At the Crossroads of Ethnicity, Place and Identity: Representations of Northern People and Regions in Finnish News Discourse

Abstract

Public representations are part of the construction of identities. In this article, we focus on how news representations of the Finnish North contribute to the construction of identities of northern people and regions. We pay particular attention to two ethnic groups living there, the Sami and the Finns, as well as to the positioning of the North versus the South. In addition to looking at how the northern people and regions are represented in the Finnish national and regional press, we are also interested in examining how news discourse on ethnic and regional issues succeeds in bringing different voices and opinions into dialogue. By relating the questions of identity construction to the news representations and public discussion our goal is to explore how Finnish newspapers realize their potential as a site for public participation with regard to northern identities.