slutet på sagan prinsessan dianas död i press, radio och tv
slutet på sagan prinsessan dianas död i press, radio och tv slutet på sagan prinsessan dianas död i press, radio och tv
actually loved the Princess more than the Queen and Prince Charles ever had. It was stressed in several contexts that Diana was the people’s princess, and that it was the people who understood and respected her. “Them” was the British royal family. The reports clung to the unusual – everything that had never occurred before. The flag at Buckingham Palace was eventually lowered to half-mast. The Queen stood outside the palace gates – not on the balcony – and waited for the Princess’s coffin; the Queen bowed when it passed by. Applause was heard in Westminster Abbey when the royal family was openly criticised in a speech by Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer. This is a clear illustration of the fact that news deals primarily with deviations, not with the constant or normal. The studied media provided a fairly similar overall picture of the events surrounding the accident. The most common cause reported was the pursuing photographers’ hunt for the car. The second most commonly reported cause was the chauffeur’s blood alcohol level. The photographers’ culpability was stressed repeatedly, primarily during the first part of the week following the accident. In the media, the factual information on the circumstances surrounding the accident was variable – especially concerning the speed at which the car was travelling and the chauffeur’s degree of intoxication. Several of the reports on the chauffeur, regarding his drinking habits and judgement, were extremely speculative and lacked references to sources. Moreover, from the perspective of press ethics, these reports were quite doubtful. Reports on ordinary as well as various well-known Londoners’ reactions to the Princess’s death gave a picture of a city 166 and nation in great mourning. Accounts of the mood of the crowds of people said to have flooded into London’s centre, as well as the commentaries and chronicles written, were extremely emotionally charged. In the newspapers, pictures of mourners outside places such as the Princess’s residence, and of their expressions of sorrow, were many. In the morning papers, one in four pictures of individual mourners — and one in five in the evening papers – showed children, most often a little girl, placing flowers on the ground, crying and praying. The three television programmes studied also showed children among the mourners. Most of the statements and comments on sorrow and loss were made by “ordinary” people. This was the most common on TV, where three-fourths of all people commenting on their sorrow were “ordinary”. In the media, the funeral marked the end of a tragedy of fate of the classic sort. Mourning for a princess who never became a queen became instead mourning for a saint. The taintless princess – who was on the people’s side and at the service of goodness – had been carried off, unable to fulfil her mission. She had lost in her struggle against “them” – the royal family. But they had learned their lesson and the Queen bowed! The media picture of reality merged into reality. Pictures of people in mourning likely resulted in additional and even more sorrowful people to photograph. The special and magnificent funeral ceremony would certainly have been more modest in the absence of the media’s pressure. The fairy tale grew into reality. It is interesting to compare the media picture of Princess Diana’s death with previous descriptions of her in the media. The 17-year-long story of the Princess was
created of a fabric of facts, exaggerations and understatements, variously far-reaching speculations and, certainly, pure lies. This story was also moulded through her close contact with the media. The media were able, for example, to provoke actions and statements that became news, while the Princess and her advisors were also able to influence the media. During the week after her death, this media picture was concentrated. But the portrait of Princess Diana became more than a concentrate; it became a picture that suited the upcoming situation. The unexpected accident, relationships to the royal family, the funeral and not least the media coverage itself reinforced or weakened tendencies in what had been presented during the past year. In all, most of the articles on Princess Diana were general portraits of her as a person and of her life. The three evening papers’ accounts were generally more focused on the Princess as a private, as opposed to public, person. A relatively great amount of space was devoted to her love life. Princess Diana was described as a forsaken and exploited wife who was finally able to regain her self-esteem and fight her way out of an unhappy marriage. It is obvious and natural that the evening papers’ portrait of the Princess was shaped by their special type of journalism, directed at the spectacular and extremely personal. However, a similar picture of Princess Diana was also provided by the morning papers and partly by TV and radio news, although their approach was more restrained. As regards descriptions of Princess Diana, references to sources were often flawed or completely lacking. This was especially clear in the more speculative texts. In many cases, we can speak of a 167 reversed source analysis; the more spectacular and intimate the report, the lower the quality of the sources. The studied media provided an overwhelmingly positive picture of Princess Diana, as both a private and public person. From her first appearance as a shy and blushing young girl, she grew into a strong and brave woman. But she was described, above all, as the people’s princess. The end of the saga of Diana became, in reality, the end of the media saga of Saint Diana. It is impossible to determine to what degree, and on what points, the picture of the saint corresponds to the real Princess Diana. But the picture of the saint suited the media’s dramaturgy. The media’s guilt Issues related to the media’s guilt and celebrity-oriented journalism stimulated, for example, discussions and debates among journalists, photographers and various media. Most statements came from media representatives. The Swedish media strongly repudiated the seven photographers who chased Princess Diana’s car and claimed that something similar would likely never occur in Sweden, and definitely not if the news media were involved. They also disclaimed the type of journalism that the Paparazzi photographers represent and are possibly the ultimate consequence of – sensation-focussed and highly intimatised celebrity-oriented journalism. At the same time, some of the studied news desks used just this type of journalism, and Paparazzi pictures, during the very week in which condemnation was the most vehement. During the week following Princess Diana’s death, the media had the opportunity to scrutinise themselves. But none of the media analysed in this investigation felt that the criticism applied in their
- Page 116 and 117: Prinsessan Diana med sönerna Willi
- Page 118 and 119: tas: Allt emedan ingen ifrågasatte
- Page 120 and 121: dömen som fälls om Diana många g
- Page 122 and 123: KÄNDISJOURNALISTIK OCH MEDIERNAS A
- Page 124 and 125: eller …, säger chefredaktören p
- Page 126 and 127: Paparazzi I samband med en del stor
- Page 128 and 129: Tabell 31. Vanligaste omdömen om f
- Page 130 and 131: Tabell 33. Källkategorier som utta
- Page 132 and 133: Uppslag i Expressen 31/8. Paparazzi
- Page 134 and 135: fick en uppmärksamhet som till omf
- Page 136 and 137: Tabell 36. Vanligaste omdömen om k
- Page 138 and 139: klockan 18.30. I Ekot kommenteras t
- Page 140 and 141: arrogant etablissemang med monarkin
- Page 142 and 143: till att bli aktiva aktörer i den
- Page 144 and 145: Språkliga känslor Emotionella ord
- Page 146 and 147: Det var en gång en prinsessa... Or
- Page 148 and 149: har att göra med den redaktionella
- Page 150 and 151: ningarna, de tre TV-redaktionerna o
- Page 152 and 153: SAMMANFATTANDE SLUTSATSER Den britt
- Page 154 and 155: dramatisk upplösning där alla ber
- Page 156 and 157: under början av veckan som följde
- Page 158 and 159: aldrig den egna verksamheten. Själ
- Page 160 and 161: lan olika redaktioner, de dramaturg
- Page 162 and 163: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS The End of
- Page 164 and 165: was responsible. The accident was t
- Page 168 and 169: case; according to them, there are
- Page 170 and 171: A changed media world Why did Princ
- Page 172 and 173: ge-based factual information. The p
- Page 174 and 175: P och Kline G (red): Strategies for
- Page 176 and 177: Wallin, U (1991): Bilden av EG. Ins
- Page 178 and 179: Morgontidningar Kvällstidningar TV
- Page 180 and 181: SPFs SENASTE MEDDELANDEN 140 Bereds
created of a fabric of facts, exaggerations<br />
and understatements, variously far-reaching<br />
speculations and, certainly, pure lies.<br />
This story was also moulded through her<br />
close contact with the media. The media<br />
were able, for example, to provoke actions<br />
and statements that became news, while<br />
the Princess and her advisors were also<br />
able to influence the media. During the<br />
week after her death, this media picture<br />
was concentrated. But the portrait of Princess<br />
Diana became more than a concentrate;<br />
it became a picture that suited the<br />
upcoming situation. The unexpected accident,<br />
relationships to the royal family,<br />
the funeral and not least the media coverage<br />
itself reinforced or weakened tendencies<br />
in what had been presented during<br />
the past year.<br />
In all, most of the articles on Princess<br />
Diana were general portraits of her as a<br />
person and of her life. The three evening<br />
papers’ accounts were generally more<br />
focused on the Princess as a private, as<br />
opposed to public, person. A relatively<br />
great amount of space was devoted to<br />
her love life. Princess Diana was described<br />
as a forsaken and exploited wife who<br />
was finally able to regain her self-esteem<br />
and fight her way out of an unhappy<br />
marriage.<br />
It is obvious and natural that the evening<br />
papers’ portrait of the Princess was<br />
shaped by their special type of journalism,<br />
directed at the spectacular and extremely<br />
personal. However, a similar picture<br />
of Princess Diana was also provided<br />
by the morning papers and partly by TV<br />
and <strong>radio</strong> news, although their approach<br />
was more restrained.<br />
As regards descriptions of Princess Diana,<br />
references to sources were often<br />
flawed or completely lacking. This was<br />
especially clear in the more speculative<br />
texts. In many cases, we can speak of a<br />
167<br />
reversed source analysis; the more spectacular<br />
and intimate the report, the lower<br />
the quality of the sources.<br />
The studied media provided an overwhelmingly<br />
positive picture of Princess<br />
Diana, as both a private and public person.<br />
From her first appearance as a shy<br />
and blushing young girl, she grew into a<br />
strong and brave woman. But she was<br />
described, above all, as the people’s princess.<br />
The end of the saga of Diana became,<br />
in reality, the end of the media saga of<br />
Saint Diana. It is impossible to determine<br />
to what degree, and on what points, the<br />
picture of the saint corresponds to the real<br />
Princess Diana. But the picture of the saint<br />
suited the media’s dramaturgy.<br />
The media’s guilt<br />
Issues related to the media’s guilt and<br />
celebrity-oriented journalism stimulated,<br />
for example, discussions and debates<br />
among journalists, photographers and<br />
various media. Most statements came from<br />
media representatives. The Swedish media<br />
strongly repudiated the seven photographers<br />
who chased Princess Diana’s car<br />
and claimed that something similar would<br />
likely never occur in Sweden, and definitely<br />
not if the news media were involved.<br />
They also disclaimed the type of journalism<br />
that the Paparazzi photographers<br />
represent and are possibly the ultimate<br />
consequence of – sensation-focussed and<br />
highly intimatised celebrity-oriented journalism.<br />
At the same time, some of the<br />
studied news desks used just this type of<br />
journalism, and Paparazzi pictures, during<br />
the very week in which condemnation<br />
was the most vehement.<br />
During the week following Princess<br />
Diana’s death, the media had the opportunity<br />
to scrutinise themselves. But none<br />
of the media analysed in this investigation<br />
felt that the criticism applied in their