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 ...........................................................................................................