The uses of the term polarisation in Swedish newspapers, 2010–2021
Farjam, Mike LU ; Bruhn, Tommy ; Gustafsson, Nils LU
and Dutceac Segesten, Anamaria
LU
(2024)
In Nordicom Review
45(1).
p.1-34
- Abstract
- In this article, we investigate the rhetorical uses and media frames associated with the term polarisation in Swedish print media from 2010 to 2021. We first produce a qualitative and detailed assessment of a sample of 240 articles and then proceed to a computational (word2vec) analysis of all major Swedish newspaper articles including the term (N = 32,805). We find that the term has changed its rhetorical function over time. Initially used to describe, – that is, used as a technical descriptor of events and issues in society – this use later became increasingly vague and general. Instead, it has been rhetorically used to amplify, implying a sense of urgency, conflict, or threat. Over time, the term has been used increasingly frequently,... (More)
- In this article, we investigate the rhetorical uses and media frames associated with the term polarisation in Swedish print media from 2010 to 2021. We first produce a qualitative and detailed assessment of a sample of 240 articles and then proceed to a computational (word2vec) analysis of all major Swedish newspaper articles including the term (N = 32,805). We find that the term has changed its rhetorical function over time. Initially used to describe, – that is, used as a technical descriptor of events and issues in society – this use later became increasingly vague and general. Instead, it has been rhetorically used to amplify, implying a sense of urgency, conflict, or threat. Over time, the term has been used increasingly frequently, but has been applied less to Sweden and, instead, most often associated with political actors and events in the US. Moreover, we find that, for Sweden, the term polarisation was mostly related to social and political issues, whereas for the US, it carried affective associations. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/3b6cc834-bf76-465b-8113-eb22ac153f5e
- author
- Farjam, Mike
LU
; Bruhn, Tommy
; Gustafsson, Nils
LU
and Dutceac Segesten, Anamaria
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2024-01-19
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- news journalism, computational analysis, natural langauge processing, political polarisation
- in
- Nordicom Review
- volume
- 45
- issue
- 1
- pages
- 34 pages
- publisher
- The Nordic Information Centre for Media and Communication Research
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85183614863
- ISSN
- 2001-5119
- DOI
- 10.2478/nor-2024-0002
- project
- Political Polarization - Theme, Pufendorf IAS
- Social Information and Hybrid Power: A Strategic Platform for Political Communication at Lund University
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 3b6cc834-bf76-465b-8113-eb22ac153f5e
- date added to LUP
- 2024-01-19 13:14:32
- date last changed
- 2024-02-26 13:18:21
@article{3b6cc834-bf76-465b-8113-eb22ac153f5e,
abstract = {{In this article, we investigate the rhetorical uses and media frames associated with the term polarisation in Swedish print media from 2010 to 2021. We first produce a qualitative and detailed assessment of a sample of 240 articles and then proceed to a computational (word2vec) analysis of all major Swedish newspaper articles including the term (N = 32,805). We find that the term has changed its rhetorical function over time. Initially used to describe, – that is, used as a technical descriptor of events and issues in society – this use later became increasingly vague and general. Instead, it has been rhetorically used to amplify, implying a sense of urgency, conflict, or threat. Over time, the term has been used increasingly frequently, but has been applied less to Sweden and, instead, most often associated with political actors and events in the US. Moreover, we find that, for Sweden, the term polarisation was mostly related to social and political issues, whereas for the US, it carried affective associations.}},
author = {{Farjam, Mike and Bruhn, Tommy and Gustafsson, Nils and Dutceac Segesten, Anamaria}},
issn = {{2001-5119}},
keywords = {{news journalism; computational analysis; natural langauge processing; political polarisation}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{01}},
number = {{1}},
pages = {{1--34}},
publisher = {{The Nordic Information Centre for Media and Communication Research}},
series = {{Nordicom Review}},
title = {{The uses of the term polarisation in Swedish newspapers, 2010–2021}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/nor-2024-0002}},
doi = {{10.2478/nor-2024-0002}},
volume = {{45}},
year = {{2024}},
}