Constructing ‘dark’ celebrity: The case of Anders Breivik

Abstract

This article finds that there were differences in selected Norwegian and international media coverage of Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik following the 22 July 2011 killings in Oslo and Utøya Island. The Norwegian media coverage resembles Nossek’s notion of news media assuming a national-patriotic coverage after a domestic terror attack, whereas the international media coverage more closely adhered to Galtung and Ruge’s news value of ‘unambiguity’ with the portrayal of Breivik being consonant with the pre-image of him as an antagonist. As the traditional notions of fame and celebrity are conflating with infamy and the ‘dark celebrity’, it is argued that the ‘demonising’ frame employed by US and UK media in particular in the findings of this article contribute in elevating Anders Behring Breivik to celebrity status.