Genrestratifiering och massmedias neutralisering av kritiken mot ADHD : Ett kunskapssociologiskt perspektiv

Genre stratification and the mass media’s neutralization of the critique of ADHD: A sociology of knowledge perspective This study examines how the Swedish mass media has dealt with the opposition against the neuropsychiatric diagnosis ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Drawing on empirical data from eight of the largest newspapers in Sweden (n=778 articles) the study focuses on the scientific controversy of DAMP, 2000–2006. DAMP (Dysfunction in Attention, Motor Control and Perception) is a diagnostic term denoting difficulties similar to ADHD, and which was used in Sweden at the time of the controversy. The study uncovers the ideological role played by the mass media during the DAMP-controversy, and demonstrates the significance of genre. While the spokespersons for DAMP/ADHD were given exclusive and systematic access to the news genre, the forum of fact-production in the mass media, the critics of DAMP/ADHD were confined to arguing and expressing their opinions in the debate genre. Based on the various effects of genre differences a comprehensive analytical tool for the sociology of knowledge, called genre stratification, is developed in the study 

Konsensus och personifierade konflikter : problembeskrivningar av äldreomsorg i svensk dagspress

Consensus and personified conflicts: representations of elderly care issues in Swedish newspapers Elderly care issues are commonly framed in public discourse. In mass media the representations of such issues are influenced by media logic. The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyse how elderly care issues were represented in three Swedish newspapers during the first half of 2007. How were the problems characterized? How were different actors characterized and which roles were they assigned? How are conflicts of interests described? Finally, we aim to discuss how media contribute to an understanding of the complexity of elderly care as a whole. Taken together, the articles do not provide a coherent picture. However, costs, quality of care and demographic issues were common themes. The elderly were commonly represented in personal narratives about problems that occurred when they needed elderly care. The elderly in the future are projected as more active and demanding than the elderly today. The care workers were active voices in discussions about working conditions, but absent in discussions about their education and professional identity, which was an issue commonly advocated by politicians. Many issues were represented as conflicts between the individual elderly and the care system or between care workers and their employers. More elaborated discussions about how to prioritize between different needs and demands were rare. This can be seen as examples of how the media tends to use personification, simplification and polarization as means to tell interesting stories.