Sotsiaalsete kihtide representatsioon Eesti Päevalehes 2002. ja 2006. aastal
Date
2008
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Tartu Ülikool
Abstract
Description
The main subject of this Bachelor’s thesis is the representation of social strata in Estonian
printed media. The aim of the thesis is to determine to what extent are different social
strata represented and through which characteristic is the representation expressed. In the
course of the research the author tried to find the answers to the following research
questions:
1) Which strata are represented in the printed media and which are not, and how are
the strata divided proportionally?
2) How are the strata represented and what are the characteristics of the strata?
3) Of which social groups do the strata consist of; also, to which stratum do
politicians, officials, cultural figures, and scholars place themselves?
4) Which strata are given/take the chance to speak in printed media?
5) What kind of changes have taken place in the composition of the strata comparing
the years 2002 and 2006; also, have certain groups moved from one stratum to the
other?
Based on the socio-economic development in Estonia during the last ten years, the years
2002 and 2006 were chosen for analysis. The empirical source materials consist of eight
paper editions of Eesti Päevaleht with the same dates from both years. Only the articles
concerning Estonia were analyzed using the elements of grounded theory, constructivist
direction and critical discourse analysis.
The articles are analyzed from two perspectives: 1) about whom (what strata) is the
article 2) to which strata do the authors place themselves. One of the most important
findings is that all the strata are represented in printed media whereby the dominant ones
are the upper stratum and the lower middle stratum. On the other hand, the upper stratum
and the upper middle stratum are most often given the right to express themselves in the
press; there are no lowest stratum authors. The most frequent characteristics of the upper
stratum (mainly politicians and the cultural intelligentsia) are public fame, power, the
right to decide, and financial security. The upper middle stratum (mainly employers and
entrepreneurs) are characterized by the possibility to access legislators, above average income, and following the standards of consumer society. The cross-section of the social
groups belonging to the lower middle stratum was diverse but the most frequent features
were limited material opportunities, the scarcity of social guarantees, and the feeling of
being cast aside. The characteristic evident in describing the lowest stratum was danger
or bad influence on the society, to its welfare and ‘normality’. Comparison of the results
of the analysis of 2002 and 2006 revealed no significant changes in the composition of
social groups within the strata.
Keywords
H Social Sciences (General), bakalaureusetööd