Investigation of News about the Success of Individuals with Special Needs in Türkiye’s News Agencies

Abstract

Introduction: The media has prepared several news items about individuals with special needs. This news, with a positive perspective, can change people’s attitudes and behaviors toward individuals with special needs in a positive direction. Thus, this study aimed to examine the news published by national news agencies in Türkiye about the success stories of individuals with special needs using the document analysis method to change negative attitudes and mindsets toward individuals with special needs. Method: The study was carried out using document analysis, one of the qualitative research methods. The three most distinguished national broadcast networks, Anadolu Agency, Demirören News Agency, and İhlas News Agency, were scanned for success stories of individuals with special needs. The news items published between 2010 and 2022 were analyzed with content analysis and then categorized and examined thoroughly. In total, 259 news items from Anadolu Agency, 311 news items from Demirören Agency, and 66 news items from İhlas News Agency were examined. These news items were evaluated under the following headings: news agency, news type, country of publication, gender of the individual, type of special needs, institution supporting the individual with special needs, type of success, and source of inspiration. Findings: The findings showed that Türkiye’s national news agencies published many news items about the success stories of individuals with special needs. The news items reached were categorized under education, business, art, sports, and social responsibility. As a result of examining the areas, it was found that most news items were prepared in the sports area. Discussion: It was observed that negative news in the media was found more common and more visible. Therefore, this study aimed to examine success stories of individuals with special needs. The current study showed that news items regarding the success stories of individuals with special needs in the national news agencies were published broadly. The news items investigated in this study indicate that special needs are represented positively in the media and reveal that individuals with special needs have success stories in the fields of education, business, art, sports, and social responsibility. It can be recommended to scan different news agencies or use different keywords in future research.