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

Abstract

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.