PRESENTATION OF THE APRIL 16, 2017 REFERENDUM IN THE PRINTED MEDIA

Abstract

The referendum that was held on April 16, 2017 on replacing the Constitution of Turkey has been widely debated. The printed media that was expected to inform the public opinion fulfilled that task by reporting the campaigns ant the statements of political parties and actors before and after the referendum. Media has the power of manipulating. Thus, the presentation of referendum campaigns and the statements of political parties and actors to society is important. For that reason, this study centers upon the presentation of the April 16, 2017 referendum in the printed media. The study tries to understand how the printed media approaches to the statements of political parties and actors at referendum campaigns. In the study, the news on referendum reported by the national newspapers in Turkey, Sozcu and Yeni Safak before and after the referendum are examined via content analysis method.