Kjersti Thorbjørnsrud

• Enstad, Johannes Due & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2022). Politisk meningsmangfold og ytringsfrihet i akademia. I Mangset, Marte; Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (Red.), Ytringsfrihet i en ny offentlighet : Grensene for debatt og rommet for kunnskap. Universitetsforlaget. s. 155–179. doi: 10.1177/1940161220960415.
• Mangset, Marte; Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen; Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti & Wollebæk, Dag (2022). Forskere i offentligheten: Hva motiverer dem, og hva frykter de? I Mangset, Marte; Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (Red.), Ytringsfrihet i en ny offentlighet : Grensene for debatt og rommet for kunnskap. Universitetsforlaget. s. 134–154. doi: 10.1177/1940161220960415.
• Moe, Hallvard; Fladmoe, Audun; Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti & Finstad, Ulrik (2022). Tillit til mediene. Falske nyheter og partiske journalister? I Mangset, Marte; Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (Red.), Ytringsfrihet i en ny offentlighet : Grensene for debatt og rommet for kunnskap. Universitetsforlaget. s. 113–133.
• Wollebæk, Dag; Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti & Steen-Johnsen, Kari (2022). Holdninger til ytringsfrihet i Norge: et nytt kart og kompass. I Mangset, Marte; Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (Red.), Ytringsfrihet i en ny offentlighet : Grensene for debatt og rommet for kunnskap. Universitetsforlaget. s. 33–56. doi: 10.18261/9788215051017-2022-02.
• Mangset, Marte; Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2022). Ytringsfrihet i Norge: debattens grenser og rommet for kunnskap. I Mangset, Marte; Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (Red.), Ytringsfrihet i en ny offentlighet : Grensene for debatt og rommet for kunnskap. Universitetsforlaget. s. 11–32.
• Nadim, Marjan & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2022). Kampen i gråsonene av debatten: en studie av deltakere i opphetede og aggressive nettdebatter. I Mangset, Marte; Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (Red.), Ytringsfrihet i en ny offentlighet : Grensene for debatt og rommet for kunnskap. Universitetsforlaget. s. 95–112. doi: 10.18261/9788215051017-2022-05.
• Lånkan, Kjersti & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2022). TV Inside the Psychiatric Hospital: Patient Experiences. International Journal of Communication. 16, s. 130–147. Vis sammendrag

  This study investigates patients’ experiences with participating in a television (TV) documentary series filmed within psychiatric hospital wards. The study relies on interviews with patients, health staff, and TV producers, and asks how access is negotiated and how patients experience different phases of the production process. Based on a discussion of health ethics versus journalistic ethics, and the particular relations of power asymmetry and dependence within a health institution, the study concludes that a discourse emphasizing the benefits of openness worked to overshadow the need for extra sensitivity and care for the most vulnerable patients. Most patients appreciated the opportunity to share their experiences of illness and hospital treatment, but the increased strain on patients who were negatively affected by exposure calls for renewed attention to what informed consent and autonomy imply when media professionals enter health institutions.

• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti & Lånkan, Kjersti Blehr (2022). ‘Someone should have looked after us’: the boundary work of mental health disclosure on TV. Media, Culture and Society. doi: 10.1177/01634437211069970.
• Larsen, Anna Grøndahl; Figenschou, Tine Ustad & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2022). Når saken tas i mediene: mediedramaturgi og handlingsrom i lokale helsekonflikter. Norsk Medietidsskrift. doi: 10.18261/nmt.29.1.2. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Nyhetssaker om at mennesker som trenger hjelp, ikke får den omsorgen eller helsetilbudet de har krav på, starter ofte nært dem det gjelder – i lokalmediene eller på sosiale medier. Denne artikkelen belyser ulike kilders handlingsrom og strategier i lokale mediesaker der enkeltpersoners helsebehov står i fokus, sett fra de involverte aktørenes ståsted. Gjennom 20 kvalitative intervjuer analyserer vi møtet mellom medier og to sentrale kildegrupper: pasienter og pårørende og politikere og kommunal forvaltning. Studien viser hvordan en klassisk mediedramaturgi utspiller seg i et samspill mellom sosiale medier og lokaljournalistikken i denne typen saker. Ved å dele tunge personlige erfaringer i mediene mobiliserer pasienter og pårørende en form for støtte og empati som i sakene vi har studert, faktisk endrer utfall og prioriteringer. Analysen viser at tradisjonelle kildehierarkier utfordres når pårørende og pasienter fungerer som pådrivere i mediene, mens lokalmyndigheter og politikere ofte får et ganske begrenset handlingsrom i disse oppslagene. Samtidig er det både emosjonelt kostbart og ressurskrevende å kjempe saken sin i mediene, og denne formen for mediepåvirkning reiser grunnleggende dilemma knyttet til både personvern og fordeling av knappe helseressurser der ikke alle som trenger hjelp, kan eller vil nå gjennom i dagens hybride medielandskap.

• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti; Hallin, Daniel C. & Figenschou, Tine Ustad (2021). "Whose stories are told and who is made responsible? Human-interest framing in health journalism in Norway, Spain, the UK and the US." Journalism (2021). Journalism Studies.
• Hallin, Daniel C.; Hallin, Daniel C & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2021). Biomedicalization and Media in Comparative Perspective: Audiences, Frames, and Actors in Norwegian, Spanish, U.K. and U.S. Health News. The International Journal of Press/Politics. doi: 10.1177/1940161220960415.
• Enjolras, Bernard Louis & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2021). Health on social media: mediatization of subjective experience? Health & New Media Research. 5(2), s. 220–250.
• Figenschou, Tine Ustad; Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti & Hallin, Daniel C. (2021). Whose stories are told and who is made responsible? Human-interest framing in health journalism in Norway, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S. Journalism - Theory, Practice & Criticism. doi: 10.1177/14648849211041516. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Human-interest narratives are journalistic tools to captivate and engage the audience, influence public opinion and bring revenue to media organizations. This paper analyses how human-interest narratives are used in contemporary health journalism across media systems and health systems. Based on a comparative content analysis of Norwegian, Spanish, U.K. and U.S. newspapers (2016–2017), it studies how human-interest stories are contextualized, health problems explained and responsibility attributed. The article reveals a complex picture of the role of human-interest stories in health coverage. In line with expectations, the study finds that human-interest stories do tend to emphasize individual biomedical treatment of illness and to privilege idealized victims who fit the routines of dominant media dramaturgy. In contrast to theories that consider personalization of news as an individualization of responsibility and dumbing down of public debate, however, the study finds that human-interest narratives are also used to explain health as a structural phenomenon and a collective responsibility, appealing to political intervention and accountability of health authorities. Such claims are more prominent in European human-interest health stories and less frequent in the more strongly commercialized U.S. health and media system.

• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti & Figenschou, Tine Ustad (2020). The alarmed citizen: Fear, mistrust, and alternative media. Journalism Practice.
• Ytreberg, Espen & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2020). Agencies and Experiences of the “Good Participant” : The Long-Term Trajectories of Patients Turned Media Participants. International Journal of Communication. 14, s. 6182–6198. Vis sammendrag

  As a prominent case of media participants with a high moral status, medical patients have become central across media and platforms, particularly because journalists need them as exemplars. On the basis of in-depth interviews with 18 Norwegian patient-participants, this article investigates the agencies and experiences involved in longer spans of participation across mass and social media. The article shows that although communicating illness enables affirmative and meaningful forms of openness and sharing for patient-participants, over time stresses and conflicts also appear as participants negotiate the terms and limits of their self-disclosure in an effort to exercise agency over their illness stories. In general terms, the article argues for an approach to media participation that takes into account high-status forms of participation, multiple media, and participation trajectories over longer spans of time.

• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti & Figenschou, Tine Ustad (2020). The Alarmed Citizen: Fear, Mistrust, and Alternative Media. Journalism Practice. doi: 10.1080/17512786.2020.1825113.
• Figenschou, Tine Ustad & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2020). “Hey there in the Night”: The Strategies, Dilemmas and Costs of a Personalized Digital Lobbying Campaign. I Hornmoen, Harald; Fonn, Birgitte Kjos; Hyde-Clarke, Nathalie & Hågvar, Yngve Benestad (Red.), Media Health. The Personal in Public Stories. Universitetsforlaget. s. 165–185. doi: 10.18261/9788215040844-2020-9.
• Hallin, Daniel C.; Figenschou, Tine Ustad & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2020). Biomedicalization and Media in Comparative Perspective: Audiences, Frames, and Actors in Norwegian, Spanish, U.K. and U.S. Health News. The International Journal of Press/Politics. doi: 10.1177/1940161220960415. Vis sammendrag

  This study examines health news in Norwegian, Spanish, British, and U.S. newspapers. It seeks to fill a gap in journalism studies in the examination of health news as a genre, particularly in a comparative context, and with a focus on broader social and political roles and meanings of health news, rather than effects on individual behavior. It is rooted in literatures that seek to understand health journalism in sociological terms, considering the role of health journalism in relation to institutional relationships between biomedicine, the market, and the state. It departs, in particular, from the theory of biomedicalization, which holds that the field of biomedicine, increasingly transformed into a complex, commercialized “techno-service complex,” has deep cultural impact, including the spreading of a conception of an individualized patient-consumer who will actively seek information to control risk and pursue wellness. In this article, we ask whether research on health news centered around this model, mostly carried out in the United States, is generalizable to European countries where the health system is organized primarily according to a public service model. The study considers three aspects of health news content: the implied audience of news stories, distinguishing in particular between those that address readers as patient-consumers and those that address them as citizens; the distinction among biomedical, lifestyle, and social frames for understanding health issues; and the range of actors reflected in health news as sources and as story originators.

• Karlsen, Rune; Kolltveit, Kristoffer; Schillemans, Thomas & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2020). Media and Bureaucracy: Investigating Media Awareness Amongst Civil Servants. Scandinavian Journal of Public Administration. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti & Ytreberg, Espen (2020). A Human Interest Economy: The Strategic Value of Turning Ordinary People into Exemplars in the News Media. Journalism Studies. 21(8), s. 1093–1108. doi: 10.1080/1461670X.2020.1720520. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti & Figenschou, Tine Ustad (2019). Alarmerte borgere: Mistillit, polarisering og alternative medier, Informerte borgere? Offentlig tilknytning, mediebruk og demokrati. Universitetsforlaget. Vis sammendrag

  En informert borger er ikke nødvendigvis en god borger for demokratiet. Det viktigste er at alle har en «offentlig tilknytning», en orientering mot samfunnet som danner grunnlag for engasjement og handling når det trengs. Denne boka røsker opp i inngrodde forestillinger om hva en god borger er, og presenterer ny innsikt om situasjonen i Norge i dag. I et demokrati må borgerne orientere seg mot og engasjere seg i samfunnet. Dette grunnleggende kravet gjennomsyrer vår samfunnsform, det preger politiske diskusjoner og styrer innretningen av norsk mediepolitikk, og det er sentralt i grunnlovens paragraf om ytringsfrihet. Hva bør en slik samfunnsorientering innebære? Og hvordan arter den seg i forskjellige folks hverdagsliv? Hvor viktig er eksempelvis bruk av nyhetsmedier sammenlignet med andre veier til offentligheten. Forfatterne av denne boka argumenterer for at norske borgeres «offentlige tilknytning» handler om å orientere seg mot helt ulike området og ta i bruk mange ulike veier til offentligheten. De viser hvordan det norske folk på tvers av alder, interesser og sosiokulturell bakgrunn orienterer seg mot samfunnet de er en del av. Slik gir Informerte borgere? Offentlig tilknytning, mediebruk og demokrati et nyansert bilde av hva det vil si å ha en solid forbindelse til offentligheten og oppleve å være en del av samfunnet - og hva det vil si å ikke ha en sterk offentlig tilknytning.

• Figenschou, Tine Ustad & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2019). Disruptive Media Events: Balancing Editorial Control and Open Dissent in the Aftermath of Terror. Journalism Practice. 13(8), s. 941–945. doi: 10.1080/17512786.2019.1647111. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti & Figenschou, Tine Ustad (2018). Det er en tid for alt? I Syse, Henrik (Red.), Norge etter 22. juli: Forhandlinger om verdier, identiteter og et motstandsdyktig samfunn. Cappelen Damm Akademisk.
• Brekke, Jan-Paul & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2018). Communicating borders - Governments deterring asylum seekers through social media campaigns . Migration Studies. doi: 10.1093/migration/mny027. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  This article analyses a novel attempt by the Norwegian Government to use Facebook to influence migrants’ destination choices. With the refugee crisis in the fall of 2015 as a backdrop, the Norwegian case reveals the dilemmas that occur when governments use social media as instruments to control immigration. While social media provide governments with new tools, such as paid targeting and access to new groups of migrants, their use also raises ethical concerns. The distinct qualities of today’s social media, their affordances, do not fully square with established norms for government communication. Based on interviews, this article follows the development of the Norwegian Facebook campaign, labelled ‘Stricter Asylum Regulations in Norway’. Using a case-study methodology, the exploration of the campaign provides a behind-the-scenes analysis of an ongoing attempt at managing migration via social media. Among the dilemmas that are identified, we find the need to communicate effectively on social media platforms—that is, to change the behaviour of target groups—may collide with the ground rules of civil service information to the public. The Norwegian campaign, sharing key features with similar campaigns across Europe, shows both the potential and the challenges involved in communicating with migrants in a potentially vulnerable situation, on social media platforms. While social media have been described as a ‘backstage’ for migrants, this article reveals how governments enter this communicative space, thereby changing its semi-private nature.

• Figenschou, Tine Ustad & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2018). Mediated Agency, Blame Avoidance and Institutional Responsibility: Government Communication in a Personalised Media Landscape. Scandinavian Political Studies. 41(2), s. 210–232. doi: 10.1111/1467-9477.12117.
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti & Figenschou, Tine Ustad (2018). Consensus and dissent after terror: Editorial policies in times of crisis. Journalism - Theory, Practice & Criticism. 19(3), s. 333–348. doi: 10.1177/1464884916657519. Vis sammendrag

  This article analyses the role of central editors in constructing a national debate in the Norwegian media after the 2011 Oslo terror attacks. A broad literature has documented that after crisis, mainstream media move away from their everyday critical function to a ritual type of journalism that fosters adherence to shared values and support for national authorities. Based on in-depth interviews with debate editors, this article analyses how this type of national crisis discourse is substantiated and guarded through editorial decisions and policies. Second, it gives insights into how changes in the perceived climate of opinion and increasingly vocal critical voices gradually affect editorial practices and challenge consensus. Theoretically, the article combines perspectives from a critical approach (the media as channels for political authorities during crisis) and a cultural approach (the media as constitutive for resilience and recovery) to contribute to the understanding of crisis journalism in a multi-platform, multi-directional media landscape.

• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2017). Immigration critique: Moral boundaries, silence and polarization. I Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (Red.), Boundary Struggles : Contestations of Free Speech in the Norwegian Public Sphere. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. Vis sammendrag

  Freedom of speech is a fundamental human right and a core value in liberal democracies. It is also, however, one of our time’s most contested issues, constantly claimed to be either too wide-ranging, at the peril of vulnerable minority groups, or too limited, restricting dissent and democratic deliberation. Employing a sociological lens on the dynamics of the public sphere, this book investigates how the boundaries of free speech are contested and negotiated through social processes which silence certain groups and opinions while amplifying others. The book focuses on key topics in current free speech debates – immigration, religion and culture. Drawing on population-representative survey data, media analysis and in-depth interviews, the authors paint a broad picture of how boundaries of free speech are defined and maintained, experienced and challenged, in the rapidly changing Norwegian public sphere. The analyses in this book build on four years of work on a large-scale project called The Status of Freedom of Speech in Norway, funded and initiated by the Fritt Ord foundation. The book presents the key findings of the second round of this project.

• Figenschou, Tine Ustad; Karlsen, Rune; Kolltveit, Kristoffer & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2017). Serving the Media Ministers: A Mixed Methods Study on the Personalization of Ministerial Communication. The International Journal of Press/Politics. 22(4), s. 411–430. doi: 10.1177/1940161217720772. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  The personalization of politics has received much attention in both the political science and political communication literature, but the focus has almost entirely been on party leaders and prime ministers. This study investigates the personalization of ministerial communication in Norway, a type of decentralized personalization. It combines a survey of communication workers; in-depth interviews with politicians, communication workers, political reporters, and top-level civil servants; and ethnographic observation inside a ministry. The article goes beyond media-centered perspectives and identifies several potential drivers and barriers to personalization processes. Based on our mixed methods approach, we find that ministerial communication in Norway is strongly centered on the minister in both reactive media management and the proactive promotion of the minister and new policies. This decentralized personalization is driven by both demands from the media and the strategic adaptation by political and administrative actors within ministries. Based on the rich empirically grounded insights, the article discusses how the interplay between the logic of the contemporary commercial news media, political ambitions, internal administrative ambitions, and changes in executive government shapes the personalization of ministerial communication, and illuminates how these multiple drivers of personalization are mutually reinforcing.

• Moe, Hallvard; Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti & Fladmoe, Audun (2017). Perceptions of journalistic bias: Party preferences, media trust and attitudes towards immigration. I Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (Red.), Boundary Struggles : Contestations of Free Speech in the Norwegian Public Sphere. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. s. 109–137. Vis sammendrag

  Freedom of speech is a fundamental human right and a core value in liberal democracies. It is also, however, one of our time’s most contested issues, constantly claimed to be either too wide-ranging, at the peril of vulnerable minority groups, or too limited, restricting dissent and democratic deliberation. Employing a sociological lens on the dynamics of the public sphere, this book investigates how the boundaries of free speech are contested and negotiated through social processes which silence certain groups and opinions while amplifying others. The book focuses on key topics in current free speech debates – immigration, religion and culture. Drawing on population-representative survey data, media analysis and in-depth interviews, the authors paint a broad picture of how boundaries of free speech are defined and maintained, experienced and challenged, in the rapidly changing Norwegian public sphere. The analyses in this book build on four years of work on a large-scale project called The Status of Freedom of Speech in Norway, funded and initiated by the Fritt Ord foundation. The book presents the key findings of the second round of this project.

• Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2017). Boundary-making in the public sphere: Contestations of free speech. I Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (Red.), Boundary Struggles : Contestations of Free Speech in the Norwegian Public Sphere. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. s. 13–43. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Freedom of speech is a fundamental human right and a core value in liberal democracies. It is also, however, one of our time’s most contested issues, constantly claimed to be either too wide-ranging, at the peril of vulnerable minority groups, or too limited, restricting dissent and democratic deliberation. Employing a sociological lens on the dynamics of the public sphere, this book investigates how the boundaries of free speech are contested and negotiated through social processes which silence certain groups and opinions while amplifying others. The book focuses on key topics in current free speech debates – immigration, religion and culture. Drawing on population-representative survey data, media analysis and in-depth interviews, the authors paint a broad picture of how boundaries of free speech are defined and maintained, experienced and challenged, in the rapidly changing Norwegian public sphere. The analyses in this book build on four years of work on a large-scale project called The Status of Freedom of Speech in Norway, funded and initiated by the Fritt Ord foundation. The book presents the key findings of the second round of this project.

• Figenschou, Tine Ustad & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2016). Disruptive Media Events : Managing mediated dissent in the aftermath of terror. Journalism Practice. 11(8), s. 942–959. doi: 10.1080/17512786.2016.1220258. Vis sammendrag

  Terror attacks force democratic societies to mobilize, reinforce and rethink core values, including media freedom and freedom of speech. The present article analyzes how one traumatic event— the 2011 Oslo terror—challenged editorial practices related to editorial control and open debate in major Norwegian media organizations. Meeting the call for more research on disruptive media events in a hybrid media landscape, it illuminates how professional media balance critical debate with strategies for societal recovery in contemporary post-crisis contexts. Based on in- depth interviews with debate editors, the article documents how terror profoundly challenges edi- torial practices, routines and norms in media organizations with debates in multiple formats and platforms. In their online comment sections, the media organizations all moved towards a more interventionist policy introducing multiple new control measures. In the traditional op-ed formats, however, they selectively expanded the range of voices and included actors deemed too extreme prior to the attacks. Theoretically the article contributes to the literature on disruptive (key) events, editorial strategies during crisis, editorial control in contemporary media systems and editorial approaches to mediated deviance.

• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti & Figenschou, Tine Ustad (2016). Do marginalized sources matter?: A comparative analysis of irregular migrant voice in Western media. Journalism Studies. 17(3), s. 337–355. doi: 10.1080/1461670X.2014.987549.
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2015). Byråkrati, medier og kommunikasjon. I Ihlen, Øyvind; Skogerbø, Eli & Allern, Sigurd (Red.), Makt, medier og politikk: Norsk politisk kommunikasjon. Universitetsforlaget. s. 147–158.
• Figenschou, Tine Ustad & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2015). Myndighetspropaganda eller demokratisk arena: Irregulær migrasjon i norske nyhetsmedier, Eksepsjonell velferd? Irregulære migranter i det norske velferdssamfunnet. Gyldendal Juridisk. s. 110–127.
• Figenschou, Tine Ustad & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2015). Backstage media-government negotiations: The failures and success of a government pitch. International Journal of Communication. 9, s. 1947–1965.
• Figenschou, Tine Ustad; Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti & Larsen, Anna M. Grøndahl (2015). Mediatized Asylum Conflicts: Human-Interest Framing and Common-Sense Public Morality. I Eskjær, Mikkel Fugl; Hjarvard, Stig & Mortensen, Mette (Red.), The Dynamics of Mediatized Conflicts. Peter Lang Publishing Group. s. 129–145.
• Figenschou, Tine Ustad & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2015). Faces of an Invisible Population: Human Interest Framing of Irregular Immigration News in the United States, France, and Norway. American Behavioral Scientist. 59(7), s. 783–801. doi: 10.1177/0002764215573256. Vis sammendrag

  Based on a quantitative, comparative analysis of U.S., French, and Norwegian news media, this article examines the use of human interest stories in the coverage of irregular immigration. In an innovative design, it systematically analyzes how human interest framing is related to the frequency and complexity of dominant arguments and perspectives (issue-specific frames). In contrast to the extant literature, arguing that news on immigration reduces immigrants to dangerous and anonymous threats, the article finds that about half the news stories studied have a human face or example. Moreover, these human interest articles tend to frame the issue from the immigrants’ perspective, describing their personal stories and struggle. This result nuances the commonly held assumption that human interest frames signal declining news quality, as the number and range of arguments presented are not significantly reduced when human narratives are employed. The prevalence of human interest frames is highest in Norway, where we also identify a reduction in frame complexity in human interest stories, indicating the need to rethink the democratic corporatist model in media system theory.

• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2015). Mediatization of public bureaucracies: Administrative versus political loyalty. Scandinavian Political Studies. 38(2), s. 179–197. doi: 10.1111/1467-9477.12041.
• Figenschou, Tine Ustad; Beyer, Audun & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2015). The moral police : agenda-setting and framing effects of a new(s) concept of immigration. Nordicom Review. 36(1), s. 65–78. Vis sammendrag

  How does the general public understand media coverage of immigration issues? The present article analyses the media effects of an extensive news series focusing on the harassment of people believed to disrespect traditional Muslim norms. Through an explorative survey study, it traces how Norwegian media launched and covered what was labeled "the moral police" phenomenon, and to what extent the media framing of the issue had an agenda- setting and/or frame-setting effect on the public. It finds that, although most respondents had become aware of the issue through the media, they did not necessarily adopt the media’s framing of the phenomenon. The respondents did not primarily relate the "moral police" to immigration (the dominant media frame), they understood the new phenomenon through experiences from their own lives and framed it as a general social problem.

• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti; Figenschou, Tine Ustad & Ihlen, Øyvind (2014). Mediatization in public bureaucracies: A typology. Communications. 39(1), s. 3–22. doi: 10.1515/commun-2014-0002.
• Ihlen, Øyvind; Figenschou, Tine Ustad & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2014). Mediatization in new areas: The changed role of public bureaucracies. I Pallas, Josef; Jonsson, Stefan & Strannegård, Lars (Red.), Organizations and the media: Organizing in a mediatized world. Routledge. s. 162–175. doi: 10.1515/commun-2014-0002.
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti; Figenschou, Tine Ustad & Ihlen, Øyvind (2014). Mediatization of public bureaucracies. I Lundby, Knut (Red.), Mediatization of communication. De Gruyter Mouton. s. 405–422. doi: 10.1515/9783110272215.405.
• Ihlen, Øyvind & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2014). Tears and Framing Contests: Public Organizations Countering Critical and Emotional Stories. International Journal of Strategic Communication. 8(1), s. 45–60. doi: 10.1080/1553118X.2013.850695.
• Ihlen, Øyvind & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2014). Making news and influencing decisions: Three threshold cases concerning forced return of immigrants. European Journal of Communication. 29(2), s. 139–152. doi: 10.1177/0267323114523149.

Se alle arbeider i Cristin

• Mangset, Marte; Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2022). Ytringsfrihet i en ny offentlighet : Grensene for debatt og rommet for kunnskap. Universitetsforlaget. 238 s.
• Moe, Hallvard; Hovden, Jan Fredrik; Ytre-Arne, Brita; Figenschou, Tine Ustad; Nærland, Torgeir Uberg & Sakariassen, Hilde [Vis alle 7 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2019). Informerte borgere? Offentlig tilknytning, mediebruk og demokrati. Universitetsforlaget. 236 s. Vis sammendrag

  En informert borger er ikke nødvendigvis en god borger for demokratiet. Det viktigste er at alle har en «offentlig tilknytning», en orientering mot samfunnet som danner grunnlag for engasjement og handling når det trengs. Denne boka røsker opp i inngrodde forestillinger om hva en god borger er, og presenterer ny innsikt om situasjonen i Norge i dag. I et demokrati må borgerne orientere seg mot og engasjere seg i samfunnet. Dette grunnleggende kravet gjennomsyrer vår samfunnsform, det preger politiske diskusjoner og styrer innretningen av norsk mediepolitikk, og det er sentralt i grunnlovens paragraf om ytringsfrihet. Hva bør en slik samfunnsorientering innebære? Og hvordan arter den seg i forskjellige folks hverdagsliv? Hvor viktig er eksempelvis bruk av nyhetsmedier sammenlignet med andre veier til offentligheten. Forfatterne av denne boka argumenterer for at norske borgeres «offentlige tilknytning» handler om å orientere seg mot helt ulike området og ta i bruk mange ulike veier til offentligheten. De viser hvordan det norske folk på tvers av alder, interesser og sosiokulturell bakgrunn orienterer seg mot samfunnet de er en del av. Slik gir Informerte borgere? Offentlig tilknytning, mediebruk og demokrati et nyansert bilde av hva det vil si å ha en solid forbindelse til offentligheten og oppleve å være en del av samfunnet - og hva det vil si å ikke ha en sterk offentlig tilknytning.

• Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2017). Boundary Struggles : Contestations of Free Speech in the Norwegian Public Sphere. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. 323 s. Vis sammendrag

  Freedom of speech is a fundamental human right and a core value in liberal democracies. It is also, however, one of our time’s most contested issues, constantly claimed to be either too wide-ranging, at the peril of vulnerable minority groups, or too limited, restricting dissent and democratic deliberation. Employing a sociological lens on the dynamics of the public sphere, this book investigates how the boundaries of free speech are contested and negotiated through social processes which silence certain groups and opinions while amplifying others. The book focuses on key topics in current free speech debates – immigration, religion and culture. Drawing on population-representative survey data, media analysis and in-depth interviews, the authors paint a broad picture of how boundaries of free speech are defined and maintained, experienced and challenged, in the rapidly changing Norwegian public sphere. The analyses in this book build on four years of work on a large-scale project called The Status of Freedom of Speech in Norway, funded and initiated by the Fritt Ord foundation. The book presents the key findings of the second round of this project.

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• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti & Figenschou, Tine Ustad (2021). Helse, medier og makt: Kommunikasjonsregimer i mediene. Institutt for samfunnsforskning. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Mangset, Marte; Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen; Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti; Wollebæk, Dag & Fladmoe, Audun (2021). Forskerne og offentligheten – om ytringsfrihet i akademia. Fritt ord. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Fladmoe, Audun; Wollebæk, Dag; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2021). Hva mener befolkningen om ytringsfrihetens grenser? Fritt ord. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Nadim, Marjan; Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti & Fladmoe, Audun (2021). Gråsoner og grenseoverskridelser på nettet: En studie av deltagere i opphetede og aggressive nettdebatter. Institutt for samfunnsforskning. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Figenschou, Tine Ustad; Larsen, Anna M. Grøndahl & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2018). Lokal helse og omsorg i mediene: Mediepåvirkning på nært hold. Institutt for samfunnsforskning. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Denne rapporten belyser hvordan medienes vinklinger og formater påvirker lokal helsedebatt og helsepolitikk. Den diskuterer særlig hvordan ulike kilder og strategiske aktører aktivt søker å prege mediedekningen for å endre beslutninger i enkeltsaker og overordnede prioriteringer i kommunale helse- og omsorgstjenester. Gjennom dybdeanalyser av tre caser som alle omhandler kommunale helse- og omsorgstilbud, viser vi hvordan medieoppslag med lokalt utgangspunkt setter dagsorden for lokale helsemyndigheter, men også løftes opp på den nasjonale politiske dagsorden.

• Syse, Henrik; Ezzati, Rojan; Erdal, Marta Bivand; Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti; Figenschou, Tine Ustad & Kaufmann, Mareile [Vis alle 8 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2017). Negotiating Values: Norway in the wake of July 22. Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO).
• Beyer, Audun; Brekke, Jan-Paul & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2017). Communicating borders : informing migrants and potential asylum seekers through social media. Institutt for samfunnsforskning. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Informing migrants and potential asylum seekers through social media Summary How do Norwegian immigration authorities use social media in their communication with migrants with Norway as destination? In this study, we analyze the Norwegian Facebook campaign titled “Stricter asylum regulations in Norway.” The campaign was launched by the Ministry of Justice and Public Security in a period when asylum arrivals to Norway peaked in the fall of 2015. In addition to the Norwegian campaign, we examine similar internet based information campaigns in a range of other European countries. The study demonstrates that the social media campaign allowed Norwegian authorities to reach migrants that they would not have reached through conventional means of information. This was accomplished through the use of paid content on Facebook, and the targeting of specific groups who received the information from the Norwegian Government in their personal Facebook feed. The study of similar European and international campaigns confirmed that strategic government communication with migrants through social media is still in an experimental phase. The analysis of the Norwegian campaign demonstrates the need for a set of general guidelines for government communication on social media. The report also notes that we have limited knowledge about the effects of these campaigns. Further research should study how migrants perceive this information and how it influences their decision to migrate. Government communication on social media raises questions related to transparency, communication format and rhetoric, norms of dialogue and target group identification. When communicating with migrants in potentially vulnerable situations, these are questions that clearly needs focus.

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• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2022). Ny studie av jeg mot meg reality dramaturgien ivaretar ikke de mest sårbare. Morgenbladet.
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2022). Nå møter jeg mine egne forskningsfunn i døra. Morgenbladet.
• Mangset, Marte; Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen; Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti & Fladmoe, Audun (2022). Forskere som jobber med kontroversielle temaer, er ikke representative. Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.). Vis sammendrag

  Professorene Sven G. Holtsmark og Torunn Laugen Haaland ved Forsvarets høgskole retter i en kronikk i Aftenposten 18. april kritikk mot Kierulf-utvalgets utredning om akademisk ytringsfrihet. De kritiserer også grunnlaget for vår rapport «Forskerne og offentligheten – om ytringsfrihet i akademia» som bygger på en spørreundersøkelse blant norske forskere. Rapporten gir ny empirisk kunnskap og har begrensninger det er viktig å få frem. At vi ikke tar høyde for «systematiske skjevheter» stemmer imidlertid ikke.

• Mangset, Marte; Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2022). Hvor fri er kunnskapen? Khrono.no. Vis sammendrag

  Debatter om ytringsfriheten i akademia har preget universitets- og høgskolesektoren de siste årene. Fram til nå har vi imidlertid hatt svært begrenset kunnskap om hvordan norske forskere, og særlig de som forsker på betente politiske temaer, opplever ytringsrommet både i og utenfor akademia. I et nylig avsluttet forskningsprosjekt har vi undersøkt spørsmål om ytringsfrihet, rom for perspektivmangfold og vilje til formidling blant norske forskere. Her er våre hovedkonklusjoner.

• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti; Nadim, Marjan & Fladmoe, Audun (2021). Vi har forsket på deltagerne i harde nettdebatter. De har én ting felles. Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.).
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2021). Hva blir senvirkningene når mediene slår covid-19 alarm? Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.).
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti; Lånkan, Kjersti & Ytreberg, Espen (2021). Åpenhetens pris. VG : Verdens gang.
• Hallin, Daniel C; Figenschou, Tine Ustad & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2021). Consumer, Client or Citizen? Human-Interest Stories in Health Journalism Across Norway, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S.
• Fredheim, Nanna Alida Grit; Figenschou, Tine Ustad & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2021). Sterke interesser står ofte bak følelsesladde historier om sykdom. Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.).
• Haugsgjerd, Atle & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2021). Innspill til debatten om strukturell rasisme: potensial, utfordringer og kritikk. Tidsskrift for samfunnsforskning. 62(1), s. 78–79. doi: 10.18261/issn.1504-291X-2021-01-04.
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2020). De unge blir syndebukker under pandemien. Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.).
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2020). Er journalister nyttige idioter for særinteresser? Medierevisjonen. Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.).
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2020). Den digitale informasjonsflyten er kanskje vårt beste våpen i kampen mot korona. Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.).
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2020). Nordmenn er verdens mest tillitsfulle. Unntaket er tilliten til pressen. Medierevisjonen. Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.).
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2020). Hva skal vi med Faktisk.no? Medierevisjonen. Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.).
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2020). Alle burde leste Haddy Njies bok. Morgenbladet.
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2020). Når pressen nå reflekterer over egen kildebruk, er den en seier for Sofie. Morgenbladet.
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2020). Sosiale medier er både selvsensur og hatske yringer. Morgenbladet.
• Haugsgjerd, Atle; Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2020). Ulikhet og ideologi: Hva kan norsk samfunnsforskning lære av Piketty? Tidsskrift for samfunnsforskning. 61(4). doi: 10.18261/issn.1504-291X-2020-04-04. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Med utgivelsen av Capital in the Twenty-First Century i 2013, satte Thomas Piketty ulikhet på dagsordenen med en kraft som er få akademiske utgivelser forunt. Forskere, allment samfunnsinteresserte så vel som politikere, lærte om hvordan den økonomiske ulikheten i mange land har skutt i været de siste 30–40 årene til fordel for en svært liten minoritet av superrike. I sin siste bokutgivelse – Capital and Ideology fra 2019 – tar Piketty opp igjen tråden fra 2013-utgivelsen. Denne gangen utvider han perspektivet til de politiske og ideologiske strukturene som skaper og reproduserer ulikhet.Pikettys flerfaglige tilnærming til studiet av ulikhet – i kombinasjon med hans betydning for det akademiske og offentlige ordskiftet – gjør det naturlig for oss i TfS-redaksjonen å invitere til et symposium om hans siste bokutgivelse. I dette nummeret har vi derfor invitert tre nestorer innenfor norsk samfunnsforskning, statsviteren Øyvind Østerud, sosiologen Marianne Norli Hansen og samfunnsøkonomen Kalle Moene, til å reflektere rundt hva deres fag kan lære av Pikettys siste bok.

• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2019). Er pressen en brikke eller en aktor i maktkampen i arbeiderpartiet? Morgenbladet.
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2019). VG-rapporten er mest avslørende når det gjelder hva den ikke tar opp. Morgenbladet.
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2019). Når innvandrerkvinnene trer ut av skyggene, brister en demning. Morgenbladet.
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2019). De trauste etatenes klikkjegere forleder oss. Morgenbladet.
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2019). Informasjonsstrukturen i den norske valgkampen legger ikke til rette for meningsfull formidling. Morgenbladet.
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2019). Mediatisering og implisitt normativitet i innvandringsforskningen. Tidsskrift for samfunnsforskning. doi: 10.1177/1940161220960415.
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2019). Mediatization and implisit normativity in the study of immigration. Tidsskrift for samfunnsforskning. 60(1), s. 84–87. doi: 10.18261/issn.1504-291X-2019-01-07.
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2019). Informasjonsstrukturen i den norske valgkampen legger ikke til rette for meningsfull formidling. [Avis]. Morgenbladet.
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2019). Tilliten til den politiske journalistikken under press.
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2019). Sykdom og helse i mediene.
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2019). The Human Interest Economy: Making media cases out of patients.
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti & Figenschou, Tine Ustad (2019). Alarmed citizens: Immigration, mistrust and alternative media.
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2019). Mediatisering og implisitt normativitet i innvandringsforskningen. Tidsskrift for samfunnsforskning. 60(1), s. 84–87. doi: 10.18261/issn.1504-291X-2019-01-07.
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2018). Da den politiske journalistikken møtte #metoo. Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.).
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2018). Er politisk konformitet blant samfunnsforskere et problem? Morgenbladet.
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2018). Samfunnsforskere er ikke interessert i den norske minoritetens erfaringer. Morgenbladet.
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2018). Personlig sykdom er gull verdt for mediene. Morgenbladet.
• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2018). Personlig sykdom er gull verdt for mediene. [Avis]. Morgenbladet.
• Figenschou, Tine Ustad; Fredheim, Nanna Alida; Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti & Ytreberg, Espen (2018). The use of digital and mainstream media lobbying health interests.
• Moe, Hallvard & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2017). Høyresiden har størst mistillit til journalistikken. Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.).
• Figenschou, Tine Ustad & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2017). Social bureucracies? Government communication beyond the news logic.
• Figenschou, Tine Ustad; Karlsen, Rune; Kolltveit, Kristoffer & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2017). Media influence on bureaucratic decision-making: Evidence from Norway and the Netherlands.
• Figenschou, Tine Ustad & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2017). Dual Personalization: Government communication in an emotional media landscape.
• Figenschou, Tine Ustad & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2017). Helsebyråkratiets bevisste bruk av media.
• Figenschou, Tine Ustad & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2017). Sosialt byråkrati?
• Midtbøen, Arnfinn Haagensen; Steen-Johnsen, Kari & Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2017). Utstøting og selvsensur truer ytringsfriheten i Norge. Aftenposten (morgenutg. : trykt utg.). Vis sammendrag

  En fungerende offentlighet er sannhetssøkende, bygger på utveksling av rasjonelle argumenter og er åpen for kritisk meningsbrytning. Men fungerer offentligheten slik i praksis, eller bidrar trusler, stigmatisering og selvsensur til en fattigere felles offentlighet, der bestemte grupper og synspunkter forsvinner? Etter over fire års empirisk arbeid i prosjektet Status for ytringsfriheten i Norge er vår konklusjon at den norske offentligheten ikke lever opp til slike idealer. Utstøting og selvsensur er to sentrale mekanismer som regulerer hvem som deltar og hva som ytres i norsk offentlighet.

• Thorbjørnsrud, Kjersti (2015). Framing Irregular Immigration in Western Media. American Behavioral Scientist. 59(7), s. 771–782. doi: 10.1177/0002764215573255.

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