18
189 ALLT HÄNGER IHOP Malibloggen 2015-05-25
190 FORTSATT OSÄKERT LÄGE I NORRA MALI Malibloggen 2015-05-26
191 ATT REKA ÖVER… Malibloggen 2015-06-06
192 DET ÄR NÄRA NU… Malibloggen 2015-06-11
193 VAKTBYTE PÅ BLOGGEN Malibloggen 2015-06-14
ÖVERLÄMNING: ”SVENSKA SOLDATER HAR Malibloggen 194 VERKLIGEN GJORT SKILLNAD” 2015-06-15
195 EN GLIMT AV TIMBUKTU Malibloggen 2015-06-17
SVERIGES RADIO P1: RAPPORT FRÅN CAMP NOBEL Malibloggen 196 OCH LÄGET I MALI 2015-06-18
MIDSOMMAR: ”DÄR DET FINNS SVENSKAR, DÄR Malibloggen 197 REGNAR DET” 2015-06-20
198 PATRULL: EN GLIMT AV TIMBUKTU DEL 2 Malibloggen 2015-06-24
199 GÖTEBORGSVÄDER ÄVEN I ÖKNEN Malibloggen 2015-06-26
GÄSTINLÄGG FRÅN PASTORN: ”SÅ OLIKA MEN ÄNDÅ Malibloggen 200 SÅ LIKA” 2015-06-28
201 FILM FRÅN ÖB:S BESÖK I MAJ Malibloggen 2015-06-30
FN-SOLDATER FRÅN BURKINA FASO DÖDADE I NORRA Malibloggen 202 MALI 2015-07-02
203 VARDAG PÅ CAMPEN: ”PEACE IN LIBERIA” Malibloggen 2015-07-03
204 LÄNGST UT PÅ LINAN Malibloggen 2015-07-05
205 KÄNT FOLK FRÅN CNL Malibloggen 2015-07-06
206 KRYP MAN BÖR UNDVIKA… Malibloggen 2015-07-07
207 TIMBUKTU FRÅN OVAN OCH INNAN Malibloggen 2015-07-09
208 ”VÅRT DAGLIGA BRÖD GIV OSS IDAG” Malibloggen 2015-07-10
70 Framing Mali: Swedish media portrayal of an armed conflict Master's thesis Niklas Norberg VT18
209 ETT LYFT FÖR FN Malibloggen 2015-07-12
210 INFORMATIONSTJÄNST: JAPANSKT MEDIEBESÖK Malibloggen 2015-07-14
211 HEKTISKA FÖRBEREDELSER Malibloggen 2015-07-17
212 EN SUCCÉ: ”THE CAMP NOBEL DESERT FESTIVAL” Malibloggen 2015-07-18
213 ÖRNEN FLYGER Malibloggen 2015-07-22
214 BETRAKTELSER FRÅN NORRA MALI Malibloggen 2015-07-26
215 MED SKYDD FRÅN OVAN Malibloggen 2015-08-01
216 CAMP VENEDIG Malibloggen 2015-08-08
217 MEDALJERING PÅ ASIFU HÖGKVARTER Malibloggen 2015-08-09
218 FÖRNIMMELSER FRÅN BAMAKO Malibloggen 2015-08-11
219 CHEFSBESÖK I TIMBUKTU Malibloggen 2015-08-13
220 KONSTEN ATT LÄNSA ÖKNEN PÅ VATTEN Malibloggen 2015-08-13
BOENDET: ”NÄR MAN VILL VARA SIG SJÄLV FÖR EN Malibloggen 221 STUND” 2015-08-15
222 ATT BLI OMPYSSLAD Malibloggen 2015-08-17
ANHÖRIG: GLÖM INTE ATT ANMÄLA DIG TILL MALI 02:S Malibloggen 223 TRÄFFAR 2015-08-19
224 ORIENTERING OM LÄGET I MALI Malibloggen 2015-08-20
225 TILLFÄLLIG LUFTBRO ÖKADE FÖRMÅGAN Malibloggen 2015-08-25
226 BURKINA FASO VS MINUSMA ALL STARS Malibloggen 2015-08-26
227 PORTRÄTTET: FRÅN KASHMIR TILL TIMBUKTU Malibloggen 2015-08-28
228 DEN TUNNA GRÖNA LINJEN Malibloggen 2015-08-31
229 FÖRENTA NATIONERNA ÄR LIKA MED SAMARBETE Malibloggen 2015-09-09
230 FN:S FOKUS ÄR SKYDD AV CIVILA Malibloggen 2015-09-11
231 BAMAKO: KONTRASTERNAS STAD Malibloggen 2015-09-15
232 ”DRILL ÄR KUNSKAPENS MODER” Malibloggen 2015-09-17
233 I EN ANNAN DEL AV STAN Malibloggen 2015-09-18
234 UPPDRAG: CLEAR AIRSIDE Malibloggen 2015-09-20
235 OPERATION KIRCHSTEIGER Malibloggen 2015-09-21
INTRYCK: ”GOD FÖRBANDSANDA OCH HÖG Malibloggen 236 FÖRMÅGA” 2015-09-25
237 RÄTTELSE: TVÅ KILO PER BREV GÄLLER Malibloggen 2015-09-27
238 PÅ PLATS: PIO UPPDATERAR BLOGGEN FRÅN ÖKNEN Malibloggen 2015-10-01
71 Framing Mali: Swedish media portrayal of an armed conflict Master's thesis Niklas Norberg VT18
239 DIREKT FRÅN ÖKNEN: MORGON PÅ ”SCORPION HILL” Malibloggen 2015-10-04
240 GÅVA FRÅN VETERANSTÖD RAPID REACTION (VRR) Malibloggen 2015-10-07
241 DEN BEBODDA ÖDEMARKEN Malibloggen 2015-10-11
242 FRÅN EU TILL FN Malibloggen 2015-10-13
243 FN SÅ MYCKET MER ÄN MILITÄRER Malibloggen 2015-10-15
244 UPPGIFT: ÅTERHÄMTA Malibloggen 2015-10-18
245 FOLKET SOM BÄDDAR FÖR RESTEN Malibloggen 2015-10-26
246 INSTAGRAMKONTO FÖR MALISTYRKAN Malibloggen 2015-10-29
247 CAMP NOBELS SKRÄDDARE Malibloggen 2015-11-01
72 Framing Mali: Swedish media portrayal of an armed conflict Master's thesis Niklas Norberg VT18
Appendix 2. Code book
Variable Variable value
Article ID 001 - 247
Headline Headline in clear text
Publication 0 Svenska Dagbladet
1 Dagens Nyheter
2 Aftonbladet
3 Expressen
4 Malibloggen
Date YYYY-MM-DD
Main frame of the five common 0 Conflict frame
1 Human interest frame
2 Economic consequences frame
3 Morality frame
4 Responsibility frame
Peace or war journalism 0 War
1 Peace
2 Not clear
Passive Mali population 0 No
1 Yes
Emotional Mali population 0 No
1 Yes
Different Mali population 0 No
1 Yes
73 Framing Mali: Swedish media portrayal of an armed conflict Master's thesis Niklas Norberg VT18
Mali civilians mentioned 0 No
1 Yes
Aggressors absent of 0 No Reason/meaning 1 Yes
Aggressors absent of order 0 No
1 Yes
Demonizing labels 0 No
1 Yes
Dangerous country 0 No
1 Yes
Different environment 0 No
1 Yes
Aggressors 0 terrorist
1 jihadist
2 rebel
3 tuareg
4 islamist
5 Named group
6 armed group
7 separatist
8 other or none
Official bias 0 No
1 Yes
Source 0 Mali official sources
1 Swedish official sources
74 Framing Mali: Swedish media portrayal of an armed conflict Master's thesis Niklas Norberg VT18
2 experts/researchers/scientist s
3 US officials
4 France officials
5 ordinary Malians/civilians
6 swedish soldiers/SAF staff
7 author as witness
8 Armed group
9 other or none
1 United Nations 0
Criticism 0 No
1 yes
Mention of Swedish military 0 No operation 1 Yes
Main Theme 0 Direct actions of war
1 Other types of violence
2 Peace efforts/negotiations
3 General description of conflict/context
4 Life of soldiers/staff
5 Life of Mali civilians
6 Politics concerning the conflict
7 Other
Before or after Swedish 0 before 3 november 2014 troops 1 on or after 3 november 2014
75 Framing Mali: Swedish media portrayal of an armed conflict Master's thesis Niklas Norberg VT18
Appendix 3. Tables
Table 1. Official bias before and after Swedish Troops arrived in Mali
Official bias
No Yes Total
Before or after before 3 november Count 22 6 28 Swedish troops 2014 % within Before or 78.6% 21.4% 100.0% after Swedish troops
on or after 3 Count 50 48 98 november 2014 % within Before or 51.0% 49.0% 100.0% after Swedish troops
Total Count 72 54 126
% within Before or 57.1% 42.9% 100.0% after Swedish troops
Table 2. Different environment schema in the individual publications
Different environment
No Yes Total
Publication Svenska Dagbladet Count 37 3 40
% within Publication 92.5% 7.5% 100.0%
Dagens Nyheter Count 39 4 43
% within Publication 90.7% 9.3% 100.0%
Aftonbladet Count 7 1 8
% within Publication 87.5% 12.5% 100.0%
Expressen Count 30 5 35
% within Publication 85.7% 14.3% 100.0%
76 Framing Mali: Swedish media portrayal of an armed conflict Master's thesis Niklas Norberg VT18
Malibloggen Count 99 22 121
% within Publication 81.8% 18.2% 100.0%
Total Count 212 35 247
% within Publication 85.8% 14.2% 100.0%
Table 3. The main frame of the five common frames in the different publications
Main frame of the five common
Economi c Human conseq Respon Conflict interest uences Morality sibility frame frame frame frame frame Total
P Svenska Count 22 13 1 1 3 40 u Dagbladet b % within 55.0% 32.5% 2.5% 2.5% 7.5% 100. li Publication 0% c Dagens Count 24 13 0 1 5 43 a Nyheter ti % within 55.8% 30.2% 0.0% 2.3% 11.6% 100. o Publication 0% n Aftonbladet Count 0 3 0 1 4 8
% within 0.0% 37.5% 0.0% 12.5% 50.0% 100. Publication 0%
Expressen Count 21 12 0 0 2 35
% within 60.0% 34.3% 0.0% 0.0% 5.7% 100. Publication 0%
Malibloggen Count 10 111 0 0 0 121
% within 8.3% 91.7% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 100. Publication 0%
Total Count 77 152 1 3 14 247
77 Framing Mali: Swedish media portrayal of an armed conflict Master's thesis Niklas Norberg VT18
% within 31.2% 61.5% 0.4% 1.2% 5.7% 100. Publication 0%
Table 4. Mali civilians mentioned in the different publications.
Mali civilians mentioned
No Yes Total
Publication Svenska Dagbladet Count 26 14 40
% within Publication 65.0% 35.0% 100.0%
Dagens Nyheter Count 33 10 43
% within Publication 76.7% 23.3% 100.0%
Aftonbladet Count 5 3 8
% within Publication 62.5% 37.5% 100.0%
Expressen Count 22 13 35
% within Publication 62.9% 37.1% 100.0%
Malibloggen Count 83 38 121
% within Publication 68.6% 31.4% 100.0%
Total Count 169 78 247
% within Publication 68.4% 31.6% 100.0%
78