1) Something happened today in Sweden that could have a significant impact on the country, but basically no-one outside of Sweden will hear about it. This is a short morality tale about journalism's endless addiction to hyping sensation and spectacle over process and politics. - ThreadSky

chrchristensen.bsky.social • 4 days ago

1) Something happened today in Sweden that could have a significant impact on the country, but basically no-one outside of Sweden will hear about it. This is a short morality tale about journalism's endless addiction to hyping sensation and spectacle over process and politics.

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chrchristensen.bsky.social•4 days ago

2) The leader of a Swedish political party that's polling 4% announced his resignation. Of course, news editors around the world will ask: "Why would we even mention this?" and most news consumers would consider that a reasonable question. Why? Because, sometimes, details matter.

chrchristensen.bsky.social•4 days ago

3) The leader of Sweden's Center Party is quitting. In part because of resistance to his open support for a future left-wing Prime Minister. A new leader could push the party to the right...and that 4% could be enough to give Sweden 4 more years of right-wing govt (2026-30).

knuckleheadofstate.bsky.social•4 days ago

Readers aught to know that the ”future left-wing” you are reffering to would probably be a Social Democraticly led coalition with the Left party and the Enviroment party as opposed to today’s Conservative, Christian conservatives and Liberals with support from the extreme right Swedish Democrats.

mstoltze-se.bsky.social•4 days ago

Or could be enough to give the left side their own majority next time. Some of the Center Party voters are probably left-leaning these days and will leave the party if it turns right. And there are hardly room for three small parties to the right. At least one will go below 4% and waste votes.

chrchristensen.bsky.social•4 days ago

4) For a country of 10.5 million, Sweden gets a fair amount of intl. coverage...in recent years primarily in relation to crime, immigration, far-right politics. Those are sensational issues that get clicks, but do little for even a superficial understanding of the country.

chrchristensen.bsky.social•4 days ago

5) And here is where the role of journalism comes in. Is crime important? Sure. But don't pretend you're "covering a country" if you only favor sensational clickbait ahead of political developments that could impact who governs for 4 years. That's massive political power.

chrchristensen.bsky.social•4 days ago

6) If editors say, "Our readers aren't interested in small political parties in Sweden" then perhaps consider the possibility that they can explain the importance to readers. Journalism isn't just a response to taste, it also plays a role in cultivating news tastes.

chrchristensen.bsky.social•4 days ago

7) The obsession of news organizations to focus on events over process leads to a two-dimensional, decontextualized understanding of society. Hyping crime in Sweden to foreign readers without providing even minimal context for understanding the governance of Sweden does nothing.

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