Representations of Syrian refugees in Turkish news media: content analysis of oppositional newspapers

Abstract

This thesis examines the representations of Syrian refugees in online news articles broadcasted by Turkish oppositional newspapers from different ideological and political orientations. The three oppositional media outlets, Evrensel, Milli Gazete and Sözcü, each with different politico-ideological standpoints, are examined for their news content. In the study, as a reference newspaper for pro-government news media, Sabah’s news content is also scrutinized. The news content of Sabah is analyzed to politically contextualize, first and foremost, the Turkish government’s refugee policy and, then, the examined newspapers’ opposition to this policy. The time scale of content analysis is divided into two central periods. To identify the most prominent representation differences in the news articles disseminated before and after the mass settlement of Syrian refugees in Turkish cities, the reports broadcasted solely in 2011-2013 and 2016-2018 are included in the content analysis scope. For newspapers where a sufficient number of online news is publicly available and accessible, 30 news articles per newspaper per year are analyzed. In cases where it is not possible to reach 30 reports, only the accessible amount of news is analyzed.