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.

<b>Inledning</b> Lokala dagstidningar har varit en naturlig del av vårt moderna samhälle i många årtionden och de flesta av oss tar därför den lokala tidningens framtid för given. Lokaltidningar har dock problem med att attrahera nya, speciellt yngre, prenumeranter. Detta samtidigt som denna grupp spenderar mer tid uppkopplad till internet, eller med andra former av ny media. Lokaltidningen har varit dödsdömd flera gånger då ett nytt media har introducerats men, som vi vet, överlevt. Skillnaden denna gång är att alternativet är gratis. Ny media växer generellt mycket snabbt. Vissa lokala tidningar följer den tekniska utvecklingen och har lanserat en nätupplaga som del av sin långsiktiga strategi, medan andra har valt att endast fokusera på papperstidningen. <b>Syfte</b> Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka och analysera vilka ledningsbeslut och strategier lokala tidningar implementerar idag för att möta konkurrensen från ny media. Syfte är dessutom att undersöka och analysera vad de borde göra i framtiden. <b>Metod</b> Vi har, för att uppfylla syftet, genomfört en kvantitativ, telefonbaserad, undersökning med ett standardiserat frågeformulär. Vi har intervjuat 30 utav Sveriges 36, till upplagan största, lokala tidningar, jämt spridda över landet. <b>Slutsatser</b> Mer än två tredjedelar av all lokala dagstidningar representerade i vår undersökning har förlorat prenumeranter sen 2000 och nästan tre fjärdedelar tror att dessa inte kommer att återkomma i framtiden. 90 % av dagstidningarna upplever press på deras största kund, annonsörerna, och 66 % upplever press på prenumeranterna, på grund av internet. 87 % av våra respondenter har en webbupplaga av sin dagstidning. Trots att respondenterna uppger pris som den största anledningen till det minskande antalet prenumeranter, tar 32 % redan betalt för delar av sin webbupplaga, och 80 % utav de som inte tar betalt idag, har för avsikt att göra det inom fem år. En stor majoritet av respondenterna har, trots den negativa trenden, en positiv inställning till framtiden. Omvandlingen från traditionell lokal dagstidning till ett modernt media hus tycks vara nyckeln till framgång i framtiden. / <b>Introduction</b> Local newspapers have been a natural part of a modern society for many decades and most thus take the printed local newspapers’ future for granted. Local newspapers do however have problems attracting new, especially younger, subscribers. At the same time this group spends more time online and with other forms of new media. The local newspaper has been domed several times a new media has entered the market but as we know always survived. The difference this time is that the alternative is free. New media is generally gaining ground very rapidly. Some local newspapers follow the technical evolution by launching web-editions of their newspaper as part of their long-term strategy, while others decide only to focus on the printed edition. <b>Purpose</b> The purpose of this thesis is to research and analyse what managerial choices and strategies local newspapers are implementing today to meet the competition from new types of media. The purpose is furthermore to research and analyse what they ought to do in the future. <b>Method</b> We have, to fulfil the purpose, conducted a quantitative, telephone based, research with a standardised questionnaire. We have interviewed 30 out of Sweden’s 36, based on circulation, largest local newspapers, geographically spread all over Sweden. <b>Conclusions</b> More than two third of all local newspapers represented in our research have lost subscribers since 2000 and almost three quarters believe that these subscribers will not come back in the future. 90 % of the newspapers experience pressure on their biggest customer, advertisers, and 66 % experience pressure on subscribers, because of internet. 87 % of our respondents have an online edition of their newspaper. Even though the respondents state that the biggest reason for future decrease in subscription is price, 32 % already charge a fee for parts of their web-edition and 80 % of those respondents who do not charge anything today, state that they will charge within five years. A large majority of the respondents have, despite the negative trend, a positive attitude towards the future. The transformation from a traditional local newspaper to a modern media house appears to be the key to success in the future.

<p><b>Inledning</b> Lokala dagstidningar har varit en naturlig del av vårt moderna samhälle i många årtionden och de flesta av oss tar därför den lokala tidningens framtid för given. Lokaltidningar har dock problem med att attrahera nya, speciellt yngre, prenumeranter. Detta samtidigt som denna grupp spenderar mer tid uppkopplad till internet, eller med andra former av ny media. Lokaltidningen har varit dödsdömd flera gånger då ett nytt media har introducerats men, som vi vet, överlevt. Skillnaden denna gång är att alternativet är gratis. Ny media växer generellt mycket snabbt. Vissa lokala tidningar följer den tekniska utvecklingen och har lanserat en nätupplaga som del av sin långsiktiga strategi, medan andra har valt att endast fokusera på papperstidningen.</p><p><b>Syfte</b> Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka och analysera vilka ledningsbeslut och strategier lokala tidningar implementerar idag för att möta konkurrensen från ny media. Syfte är dessutom att undersöka och analysera vad de borde göra i framtiden.</p><p><b>Metod</b> Vi har, för att uppfylla syftet, genomfört en kvantitativ, telefonbaserad, undersökning med ett standardiserat frågeformulär. Vi har intervjuat 30 utav Sveriges 36, till upplagan största, lokala tidningar, jämt spridda över landet.</p><p><b>Slutsatser</b> Mer än två tredjedelar av all lokala dagstidningar representerade i vår undersökning har förlorat prenumeranter sen 2000 och nästan tre fjärdedelar tror att dessa inte kommer att återkomma i framtiden. 90 % av dagstidningarna upplever press på deras största kund, annonsörerna, och 66 % upplever press på prenumeranterna, på grund av internet.</p><p>87 % av våra respondenter har en webbupplaga av sin dagstidning. Trots att respondenterna uppger pris som den största anledningen till det minskande antalet prenumeranter, tar 32 % redan betalt för delar av sin webbupplaga, och 80 % utav de som inte tar betalt idag, har för avsikt att göra det inom fem år.</p><p>En stor majoritet av respondenterna har, trots den negativa trenden, en positiv inställning till framtiden. Omvandlingen från traditionell lokal dagstidning till ett modernt media hus tycks vara nyckeln till framgång i framtiden.</p> / <p><b>Introduction</b> Local newspapers have been a natural part of a modern society for many decades and most thus take the printed local newspapers’ future for granted. Local newspapers do however have problems attracting new, especially younger, subscribers. At the same time this group spends more time online and with other forms of new media. The local newspaper has been domed several times a new media has entered the market but as we know always survived. The difference this time is that the alternative is free. New media is generally gaining ground very rapidly. Some local newspapers follow the technical evolution by launching web-editions of their newspaper as part of their long-term strategy, while others decide only to focus on the printed edition.</p><p><b>Purpose</b> The purpose of this thesis is to research and analyse what managerial choices and strategies local newspapers are implementing today to meet the competition from new types of media. The purpose is furthermore to research and analyse what they ought to do in the future.</p><p><b>Method</b> We have, to fulfil the purpose, conducted a quantitative, telephone based, research with a standardised questionnaire. We have interviewed 30 out of Sweden’s 36, based on circulation, largest local newspapers, geographically spread all over Sweden.</p><p><b>Conclusions</b> More than two third of all local newspapers represented in our research have lost subscribers since 2000 and almost three quarters believe that these subscribers will not come back in the future. 90 % of the newspapers experience pressure on their biggest customer, advertisers, and 66 % experience pressure on subscribers, because of internet.</p><p>87 % of our respondents have an online edition of their newspaper. Even though the respondents state that the biggest reason for future decrease in subscription is price, 32 % already charge a fee for parts of their web-edition and 80 % of those respondents who do not charge anything today, state that they will charge within five years.</p><p>A large majority of the respondents have, despite the negative trend, a positive attitude towards the future. The transformation from a traditional local newspaper to a modern media house appears to be the key to success in the future.</p>

Archaeology is a popular subject which the public has the opportunity to meet in a variety of contexts. In addition to television documentaries, non-fiction and popular science magazines, archaeology has even played a significant role in the fictional world. Apart from these sources, you can also find archaeology in news reports where the newspapers or the tv-stations acts like mediators of archaeological news based on the archaeological work that is currently ongoing in our present time. Since it is now a demand on Swedish contract archaeology to communicate it's results, the news media often gets to play the role as the link between the archaeologists and the public. This paper is based on an analyse of archaeological news presented in local newspapers. The aim of the study was to investigate the visual mediation of archaeology to the reader. The results showed that the visual mediation of archaeological news is not only based on the selection of photos or illustrations. According to this survey, visual mediation can also be constructed using particular words that either describe the factual characteristics or words that alludes to the fictional world. Archaeological news that are channeled through local newspapers tend to reflect a narrow view of the archaeological discipline. The reason for this can probably be seen as a consequence of the relationship between archaeology and the society. In order to broaden the currently prevailing image of the archaeological discipline, this paper arguments for a much closer and more deliberate collaboration between local news media and archaeologists.