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comes to express criticism on journalism and the media. The analysis is done in two steps. First, the use of the term politically correct media is tracked and
connected to issues of immigration, refugees and integration. Intensities and affect in theses posts, and questions of trust and distrust are mapped. Second,
the different cultures of criticism and accountability, as they appear in these discussions, are located and analysed. The discussion posts are interpreted in
terms of tensions between these cultures, inside the discussion forum and outside the forum.The aim of the paper is to contribute to a better understanding
of how issues of immigration, refugees and integration are used and reflected in controversies over journalism and its perceived roles for society. Keywords:
journalism, media criticism, cultures of criticism, cultures of accountability, political correctness, immigration, refugees.
PN 212
The Mediation of a Sunshine Story in Midst of the Swedish Refugee Crisis
Y. Ekström
1
1
Uppsala University, Department of Informatics and Media, Uppsala, Sweden
Seen in proportion to its population, Sweden received the second highest number of asylum seekers in Europe in 2015; 1,667 per 100,000 of Sweden’s local
population, according to Eurostat. Sweden has throughout its modern history had a reputation of being comparatively open and tolerant towards immigra‑
tion. A good country to escape to, and a safe place to start a new life in. A reputation that the majority of Swedes seemed to be proud of. But the situation in
2015 became overwhelming for many of those previously tolerant and open Swedes. As well as for Swedish politicians that changed the course of Swedish
immigration politics in the midst of what was mediated – through political discourse as well as through the mainstream media – as a “refugee crisis”. Not
only for those people on the run from war and death and in real need of safety and a new home, but as a“refugee crisis”also for the Swedish welfare state
and its inhabitants. Institutionalized media as well as social media platforms were filled with stories of the massive invasion of foreigners and of growing
multiculturalism as threats towards the Swedish society. Paradoxically mixed with upset stories about refugee camps being burnt down by right-wing
extremists and the growing threat of escalating racist and neo-nazi movements entering the official political arena. In the midst of the mediation of this
“refugee crisis”, there are sunshine stories to be found.This paper will take a closer look at one such story. It will takes us to the Swedish island of Gotland and
the mediation of a local community on the southern tip of the summer paradise island, where a large group of refugees are welcomed with open arms and
integrated into the local community as equals. The mediation of this sunshine story takes place through Facebook groups and different outlets of local me‑
dia. Media venues through which quite recently moved-in groups of inhabitants originating from mainland Sweden seem to mainly engage in interaction
with each other, and with the summer holiday population of the community residing on the mainland of Sweden most of the year. Thus the representation
of the sunshine story does not necessarily articulate the majority perspective on the“newcomers”arrival to and integration into the local community, as will
be shown in the paper through interviews with different representatives of the community. At the same time, however, the mediation of this success story
through social media platforms and local media outlets function as practices trough which help and support to the newcomers is mobilized, and as articu‑
lations of a discourse through which the refugees are becoming part of the community’s new identity and self-representation of a modern 'Self' including
'the Other' in its presentation to the outside world.