The sustainability crisis of society, e.g. environmental crises, democratic crises, poverty, financial crises, armed conflicts, etc. Obviously, journalism has a crucial role to play here since it contributes greatly to the public agenda, as well as people’s understanding – and hence the handling – of such challenges. The sustainability crisis of journalism itself, which stems from lower advertising, decreasing subsidies for public service media, falling consumption, lack of trust in media among citizens, and fierce competition from online information brokers and advertising.

The complex reality of today requires this kind of integrated journalistic approach in order to uphold the democratic function and not least the legitimacy of professional journalism. Consequently, journalism’s response to the sustainability challenges can be seen as a prerequisite for the future sustainability of journalism itself, ranging from high-quality, in-depth coverage to robust business models, but also extending into considerations of media systems and relations with governments and business interests.

In this way, sustainable journalism attempts to counter the obvious risk that the efforts to maintain economic sustainability of the journalistic enterprise take place at the expense of professional journalism’s social/democratic mission – to hold power to account and to inform citizens, and to spur public engagement about current and future economic, social, and environmental challenges.

Furthermore, sustainable journalism refers to journalism that integrates the three sustainability dimensions in its coverage and its financing and does not isolate environmental issues from social and economic conditions as if they were siloed issues. Examples of this kind of integrated approach would be journalism that:

• reflects the economic aspects of an increasingly globalising society at the same time as it acknowledges the social and environmental consequences of these aspects,
• is underwritten by value from new advertising formats that doesn’t jeopardise the integrity and trust of citizens, and
• interlinks local and national consequences of (for instance) climate change with their economic and social ramifications on a global scale.

Given the importance of the Agenda 2030 and the Paris agreement, another function of sustainable journalism can be seen as carefully scrutinising the compliance of the Paris Agreement and Agenda 2030 as well as exposing the sustainability challenges associated with them.

However, sustainable journalism may not be practised in the same way in all countries and by each publisher, as each country and media institution has unique challenges that confront their sustainability. In order to appreciate how sustainable journalism is to be practised in the sub-Saharan African context, it is important to establish the setting within which media organisations and journalists carry out their informational mandate. It is equally important to explore the issues that confront the environmental, social and economic sustainability of media within sub-Saharan Africa.

This study consequently includes a summary of three different sets of discussions, held over a two-week period in January 2021 with reporters, news editors and representatives of media development organisations in Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, and Kenya. The aim was to ascertain how these key stakeholders regard sustainable journalism and its possible application in sub-Saharan Africa.

The golden thread that ran through discussions was that sustainable journalism connects critical developmental issues in sub-Saharan Africa to the practice of journalism. Participants were of the view that there is a general trend of slow social and economic development within sub-Saharan Africa, coupled with a looming environmental crisis, due inter alia to poor environmental governance. They also agreed that what uniquely sets sustainable journalism apart from other new journalistic approaches is the provision of a model or framework for journalists to address contemporary issues that are tied to sustainable development. And while providing this framework, it also obliges journalists to concentrate on local contexts and the three interdependent dimensions of sustainability, and to find ways to win support for the sustainability of their own service to society.

Rösterna i denna antologi ger ett kraftfullt och dystert budskap om Mediesverige Om någon för tio år sedan sagt till mig att 2020 skulle Sverige ha en särskild utredare för att värna det demokratiska samtalet. Då hade jag skrattat och sagt att det vore väl lite överdrivet. Nog kan vi samtala med varandra utan att det ska behöva utredas hur. Om någon för sju år sedan hade sagt till mig att Fojo i slutet av decenniet börjat undervisa yrkesverksamma jour- nalister i att känna igen informa- tionspåverkan, hur de ska skydda sig själva och inte bara sina källor. Då hade jag undrat vilket land vi pratar om. Ryssland?!

Om någon för fem år sedan sagt att 2020 skulle SVT:s kostnaderför redaktionens säkerhet vara fyra gånger så stora som då. Då hade jag sagt att det låter orimligt.

Om någon för tre år sedan sagtatt de kommande två åren kommer Sverige att sjunka i placering på Reportrar utan gränsers pressfrihets- index på grund av hatet och hoten mot svenska journalister. Då hade jag inte velat tro på det.

Men där är vi i dag. Hur hamnade vi här?

I ett unikt material har Medieinstitutet Fojo samlat in vittnesmål från reportrar och ansvariga utgivare. Från utredare och frilansskribenter. Det är chefer som berättar om arbetsgivar- ansvaret, utsatta reportrar om att leva under hot och med hatet innanför skinnet. Och det är nyhetschefen vars pappa dog för sina ord.

Deras historier blir tillsammans ett kraftfullt budskap om var vi befinner oss i Mediesverige i dag. Bilden de ger är dyster men också kraftfull. Det räcker nu. Populisterna och de auktoritära rösterna som kallar journalister för nationens fiender måste överröstas.

Tystna inte. Mobilisera. Höj din röst. Journalistiken behövs för att bygga ett hållbart samhälle: socialt, ekonomiskt och miljömässigt. Det är vår demokrati det handlar om.

Kersti Forsberg,

Verksamhetschef Medieinstitutet Fojo.

 The COVID-19-pandemic 2020–2023 triggered many responses in global conspiracy culture around six thematic fields: the origins, the spread, the mortality and morbidity of the novel virus, countermeasures in politics and public health, vaccination and ‘super-theories’ about the pandemic as a hoax or cabal orchestrated by global elites. Whereas the susceptibility to conspiracy theories in the international anti-corona milieu has been researched quite extensively, this article focusses on their cultural expressions, in particular anti-corona music in Denmark and Sweden. From internationally acclaimed artists like Eric Clapton to lesser-known figures in (and outside) the music industry, songs expressing frustrations with corona-politics and fuelled by conspiratorial tropes have been disseminated on both acknowledged streaming services and marginal YouTube-channels. This article investigates songs and music in the Danish and Swedish anti-corona movements as expressions of political protest fueled by conspiratorial ideation. A thematic analysis of four songs (two from Denmark and Sweden respectively) is conducted, guided mainly by deductive and inductive coding of lyrics and observations of performance online. The results show that the sample expresses typical rhetorical strategies (RS) and narrative tropes (NT) as identified in corpora of online anti-vaccination rhetoric (Hughes et al. 2021, 1–18) and by Koehler in his study of German far-right influences on the German anti-vax protest milieu through music (2023: 1–22). The sample size of the article doesn’t allow for generalizations, but the article attempts to contextualize the songs within the political protest culture on both sides of the Oresund in which the Danish examples mirror links to the confrontative hooligan-culture of the ‘Men in Black’ whereas the Swedish examples reflect fuzzy freedom claims as performed within the co-called ‘freedom movement’.

African journalism practice presents unique opportunities and challenges that require journalists to be equipped with the necessary skills, knowledge, and values to engage in sustainable journalism. Training institutions play a critical role in ensuring that journalists are not only professionally-ready to execute their mandate but also that they can safeguard and promote ethical values in their everyday work. Some of these values include “truth telling, independence, objectivity, fairness, inclusivity and social justice” (Gade, Nduka, and Dastger 2017, 10). Africa, like other regions of the Global South, has several journalism training institutions that provide an opportunity to challenge “hegemonic epistemologies and ontologies of Western-centric journalism studies” (Mutsvairo et al. 2021, 993). In the context of this submission, the present study investigates the current state of sustainable journalism in Africa. We examined data based on a syllabi analysis of journalism programs in Kenya, South Africa and Ghana to appraise what role sustainable journalism education and training could play in Africa. Findings show that efforts are already in place across select learning and training institutions but also point to profound gaps in the curriculum, pedagogy and resources needed to prepare journalists for sustainable journalism.

LVU-kampanjen och koranbränningarna har blottat sårbarheter i den svenska opinionsbildningen med globala konsekvenser. Konflikter kring sociala myndigheters ingripanden, yttrandefrihetens och hetslagstiftningens gränser och kulturell rasism i de digitala mediernas tidevarv visar hur utsatta de svenska medierna och därmed offentligheten är för möjliga påverkanskampanjer och desinformation. Berättelserna om maktmissbruk och myndigheternas övertramp slår an strängar i konspirationsteoretiskt meningsskapande där olika samhällsgrupper ställs mot varandra. 

Den känslobaserade mobiliseringen av engagemang i sociala medier online men också symbolhandlingar offline eller IRL (in real life) ställer medierna inför ett antal utmaningar. Påverkanskampanjer utvecklar särskild kraft när de skjuter in sig på äkta och upplevda orättvisor och känslor av maktlöshet. Den journalistiska nyhetsförmedlingen hotas, men också myndighetsutövningen. Vad kan medierna lära sig av LVU-kampanjen och koranbränningar som hypermediala fenomen där den äkta och virtuella verkligheten förstärker varandra? Går det att återupprätta förtroende i den journalistiska rapporteringen? 

Across the past year a huge Twitter campaign against the Swedish social services authorities has been launched. A previous study examining Arab Diaspora online platforms in Sweden underlined that the Arab diaspora online community in Sweden was angry and hostile describing alleged abuses of Swedish social benefits. Racialization and discrimination discourses were revealed in the analysis. Racialization appeared in different levels. The “us” and “them” dichotomy appeared during disagreements. Commentators repeatedly noted their difficulties in being considered Swedish and impressions of discrimination as a result. A discussion among diaspora community construct life in Sweden between Utopia and dystopia. The current study aims at looking at the latest crisis with the social services and examine if the twitter movement in this case construct emotional mobilization and if there are other actors who contribute to the escalation abusing the situation of immigrants in Sweden. 

Journalism training and education in sub-Saharan Africa is flourishing. It is offered by universities, colleges, institutes and schools, non-profit organisations, media councils, regulators, trade unions, state broadcasters, and the commercial media, amongst others. A preliminary and incomplete scan of 19 countries that we did at the start of this study, and where we only used reliable databases and sources, came to at least 127 centres, mostly universities, colleges and institutes. In Nigeria alone there are said to be 66 centres;1 in South Africa, a recent study narrowed down a substantial list to 13 institutions;2 while the government provided a list of 19 public universities offering journalism education in Ethiopia.

This study initiated by Fojo Media Institute in collaboration with Gothenburg University’s Department of Journalism, Media & Communication (JMG) and other partners is one in a set of country case studies conducted to understand how gender equality and women’s freedom of expression are integrated in media regulation, self-regulation and within media inhouse policies. The case studies were implemented in countries in which Fojo is active, namely Armenia, Bangladesh, Rwanda, Somalia, Sweden and Zimbabwe. The case studies accompany a broader global study of gender in media law and policy at international, regional and country levels spanning more than 100 nations.

This report describes and analyses how online propaganda against journalists across the world - through hate, harassment, threats and fabricated news – undermines independent reporting, sows doubt among the public and makes journalists, in particular female journalists, openfor online attacks and physical abuse to the detriment of freedom of expression and open, democratic societies.

To stem the tidal wave of mostly anonymous online propaganda against journalists, in particularly female journalists across the world who are exposed to unacceptable amounts of online sexual abuse, Fojo Media Institute, the publisher of this report, plans to set up #journodefender, a global hub to monitor, investigate and take action against the-ends- justifies-the-means trolling with particular focus on assisting journalism in countries that are particularly badly affected.

Fojo Media Institute has, since 1972, built capacity for 50,000 journalists from more than 100 countries and supported the establishment of journalism training institutions and media centres in a large number of countries.

Fojo Media Institute is presently active in Sweden and around 20 countries in Sub Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, South Asia and South East Asia.

Feminization of the workplace in the media area is a relatively recent phenomenon, and today this industry is widely represented by women. The article presents the findings of a study which was thought of as a comparative study and conducted using the same tools in Russia, Armenia and Moldova. This made it possible to discover and analyze the general and the specific both in the development of mass media in these countries and in the situation of women and men employed in the industry. The methods used in the study are as follows: (1) a questionnaire survey among the media employees holding  decision-making and creative positions (N = 625), (2) in-depth structured interviews with experts (N = 11) who have worked as professional journalists, chief editors, heads of journalistic organizations, owners and co-founders of online media outlets, (3) analysis of documents involving information in the “Atlas of Municipal Media in the Russian Federation”, online media websites and the data from the studies conducted by other authors on the same topic.

The study proves the existence of feminization in mass media, describes the factors behind it and the problems related to gender inequalities in terms of work pay, employment procedures, opportunities to hold decision-making positions, to choose the topics of the publications, etc. Despite the fact that there are certain practices discriminating women, most of respondents employed in mass media deny the existence of gender discrimination in this industry. This is partly due to journalists’ perception of gender segregation as a norm rather than violation of labor and social rights.

Ethiopia's community radio landscape, with over 50 licensed stations and approximately 35 broadcasting nationwide, serves as a vital information source in rural areas, broadcasting in over 20 local languages. Despite their significance, these stations face challenges in governance, financial sustainability, and program quality. The media viability assessment aimed to understand these challenges, prioritize them, and inform support activities. The assessment involved 35 managers and program heads from 25 community radio stations and employed online surveys, desktop research, and limited expert interviews. Factors were scored on a scale of 1 to 10 for their importance to station viability, with most receiving high scores. Governance, programming, financial sustainability, and technical issues were key focus areas. The analysis revealed a clear recognition among managers of the complex challenges they face, with factors related to local issue coverage receiving the highest average score. Recommendations include developing robust financial sustainability strategies, prioritizing audience engagement, enhancing board leadership, creating strategic plans, advocating for high-quality content, providing training in project management and media management, offering technical skills training, facilitating networking among managers, and prioritizing digital capacity-building.

The purpose of the study is to increase the knowledge about the media landscape in Ethiopia and to identify potential entry points for Swedish support in line with the Swedish strategy.

The study is not academic to its nature, or claims to present all answers on how to best design media support in the contemporary Ethiopian context. It should rather be seen as a basis for further discussions on challenges and potential entry points for support that can improve freedom, independence and professionalism of the Ethiopian media.

The study thus intends to contribute to:

• Better understanding of the conditions for supporting structures for the strengthening of free, independent, professional media in Ethiopia, contributing to transparency and accountability, access to information and freedom of expression.

• Strategies, entry-points, approaches and activities proposed to strengthen free, independent, professional media and journalism in Ethiopia contributing to transparency, accountability, access to information and freedom of expression.

The scope of this study thus differs from the Government Communication Affairs Office’s (GCAO) request to the EU-delegation to Ethiopia, (March 2017), as this request mainly focuses on government communication. However, there are several areas that coincide:

• The GCAO has among its objectives to ensure “the expansion of a modern, accessible and multi-faceted media in the country”.

• The proposal states that “access to information is critical for enabling citizens to herald their voice, to effectively monitor and hold government to account, and to enter into informed dialogue about decisions, which affect their lives”.

• The proposal also identifies a lack of ample understanding of the Media and Information Freedom Proclamation (among civil servants) as well as a lack of capacity among media professionals to promote good governance and to create a system of transparency and accountability by carrying out investigative reporting. The analysis also implies a general lack of professional, vocational competence among media professionals that needs to be addressed.

• Finally, the proposal stresses the importance of designing systems to help identify knowledge, skills and professional shortcomings of the media in collecting and disseminating information. Suggestions are to arrange panel discussions, short trainings and field visits as well as providing foreign professionals with the possibility to give trainings in Ethiopia.

This study provides guidance on possible entry points for support to a qualitative and sustainable media sector in support of democratic governance on a regional level in Sub Saharan Africa. 

The report is the result of an extensive consultative process with media and civil society representatives in Southern, Eastern, Central and Western Sub-Saharan Africa. Three roundtable meetings were held during February 2019 with media experts and media representatives from each of the sub-regions. 

The report is written from a media perspective and focuses on regional media initiatives and challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa. Seven focus areas that are instrumental for the future of quality journalism have been investigated. 

In the second part of the study, focus is set on what donors should consider when reviewing how regional media initiatives and processes can contribute to democracy and accountability. This second part can be seen as connecting local and national media stakeholders with regional initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa as well as to the ongoing global dialogue on the need for increased media development, manifested at the international meeting organised by CIMA and Sida in Paris in March 2019.

Konspirationsteorier är en särskild form att tänka och berätta om världen och den mänskliga existensen. Föreställningen att ingenting händer av en slump, följer tydliga mönster och att stora händelser, så som pandemin, förberetts i hemlighet bakom vår rygg vägleder människor i en allt större omfattning. Men hur kan dessa idéer övertyga? Varför är vi benägna att tro på den stora sammansvärjningen och hur har tankar om den utvecklats idéhistoriskt? Vilka är utmaningarna i vår egen samtid? I denna bok sker för första gången en utförlig introduktion till ämnet baserat på internationell forskning. Även svenska exempel diskuteras utförligt liksom informationskriget i Ukraina och klimatförnekelse. Konspirationsteorier är meningsskapande berättelser som blandar våra föreställningar om vad som är sant och falskt med vad som är rätt och fel och gott eller ont. Så skapas övertygande förklaringar som kan utnyttjas av makthavare, ge röst åt social protest, sprida desinformation och skapa samhörighet och social identitet. 

Konspirationsteorier är ett uttryck för ett särskilt sätt att tänka och skapa mening om världen och den mänskliga existensen. I regel antar konspirationsteorier att ingenting sker av en slump, de upptäcker mönster som visar att allting hänger ihop och uppdagar mörkermän som med onda avsikter bakom vår rygg har gaddat ihop sig i hemlig- het och planerar att utföra handlingar som drabbar oss negativt. För denna sammansvärjning finns det bevis som antingen undanhålls oss eller mörkläggs och manipuleras av de verkliga, dolda makthavarna. Världen och den historiska utvecklingen är en evig kamp mellan onda och goda krafter. Det negativa som sker är någon annans fel, någon som kan skuldbeläggas. Inte bara det, de skyldiga är genuint onda demoner och gör vi ingenting kommer samhället såsom vi känner det att gå under. Den enda räddningen är sanningssägarna och de som är på deras sida. De har genomskådat konspiratörernas onda planer och samlar offren för en sista och avgörande strid. Berättelserna om konspi- rationen kommuniceras med bild, text och ljud som söker uttrycka det mörka drama som utspelar sig framför våra ögon, hur vi styrs, förleds och manipuleras, intrasslade i bläckfiskens tentakler, hotade av män i mantlar, kontrollerade av den allsmäktige marionettspelarens trådar. 

This edited volume investigates for the first time the impact of conspiracy theories upon the understanding of Europe as a geopolitical entity as well as an imagined political and cultural space.

Focusing on recent developments, the individual chapters explore a range of conspiratorial positions related to Europe. In the current climate of fear and threat, new and old imaginaries of conspiracies such as Islamophobia and anti-Semitism have been mobilised. A dystopian or even apocalyptic image of Europe in terminal decline is evoked in Eastern European and particularly by Russian pro-Kremlin media, while the EU emerges as a screen upon which several narratives of conspiracy are projected trans-nationally, ranging from the Greek debt crisis to migration, Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic. The methodological perspectives applied in this volume range from qualitative discourse and media analysis to quantitative social-psychological approaches, and there are a number of national and transnational case studies. This book will be of great interest to students and researchers of extremism, conspiracy theories and European politics.