PhD Defense in Sociology of Law: Oscar Björkenfeldt

Integrating socio-legal analysis and working life science, this compilation thesis aims to enhance the understanding of how the evolving digital landscape, particularly the rise of online harassment, influences journalism and its potential repercussions for fostering a healthy public discourse. Additionally, the thesis seeks to advance the field of socio-legal studies by examining the interplay between digital transformation, shifting norms, and the intersection of informal and formal social controls. Utilizing a triangulated mixed-method approach – comprising a survey, Twitter data mining, and interviews with media managers – the empirical focus is on exploring the interplay between perceptions of legal conditions, manifestations of online harassment, its consequences on journalists, and workplace dynamics in relation to increased external pressure on journalists and news organizations.

The first paper assesses journalists' perspectives on the legal framework's effectiveness against unlawful online harassment, identifying a gap in protection and underscoring the need for enhanced legal resources. However, the empirical data also reveal that online harassment frequently occurs within the realm of the work environment rather than being a matter solely for criminal law. The second paper, through a sociopragmatic lens, examines online harassment on Twitter (X), revealing strategies that merge impoliteness, moral discourse, and anti-press rhetoric to negatively influence journalists and challenge professional credibility while also highlighting the paradoxical use of freedom of speech to suppress journalistic expression. The third paper, informed by institutional theory, analyzes how Swedish news organizations manage the psychosocial effects of online harassment, noting a focus on physical safety over mental strain and the need for a more holistic approach to harassment management. The fourth paper synthesizes the three methods to explore self-censorship drivers, offering insights into how news organizations can better handle online harassment and self-censorship, particularly from a psychosocial work environment perspective.

Overall, this thesis emphasizes the challenges facing the legal system and news organizations in addressing systematic efforts to undermine journalism's autonomy through online harassment disguised as free speech. It shows that such disorientation is intertwined with the emergence of new communication norms and the absence of effective (formal and informal) mechanisms for fostering healthy public discourse. It demonstrates that efforts to safeguard these public values—journalists' free speech and, in turn, freedom of information—are largely misdirected, with a heavy focus on criminal law rather than on building a resilient work environment within journalism. Thus, the thesis cements online harassment as a work environment issue, illustrating the importance of acknowledging this problem at the intersection of digital transformation, working life, and democratic values.

External Reviewer

Professor Tuija Muhonen, Malmö University

Examining Committee

Professor Anna Lundberg, Lund University

Professor Bertil Rolandsson, University of Gothenburg

Associate Professor Agnieszka Kubal, University College London