| dc.description.abstract | This master thesis investigates how religion, broadly understood, is presented on two Instagram accounts managed by the NRK: the NRK Nyheter (@nrknyheter) and the NRK P3 (@nrkp3). On both accounts NRK creates content for a youth/young adult target group, but their content is presented in slightly different ways. NRK Nyheter presents photos, videos and text in accordance with the news genre with a focus on seriousness and actualization, while NRK P3 on the other hand is posting content more in accordance with entertainment with focus on humor and easy digestible topics.
To investigate my main question regarding how the NRK is presenting religion on Instagram I have worked on the basis of three research questions. First, I have analyzed the scope and frequency of content related to religion. Second, I have identified recurring topics related to religion in the two accounts, and finally, I have analyzed how religion is presented and formatted and how formatting options influence the presentation of religion on NRK’s Instagram accounts.
I have found that the format and the target group play a role in how NRK is presenting religion on Instagram. The fact that the format affects how the NRK profiles present religion entails that I have found some other tendencies than what researchers have pointed out in previous research on the field religion in media since religion on Instagram is yet to be further investigated. For instance, the conflict perspective is slightly toned down on Instagram in contrast to presentations of religion in more traditional media formats like newspapers or television. I have also observed tendencies in accordance with previous research: Christianity is largely presented within a Christian cultural heritage perspective. I have also pointed out that religion is presented in a positive way when a development or attitude within religious milieus corresponds to the liberal values of society at large. In addition, I have observed a pro-secular and religion-critical attitude in several of the posts, among other things in that religious people and religion in general sometimes are presented as ridiculous, criticizable, not scientifically credible or limited. | |
