Mediebruk og medietillit

Abstract

To evaluate issues and party positions in the Sámi parliamentary elections, voters are dependent on information about political alternatives. Based on The 2017 Sámi Parliamentary Election Study, this chapter examines Sámi voters’ use of various information sources, how this use has changed over time, conditions that explain differences in use between voter groups, and whether voters have confidence in these information sources. An important finding is that the position of traditional news media has deteriorated between 2009 and 2017, while social arenas and social media’s position are increasing. This may indicate that the conditions for a joint Sámi public sphere are being weakened. The development can, however, be labeled as a hybridization where the Sámi public sphere has become increasingly diverse. We do not have data to determine whether this development will have a positive or a negative effect on Sámi democracy. Another significant finding is that Sámi speakers perceive most information sources as more important than those with less knowledge of Sámi language do. This applies to both Sámi-language and Norwegian-language media. However, the pattern is different regarding trust, where those who have Sámi language skills tend to have lower trust in traditional Norwegian-language media, compared with those who have weaker Sámi language skills.