"Gåtan Johanna Möller" : En diskursanalys om den svenska kvällspressens gestaltning av Johanna Möller

Sammanfattning: The objective of this bachelor thesis was to examine how the lifetime sentenced Johanna Möller, who in 2016 persuaded her boyfriend to kill her parents, is portrayed in Swedish news journalism. We analyzed 46 articles published in Swedish tabloid describing her character after she received her sentence in August 2017. The research questions were: How is Johanna Möller portrayed as a character? How is Johanna Möller portrayed as a criminal? How is Johanna Möller portrayed as a woman? Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis (CDA) and the associated three-dimensional model was conducted to find and dissect discourses in the articles. We carried out the analysis from a gender-related theoretical perspective and drew parallels to earlier research concerning media and crime.  Through the analysis, five discourses could be identified; The Non-agent, The Evil Woman and The Good Boy, Temptress, The Bad Mother and She Who Never Does Right.    Not seldom is Johanna Möller described as promiscuous, evil and manipulative. Her role as a mother is also being repeatedly criticized even though her actual crimes are not related to her motherhood. Accordingly, the journalists are constantly looking for an explanation for her abnormal behaviour and she is often being described as a cold hearted yet emotional person, which can be seen as a significant paradox in the portrayal of her. Our conclusion is that no matter Johanna Möller’s actual crimes, her role as a woman has become the most present aspect of her actions.