Att ta demokratiuppdraget på allvar : En normativ undersökning av public service-lagens demokratiparagraf

Sammanfattning

This study investigates the ‘democracy clause’ that is written into the Swedish public service law, which mandates public service media, in order to find where the norm of impartiality has to stand down in favor of standing up for democratic values, which the law mandates. This is made relevant due to the tension that has arisen given the politicization of democratic values that has come with the introduction of ento-nationalist and anti-democratic parties to the Swedish parliament. Analyzing the law as it is written, how it is interpreted by both The Swedish Broadcasting Commission and the broadcasting channels themselves and the publishing choices made by news editors, the study will show that, if democracy is interpreted in a way that is compatible with Iris Marion Young’s deliberative theory of democracy, there is space for public service media to take a stronger stance for democratic values and against anti-democratic ideologies. It will also show that public service media is not utilizing that space to its full extent today, and is at risk of legitimizing autocratic, extremist and populist ideas. The study suggests a more radical approach to the interpretation of the ‘democracy clause’ in order to make space for a public service journalism that is able to stand up to populist and autocratic societal and political tendencies, and still stay within the law-mandated demand for impartiality. But most importantly, the study underscores the importance for public service media to make a clear choice in which kind of democracy they choose to interpret the law through.