En modern porträttering av en levande myt : En tematisk analys av The New York Times från 2017 till 2023 kring UFO-fenomenet

Sammanfattning: Over the last years the UFO-phenomenon has created considerable attraction in US-media. The reasons are twofold: 1) Since the fall of 2017 there has been an increased official acknowledgement of the phenomena 2) Several spectacular revelations have been publicized, both triggering a lager media coverage. But why is this topic so salient in the US? How are media and UFO-coverage interrelated?  Our thesis investigates the coverage of the phenomena in one of the largest US media outlets, The New York Times. Focusing on the period 15 December 2017 – 1 August 2023, when the acknowledgement of Pentagons secret UFO-program also known as Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) happened. Then on 26 July 2023, a whistleblower by the name of David Grusch testified in front of congress with allegations of a government conspiracy – including the possession of Alien vehicles and non-human biologics. Therefore, we have selected 51 articles and carried out a thematic analysis. We have not studied other US news outlets because The New York Times brought some serious legitimacy to the UFO-phenomena with their 2017 article about the Pentagons secret UFO-program and got financial resources to dig deep – a sensationalism you might not find elsewhere.  In the results, we were able to present two themes that emerged during the process. These were rivalry between two nations and public disclosures and reactions from the public. The rivalry between the two nations resulted in three subcategories: the near space area, spy balloons, and technological threat perception. In the theme of public reactions, we used six subcategories. These included scientific skepticism, UFO observations and reports, the desired understanding of the public, government confirmation of the secret UFO program AATIP, increased transparency and scientific discussion, and also whistleblower testimonies. This made us to answer our research questions, which were as follows: How has The New York Times' reporting on the UFO phenomenon been shaped from December 15, 2017, to August 1, 2023? Are there patterns and variations in how The New York Times has treated UFO-related articles during the aforementioned time period?