Alternative Pathways to Journalism and Inclusive Spaces for Marginalised Voices

Sweden is a post-migrant society; however, this diversity is not reflected in the Swedish media (Frigyes, 2021). In recent years, anti-immigrant sentiment has increased in Sweden, and as a result, public discourse on immigration has become much harsher (Ekman & Krzyżanowski, 2021). The ethnically diverse suburbs of Sweden’s largest cities and the youth residing therein have become symbols of failed integration in the public debate (Sernhede et al., 2019). One of these suburbs, Alby, is home to the Fanzingo media house. They work with marginalised youth to diversify the media and improve their representation. The objective of this paper is to explore how Fanzingo gives voice to marginalised youth in their quest to diversify Swedish media. This is achieved by conducting 12 semi-structured interviews with individuals involved in Fanzingo’s project Young Correspondents and developing and applying the initiate, cultivate, amplify model (ICA-model) and the theoretical concepts of “voice” and “listening”. The paper argues that listening is imperative to the production and dissemination process of participatory media. It also concludes that the financial situation is a major obstacle for organisations like Fanzingo, and that although collaborations with mainstream media provide the marginalised youth with networks and connections, conflicting journalistic ideals and unequal power relations risk preventing collaborations from becoming true and equal partnerships.