Mid Sweden University

The reporting of the media will never be an exact copy of reality. Through medias way of presenting, or framing, the world that surround us all they must also affect our interpretation of it. The role of the journalist includes both chosing and excluding in the way they describe things. Studies have been made by the wellknown mediaresearcher, Kent Asp, that show how media reported in more negative wordings about Mona Sahlin, than her opponent Fredrik Reinfeldt in the period building up to the swedish elections 2010. The purpose of our study has been to compare how these politicians were being described, or framed, in the media, in regards to their gender.Our study has shown that Mona Sahlin more often than Fredrik Reinfeldt was described as being less knowledgeable, and were mentioned in the context of scandals or conflicts. Sahlin was also, more often than Reinfeldt, mentioned in articles where the subjects of healthcare, schooling and education, and equality between men and women. Where as Reinfeldt was, more often than Sahlin, mentioned in articles where the subjects were the labour market, economy and foreign politics.