EFTER AVGÅNGEN

The aim of this study is to reflect the discussion about and the ethical reasoning surrounding difficult publicistic decisions. This is done on the basis of a study of the media event that occurred when the Swedish minister for employment, Sven Otto Littorin, resigned from his post in July 2010. A resignation surrounded by peculiar circumstances. Later on the resignation and the media event following it was dubbed ”the Littorin affaire”. The Littorin affaire pinpointed a number of ethical matters: What approach does one take when there is only one sole, anonymous source? How does one treat a person that refuses to give a comment? To which extent is someone a public person? Where do we draw the line between private and public? Overlaying it all is the question of differing between public interest and ”the public´s interest”. Our purpose was to examine how editors and other people in charge of publicistic decisions think about such questions and what the outcome might be.