Kris? – en analys av bilden av bokbranschen i Svensk Bokhandel

Sammanfattning: This essay examines 15 news articles published in the Swedish magazine Svensk Bokhandel during the year of 2019. Qualitative linguistic analysis is used to examine what and how the magazine writes about publishing and the book market. The questions asked are: Which themes, messages, ulterior ideas and attitudes are mediated through the articles? And is there a crisis discourse in publishing? The results show us that the articles are very much centered around the profit of the business; books are considered consumer goods rather than literary experiences. Much attention is also paid to the situated conflict between streaming services for audiobooks and bookstores: one is increasing its sales and the other is declining, which appears to be quite stressful for many people. These articles could very well influence the agenda of publishing, what the audience consider important subjects, considering Svensk Bokhandels big platform. Generally speaking, there is a tangible negative tone throughout most articles. However, that does not necessarily mean there is a crisis discourse in the business. It is likely the negativity is rather a consequence of the chosen material, as news articles of this type tend to focus on bad or unfortunate incidents. One conclusion is that the articles portray a changing business, rather than a dying one.