Metin Ersoy

War–peace journalism in the Turkish press: Countries come to the brink of war

The news coverage of the Turkish and Syrian jet planes that were hit by Turkey’s and Syria’s armies is being researched in Turkish newspapers. Stories about the Turkish jet that was hit by the Syrian army in June 2012 and the Syrian jet that was hit by Turkish army in March 2014 have been analysed as a peace journalism model. This study utilizes framing analysis to examine how Turkish newspapers covered two events (jet planes) and identify what frames ‘they’ tend to use. The general tendency of the Turkish press is towards accusation, blame and the creation of suspicion of the ‘other’ side. In this study, we find that the Turkish press is strongly affected by ownership structure, political pressure, regulations, mainstream news values and market conditions. All these factors determine journalists’ usage of dominant frames on their front pages in conflict situations.

Implementing Peace Journalism in the Media

Wars and conflicts have become mundane and repetitively ordinary elements of our lives in the Middle East. We are continuously exposed to news about conflict and war in an unprecedented pace through various media outlets; hence, violence has risen to occupy an inevitably integral element of our lives. The intensity of such exposure has also profoundly impacted perception of violence and war by individuals. Inexplicably, we are not threatened by its immediate presence, but embrace it as a legitimate construct whose occurrence is conventionally normal. The rhetoric and language consumed by the media and news on conflict affirms to our mind that war and conflict is the sole source of constructing and maintaining peace. While the frames used in the news presentations vividly display the grounds for war and conflict, we as citizens are requested against our will to consent to those callously brutal scenes as “right.” Nonetheless, every precinct of war, conflict, and violence inhabits the logic of inhumane death, bloodshed, destruction, and decrepit lives and ruined cities.