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ST. PETERSBURG IN SWEDISH PRESS
Introduction
The Aim of the Investigation & the Questions at Issue
The aim of this study is to quantitatively demonstrate to what extent St. Petersburg figures in Swedish press.
The questions to be answered are:
In how many newspaper articles is St. Petersburg mentioned?
How many articles mainly treat the city of St. Petersburg?
How often is St. Petersburg mentioned compared to other cities?
The Method Used & Limitations of Scope
I have chosen to investigate the time period 2002 and 2003 up to September the 19th, with two newspapers as source, namely Dagens Nyheter («News of Today») and Svenska Dagbladet («The Swedish Daily Paper»).
The Sources
Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Dagbladet are Sweden’s two leading newspapers, and together constitute half of the four nationwide papers. Both papers are primarily sold to subscribers (the other two nationwide newspapers are evening papers, primarily bought by single-copy purchasers and considered dependent on sensational news bills).
St. Petersburg figured in Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Dagbladet
During 2002 and 2003 up to September 19th the city of St. Petersburg is mentioned on 245 occasions in Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Dagbladet, of those 101 occurring in Dagens Nyheter and 144 in Svenska Dagbladet.
Of those St. Petersburg is only but mentioned in 83 articles in Dagens Nyheter and 126 articles in Svenska Dagbladet. For example, in one article about a Swedish politician it is stated that that particular individual has studied Russian in St. Petersburg.
36 of the articles are primarily about the city and conditions there. These articles can be divided as follows:
Articles about St. Petersburg’s 300th anniversary, and in connection with that visits by President Vladimir Putin and President George W. Bush; 4 in Dagens Nyheter and no less than 10 in Svenska Dagbladet.
Articles about Swedish companies in St. Petersburg; 4 in Dagens Nyheter, but only 2 in Svenska Dagbladet.
Articles about the city of St. Petersburg; 3 in Dagens Nyheter, and 4 in Svenska Dagbladet.
News articles from St. Petersburg; 7 in Dagens Nyheter, and 2 in Svenska Dagbladet.
Newspaper Articles about Some Other Cities
As comparison, I have chosen to investigate how often other cities figures in the same papers during the same time frame. The cities chosen are: Moscow, Oslo, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Berlin, Brussels, London and New York.
The results are as follows
St. Petersburg 245
Moscow 1 335
Oslo 1 412
Helsinki 1 074
Copenhagen 1 753
Berlin 1 637
Brussels 1 412
London 4 068
New York 5 637[13]
Conclusions
Although St. Petersburg is located not far from Sweden and has played a major role in Sweden’s history, the city figures sparsely in Swedish press. Of 36 major newspaper articles about St. Petersburg occurring in Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Dagbladet during the past two years as many as 14 have treated the city’s 300th anniversary. This is of course a unique event, and hadn’t it taken place the press coverage of the city would have been even poorer.
That metropolises such as London – mentioned 4 068 times – and New York – mentioned 5 637 times – figures frequently in Swedish media is maybe not surprising. Moscow should reasonably have similar numbers, but are only mentioned in 1 335 articles. St. Petersburg, with its 245 articles, is far behind much smaller cities such as Oslo (1 412 articles) and Helsinki (1 074 articles).
Why don’t Swedish media show St. Petersburg, or Moscow for that matter, greater interest? I don’t have any definite answer, but have formulated two possible explanations during the course of my investigation. The primary reason, I think, has to do with traditions. During the whole time period 1919-1991 Sweden to the greatest extent has been turned towards the West. This is still reflected in people’s minds and interests today. Journalists and newspaper editors, I think, must be encouraged to visit St. Petersburg.
The second reason is probably uncertainty with new and unfamiliar conditions. Swedish journalists, and also tourists, are used to be able to manage with English on their travels abroad. Here Russia perhaps deters people from going there, not because of the actual conditions here but because of what people in Sweden imagines about Russia.
Finally, I would submit that there is a great need of increased knowledge about St. Petersburg, and Russia as a whole, in Sweden. But in the future the interests of the media are bound to change.
А.А. КАПУСТИН
(Пушкин)