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Title [sv]
Medietillit och sociala föreställningsvärldar: En kvalitativ studie om innebörden och formandet av medietillit
Title [en]
Media trust and social imaginaries: A qualitative study on the meaning and formation of media trust
Abstract [en]
What does it mean to trust the media? And how is trust (and mistrust) in the media formed in the everyday life of Swedish citizens? These questions will be explored in this research project, that takes the rapidly changing media landscape and the reports on falling levels of trust in the media as a starting point. The aim is to go beyond previous survey-based research on media trust and provide a more in-depth and ethnographically grounded analysis of the different dimensions of trust and of how trust is formed in relation people’s understanding of society and their place within it. This will help us form a better understanding of the concept of trust as such and it is, we will argue, of great social importance since it will help us form a better understanding of the ongoing “crisis of trust”, which is a key issue for the future of democratic societies.The project will address questions such as: What do people mean when they answer questions about trusting the media? What different kinds of trust or mistrust do they express? How are such perceptions bound up with individual’s understandings and interpretations of the “media” in general, and the between society and the media, its history and its future? And how are such perceptions shaped by individual’s own life histories, social positions, attitudes, feelings and experiences? The study design is longitudinal and based on recurring qualitative interviews.
Publications (4 of 4) Show all publications
Jakobsson, P. & Stiernstedt, F. (2025). Conceptualisations and analyses of distrust and mistrust in news media: Reviewing research from a decade of distrust. Nordicom Review, 46, 1-27
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Conceptualisations and analyses of distrust and mistrust in news media: Reviewing research from a decade of distrust
2025 (English)In: Nordicom Review, ISSN 1403-1108, E-ISSN 2001-5119, Vol. 46, p. 1-27Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This article provides a comprehensive review of research on distrust towards news media and journalism, a topic that has gained significant attention in recent years due to declining institutional trust and the rise of political disinformation. We analyse existing literature focusing on how media distrust has been studied and conceptualised, its explanations, and its consequences. We highlight the conceptual diversity and methodological plurality in the field, noting the varied definitions and operationalisations of distrust, as well as the dominance of quantitative approaches alongside significant qualitative contributions. The complex relationship between distrust in the media and democracy is also explored, revealing conflicting evidence on whether distrust leads to news avoidance and reduced political engagement or fosters critical media consumption and political engagement. The review underscores the need for clearer definitions and typologies of distrust, supplementing dichotomous operationalisations of trust/distrust with ones that capture distrust as a multidimensional phenomenon, with each dimension having different antecedents and consequences.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Walter de Gruyter, 2025
Keywords
news media, mistrust, distrust, scepticism, democracy, literature review
National Category
Media and Communication Studies
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-57234 (URN)10.2478/nor-2025-0006 (DOI)001488379700002 ()2-s2.0-105005553042 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Swedish Research Council, 2021-02154
Available from: 2025-05-23 Created: 2025-05-23 Last updated: 2025-06-03Bibliographically approved
Lindell, J., Jakobsson, P. & Stiernstedt, F. (2024). Does it Make a Difference?: Television’s Misrepresentation of the Working-Class as Cultivation Effects. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 68(3), 445-464
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Does it Make a Difference?: Television’s Misrepresentation of the Working-Class as Cultivation Effects
2024 (English)In: Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, ISSN 0883-8151, E-ISSN 1550-6878, Vol. 68, no 3, p. 445-464Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Previous research has concluded that the working-class is largely invisible on television. When the working-class is displayed; however, common frames highlight moral shortcomings and lack of responsibility. This study asks what difference such representations make. The study relies on cultivation analysis and a survey of the adult Swedish population to understand the extent to which heavy television viewers provide “television answers” in their descriptions of and attitudes toward the working-class. While some results are inconsistent, heavy television viewers seem more prone to view social inequalities as the result of working-class people's failure to take responsibility for their own well-being. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Routledge, 2024
National Category
Media and Communications
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-53933 (URN)10.1080/08838151.2024.2343096 (DOI)001206174600001 ()2-s2.0-85191201308 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Swedish Research Council, 2021-02154_VR
Available from: 2024-05-02 Created: 2024-05-02 Last updated: 2025-02-07Bibliographically approved
Jakobsson, P. & Stiernstedt, F. (2024). Media resentment. European Journal of Communication, 39(3), 245-258
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Media resentment
2024 (English)In: European Journal of Communication, ISSN 0267-3231, E-ISSN 1460-3705, Vol. 39, no 3, p. 245-258Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Building on an interview study from Sweden (n = 80), this article develops the concept of media resentment as a tool for understanding contemporary developments such as the diminished trust in news media and journalism. We view media resentment as a complex of feelings and ideas that are both individual and social, embodied, and ideal. Media resentment is defined as the feeling that the media – intentionally or unintentionally – are denying you or endangering what you have rightfully earned, whether by not giving it to you, by directly telling you to abstain from it or by intervening in social processes so that your enjoyment of what you have earned becomes impossible.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Sage Publications, 2024
Keywords
journalism, news media, Resentment, trust
National Category
Media and Communication Studies
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-53579 (URN)10.1177/02673231241228961 (DOI)001153567800001 ()2-s2.0-85184188471 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Swedish Research Council, 2021-02154
Available from: 2024-02-21 Created: 2024-02-21 Last updated: 2025-02-11Bibliographically approved
Stiernstedt, F. (2024). Vägval väntar public service. In: Mediestudiers årsbok 2024: Haltande affärsmodeller & nytt mediestöd (pp. 70-83). Stockholm: Institutet för Mediestudier
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Vägval väntar public service
2024 (Swedish)In: Mediestudiers årsbok 2024: Haltande affärsmodeller & nytt mediestöd, Stockholm: Institutet för Mediestudier , 2024, p. 70-83Chapter in book (Other academic)
Abstract [sv]

Public service står inför utmaningar när politiska och ekonomiska förändringar omformar dess roll i Sverige och Europa. Med ett nytt betänkande från public service-kommittén 2024, som bevarar uppdraget men också inför nya begränsningar, ifrågasätts public services oberoende och trovärdighet. Samtidigt ökar den politiska kritiken från vissa partier, vilket kan påverka medieförtroendet och medielandskapet på lång sikt.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Stockholm: Institutet för Mediestudier, 2024
National Category
Media and Communications
Research subject
Digital transformations; Critical and Cultural Theory
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-55757 (URN)978-91-8111-230-6 (ISBN)
Available from: 2024-11-28 Created: 2024-11-28 Last updated: 2025-02-07Bibliographically approved
Principal InvestigatorStiernstedt, Fredrik
Co-InvestigatorJakobsson, Peter
Coordinating organisation
Södertörn University
Funder
Period
2022-01-01 - 2025-12-31
National Category
Sociology (excluding Social Work, Social Psychology and Social Anthropology)Political Science (excluding Public Administration Studies and Globalisation Studies)Media Studies
Identifiers
DiVA, id: project:2964Project, id: 2021-02154_VR