Accepted Disorder – A Thematic Analysis on Media’s Reporting of Shootings in the Public- and Parochial Realms
(2025) CCRM20 20251Sociology
- Abstract
- Shootings have become the central focus in both the political debate as well as in media coverage. Even though shootings are statistically rare, the symbolic impact they have on public perception is significant. The aim of this thesis is to examine how Swedish media symbolically constructs the public- and parochial realm when shootings occur in them, and what symbolic meanings are attributed to the respective physical spaces. The research questions are: How does the media represent public- and parochial realms in its reporting on shootings? And What symbolic meanings are ascribed to these physical spaces through this coverage? This thesis applies a thematic analysis of 261 articles based on 54 shootings that took place in Gothenburg and... (More)
- Shootings have become the central focus in both the political debate as well as in media coverage. Even though shootings are statistically rare, the symbolic impact they have on public perception is significant. The aim of this thesis is to examine how Swedish media symbolically constructs the public- and parochial realm when shootings occur in them, and what symbolic meanings are attributed to the respective physical spaces. The research questions are: How does the media represent public- and parochial realms in its reporting on shootings? And What symbolic meanings are ascribed to these physical spaces through this coverage? This thesis applies a thematic analysis of 261 articles based on 54 shootings that took place in Gothenburg and surrounding cities in 2024. The theoretical framework draws on Mary Douglas’s theory on purity and pollution, Lyn, H, Lofland’s theory on social realms, and David Garland’s framework on risk management and culture of control. These perspectives are used to understand how social order, disorder, and symbolic boundaries are constructed within media’s reporting on shootings. The findings show that shootings are not portrayed as being disruptive in all spaces. Affluent parochial realms are represented as orderly and disrupted by external raptures, while shootings in vulnerable classed parochial realms are instead represented as being inherently polluted. Police presence was also shown to carry symbolic meaning, even adding to disorder in some cases. The thesis concludes that media plays a pivotal role in shaping how society interprets social truths, and that spatial factors add context that significantly influences the symbolical representation of shootings. (Less)
- Popular Abstract
- What makes a neighbourhood, or a public place appear either dangerous or safe, and how does a shooting affect that image? Shootings have been part of the public debate for the past decade in Sweden and they are extensively covered in the media. This thesis looks at how the media shapes spaces where shootings have taken place in, and how they create meaning through their reporting. To study this, an analysis of 261 articles that reported on the 54 shootings that happened in the Gothenburg region in 2024 was performed. This looked both at what the media reported on the shootings, but more importantly, on how they reported on them. Relevant sociological and criminological theories were used to help unravel how media make sense and give... (More)
- What makes a neighbourhood, or a public place appear either dangerous or safe, and how does a shooting affect that image? Shootings have been part of the public debate for the past decade in Sweden and they are extensively covered in the media. This thesis looks at how the media shapes spaces where shootings have taken place in, and how they create meaning through their reporting. To study this, an analysis of 261 articles that reported on the 54 shootings that happened in the Gothenburg region in 2024 was performed. This looked both at what the media reported on the shootings, but more importantly, on how they reported on them. Relevant sociological and criminological theories were used to help unravel how media make sense and give meaning to an event. The findings show that, depending on the type of area, there is difference in how shootings are reported on. Affluent neighbourhoods are seen as safe places that are suddenly struck with violence. On the other hand, vulnerable classed neighbourhoods are often labelled as dangerous, and where violence is expected to happen. The findings also show that even the presence of police can influence how a neighbourhood is described and in turn seen as out of control.
In conclusion, the media describes more than just the event of shooting, it also paints a picture of what kind place it happened in, and who the people living there are. Through these articles, we as a society shape our understanding of what crime and fear is, and why some places are seen as safe, while others are seen as dangerous. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9208394
- author
- Nelander, Jakob LU
- supervisor
-
- Erik Hannerz LU
- organization
- course
- CCRM20 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- media, shootings, symbolic representation, social order, Sweden
- language
- English
- id
- 9208394
- date added to LUP
- 2025-07-14 11:17:26
- date last changed
- 2025-07-14 11:17:26
@misc{9208394,
abstract = {{Shootings have become the central focus in both the political debate as well as in media coverage. Even though shootings are statistically rare, the symbolic impact they have on public perception is significant. The aim of this thesis is to examine how Swedish media symbolically constructs the public- and parochial realm when shootings occur in them, and what symbolic meanings are attributed to the respective physical spaces. The research questions are: How does the media represent public- and parochial realms in its reporting on shootings? And What symbolic meanings are ascribed to these physical spaces through this coverage? This thesis applies a thematic analysis of 261 articles based on 54 shootings that took place in Gothenburg and surrounding cities in 2024. The theoretical framework draws on Mary Douglas’s theory on purity and pollution, Lyn, H, Lofland’s theory on social realms, and David Garland’s framework on risk management and culture of control. These perspectives are used to understand how social order, disorder, and symbolic boundaries are constructed within media’s reporting on shootings. The findings show that shootings are not portrayed as being disruptive in all spaces. Affluent parochial realms are represented as orderly and disrupted by external raptures, while shootings in vulnerable classed parochial realms are instead represented as being inherently polluted. Police presence was also shown to carry symbolic meaning, even adding to disorder in some cases. The thesis concludes that media plays a pivotal role in shaping how society interprets social truths, and that spatial factors add context that significantly influences the symbolical representation of shootings.}},
author = {{Nelander, Jakob}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Accepted Disorder – A Thematic Analysis on Media’s Reporting of Shootings in the Public- and Parochial Realms}},
year = {{2025}},
}