“Taboo is something that the media should not engage in” : Swedish journalists’ perceived freedom when reporting on controversial topics

Abstract: In recent years, there has been talk of a declining confidence and growing mistrust of the news media. Swedish media have been accused of obscuring certain topics, of letting the newspapers’ political orientation guide the selection of news and of having a news evaluation process that is influenced by the journalists’ personal opinions. With this as a starting point, and the assumption that a high ranking in the press freedom index does not automatically translate to a media landscape unaffected by restraining factors, this thesis investigates the reality of the press freedom in Sweden. Through the method of triangulation, combining a quantitative survey with qualitative semi-structured interviews, the thesis explores how Swedish journalists perceive their journalistic freedom, as well as if all topics are represented in Swedish journalism. The conclusion shows that although Swedish journalists perceive their journalistic freedom to be high, there are signs of self-censorship resulting in a lacking reporting of certain news topics.