The role of the Sámi media in democratic processes: The Arctic Railway in Yle Sápmi and NRK Sápmi

Abstract

This media research was prompted by the Arctic Railway construction project that is planned to run from the city of Roavvenjárga/Rovaniemi in Finland to the city of Kirkonjárga/Kirkenes by the Arctic Ocean in Northern Norway crossing the Sámi homeland, Sápmi. The purpose of the chapter is to examine the role of the Sámi media in serving democracy in Sámi society in Finland and Norway. We do that by investigating Yle Sápmi’s and NRK Sápmi’s news coverage of the Arctic Railway project from 2013 to 2020. Yle Sápmi and NRK Sápmi are both Sámi units of the national broadcasting companies Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) and Yleisradio (Yle).