70 år men i övrigt frisk - framställningar av äldre i nyhetsmedia i samband med Covid-19

Sammanfattning: When the Covid-19 pandemic struck Sweden elderly became particularly targeted by news media, as early studies indicated a higher risk of death among elderly. The aim of this study was to investigate existing and emerging discourses concerning elderly during the pandemic. The method used was a qualitative study of documents. The empirical data analyzed in this study were 48 articles published on-line, from March 2020-March 2021, by the well-established commercial newspaper Aftonbladet. The analysis was carried out based on Norman Fairclough's three-dimensional model which includes methods and theories commonly used in the field of critical discourse analysis. The two most prominent discourses found were elderly presented as problems and with problems. Elderly as problems concerned their increased risk of being severely ill from the virus which could create a problem for society by using capacity in the strained intensive care. In addition, elderly were presented as problems if not adhering to the government's recommendations. When presented with problems, elderly were described as vulnerable, delicate, isolated and alone. At the same time, two countering discourses challenging the two main ones emerged. Elderly were portrayed as heroes isolating themselves instead of being a problem. The other countering discourse, challenging the discourse of elderly with problems, raises the fact that elderly are healthy and active. From the analysis it can be concluded that the portraying of elderly in Aftonbladet, creates and reproduces certain views regarding how elderly should and should not be. This can lead to ageism in the form of negative conception and discrimination.