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BRITISH EDITORIALS PORTRAYAL OF TURKEY DURING THE 2000S: AN ANALYSIS OF THE GUARDIAN, THE FINANCIAL TIMES, AND THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

Year 2022, Volume: 8 Issue: 1, 67 - 98, 01.01.2022

Nilüfer Türksoy

Abstract

Başyazı ya da editoryal, bir gazetenin yazı işleri personeli tarafından yazılmış bir fikir yazısıdır ve yayıncının görüşünü temsil eder. Bu çalışma, İngiliz basınında etkili üç gazetenin – the Guardian, the Financial Times ve the Daily Telegraph – 2005 ve 2010 yılları arasında, başyazılarında yer alan siyasi medya söylemlerinde Türkiye’yi tasvir etme biçimlerini incelemektedir. Amaç, Türkiye'nin lehinde veya aleyhinde hangi argümanları/konuları kapsadıklarını ve Türkiye'nin çok boyutlu Doğu-Batı dönüşümünün İngiliz basınındaki siyasi söylemleri ve haberlerin doğasını etkileyip etkilemediğini bulmaktır. Muhafazakâr, emekçi ve liberal basının temsilcisi üç gazetenin önde gelen başyazıları üzerinde nitel bir içerik analizi yapılmıştır. Bulgular İngiliz basınının editör kadrosunun, Türkiye'nin Avrupa Birliği ile çalkantılı ilişkisi, insan hakları sicili, İslamcı siyasete karşı laiklik veya ülke içinde etnik azınlık haklarının eksikliği hakkında yorumları oluşturan görünüşte farklı konular hakkında çok fazla konuşmaya yer vermesine rağmen; ülkeyi oldukça demokratik, laik, uluslararası ilişkilerde Orta Doğu ile Batı arasında köprü oluşturabilecek bir Müslüman devlet olarak tasvir ederek Türkiye'nin olumlu, yapıcı ve tutarlı bir siyasi imajını sahip olduğunu yansıtmışlardır.

Keywords

Gazete analizi Siyaset Temsil İngiliz basını Türkiye Söylem

References

  • Aissaoui, R. (2007). History, cultural identity and differences: The issue of Turkey’s accession to the European Union in the French national press. Journal of Southern Europe and the Balkans, 9(1), 1-14.
  • Akgündüz, A. (1993). Labour migration from Turkey to Western Europe (1960-1974): An analytical review. Capital & Classes, 17, 153-194.
  • Aksoy, S. (2009). The prospect of Turkey’s EU membership as representation in the British newspapers The Times and The Guardian, 2002-2005. Journal of European Studies, 39(4), 469-506.
  • Altunisik, M. (2005). The Turkish model and democratization in the Middle East. Arab Studies Quarterly, 27(1), 45-63.
  • Bell, A. (1998). The discourse structure of news stories. In A. Bell, & P. Garrett, Approaches to Media Discourse (pp. 64-104). USA: Blackwell Publishing.
  • Chislett, W. (2008). Socio-economic arguments for and against Turkey’s EU membership. In C. Timmerman, D. Rochtus, & S. Mels, European and Turkish Voices in Favour and Against Turkish Accession to the European Union (pp. 73-81). Brussels: P.I.E. Peter Lang.
  • Chomsky, N., & Herman, E. (1988). Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. New York: Pantheon Books.
  • Covert, T., & Wasburn, P. (2007). Information sources and the coverage of social issues in partisan publications: A content analysis of 25 years of the progressive and the national review. Mass Communication & Society, 10(11), 67-94.
  • Gangloff, S. (2008). Turkey’s accession to the EU: The flexible reality underlying the debate. In C. Timmerman, D. Rochtus, & S. Mels, European and Turkish Voices in Favour and Against Turkish Accession to the European Union (pp. 33-44). PIE Peter Lang.
  • GreenPaper. (2008). Migration & mobility: Challenges and opportunities for EU education systems. Commission of the European Communities Report.
  • Grigoriadis, I. (2006). Turkey’s accession to the European Union: Debating the most difficult enlargement ever. SAIS Review, 26(1), 147-160.
  • Güçlü, Y. (2009). Will untapped Ottoman archives reshape the Armenian debate? Turkey, present and past. Middle Eastern Quarterly, 16(2), 35-42. Herman, E., & Chomsky, N. (2002). Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. New York: Pantheon.
  • Hülsse, R. (2006). Cool Turkey: Solving the image problem to secure EU membership. Mediterranean Politics, 11(3), 309-327.
  • Karlsson, I. (2006). The Turks as a Threat and Europe’s ‘Other’. International Issues & Slovak Foreign Policy Affairs, 1, 62-72.
  • Karlsson, I. (2008). Turkey’s historical, cultural and religious heritage: An asset to the European Union. In C. Timmerman, D. Rochtus, & S. Mels, European and Turkish Voices in Favour and Against Turkish Accession to the European Union (pp. 99-106). Brussels: P.I.E. Peter Lang.
  • Kirişci, K. (2008). Is Turkey too big, too poor, too different for the European Union? In C. Timmerman, D. Rochtus, & S. Mels, European and Turkish Voices in Favour and Against Turkish Accession to the European Union (pp. 127-135). Brussels: P.I.E. Peter Lang. Koenig, T., Mihelj, S., Downey, J., & Gencel Bek, M. (2006). Media framings of the issue of Turkish accession to the EU: A European or national process? Innovation, 19(2), 149-169.
  • Krippendorf, K. (2019). Content Analysis: An Introduction to its Methodology. London: Sage. Lippert, B., Hughes, K., Grabbe, H., & Becker, P. (2001). British and German interests in EU enlargement. the Royal Institute of International Affairs.
  • Lombardi, B. (2005). Turkey: Myths and realities. International Journal, 61(1), 1-18. Manoff, R., & Schudson, M. (1986). Reading the News: A Pantheon Guide to Popular Culture. New York: Pantheon Books.
  • Moisi, D. (2006). The Further Enlargement of the EU: Threat or opportunity? The Authority of the House of Lords, European Union Committee. Müftüler-Bac, M. (2000). Through the looking glass: Turkey in Europe. Turkish Studies, 1(1), 21-35.
  • Negrine, R. (2008). Imagining Turkey: British press coverage of Turkey’s bid for accession to the European Union in 2004. Journalism, 9(5), 624-645. Negrine, R., Kejanlioglu, B., Aissaoui, R., & Papathanassopoulos, S. (2008). Turkey and the European Union: An analysis of how the press in four countries covered Turkey’s bid for accession in 2004. European Journal of Communication, 23(1), 47-68.
  • Nossek, H. (2004). Our news and their news: The role of national identity in the coverage of foreign news. Journalism, 5(3), 343–368.
  • Paksoy, A. (2011). Deceleration of Turkey’s EU accession on media agenda: A case study on the Guardian coverage between 2003 and 2010. Galatasaray Üniversitesi İletişim Dergisi, 14, 37-54.
  • Paksoy, A., & Negrine, R. (2016). Turkey as ‘a positive other’: a theoretical discussion to comprehend the British media’s view on Turkey–EU relations. Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, 18(5), 494-505.
  • Poole, E., & Richardson, J. (2006). Muslims and the News Media. I.B. Tauris.
  • Poole, E. (2002). Reporting Islam: Media Representations of British Muslims. London: I.B. Tauris.
  • Richardson, J. (2007). Analysing Newspapers: An Approach from Critical Discourse Analysis. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Rubin, B. (2001). Understanding Turkey’s new foreign policy. In B. &. Rubin, Turkey in World Politics: An Emerging Multiregional Power (pp. 251-255). Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc.
  • Sanberk, Ö. (2010). Regionalization of the Turkish Foreign Policy. Istanbul: Wise Man Center for Strategic Studies. Bilgesam Publications.
  • Schudson, M. (1995). The Power of News. USA: Harvard University Press.
  • Schudson, M. (2003). The Sociology of News. W. W. Norton & Company.
  • Schudson, M. (2007). The anarchy of events and the anxiety of story telling. Political Communication, 24, 253-257.
  • Swallow, C. (1973). The sick man of Europe: Ottoman empire to Turkish Republic, 1789-1923. E. Benn Tonbridge.
  • Sözen, A. (2010). A paradigm shift in Turkish foreign policy: Transition and challenges. Turkish Studies, 11(1), 103-123.
  • Tuchman, G. (1978). Making News: A Study in the Construction of Reality. New York: Free Press.
  • Tuchman, G. (2002). The production of news. In K. Jensen, A Handbook of Media and Communication Research: Qualitative and Quantitative methodologies (pp. 78-90). Routledge.
  • Van Dijk, T. (1983). Discourse analysis: Its development and application to the structure of news. Journal of Communication, 20-43.
  • Van Dijk, T. (1998). Opinions and ideologies in the press. In A. Bell, & P. Garrett, Approaches to Media Discourse (pp. 21-63). USA: Blackwell Publishing.
  • Van Dijk, T. (1991). The interdisciplinary study of news as discourse. In N. W. Jankowski, & K. B. Jensen, A Handbook of Qualitative Methodologies for Mass Communication Research (pp. 108-120). New York: Routledge.
  • Vreese, C., & Boomgaarden, H. (2006). Media effects on public opinion about the enlargement of the European Union. Journal of Common Market Studies, 44(2), 419-436.
  • Völker, G. (1976). Turkish labour migration to Germany: Impact on both economies. Middle Eastern Studies, 12(1), 45-72.
  • Wasburn, P. (2002). The Social Construction of International News: We're Talking about Them, They're Talking About Us. London: Praeger Publishers.
  • Wimmel, A. (2009). Beyond the Bosphorus? Comparing public discourse in the German, French and British quality press. Journal of Language and Politics, 8(2), 223-243.
  • Öktem, K. (2005). British perception on Turkey’s EU accession prospects: Euroscepticism and Turcophilia? South East European Studies at Oxford, European Studies Centre, Occasional Paper 6/05, 1-18.

Year 2022, Volume: 8 Issue: 1, 67 - 98, 01.01.2022

Nilüfer Türksoy

Abstract

A leading article or editorial is an opinion piece written by the editorial staff of a newspaper and represents the opinion of the publisher. This study examines the portrayal of Turkey as presented within the broad context of political media discourse in the leading articles of three influential British quality newspapers: the Guardian, the Financial Times, and the Daily Telegraph, between 2005 and 2010. The aim is to find out what arguments/issues the editorials cover in favor of or against Turkey, and whether Turkey’s multi-dimensional East-West transformation has influenced the political discourses and the nature of news in the British press. A qualitative content analysis was performed on three newspapers’ leading articles. Findings indicate that although editorial staff of British conservative, labor, and liberal press had a great deal to talk about apparently different subjects that constitute comments on Turkey’s turbulent relationship with the European Union, or its human rights record, unending debate on secularism versus Islamist politics or lack of ethnic minority rights domestically; at the same time, they had created a rather positive, constructive and consistent political image of Turkey, by portraying the country as a rather democratic, secular, Muslim state that can create a bridge between the West and the Middle East in international affairs.

Keywords

Newspaper analysis Politics Representations Turkey Discourse British press

References

  • Aissaoui, R. (2007). History, cultural identity and differences: The issue of Turkey’s accession to the European Union in the French national press. Journal of Southern Europe and the Balkans, 9(1), 1-14.
  • Akgündüz, A. (1993). Labour migration from Turkey to Western Europe (1960-1974): An analytical review. Capital & Classes, 17, 153-194.
  • Aksoy, S. (2009). The prospect of Turkey’s EU membership as representation in the British newspapers The Times and The Guardian, 2002-2005. Journal of European Studies, 39(4), 469-506.
  • Altunisik, M. (2005). The Turkish model and democratization in the Middle East. Arab Studies Quarterly, 27(1), 45-63.
  • Bell, A. (1998). The discourse structure of news stories. In A. Bell, & P. Garrett, Approaches to Media Discourse (pp. 64-104). USA: Blackwell Publishing.
  • Chislett, W. (2008). Socio-economic arguments for and against Turkey’s EU membership. In C. Timmerman, D. Rochtus, & S. Mels, European and Turkish Voices in Favour and Against Turkish Accession to the European Union (pp. 73-81). Brussels: P.I.E. Peter Lang.
  • Chomsky, N., & Herman, E. (1988). Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. New York: Pantheon Books.
  • Covert, T., & Wasburn, P. (2007). Information sources and the coverage of social issues in partisan publications: A content analysis of 25 years of the progressive and the national review. Mass Communication & Society, 10(11), 67-94.
  • Gangloff, S. (2008). Turkey’s accession to the EU: The flexible reality underlying the debate. In C. Timmerman, D. Rochtus, & S. Mels, European and Turkish Voices in Favour and Against Turkish Accession to the European Union (pp. 33-44). PIE Peter Lang.
  • GreenPaper. (2008). Migration & mobility: Challenges and opportunities for EU education systems. Commission of the European Communities Report.
  • Grigoriadis, I. (2006). Turkey’s accession to the European Union: Debating the most difficult enlargement ever. SAIS Review, 26(1), 147-160.
  • Güçlü, Y. (2009). Will untapped Ottoman archives reshape the Armenian debate? Turkey, present and past. Middle Eastern Quarterly, 16(2), 35-42. Herman, E., & Chomsky, N. (2002). Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. New York: Pantheon.
  • Hülsse, R. (2006). Cool Turkey: Solving the image problem to secure EU membership. Mediterranean Politics, 11(3), 309-327.
  • Karlsson, I. (2006). The Turks as a Threat and Europe’s ‘Other’. International Issues & Slovak Foreign Policy Affairs, 1, 62-72.
  • Karlsson, I. (2008). Turkey’s historical, cultural and religious heritage: An asset to the European Union. In C. Timmerman, D. Rochtus, & S. Mels, European and Turkish Voices in Favour and Against Turkish Accession to the European Union (pp. 99-106). Brussels: P.I.E. Peter Lang.
  • Kirişci, K. (2008). Is Turkey too big, too poor, too different for the European Union? In C. Timmerman, D. Rochtus, & S. Mels, European and Turkish Voices in Favour and Against Turkish Accession to the European Union (pp. 127-135). Brussels: P.I.E. Peter Lang. Koenig, T., Mihelj, S., Downey, J., & Gencel Bek, M. (2006). Media framings of the issue of Turkish accession to the EU: A European or national process? Innovation, 19(2), 149-169.
  • Krippendorf, K. (2019). Content Analysis: An Introduction to its Methodology. London: Sage. Lippert, B., Hughes, K., Grabbe, H., & Becker, P. (2001). British and German interests in EU enlargement. the Royal Institute of International Affairs.
  • Lombardi, B. (2005). Turkey: Myths and realities. International Journal, 61(1), 1-18. Manoff, R., & Schudson, M. (1986). Reading the News: A Pantheon Guide to Popular Culture. New York: Pantheon Books.
  • Moisi, D. (2006). The Further Enlargement of the EU: Threat or opportunity? The Authority of the House of Lords, European Union Committee. Müftüler-Bac, M. (2000). Through the looking glass: Turkey in Europe. Turkish Studies, 1(1), 21-35.
  • Negrine, R. (2008). Imagining Turkey: British press coverage of Turkey’s bid for accession to the European Union in 2004. Journalism, 9(5), 624-645. Negrine, R., Kejanlioglu, B., Aissaoui, R., & Papathanassopoulos, S. (2008). Turkey and the European Union: An analysis of how the press in four countries covered Turkey’s bid for accession in 2004. European Journal of Communication, 23(1), 47-68.
  • Nossek, H. (2004). Our news and their news: The role of national identity in the coverage of foreign news. Journalism, 5(3), 343–368.
  • Paksoy, A. (2011). Deceleration of Turkey’s EU accession on media agenda: A case study on the Guardian coverage between 2003 and 2010. Galatasaray Üniversitesi İletişim Dergisi, 14, 37-54.
  • Paksoy, A., & Negrine, R. (2016). Turkey as ‘a positive other’: a theoretical discussion to comprehend the British media’s view on Turkey–EU relations. Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, 18(5), 494-505.
  • Poole, E., & Richardson, J. (2006). Muslims and the News Media. I.B. Tauris.
  • Poole, E. (2002). Reporting Islam: Media Representations of British Muslims. London: I.B. Tauris.
  • Richardson, J. (2007). Analysing Newspapers: An Approach from Critical Discourse Analysis. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Rubin, B. (2001). Understanding Turkey’s new foreign policy. In B. &. Rubin, Turkey in World Politics: An Emerging Multiregional Power (pp. 251-255). Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc.
  • Sanberk, Ö. (2010). Regionalization of the Turkish Foreign Policy. Istanbul: Wise Man Center for Strategic Studies. Bilgesam Publications.
  • Schudson, M. (1995). The Power of News. USA: Harvard University Press.
  • Schudson, M. (2003). The Sociology of News. W. W. Norton & Company.
  • Schudson, M. (2007). The anarchy of events and the anxiety of story telling. Political Communication, 24, 253-257.
  • Swallow, C. (1973). The sick man of Europe: Ottoman empire to Turkish Republic, 1789-1923. E. Benn Tonbridge.
  • Sözen, A. (2010). A paradigm shift in Turkish foreign policy: Transition and challenges. Turkish Studies, 11(1), 103-123.
  • Tuchman, G. (1978). Making News: A Study in the Construction of Reality. New York: Free Press.
  • Tuchman, G. (2002). The production of news. In K. Jensen, A Handbook of Media and Communication Research: Qualitative and Quantitative methodologies (pp. 78-90). Routledge.
  • Van Dijk, T. (1983). Discourse analysis: Its development and application to the structure of news. Journal of Communication, 20-43.
  • Van Dijk, T. (1998). Opinions and ideologies in the press. In A. Bell, & P. Garrett, Approaches to Media Discourse (pp. 21-63). USA: Blackwell Publishing.
  • Van Dijk, T. (1991). The interdisciplinary study of news as discourse. In N. W. Jankowski, & K. B. Jensen, A Handbook of Qualitative Methodologies for Mass Communication Research (pp. 108-120). New York: Routledge.
  • Vreese, C., & Boomgaarden, H. (2006). Media effects on public opinion about the enlargement of the European Union. Journal of Common Market Studies, 44(2), 419-436.
  • Völker, G. (1976). Turkish labour migration to Germany: Impact on both economies. Middle Eastern Studies, 12(1), 45-72.
  • Wasburn, P. (2002). The Social Construction of International News: We're Talking about Them, They're Talking About Us. London: Praeger Publishers.
  • Wimmel, A. (2009). Beyond the Bosphorus? Comparing public discourse in the German, French and British quality press. Journal of Language and Politics, 8(2), 223-243.
  • Öktem, K. (2005). British perception on Turkey’s EU accession prospects: Euroscepticism and Turcophilia? South East European Studies at Oxford, European Studies Centre, Occasional Paper 6/05, 1-18.
There are 43 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Communication and Media Studies, Cultural Studies
Journal Section Articles
Authors

Nilüfer Türksoy 0000-0002-1075-5031

Publication Date January 1, 2022
Submission Date November 1, 2021
Acceptance Date November 29, 2021
Published in Issue Year 2022 Volume: 8 Issue: 1

Cite

APA Türksoy, N. (2022). BRITISH EDITORIALS PORTRAYAL OF TURKEY DURING THE 2000S: AN ANALYSIS OF THE GUARDIAN, THE FINANCIAL TIMES, AND THE DAILY TELEGRAPH. İletişim Çalışmaları Dergisi, 8(1), 67-98.
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