Information Network: Sweden

Traditional Periodicals

1. Nordstjernan: This source is an online newspaper that provides news, updates, and other articles regarding Sweden in the English language. The organization started in New York City shortly after the Civil War in order to provide immigrants from the Swedish region with news on their old country; now, with their headquarters still in NYC, they have digitized their platform and have become one of the largest Swedish-news providers in English. The source is updated online frequently, and every week in print. The editor-in-chief and publisher is Ulf Barslund Martensson. I chose this source due to its abundance of source material, all that is provided in English. Their material ranges from research, to education, to emigration, to cultural elements such as food, travel, and the people. I think this source will provide me with good material due to its modern news updates, as well as its archives to look at older articles that were published in print. Although this source has many great materials, not all articles are free, so I could find myself limited in what I am able to actually access.

It can be accessed at https://www.nordstjernan.com/.

2. Expo: This source is an online magazine that was founded in 1995 by Stieg Larsson. It is based out of Stockholm Sweden, so it is a direct source from the home country. Although in Swedish, Google Translate does a good job translating Swedish to English, and the website also includes an “In English” option. Since it comes from Sweden, this is a wonderful source for people curious about Swedish news as it is not being looked at from a foreigner’s perspective. It is based around anti-racism, anti-hate, and other forms of discrimination; thus, the magazine does have a political agenda by criticizing the far-right, but makes this known and is fully aware of this perspective. Articles are uploaded onto the website, but Expo also issues four annual magazine issues.

It can be accessed at https://expo.se/.

3. Aftonbladet: As one of the largest newspapers in Sweden, Aftonbladet’s goal is to provide the Swedish people with the truth,  free from bias. The newspaper writes on local, national, and international affairs as well as affairs in the private sectors as well. The newspaper was founded in 1830 by Lars Johan Hierta, who was a pioneer in Sweden for freedom of the press. Aftonbladet prides itself on getting first-hand accounts, reliable sources, trustworthy journalists, and unbiased analysis. Besides governmental affairs, the newspaper also runs stories about culture, sports, family, wellbeing, and more. Since this source is one of the largest in Sweden and tends to be as unbiased as possible, it’s a wonderful source to get information on Sweden. One downside is the possibility of paywalls on some content.

It can be accessed at https://www.aftonbladet.se/.

4. Dagens Nyheter: This newspaper was founded in 1864 by Rudolf Wall. Since then, Dagens Nyheter has dedicated itself to providing news in and out of Sweden. Such topics range from international and national issues to culture, economics, and climate. It is updated every day, and you can read the new issues every day on the internet, through PDF, or in print. They also have an archive session that would be helpful in finding sources regarding past events and issues in Sweden. This is another source that comes with the issue of paywalls.

It can be accessed at https://www.dn.se/.

New Media

1. 1. Hej Sweden: This blog is one of the top blogs in Sweden for Swedish news and articles regarding affairs, culture, and travel in Sweden. The creator of this blog is Matthias Kamann, who lives in Sweden but is originally from Germany. This site is in Swedish but can be translated easily into English. It is updated frequently and has social media pages on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube (which I can use for other purposes). This source rounds out my information network because it is a personal blog; that is, these articles come straight from the people in Sweden, rather than the government or large corporations. While this is good to get more perspectives on Swedish affairs, I will need to be careful about what articles I look at to make sure the information is still credible.

It can be accessed at https://hejsweden.com/en/sweden-blog/.

2. The Newbie Guide to Sweden: This blog is dedicated to helping those new to Sweden adapt to a new country. I chose this blog because it allows readers to read into the daily lives of Swedish people. Although the style is laidback, it offers great insights into the culture, lifestyles, and society in Sweden. Since it’s just a blog, biases could very well be prevalent in some of these articles; however, these biases can be helpful and important when trying to find the bigger picture of Swedish life. Some topics are recycling, learning the Swedish language, university life, buying and renting a house, and what to do in Sweden.

It can be accessed at https://www.thenewbieguide.se/blog/.

3. Sweden’s Official Website: In order to understand a country, it’s important to understand how the government portrays itself, its people, its culture, its national and international standing, and its issues. One of the best ways to learn about this is directly through the government itself. The official website for Sweden (available in English) focuses a lot on Sweden’s history, journey, culture, and progressive stances on climate and technology. One thing I noticed is that the website tends to focus on positive things, as I rarely ran across something negative.

It can be accessed at https://sweden.se/.

Social Media

1. 1. Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs Facebook Page: According to Media Landscapes (a site that tracks popular websites, sources, social media, and other media across different countries: https://medialandscapes.org/country/sweden/media/social-networks), Facebook is the most common social media source in Sweden; thus, I decided to look into Swedish Facebook pages as I believe this would lead me to the most useful sources for my information network. Looking through the various pages, I landed on the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs page and believed this specific page gives a good insight on Sweden’s policies, actions, and stances on foreign affairs. Although this page doesn’t solely focus on matters in domestic Sweden, I think looking into Sweden’s actions on a global scale is important in understanding the political, economic, and social climate in Sweden. This is a governmental-controlled website, so I understand the perspective is in the government’s best interest. This page is in English and the site is updated nearly every day.

It can be accessed at https://www.facebook.com/SweMFA.

2. The Local Sweden Twitter Page: The Local is an online news source about Swedish news, issues, topics, and culture. This Twitter page, however, allows users to quickly scroll through topics as they are tweeted rather than navigating its website. As a Twitter user, you can also turn on notifications for this account, so when a new article is posted you automatically see it rather than having to go to the website multiple times a day. One downside is that they do not post the entire article – you must go to the website to read it in full and some articles may be behind paywalls. However, you can still see the headlines and short blurbs they write about the article’s content, so you still have an idea of what may be going on.

It can be accessed at https://twitter.com/TheLocalSweden.

3. #Sweden on Twitter: Rather than using a direct account or website, sometimes it is best to simply search for information from a broad range of individuals and groups that aren’t all tied together behind one singular source. By using the # function on Twitter, I can see any updates on events in Sweden posted by reporters, citizens, news sources, and more. This way I can see different biases and perspectives on the topics, and not have to be burdened by paywalls. This is a great way for someone to learn more about what the people really think about whatever is happening in a country, rather than just reading what the government or journalists have to say.

It can be accessed at https://twitter.com/hashtag/sweden.

Data Sources

1. 1. Statistics Sweden: This is the official data website for data on Sweden, and is produced and distributed from Sweden. The site is mostly free and has open data, as well as uses Creative Commons International as their copyright policy, so I am able to download and use the data provided. Data is published on weekdays at 8:00. Since this is official data, I can count on its accuracy and broad perspective of topics, such as science, technology, education, demography, and climate. It is government-controlled and they have English translations.

It can be accessed at https://www.scb.se/en/.

2. OECD Data Sweden: This website is a collection of data sources for various regions and countries. It is not uniquely Swedish but offers a separate page for data on Sweden. Data ranges from education, society and demographics, agriculture and climate to government, innovation and technology, and economy. The data is open access, so I am able to download the datasets and use them in various ways. One downside to this source is the variability of data; meaning, the data provided covers basic topics, but nothing too in-depth.

It can be accessed at https://data.oecd.org/sweden.htm#profile-innovationandtechnology.

3. Sweden National Data Service (SND): This source is directly from Sweden (but available in the English language). It is mainly run by a group of universities and research groups and individuals. SND’s goal is to make open data accessible to the public and create a national infrastructure that promotes open data. Since this is a Swedish data source and backed by reputable universities, I can have more trust in its validity and reliability.

It can be accessed at https://snd.gu.se/en.

Visual/Audio-based Sources

1. 1. Sveriges Radio: This public radio service company, based out of Stockholm, is the largest radio company in Sweden and has many channels offered with various specifications. Topics range from domestic and international news, to culture, music, and other affairs. According to their website, they have approximately 7 million listeners every week. Due to its large audience and connections, this is a good source of information. It seems to have a neutral perspective, so it’s a good source for unbiased information. The two channels that would be most useful to me are P1 and P4, as these focus on international and domestic news and affairs. The website is easily translated into English from Swedish, but they also have some information and news published in the English language.

It can be accessed at https://sverigesradio.se/.

2. TV4: This Sweden-based TV network is free for those living in Sweden and is one of the most popular channels in Sweden. Their programs include international and national news as well as fictional TV series and reality TV series. This website is good for daily updates about current events in Sweden as well as learning more about what genres of entertainment are popular in Sweden. However, English translations on many of the news updates are not available, and an account is needed to access most things.

It can be accessed at https://www.tv4.se/.

3. Sweden’s Official YouTube Channel: This channel is government-ran and the “official” channel for Sweden on YouTube, managed by the Swedish Institute. The content on this channel is wide-ranging. There are videos on history, culture, news, climate, equality, and personal stories from individuals in Sweden. Despite being the Swedish government’s channel, most of the videos are in English; any in Swedish come with English subtitles. One downside of this is that the content is from the government, so biases will be present. I think this source is helpful because it allows audiences to learn more about Sweden in quick, fun, interactive ways by watching these short videos.

It can be accessed at https://www.youtube.com/c/sweden/videos.

Additional

1. 1. Fokus: This website is an online news magazine that provides readers with “independent” news on culture, news, affairs, and other topics in Sweden and around the world. They claim to be independent, as in basing their articles on analysis and facts, rather than just opinion, so most of their sources are bias-free and without an agenda. It is based in Sweden and is in Swedish, but can be translated to English easily. It is one of the most popular and critically-acclaimed magazines in Sweden, so I trust its sources to be credible, accurate, and well-rounded in topics and issues. Their main columnists are: Johan Hakelius ,  Anna Björklund ,  Nalin Pekgul ,  David Eberhard , Nils Erik Forsgård , Alice Teodorescu Måwe , Susanna Popova , Sofie Löwenmark, Daniel Suhonen, Fredrik Sjöberg, Pieter Tham, Peter Esaiasson, Thomas Gür, Markus Kallifatides, Helena Granström, Joel Halldorf, Nina Solomin and Mats Holm and the publisher is FPG Media AB. They update every week online and publish hard issues as well. Although the site is easy to navigate and has plenty of sources, some do come with a paywall, so I may be limited in what I can access.

It can be accessed at https://www.fokus.se/.

2. International Energy Agency (IAE): Sweden prides itself on its progressive stance on climate change, and so does the IAE. On IAE’s website, you can go through profiles of different countries to see IAE’s analysis of their climate policies and changes, as well as access data. This site would be helpful to anyone researching Sweden’s climate sector, or anyone trying to compare different countries’ initiatives and responses to the climate crisis. Since this is an independent organization, it is most likely unbiased in its analysis; however, it’s limited on a wide-range of information on Sweden, since it only focuses on energy in Sweden.

It can be accessed at https://www.iea.org/countries/sweden.

3. RI.SE: This website is Sweden’s official research institute. They partner with private and public sectors in Sweden as well as internationally. Their goal is to create a sustainable society as well as to promote innovation and development. They are independent and state-owned. Since it is a Swedish institute, reading their reports can allow audiences to see what issues are important in Sweden. Some of the most common topics regard the climate, chemicals, education, IT, transportation, and energy. This website is available in the English language.

It can be accessed at https://www.ri.se/en.

Process Notes

When I first started, I was a little lost on where to start, so I began with traditional periodical sources since I found those easiest to find. These I found quite easily simply looking them up. I could easily type in “Sweden newspaper” or “Sweden magazine” and sources would pop up; from there, I could look into the sites for credibility and the perspectives covered. Next, I tried looking at social media sites, where I was a little lost where to find them. That is when I found the source Media Landscapes, which helped me navigate the most popular social media sites, as well as the most popular radio companies and TV networks. Oftentimes, I was able to quickly find these sources and I think finding more in the future will come at ease. Additionally, all the pages could be easily translated to English, so I didn’t have difficulty looking into the source itself. Many sources even offered translations themselves (I didn’t have to use Google Translate), which I was very thankful for as it made my search easier. English is somewhat common in Sweden, and it is also a Western, developed country, so finding sources in the US and in English hasn’t been too difficult. I plan to search more into radio and TV to gain a more personal and local perspective and scroll through the online magazine and newspaper sources I have found to see common issues that are covered among these to try and find a topic for the final essay project. I am also planning to go through more of the databases provided by OSU’s libraries to find more sources that may not be as easily found by simply searching online.