Alternative Media: the Life Support of Journalism in Turkey Examining Committee: Robert A

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Alternative Media: the Life Support of Journalism in Turkey Examining Committee: Robert A Alternative Media and Alternative Journalism: Theoretical Approaches -AND- Alternative Media: The Life Support of Journalism in Turkey by Pinar Gurleyen M.A., Galatasaray University, 2005 Extended Essays Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the School of Communication Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology © Pinar Gurleyen SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2017 Copyright in this work rests with the author. Please ensure that any reproduction or re-use is done in accordance with the relevant national copyright legislation. Approval Name: Pinar Gurleyen Degree: Master of Arts Title: Alternative Media and Alternative Journalism: Theoretical Approaches - and - Alternative Media: The Life Support of Journalism in Turkey Examining Committee: Robert A. Hackett Senior Supervisor Professor, School of Communication Shane Gunster Supervisor Associate Professor, School of Communication Date Defended/Approved: August 23, 2017 ii Ethics Statement iii Abstract Essay 1: “Alternative Media and Alternative Journalism: Theoretical Approaches” sets the theoretical framework of two interrelated essays that seek to understand the democratic significance of alternative journalism in Turkey. The essay first examines the process- and content-oriented approaches outlining how they define alternative media and conceptualize alternative media’s democratizing potentials. Next, the essay presents some of the characteristics of alternative journalism such as native reporting and inverting the hierarchy of access as well as discussions around journalistic objectivity and funding in relation to the process- and content-oriented approaches. The essay argues that while different theorizations enable us to understand the democratic significance of alternative media and alternative journalism, in practice, they should not be used as a definitive criterion due to the dynamic and context -bound nature of alternative media. Communities and social movements may prioritize or combine these approaches depending on their needs and goals. Keywords: Alternative media; alternative journalism; participatory media; critical-content Essay 2: “Alternative Media: The Life Support of Journalism in Turkey” applies the theories explored in the first essay to the Turkish context, focusing particularly on the period under the rule of the Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi (The Justice and Development Party- AKP) which came to power in 2002.The essay argues that in the absence of a functioning mainstream media in Turkey, alternative media and alternative journalism take on the watchdog and information roles which are attributed to mainstream media in liberal theories. Furthermore, they act as a rhizome for different dissident groups and change the epistemology of traditional journalism by broadening the definition of news, adopting news values that are more relevant for their audiences and changing the sourcing routines. Finally, they offer a suitable venue of collaboration between scholars and activists in order to develop a more dynamic and responsible form of journalism. Keywords: Alternative media in Turkey; press censorship, Turkish democracy iv Acknowledgements I would like to thank my senior supervisor Bob Hackett for his continual support and encouragement throughout my years at SFU. He has been the kind of supervisor every graduate student would dream of. I also thank Shane Gunster for his insights in this work as well as smoothing many difficult processes along the way. I am very grateful to all the staff in the School of Communication for creating a safe and friendly work environment. The long process of my education, not least represented by the following essays would not be possible without my parents. I am forever grateful for their love and generosity. Finally, I thank my husband Serbulent Turan and my daughter Daphne Yagmur Turan for being in my life and making everything more meaningful. v Table of Contents Approval ............................................................................................................................ ii Ethics Statement ............................................................................................................... iii Abstract ............................................................................................................................ iv Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... v Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. vi 1: Alternative Media and Alternative Journalism: Theoretical Approaches ........ 1 1.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................. 2 1.2. Contextualizing Alternative Media/Journalism ........................................................ 8 1.3. Process and Content Oriented Alternative Media Theorizations............................. 8 1.3.1. Process-oriented approaches to alternative media ......................................... 9 1.3.2. Limitations of process-oriented approaches ................................................. 11 1.3.3. How do process-oriented perspectives translate into alternative journalism? .. ...................................................................................................................... 13 Native Reporting ...................................................................................................... 14 Inverting the Hierarchy of Access ............................................................................ 15 1.4. Content-oriented approaches to alternative media ............................................... 15 1.4.1. How do content-oriented approaches translate into alternative journalism? . 18 Objectivity ................................................................................................................ 19 Funding .................................................................................................................... 23 1.5. Discussion and Conclusion ................................................................................... 26 1.6. References ............................................................................................................ 30 2: Alternative Media: The Life Support of Journalism in Turkey ........................ 36 2.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................... 37 2.2. Turkey and its Troubled Democracy ..................................................................... 38 2.2.1. Neoliberalism meets Islam ............................................................................ 42 2.2.2. The Kurds ...................................................................................................... 43 2.2.3. The Labour Movement .................................................................................. 46 2.2.4. Women .......................................................................................................... 47 2.3. Turkish Media: A Neo-Liberal Media Autocracy .................................................... 48 2.3.1. Structural Restrictions on the Media ............................................................. 48 2.3.2. Repressive Laws and Government Pressure ................................................ 51 2.4. Alternative Media in Turkey ................................................................................... 55 2.4.1. Brief History ................................................................................................... 56 2.5. Examples of More Recent Alternative Media Organizations: ................................ 66 2.5.1. Bianet: ........................................................................................................... 66 2.5.2. Acik Radyo (Open Radio) 94.9 ..................................................................... 68 2.5.3. Sendika Org (Trade union.org) ..................................................................... 69 2.5.4. Otekilerin Postasi (The Post of Others) ......................................................... 70 2.5.5. 140 Journos .................................................................................................. 72 2.5.6. Ucan Haber (Flying News) ............................................................................ 73 vi 2.5.7. Kaos GL News Portal .................................................................................... 74 2.5.8. AltUst (Bottom-Up) ........................................................................................ 76 2.5.9. Yesil Gazete (Green Newspaper): ................................................................ 77 2.6. Methodology and Alternative Media Practitioners’ Self-Assessments of their Work: .............................................................................................................................. 78 2.6.1. The epistemology of news (news values, objectivity, stance towards conventional journalism and relationship with the audience) ...................................... 79 2.6.2. The question of impact (participants’ self assessments about their contributions to the creation of counter-hegemonic/critical content and media and/or societal democratization) and the obstacles: ............................................................... 84 2.7. Conclusion ...........................................................................................................
Recommended publications
  • Dutchcu|Ture Photography in Turkey |
    Centre for international DutchCu|ture | cooperation Photography in Turkey Version 2019 | Written by Refik Akyuz Photography in Turkey Version 2019 In 2011, SICA (the predecessor of DutchCulture) Acknowledgements produced a comprehensive mapping of the Turkish Written by Refik Akyuz based on 2011 mapping by cultural field. This mapping was written by local Selin Yilmaz. experts and edited by Teike Asselbergs and Chantal Hamelinck. The mapping was produce as a means to Edited by Chantal Hamelinck and Teike Asselbergs. promote cultural exchange between the Netherlands Proofread by Natasha Hay. and Turkey and as a starting point of the year 2012, which marked 400 years of Dutch – Turkish diplo- Commissioned by DutchCulture, centre for matic relations. The mapping was supported and international cooperation. produced in close co-operation with the Dutch public funds. Supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands. An update of these mappings was commissioned in 2018 by DutchCulture while working with the same editors. The existing mappings were revised and several new mappings were added. The updated mappings are focusing more on giving Dutch cultu- ral practitioners an insight into the Turkish cultural field and its infrastructure, and helping them get in contact with colleagues. This mapping is supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands. Page 2 Photography in Turkey Contents Summary 4 Introduction 6 Short history 7 Main trends and topics 10 Popular 12 Audiences 13 Sub-disciplines 14 Documentary photography 14 Contemporary photography 15 Commercial photography 16 Professional Groups and Associations 17 Educational institutions 18 Non-professionals 19 Youth and Photography 20 Venues 21 Festivals and Events 23 Prizes and grants 24 Financial situation 26 Critics and researchers 27 (Social) Media and Photography 28 Publishers 29 Resources 30 Facilities 31 Page 3 Photography in Turkey | Summary Photography in Turkey has a long history.
    [Show full text]
  • On the Exhibition “Incidents of September 6‐7 on Their Fiftieth Anniversary” and the Attack on the Exhibition Balca Ergener
    On the Exhibition “Incidents of September 6‐7 on their Fiftieth Anniversary” and the Attack on the Exhibition Balca Ergener Narratives can make us understand. Photographs do something else: they haunt us. Susan Sontag, Regarding the Pain of Others On September 6‐7 1955, a large‐scale attack targeted Greek, Armenian and Jewish citizens of Turkey living in Istanbul.1 Approximately 100,000 people organized in coordinated gangs of twenty‐thirty committed acts of violence in neighbourhoods and districts where Istanbul’s non‐ Muslim population was mostly concentrated.2 Using various previously acQuired tools (i.e. stones, levers, logs, shovels, saws, welding machines) residences and shops were ruined and pillaged; their contents wrecked, thrown into the streets, trailed behind vehicles; and churches, community schools and cemeteries vandalized. The attacks comprised a key reason for the subseQuent large‐scale migration of non‐Muslims from Turkey, especially that of the Greek Orthodox community. On the same dates in İzmir, attacks targeted not only shops, homes and churches belonging to the Greek community, but also the Greek Consulate, and in Ankara mass student rallies supporting the attacks in İstanbul were organized. OnSeptember 6, 2005, an exhibition titled “Tümamiral Fahri Çoker’in Arşivinden: Ellinci Yılında 6‐ 7 Eylül Olayları” [From the Archives of Rear Admiral Fahri Çoker: the Events of September 6‐7 on their Fiftieth Anniversary] was organized at Karşı Sanat Çalışmaları in İstanbul.3 The exhibition showcased previously unreleased
    [Show full text]
  • Christians and Jews in Muslim Societies
    Arabic and its Alternatives Christians and Jews in Muslim Societies Editorial Board Phillip Ackerman-Lieberman (Vanderbilt University, Nashville, USA) Bernard Heyberger (EHESS, Paris, France) VOLUME 5 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/cjms Arabic and its Alternatives Religious Minorities and Their Languages in the Emerging Nation States of the Middle East (1920–1950) Edited by Heleen Murre-van den Berg Karène Sanchez Summerer Tijmen C. Baarda LEIDEN | BOSTON Cover illustration: Assyrian School of Mosul, 1920s–1930s; courtesy Dr. Robin Beth Shamuel, Iraq. This is an open access title distributed under the terms of the CC BY-NC 4.0 license, which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided no alterations are made and the original author(s) and source are credited. Further information and the complete license text can be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ The terms of the CC license apply only to the original material. The use of material from other sources (indicated by a reference) such as diagrams, illustrations, photos and text samples may require further permission from the respective copyright holder. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Murre-van den Berg, H. L. (Hendrika Lena), 1964– illustrator. | Sanchez-Summerer, Karene, editor. | Baarda, Tijmen C., editor. Title: Arabic and its alternatives : religious minorities and their languages in the emerging nation states of the Middle East (1920–1950) / edited by Heleen Murre-van den Berg, Karène Sanchez, Tijmen C. Baarda. Description: Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2020. | Series: Christians and Jews in Muslim societies, 2212–5523 ; vol.
    [Show full text]
  • The Struggle for Turkey's Internet
    A Freedom House Special Report Embargoed until 12:00 a.m. EDT / 7:00 a.m. EEDT on August 27, 2014 The Struggle for Turkey’s Internet Embargoed until 12:00 a.m. EDT / 7:00 a.m. EEDT on August 27, 2014 Executive Summary 3 May 2013 - July 2014: 5 Turkey’s Long Year of Content Restrictions Online Infrastructure and Independence: 8 Why Turkey’s Telecommunications Sector Is Not Keeping Pace with Demand Can Pomegranates Replace Penguins? Social Media and 13 the Rise of Citizen Journalism in Turkey Endnotes 17 About the Authors Nate Schenkkan is a Program Officer Osman Coşkunoğlu is a former Aslı Tunç is professor of for Freedom House covering Turkey professor of industrial engineering communications and head of the Media and Central Asia. He is a co-author of and member of Turkish Parliament School at Bilgi University in Istanbul, Freedom House’s February 2014 report from 2002-2011, during which time he Turkey. She is co-author of a recent book Democracy in Crisis: Corruption, Media, received several awards for his work on in Turkish, Blogdan Al Haberi, on the and Power in Turkey. technological issues in parliament. impact of political news blogs on the future of journalism. Acknowledgments This report was made possible by support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). Special thanks to Adrian Shahbaz, Gigi Alford, and Ilana Ullman of Freedom House for their comments and feedback. Cover image: Protesters in Ankara demonstrate against new controls on the Internet approved by Turkish parliament February 8, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas Embargoed until 12:00 a.m.
    [Show full text]
  • ATINER's Conference Paper Series MED2013-0516 the Problems
    ATINER CONFERENCE PAPER SERIES No: MED2013-0516 Athens Institute for Education and Research ATINER ATINER's Conference Paper Series MED2013-0516 The Problems of the Minority Media: Sample of the Greek Minority Media in Istanbul Mihalis Kuyucu Assistant Professor Faculty of Communications İstanbul Aydın University Turkey 1 ATINER CONFERENCE PAPER SERIES No: MED2013-0516 Athens Institute for Education and Research 8 Valaoritou Street, Kolonaki, 10671 Athens, Greece Tel: + 30 210 3634210 Fax: + 30 210 3634209 Email: [email protected] URL: www.atiner.gr URL Conference Papers Series: www.atiner.gr/papers.htm Printed in Athens, Greece by the Athens Institute for Education and Research. All rights reserved. Reproduction is allowed for non-commercial purposes if the source is fully acknowledged. ISSN 2241-2891 2/09/2013 2 ATINER CONFERENCE PAPER SERIES No: MED2013-0516 This paper should be cited as follows: Kuyucu, M. (2013) "The Problems of the Minority Media: Sample of the Greek Minority Media in Istanbul" Athens: ATINER'S Conference Paper Series, No: MED2013-0516. 4 ATINER CONFERENCE PAPER SERIES No: MED2013-0516 The Problems of the Minority Media: Sample of the Greek Minority Media in Istanbul Mihalis Kuyucu Assistant Professor Faculty of Communications İstanbul Aydın University Turkey Abstract This study focused on Istanbul’s Greek minority’s work on media, which had started with printed media and shaped today by new media. With the result of this work on researches about newspapers and magazines, that were published by Greeks in Turkey, who stepped into the printed media market, there is an analysis’ presentations about modern-day. The still surviving and functioning two Greek minority newspapers named as “Apogevmatini” and “Iho”, and the first internet radio and news portal of Greek community “Iho tis polis” analysed in details.
    [Show full text]
  • Orientalism Once More (2003)
    Orientalism Once More (2003) Dr Edward Said Professor of Comparative Literature Columbia University Honorary Fellow Instiute of Social Studies Lecture delivered on the occasion of the awarding of the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa at the Academic Ceremony on the 50th Anniversary of the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, The Netherlands, 21 May, 2003 Orientalism Once More (2003)* Nine years ago, in the spring of 1994, I wrote an afterword for Orientalism which, in trying to clarify what I believed I had and had not said, I stressed not only the many discussions that had opened up since my book appeared in 1978, but the ways in which a work about representations of “the Orient” lent themselves to increasing misrepresentation and misinterpretation. That I find myself feeling more ironic than irritated about that very same thing today is a sign of how much my age has crept up on me, along with the necessary diminutions in expectations and pedagogic zeal which usually frame the road to seniority. The recent death of my two main intellectual, political and personal mentors, Eqbal Ahmad and Ibrahim Abu-Lughod (who is one of this work’s dedicatees), has brought sadness and loss, as well as resignation and a certain stubborn will to go on. It isn’t at all a matter of being optimistic, but rather of continuing to have faith in the ongoing and literally unending process of emancipation and enlightenment that, in my opinion, frames and gives direction to the intellectual vocation. Nevertheless it is still a source of amazement to me that Orientalism continues to be discussed and translated all over the world, in thirty-six languages.
    [Show full text]
  • TFG 2018 Global Report
    Twitter Public Policy #TwitterForGood 2018 Global Report Welcome, Twitter’s second #TwitterForGood Annual Report reflects the growing and compelling impact that Twitter and our global network of community partners had in 2018. Our corporate philanthropy mission is to reflect and augment the positive power of our platform. We perform our philanthropic work through active civic engagement, employee volunteerism, charitable contributions, and in-kind donations, such as through our #DataForGood and #AdsForGood programs. In these ways, Twitter seeks to foster greater understanding, equality, and opportunity in the communities where we operate. Employee Charity Matching Program This past year, we broke new ground by implementing our Employee Charity Matching Program. This program avails Twitter employees of the opportunity to support our #TwitterForGood work by matching donations they make to our charity partners around the world. After it was launched in August 2018, Twitter employees donated US$195K to 189 charities around the world. We look forward to expanding this new program in 2019 by garnering greater employee participation and including additional eligible charities. @NeighborNest This year, our signature philanthropic initiative – our community tech lab called the @NeighborNest – was recognized by the Mutual of America Foundation. The Foundation awarded Twitter and Compass Family Services, one of our local community partners, with the 2018 Community Partnership Award. This is one of the top philanthropic awards in the U.S., recognizing community impact by an NGO/private sector partnership. Since opening in 2015, we’ve conducted over 4,000 hours of programming and welcomed over 15,000 visits from the community. This was made possible in partnership with over 10 key nonprofit partners, nearly 900 unique visits from Twitter volunteers, and over 1,400 hours of volunteer service.
    [Show full text]
  • Edward W. Said: Resistance, Knowledge, Criticism
    CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Loughborough University Institutional Repository Edward W. Said: Resistance, Knowledge, Criticism by Mark Anthony Taylor A Doctoral Thesis Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University 17th October 2016 © Mark Taylor 2016 Abstract The prodigious output of the controversial Palestinian-American public intellectual, academic, and political activist, Edward W. Said (1935-2003), continues to polarize the academic, intellectual, and political worlds, not least because of the inflammatory nature of his relationship to the vexed issue of Israel/Palestine. It is a contention of this thesis that this polarization has resulted in what are often less than critical examinations of Said’s work. In short, because Said and his work remain relevant and influential, a new method of reading is required, one which not only takes account of Said’s resolutely secular, ‘worldly’ approach to the issue of knowledge and its production, but applies the same rigour and method to the Palestinian’s work in all its literary-critical, political, and personal varieties. This thesis attempts to meet that aim by testing Said’s oeuvre within the rubric of his stated ambition to create a critical location from which the production of ‘non-coercive knowledge’ was attainable. In the context of his opposition to political Zionism and wider Western imperialism, whether Said produced, or even intended to produce, knowledge that was ‘non-coercive’ is an extremely important question, and one that will be answered in this thesis. Formed by an introduction and three main chapters, the scope of the thesis is broad.
    [Show full text]
  • Howard Zinn BIBLIOGRAPHY
    Howard Zinn BIBLIOGRAPHY Voices of a People's History of the United States with Anthony Arnove, Seven Stories Press, (October 2004) The People Speak : American Voices, Some Famous, Some Little Known from Columbus to the Present (editor) Perennial Press (2004) Terrorism and War (Open Media Pamphlet Series) by Howard Zinn, Anthony Arnove (Editor). Harperperennial Library (2003) Artists In Times of War and Other Essays, Seven Stories Press; (2003) Passionate Declarations : Essays on War and Justice, Perennial Press; (2003) The Twentieth Century : A People's History Harperperennial Library; (2003) Back the Attack! Remixed War Propaganda by Micah Ian Wright, Howard Zinn (Commentary), Kurt Vonnegut (Introduction), Center for Constitutional Rights (Commentary). Seven Stories Press; (2003) The Power of Nonviolence: Writings by Advocates of Peace, Beacon Press (2002) Silencing Political Dissent: How Post-September 11 Anti-Terrorism Measures Threaten Our Civil Liberties, with Nancy Chang, Seven Stories Press (2002) Emma, South End Press (2002) Three Strikes: Miners, Musicians, Salesgirls, and the Fighting Spirit of Labor's Last Century with Kelley Robin D. G., Dana Frank, Beacon Press (2002) Howard Zinn on War and Other Means and Ends, Seven Stories Press (2001) The Future of History: Interviews With David Barsamian by Howard Zinn, David Barasamian. Common Courage Press (1999) Marx in SoHo: A Play on History, South End Press (1999) The Zinn Reader: Writings on Disobedience and Democracy Seven Stories Press (1997) Hiroshima: Breaking the Silence, Open Media (1995) You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History of Our Times Beacon Press; (1994) Failure to Quit; Reflections of an Optimistic Historian.
    [Show full text]
  • Illiberal Media and Popular Constitution-Making in Turkey
    University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Communication Department Faculty Publication Series Communication 2020 Illiberal Media and Popular Constitution-Making in Turkey Burcu Baykurt Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/communication_faculty_pubs 1 Illiberal Media and Popular Constitution Making in Turkey 1. Introduction Popular constitution making, a process that allows for public participation as opposed to a handful of elites writing a fundamental social contract behind closed doors and imposing it on the rest of society, is tricky. It sounds like a noble idea in theory, but it is difficult to execute effectively, efficiently, and, most importantly, democratically. Even trickier are the roles of publicity and media in popular constitution making. What are the consequences of reporting during the drafting of a new constitution? In what ways could the media lend legitimacy to the process by informing the public and incorporating public opinion into the drafting of a constitution? Coupled with the rise of new media technologies, an ideal of participatory constitution making (and an active role for the media) may seem desirable, not to mention attainable, but there are myriad ways to participate, and basing a constitution on popular opinion could easily devolve into a majority of 50 percent plus one that imposes its will on the rest. The bare minimum, ideally, is to expect journalists to report on facts without bowing to political or economic pressures, but even that is easier said than done. For which audiences are these journalistic facts intended? For those leaders drafting the new constitution or the public at large? These are not easy questions to answer empirically, not only because media and communications are often neglected in studies of constitution making, but also because the relationship between the two is hard to ascertain precisely.
    [Show full text]
  • Media Discourse, Ideology and Print Media in Turkey
    e-Journal of New Media / Yeni Medya Elektronik Dergi - eJNM ISSN: 2548-0200, April 2018 Volume 2 Issue 2, p.53-62 MEDIA DISCOURSE, IDEOLOGY AND PRINT MEDIA IN TURKEY Begüm BURAK [email protected] https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0071-7330 ABSTRACT This article addresses power, ideology and media context generally. .In democratic countries, the free media is regarded as the “fourth estate” besides the legislative, executive and judiciary branches. It can be said that political power has a significant role in shaping media discourse. The newspapers as the most efficient print media elements have an effective role in media discourse. Besides determining political agenda, the newspapers function as the instrument of hegemony of the political authority. The objective of this article is two-fold. The first is to analyze the role of the media discourse in the (re)production of ideologies. Within this framework, the role of the media in democratic countries will also be under scrutiny. Second,a historical overview of Turkish print media in general and the Hürriyet newspaper in particular will be provided. Bourdieu argues that, the power of the words lies not in their intrinsic qualities but in the belief that they are uttered by authorized spokespersons (Bourdieu, 1991: p.170). In this context, one of the main arguments of this article is that the Hurriyet newspaper as one of the leading voices of the mainstream media is efficient in determining the political and social agenda. The qualitative research method is used in the article. Keywords: Ideology, power, media, media discourse, print media in Turkey MEDYA SÖYLEMİ, İDEOLOJİ VE TÜRKİYE’DE YAZILI BASIN ÖZ Bu makale genel olarak güç, ideoloji ve medya söylemini irdelemektedir.
    [Show full text]
  • The Analysis of the 2010 Constitutional Referendum in Turkey
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Open Research Exeter College of Social Sciences and International Studies, Department of Politics The Power of the Media on Forming Public Opinion: The Analysis of the 2010 Constitutional Referendum in Turkey Submitted by Sinem Ayanoglu to the University of Exeter As a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Politics June 2015 This dissertation is available for library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. I certify that all the material in this dissertation that is not my own work has been identified and that no material has previously been submitted to or approved by this or any other university for the award of a degree. ................................................................ Signature Abstract This thesis explores the role of the media in voting behaviour in Turkey in terms of the 2010 constitutional referendum. The media is a very important tool for both providing information and entertainment for people in Turkey. Thus, it can be claimed that the media are very powerful and have a large influence on audiences. In this study, I seek to explore the media’s power over citizens’ political choices. In other words, this thesis aims to reveal the affect the media content has on voters. To achieve this goal, I have chosen to analyse the 2010 referendum because of its special characteristics, which differentiate it from other referendums and elections in Turkey. Although there are many studies which examine the media effects on voting in the literature, these generally concentrate on developed democracies.
    [Show full text]