ABSTRACT
Current debate on the normative role of journalism against the upsurge of authoritarian populism necessarily involves a discussion of the moral work of journalism. This is often displayed and materializes in the reporting practices applied in news coverage of scandalous talk by authoritarian populist politicians. Using qualitative discourse-analysis, we focus on a set of cases of journalistic framing of far-right populist talk circulating in Sweden, Greece, and France in recent years and examine the ways in which anti-democratic or racist talk is represented within print, online, and broadcast news. We show how the complex dynamics of different types of framing authoritarian provocations construct boundaries between right and wrong and contribute to processes of normalization of populist discourses and agendas. Finally, we call attention to the challenge that this poses for contemporary journalism both within public service and commercial outlets, as reporting on authoritarian populism involves a balancing act between disparate constraints and exigencies of journalism.
