"Arken är skjuten i sank"
En kvalitativ studie kring rapporteringen av The Arks medverkan i Melodifestivalen och Eurovision Song Contest 2007
The purpose of this study has been to follow how the Swedish press covers the Swedish music competition Melodifestivalen and the Eurovision Song Contest. To do so, I have followed how the image of The Ark, a Swedish rock group, changed in the press during Melodifestivalen and the Eurovision Song Contest 2007. They won in Sweden, but in the big European finale they ended up in 18th place. The study is based on a discourse analysis with the focus on the social dialogue of the band in the newspapers. I have applied the analysis on 14 articles published the day after Melodifestivalen and a week ahead, and 14 articles published the day after the Eurovision Song Contest and a week ahead. My selection of articles has been made by using a media archive that provides over 400 daily and evening papers. The study also contained the search for metaphors and loaded terms in the articles. During my study I discovered that after Melodifestivalen the media thought highly of The Ark, and every newspaper celebrated their victory. They were convinced that the group would do just fine in the big European finale. After the Eurovision Song Contest the media changed their opinion and called The Arks performance a fiasco. The study also illuminates how the press is caught in a circle of sensational and ?quick? news and the importance of opinions in the press to get a various apprehension of the reality that we live in. Key words: Media, discourse analysis, Melodifestivalen 2007, Eurovision Song Contest 2007, The Ark