From opinion journalism to commercial media, the press in Türkiye...
Üsküdar University Rector Prof. Nazife Güngör attended the '100th anniversary of our Republic' organized by the Turkish National Commission for UNESCO. On the anniversary, she participated in the Conference on the History of Communication in Türkiye and gave a speech on "Press in Türkiye from Opinion Journalism to Commercial Media". The Commission published the conference in a book and distributed it. In her article included in this study, Güngör discusses the development of opinion journalism in Türkiye, how journalism has transformed from opinion journalism to commercial media in general terms, but in the history.
Üsküdar University Rector Prof. Nazife Güngör makes the following statements in the summary of her article titled ‘Press in Türkiye from Opinion Journalism to Commercial Media ':
"In this article, the development of opinion journalism in Türkiye is discussed, and how journalism has transformed from opinion journalism to commercial media is discussed in general terms, but only in the historical flow.
However, the development of opinion journalism in Western countries is briefly included to form the basis of the article. Accordingly, the beginning of journalism in Western countries dates back to the 17th century. It coincides with the middle of the century. However, people's need for news and information is something that has attracted attention since ancient times. Therefore, it is observed that humanity attaches special importance to developing communication systems depending on the periodic conditions and the possibilities of the environment, as well as the establishment of organized social structures and systems. In this sense, it is seen that the tradition of rapid information and news transmission first started with wall newspapers in Ancient Greece and Rome, then daily news letters issued by Venetian merchants, and then newspapers similar to today’s newspapers since the beginning of the 17th century.
Opinion journalism in the West began in the middle of the 17th century and evolved towards commercialization within the capitalist system in the mid-19th century. In Türkiye, the same adventure begins with two hundred delays and the process proceeds on almost the same route. We see that the first newspapers that started in the 19th century started to be published in Turkish. It can be said that the mass press in the 1950s and the press started to commercialize in the 1980s with the influence of neoliberal policies. In today's Türkiye, it is seen that the press, or the media as it is called today, consists of monopolies and holdings, has become a power in its own right within the political economy structure, and has gained functionality as an important sector of the capitalist system.
Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)