The newspaper press is in a state of flux, reflecting both technological, cultural, economic and political changes. The digitization of the media is expected to bring about major changes in the media landscape and many are predicting the demise of the traditional newspaper. However, the media landscape has always been in transition and the press has always had to adapt to new competing media as well as new economic circumstances. The focus of this study is on the meaning production of newspapers and the overarching question is how, at different times, newspapers have marketed their products, communicated their identities and legitimated their privileges. The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the self-images of local newspapers in a historical perspective. It contributes to the study of the media history of the press by investigating how four local newspapers in the county of Gävleborg in Sweden have formulated and communicated their self-images over time. Self-image is defined broadly and contains different meanings of, and aspects on, the concept of newspaper. A common feature of the texts included in the empirical material of this study is that they, in different ways, describe what the newspaper is, what it does, how and/or why. The period studied comprises ninety years, from 1920 and the time of the modernisation of the Swedish press after the First World War, until 2010 and the changing media landscape of today. The overarching questions for this study are: (1) What aspects of newspaper (institution or individual newspaper, opinion making or news reporting, the organisation or the audience) have been emphasised in the meaning production at different times? (2) What differences and similarities are there between the different newspapers regarding the self-images? (3) How have the self-images changed over time? The study concludes with a historical periodisation covering the most important changes in the self-images. The period studied is divided into four sub-periods in which different aspects of newspaper have been prominent in the self-images: (1) Mobilization (1920-1945). The newspapers are described primarily as a means of political mobilization and the medium is understood as a political tool or weapon. (2) News reporting (1935-1965). The newspapers (and their supporting technologies, especially the teleprinter) are characterised as a fast and technologically sophisticated media between the readers and the world beyond the local. (3) Critique (1965-1995). The local newspapers portray themselves as scrutinizers of the local governments and others in power. (4) Construction (1995-2010). The newspapers start to describe themselves as constructors and maintainers of local communities and identities. In a globalized and boundless world, the local newspapers provide their readers with a sense of place and community. The overall conclusion of this dissertation is that the self-images of the local press has undergone significant changes in the period studied. What the press – according to itself – is, what it does, how and why, and to whom, are questions that have received very different answers at various moments in history.

Despite a situation of poor state finances 1848 marks the starting point of Sweden’s railroad history, as this is year when the country’s first railroad was proposed and approved in parliament. Not sufficient funds for the project was raised though, and a new motion was raised in parliament in 1851 with improved financial support from the state. This caused an intense debate which is the main subject of this essay. By analyzing the public discussion regarding railroads, as expressed in news media, during 1851 this essay aims to analyze the discussions about railroads in search of the 19th century’s overarching themes of modernity and nationalism. These terms are to be understood as rhetorical expressions, in accordance with Aguiars and Andersons interpretation of the terms. The performed analysis displays how nationalism is a theme present in both sides of the debate in 1851, though in different ways. Those skeptical of the planned railroad line argues about the nation being tricked into embarking on an expensive project that will never be financially viable by bought foreign interest. Those in favor argues rather that the project will bind together a fragmented Sweden into one nation. Arguments involving modernity though, are just to be found amongst those in favor. Here we find arguments about the promises that the future holds with railroads connecting the swedes and a pervasive optimism regarding the future. Less concern is displayed to current day problems, other than how it might threaten future railroad expansions.

I en tid av intensiv digitalisering har försäljningen av vinylskivor ökat kraftigt sedan 2007. Det framgår tydligt i statistik, samtida forskning och medierapportering att det skett en omvärdering av det gamla analoga mediet. Syftet med denna studie är att med ett mediehistoriskt avstamp sätta vinylskivan som fysiskt medium i dagens historiska kontext. Detta genom att undersöka tryckta mediers representation av vinylskivan. Studien stödjer sig i huvudsak mot sociokulturell forskning av Dominik Bartmanski & Ian Woodward och John Davis samt Jonathan Sternes mediehistoriska perspektiv.På vilka sätt beskrivs vinylskivan i svensk tryckt press idag? Vilka egenskaper tillskriver medierepresentationen vinylskivan? Med hjälp av en kvalitativ innehållsanalys har teman och mönster identifierats i de artiklar som publicerats i Aftonbladet och Expressen under perioden 2014–2016. Analysen av vinylskivans mediala representation påvisar exklusivitet vad det gäller upplevelse, ekonomiskt värde och kunskap. Den mediala representationen förstärker vinylskivan som en bärare av kulturellt värde för en medium-baserad subkultur.

Undersökningen ämnar att besvara frågor rörande dagstidningars rapportering kring sinnessjukvården i Uppsala under 1800-talets andra hälft. Med hjälp av sökorden ”hospital” och ”dårhus” har material från de fyra dagstidningar som ges ut under perioden sammanställts och kategoriserats för att identifiera generella trender. Analysen tar även stöd i mediateorin för att visa på det inflytande dagstidningar kan ha över den allmänna opinionen i ett samhälle och att materialet och frågeställningarna därmed är intressanta att ställa.  Analysen berör problematik som platsbrist, underkvalificerad personal och psykiskt sjuka som skadar sig själva eller andra, hotbilder i form av religiösa trossamfund, berusningsmedel och starka känslor som framkallar sinnessjukdom samt inspärrningshistorier och felaktiga intagningar. I och med dels det lokala Upsala hospital, men även den svenska moderna psykiatrins framväxt och expansion i stort  är ämnet högaktuellt och mycket omdiskuterat under perioden. Mötet mellan gamla restriktioner och nya humanitetsambitioner uppstår i sympati och intresse för att vården ska bli bättre och mer lättillgänglig, samtidigt som gränsdragningar mellan vi och dem, friskt och sjukt, normalt och onormalt är fortsatt tydlig. Resultaten visar att synen på de sjuka och den generella utvecklingen av psykiatrin stämmer överens med tidigare forskning men att vissa teman, såsom det stora intresset för hospitalens expansion och den hotbild som frälsningsarmén utgör är mer oväntade. I jämförelse med forskningsläget är synen på psykiatrin mer nyanserad och sympatisk än vad som tidigare kanske getts sken av.

Diss. Stockholm : Stockholms universitet, 2007.

This thesis analyses the development towards a mass market pornographic press. Sweden (in addition to Denmark) is often described as a forerunner in this development when the so-called “porn wave” hit most of the Western world in the late 1960s. The “porn wave” was the starting point of the contemporary pornographic press, which put sexually explicit pictures on the international market. Denmark was the first country in the world to decriminalize pornographic pictures in 1969 and Sweden followed in 1971. While previous research in Sweden often blames decriminalisation for the growth of the pornographic market, this thesis shows that the “porn wave” preceded the alteration of the Freedom of the press act and thus calls for a more multifaceted analysis of the development. Very few studies have been made about the development from an underground exclusive market of explicit pornography to a legal mass market. This thesis, however, makes a survey of all the Swedish publishers of pornographic magazines, their length on the market, and the market conditions. By analysing the regulation of pornography prior to 1971 and the legal cases leading to prosecutions of the publishers, the strategies used to challenge the regulation are traced. Special attention is also paid to how the monopoly on distribution held by Pressbyrån, a company owned by the Swedish press, affected the pornographic press. By cooperating and starting their own distribution channels, the pornography publishers managed to challenge Pressbyrån’s regulations. Great emphasis is laid on the discursive construction of pornography in mass media and in the parliamentary debates. This thesis argues that the antagonisms between the pornographic press and its critics are central in understanding how pornography was perceived and that these debates have decisively impacted the market conditions. Sensation-seeking articles in the evening papers, and the politicians’ liberal attitudes towards the pornographic press, made the market seem more open and lucrative. The resistance towards the establishment of a mass market and explicit pornographic press was strong during the whole period – but these critics used quite varying arguments. By analysing these arguments, this thesis shows how the pornographic press touched on sensitive cultural norms regarding marriage, young people’s sexuality, homosexuality, gender and love. The second half of the 1960s was a turning point in the development of the pornographic press, the discursive construction of pornography and in the political strategies used to combat pornography. In just a few years, the pornographic press grew substantially and started to publish explicit pictures of intercourse. In that same period, the construction of pornography went from a conservatively Christian understanding to a sexually liberal – and later to a feminist understanding of its problems. The government introduced a “porn raid” against the magazines, prosecuted many of them, and then paradoxically decriminalized pornography in 1971. Theoretically, the conclusion is made that pornography has to be seen in its historical context and in relation to its special market conditions. Since pornography continually has been a contested commodity, its controversial status has resulted in special regulations, marketing difficulties and lack of income from advertisements.

The Rights of Creativity is a study of Swedish copyright history from the birth of Sweden’s first copyright legislation in the early 19th century to the passing of the current law in 1960. As the title suggests, the law is regarded as part of a wider cultural context and the dissertation moves beyond the borders of legal history and analyses the law in relation to the history of literature, film, television and other media that partly reflect and partly intersect with the legislative process. The main object of the study is to see how the author is constructed in legal and cultural discourses during the 19th and 20th century. The dissertation focuses on three Swedish copyright laws from 1877, 1919 and 1960, but these laws and their preambles are also related to a few contemporary cultural intertexts, namely: August Strindberg’s novel Röda rummet [The Red Room] from 1879; the director Mauritz Stiller’s films Gunnar Hedes Saga [The Blizzard] and Gösta Berlings saga [The Saga of Gösta Berling] from 1923 and 1924, and finally the television shows Hylands hörna and Skäggen from 1962 and 1963. Apart from this it also pays some attention to the Freedom of the Press Act from 1810 that came to include Sweden’s first copyright statement, as well as to the development after 1960. Eventually it aims to show how the historical legacy has affected the copyright legislation and debates of today. / Skapandets rätt handlar om hur den juridiska synen på upphovsmannen rätt och skapandets villkor har förändrats i förhållande till den kulturella utvecklingen i Sverige under 1800 och 1900-talet. Avhandlingen består av en kronologisk studie av de upphovsrättslagar som antogs 1877, 1919 och 1960, men den behandlar också 1810 års tryckfrihetsförordning och de senaste årens rättsutveckling i korthet. Denna upphovsrättshistoriska exposé placeras in i ett litteratur- och mediehistoriskt sammanhang och lagtexterna underkastas en intertextuell analys där deras relation till några olika kulturella intertexter analyseras. Inledningsvis diskuteras hur 1810 års Tryckfrihetsförordning kom att innefatta Sveriges första upphovsrättsbestämmelse. Därefter kontrasteras Sveriges första separata upphovsrättslag från 1877 mot August Strindbergs genombrottsroman Röda rummet, allt i ljuset av Jürgen Habermas teori om den borgerliga offentligheten. 1919 års lagstiftning relateras sedan till Mauritz Stiller filmatiseringar av Selma Lagerlöfs romaner En herrgårdssägen och Gösta Berlings saga. Instiftandet av dagens upphovsrättslag från 1960 analyseras slutligen mot bakgrund av den nya tidens TV-medium som här exemplifieras av Hylands hörna och Skäggen. Avslutningsvis knyts allt samman i en kapitel där historiens lärdomar appliceras på dagens debatt. Här diskuteras hur tre föreställda oppositioner mellan konstnär-publik, privat-offentligt och original-kopia har format upphovsrättens historia och hur de fortfarande färgar samtidens upphovsrättsdiskussioner.

Given the 2017 discontinuation of the Swedish Film Agreement and the surrounding debate on the rationales of film policy, this thesis will conduct a historical study of a particular instance of Swedish film policy history, thus seeking to contribute to the understanding of the consequences of film policy for the outcome of film. Looking at the relationship between Swedish public broadcasting (SVT) and the Swedish Film Institute (SFI) during the mid-1980’s, this thesis aims to investigate the historical background of the funding and production process that enabled the creation of Pica Pica, a feature documentary film on magpies made by director Mikael Kristersson. By applying Geir Vestheim’s theory of the four instrumental arguments for public support of the arts and through an idea analysis, the thesis will investigate what arguments could be said to be pivotal for the funding and production of Pica Pica. Analyzing policy documents concerning the SFI and SVT, as well as using interviews conducted with the people in decision-making positions at the time, the thesis investigates what rationales and circumstances might be said to have informed the funding and production of Pica Pica. Furthermore, Kristersson’s film will be analyzed in relation to concepts of ecocinema and in relation to its lineage in nature portrayal in Swedish film. Through its investigation of the role of the funding and production circumstances for the stylistic outcome of the film, the thesis seeks to contribute to the understanding of the importance and consequences of film policy and production organization for the outcome of film in current times withal.