"Herregud, nu har det kommit hit också" : En kritisk diskursanalys av Aftonbladets och Dagens Nyheters platsskapande av Gränby och Vasastan i samband med gängskjutningar 

Sammanfattning: In Sweden, shootings and gang violence have been on the daily agenda during 2023, especially in September when most shootings occurred that year (SVT 2023a). As the media have the power to influence the public regarding how they view a geographical place, and the typical population that lives in the place being portrayed (Ceccato 2012; Wallace 2008), it becomes crucial to examine media’s symbolic power through news reporting. Aftonbladet and Dagens Nyheter are two Swedish newspapers with the widest reach of readers in Sweden (Ocast 2023), and therefore can be argued to have the most symbolic power to influence public perception of places through news representation.  This paper aims to answer the research question of in what way these two Swedish newspapers contribute to the spatial production of Vasastan and Gränby, in connection to reports of shootings. To answer the research question presented, a critical discourse analysis has been used to be able to analyse twelve articles in total. After analysing the chosen articles, which were all published in September 2023, three discourses were identified, surrounding the portrayal of dangerous places, a distinction between ‘us and them’, and what is considered normal versus abnormal. The discourses thus reflected the two newspapers' use of symbolic power through spatial production regarding how Vasastan and Gränby are portrayed, which showed two separate depictions. The scientific and societal significance of this paper can further deepen our understanding of the media's role in the process of spatial production and subsequently its societal impact.