slutet på sagan prinsessan dianas död i press, radio och tv

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