Language and News Discourse of Turkish Radio and Television - Research Paper Example

Language and News Dis of Turkish Radyo and Television (TRT) This paper investigates the relationship between Turkish Radyo and Television (TRT) and the public. Acknowledging the diversity of the Turkey society, the study seeks to demystify whether the language in the news of TRT – as a public TV – is a voice of the public or the government. The paper seeks to find out whether TRT (TV news) as public broadcasting institution serves the public or merely announces the news via the manner of the power (Erdogan's regime) in Turkey. This research narrows down to 3 recent television news broadcast in TRT, seeking to understand how they are conducted. They include, TRT 1 (general), TRT 2 (culture and art) and TRT 3 (youth channel with sports and music programs and live broadcasts from the Turkish National Grand Assembly at definite hours). All together the paper focuses on the television news power discourse that is state-owned, significantly presenting an essentialist image of identity which does not echo the complexity of the members of the public it claims to describe. This research addresses the power of the media, through a number of practices in the selected 3 recent television news broadcast in TRT which clearly shows that TRT is not an objective television, it is serving for the power not public, not free from bias. This is for the purposes of expanding the boundaries for enclosure of the members of the public. Introduction In the present day, there is need to gather, formulate information on the regulation, ownership, accessibility, performance in addition to projections for creating broadcast amendments. The significant factor for undertaking this research is to contribute to the Turkish consolidation. Many nations have made significant achievements in creating democratic systems of governance based on popular control of the media and whereby members of the public are provided with information without bias. The functions of a public broadcaster as a channel via which factual and reliable news and diverse opinions are broadcasted into the public domain cannot be overemphasized. A number of nations are presently undertaking public broadcasting amendments that aim to focus on addressing the public and creating accountability to the members of the public as compared to be the governments mouthpiece. Such amendments arise from developing global standards on the subject of media and news media particularly. In its straightforward definition of public broadcasting service is a broadcaster that provides services to the members of the public entirely and is responsible to the members of the public in general. In spite of that, in most scenarios the term public broadcaster is in actual fact regarded as a state broadcaster. This research targets to enable the process of giving support to turning of TRT (Turkish Radyo and Television) into public broadcasters worthy of the name. The research on Language and News discourse of Turkish Radio and Television (TRT) begins from the hypothesis that growth and democracy cannot succeed devoid of open and free public space where all factors concerning lives of the members of an audience can be made public and debated. This means that the members of the public can get a chance to play a role in making decisions in the society and the country at large via TRT. According to Amartya Sen, a Nobel Prize Laureate, democracy is “governance by dialogue”. Sen describes democracy as implemented by the media as governing by means of dialogue where broadcasters are ideally placed to make this dialogue process possible by offering the space for it. This is based on whether their services are available, self-regulating, and reliable and open to the complete range of varying views (Hampton & Roemer, 21). Subsequent to this hypothesis, the significant goal of this research is to find out whether and to what extent news broadcasting on TRT can and do create this kind of free public space with distinctive focus given to the selected 3 recent television news broadcast in TRT. At the same time as this research is unique in its range and profundity, it does fit into continuing debates among broadcasters, civil societies and politicians in Turkey on the basis and the mandate of indisputable public broadcasting. Amendment efforts are underway in many nations with state owned broadcasting houses and this shows that there is a significant need to open up airwaves to profit-making and community based broadcasters and for the state owned media houses to be converted into accurately public broadcasting services. State monopoly over broadcasting is never matching with the right to freedom of expression and the main objective is that the state and government owned media houses should be converted to address issues of the public (Scannell 135). Over and above, an independent and self regulating public broadcaster seeks to provide the following. To serve the general public’s interest and be responsible for all levels of society as represented by a self-regulating board. To makes certain that complete respect for freedom of expression, promotion of free broadcasting of news information enable the public to come up with informed decisions and facilitate and enforce democracy. To offer access to an extensive variety of information and ideas from diverse societies. To broadcast on news items and current affairs in a means that does not have influence of the politics, business or any other particular factors and as a result widespread, fair and balanced editorial self-regulating. To be part of the cause in economy, social and cultural advancement in Turkey by offering reliable platform for democratic debates on how to reach familiar problems. To hold the people in power including every sector of the media responsible. To give power to citizens, in particular the financially challenged and the marginalized in their pursuit for quality life. To offer reliable and diverse broadcasting that meets all interests, those of the entire public in addition to the minority groups, regardless of religious backgrounds, political affiliation, cultural values, race and gender. To echo as broadly as possible, the variety of views on issues of public interest and of social, political, philosophical, religious, technical and artistic inclination. To advance the policy of free speech and expression in addition to free access to communication be allowing all individuals, irrespective of their social position, to communicate without restraint on the airwaves. To advance and formulate local content, for instance via adhering to minimum quotas. To advance general access to their services, with their signals in quest of to reaching all spheres of the nation. The facts, figures and debated analysis presented in this research, provide the picture of where the broadcasting in Turkey presently between “The voice of the government” of ancient and envisioned public broadcasting service of the prospect. The facts gathered here should offer significant grounds for advocacy work, both amid decision makers and civil societies in general (Allen, 13). The paper begins with a comprehensive analysis of the state broadcaster, history of TRT which includes its broadcasting policies and the content it offers. History of Radio and Television Broadcasting In Turkey Radio and Television broadcasting in Turkey was managed under the control of TRT in up to the year 1990s (Gilbert, Nigel & Michael Mulkay, 334). Despite the fact that TRT has put emphasis that it is a public broadcasting corporation, it has been criticized for being a voice of the government, airing news by the chain of command of protocols in an old fashioned way and not serving the members of the public from the time when it was established in 1964 (Gilbert, et al., 336). Apart from the last few years, TRT news was criticized largely for airing news information in a chain of command for instance news information on the president, news information on the ruling party/parties, news information on country or global advancements, news information on political parties, and taking too much time (Hall, 133). It is largely believed that, in public broadcasting, official discourses and language are echoed in the news information in the verge of protecting the government needs (Hansen et al., 45). Unquestionably, under this criticism, how TRT gets its finances is fairly efficient for the reason that in satisfying public accountabilities, financial accounts have a possibility of being barred corresponding to their own interests (Katz, 12). In point of fact, the portion obtained from the government financial plan, encompasses the sources of income of TRT (Katz, 25). Correspondingly, the circumstances of intrusion to broadcasting content and news information can become apparent by the government. The international market economy which got underway in the world in the 1980s had an impact to Turkey and brought about privatization (Katz, 122). With regard to the end of the 1980s, the policy in the constitution on TRT’s dominating position was revoked. Up till now, there was no legal amendment that was effected (Bovill, 183). Privatization, one of the significant signs of free business economy, additionally had an impact to the broadcast system and private news broadcasting has begun by television broadcast starting other nations (Bausinger, 345). In 1989, Magic Box Incorporated TV Company was established in Germany, under the joint venture of Cem Uzan which belongs to Rumeli Holdings and Ahmet Ozal which belongs to ex-Turkish president Turgut Ozal’s family and started airing news (Berelson, 23). As a result, this brought about the formation of various private TV stations. Magic Box began five hour broadcasting in a day on the 7th of May 1990. Subsequent to obligatory legal regulations and establishment of TV stations one after the other in fast progression, Turkey changed to become an out of the ordinary nation where it is equally the subject and the object subsequent to TRT (Curran, 141). A new time has began in the news airing by ways of private TV stations and they target the needs of the members of the public on the basis of news items, entertainment and education (Curran, James & Seaton, Jean, 43). On the other hand, private TV stations has led to the innovative of news airing which revolves around freedom of information, news started alienating from its conventional features like being factual and reliable as a result of business interests (Curran et al., 54). For the purposes of attracting a huge audience, in the present day, news is fictionalized and it is more entertaining and emotive/subjective more than helpful/valuable or objective (Couldry, 32). This argument also has an impact with the way news is aired in order of bulletins. News begins with political discourse expect when there is out of the ordinary occurrence like disaster or calamities of great public interest/concern (Corner, 301). They air the political news on a daily basis, actions of the politicians, events of global impact and breaking news in order to suit the needs of the audience (Cohen, Joshua & Rogers, 121). In private TV news the, the world viewership is additionally considerable as accompanied by the capital (Blumler, 223). In Turkey, TV stations which back up liberalization and globalization, embrace commercial TV structure of America and not echoing religious philosophy on their programs and TV stations which embrace an autonomist and religious discourse, gives in to a double structure (Blumler et al., 227). At the same time as ATV, Station D, Star TV, Show TV are cases in point of the primary laissez-faire set, Channel 7, Samanyolu, Hilal TV are cases in point of the latter (Cohen et al., 123). Flash TV, on the other hand can be said to have a different broadcasting politics flanked by the 2 sets. Above and beyond, the program grabs the attention of the members of the public in airing news. The broadcaster made an invitation to the Pope to Islam speaking to him in a live presentation in the time of his tour to Turkey. He additionally aired the news painting his face black to speak to Obama. As a result of this he was criticized by a number of American websites and newspapers for ridiculing Obama and being racially prejudiced but in the real sense he was just being comical (Blumler, 252). In another program, the same broadcaster even put on a headscarf to dispute the headscarf issue that has been on the list crucial of items in Turkey for some time now. Over and above, all these cases in point indicate to some extent that TV news has achieved innovative concepts in Turkey (Curran et al., 67). TV news has additionally began to adjust its structures and functioning in accordance to the market trends and scoring for the reason that the scoring has turned out to be one of the most significant elements that is taken into consideration on the basis of news success and popularity. On the other hand, in the present day TRT, for the reason that it is competing with commercial TV stations, is making attempts almost similar to the concept of their news (Jensen, 56). In order for TRT to obtain better scores while in competition with other TV stations, TRT has reduced the length of their news, the news items on the government and political parties has reduced. They have selected additionally wide ranging topics and have aired them in the same way as the airing of commercial TV news (Innis, 34). This is a move that is aimed at staying away from the claims for being the voice of the government. From this reasoning, TRT can be regarded to be more complicated than other stations in fictionalization of news broadcasting. TRT applies a number of techniques for instance music, less replication of images, effects, livened up news for the purposes of generating emotions and additionally including subjective breaking news that highlight violence and tragic events (Held, 231). Public Serving Broadcasting and Power Television and Radio broadcasting is an honored and delicate structure (McQuail, 102). Viability and success of a broadcasting station is determined by a recognized position and the capacity to stand free of the powers of a government. On the other hand, how is this achievable if at all a broadcasting house is ever reliant on allowances that arise on rekindling in a year or so and when ones power and authority is reliant on the backing of powerful organizations public or private? It is most of all, the shortness of tenure, the lack of a longer view, which has adequately tied the TRT, broadcasting station in Turkey and made it the venerable and delicate station it is (Heraclides, 34). Subject to the demands of the top politicians and made to follow their demands by airing their news events TRT strives to prove its value to the public in the following ways. Despite the fact that TRT is dependent on the government and parliament, the radio and TV strive to be free, self-regulating and objective. Despite the fact that TRT desires to be free and self-regulating and to be able to present a wide variety of programs, they face extreme chronic shortages of resources and are lured by the expectation of advertising returns, which implies reliance on commercial interests. Despite the fact that the TRT have a desire to offer popular programs that target the public, they additionally have a role of serving the minority groups and a cultural and societal role which weighs even heavier than the high public scores. This is a tight spot the TRT finds itself, but, it is not easy to manage when the number of commercial competitors increases which essentially leads to reducing the public shares (Hargreaves, Alec & Dalila Mahjoub, 473). This explains how independent radio and television services which entail public opinion, social expressions and enlightening programs, above and beyond light forms of entertainment and leisure activity. This is an idea that links with the type of democratic societies where radio and television meets their public’s demands not only as consumers but as citizens (Collins, 332). It is also a notion that bears relationship with the advancement of the interests of the state which is distinguished by a need to weigh up market forces, which is inclined in the direction of compliance and noncompliance of cultural representation, by applying a number of cultural and media policies. This is the reason why there exist public donations which seek to back up diversification in local production, be it in the field of language, journals, cinemas or newspaper and magazines (Gillespie, 234). These forms differ depending on the circumstances existing in the field. On the other hand, the question to ask is. Do the members of the public need anything old fashioned and uninteresting as public service radio and TV channels, taking into account the abundance of information channels, satellites, internet resources and other forms of digital communications available in Turkey and worldwide? Over and above, public service broadcasting for instance TRT (Turkish Radyo and Television) need to balance delicate factors, that is broadcasting for the majority in the public and people with special interests, flanked by freedom and demands of the society, and flanked by serving the public and independence of the station. TRT has the obligation of continuing to address three fold tasks of informing, educating and entertaining (Human Rights Watch Report Greece, 104). The public anticipate that TRT will offer programs of both broad and minority appeal (McQuail et al., 105). Equally significant, there is a need for airing programs that observe public interests with a critical eye and should offer programs of public debates. These are the kinds of programs that differentiate public service broadcasting from public division broadcasting which implies to state owned and controlled radio and televisions stations (Harindranath, 156). Language and News Discourse of TRT The language and news discourse of TRT depicts everyday restrictions in news making and the social and economic barriers. This contravenes with the journalistic way news information is gathered and how the many texts and information is presented on the Television. Over and above, it influences the way the public, select to watch or listen to the TRT television channels, understand, retain or replicate information from the TV channels of their preference (Golding, Peter & Graham Murdock, 13). In the present day, in Turkey, there has been an advancing interest for the language and semiotic, social or ideological research of news broadcasting. The language and discourse evaluative approach represents and additionally incorporates these advancements. The language and news discourse of TRT brings about the social and economic structure of broadcasting in the television news channels. This is because media is known as an institution for social and institutional practices (Curran, 141). The television stations of TRT can be analyzed theoretically in two broad categories which include textual and contextual contexts. Textual contexts depicts showcases different levels of news broadcasting in TRT television channels whereas the contextual context brings into the picture cognitive and social related factors, circumstances, restrictions or implications of such textual structures and indirectly their economic, cultural and historical relation. Largely, the way news is aired in the television channels in TRT represents the government thus having an effect on the textual context and the contextual context. As a result, he thinking of the members of the public is shaped in response to this making them turn to other privatized channels that seek to address their needs. Discourse Analysis of 3 Recent Television News Broadcast in TRT TRT1 is the primary television in Turkey which began their test transmissions on January 31, 1968 and began complete national broadcasting in December 1971. This was the single channel in Turkey until September 15 1986 when TRT began test transmissions for 2 Kanal. The TRT1 is also accessible in Azerbaijan through terrestrial broadcasting. The objective of TRT1 is to build the lives of people in Turkey via programs that enlighten, entertain and pass news information in general. TRT1 as a public station aims a wide range of audiences amongst which family is the main concern, followed by a wide-ranging public with a class of varying characteristic which entail age, livelihood and status. TRT1 targets broadcasting to support national unity and veracity in addition to offering news and forms of entertainment to them. Over and above, TRT1 airs for 24 hours and offers a short startup at 5.58 a.m. and in this startup initially the TRT ident is aired following with the program list of the day and the National Anthem of Turkey. TRT 2 began test transmissions on September 15 1986 as 2 Kanal and it is currently TRTs second most preferred TV station that airs educational, cultural and news related programs. TRT 2 generally puts emphasis on arts and culture that seeks to unite the people of Turkey. Just like TRT 1, TRT 2 broadcasts 24 hours with a startup at 5.53 a.m. where a TRT Ident is aired following with the program list for the day and the National Anthem for Turkey. TRT 3 began its test transmission in October 2 1989 as 3 Kanal and is currently TRTs third most preferred TV channel. The broadcasting of TRT 3 is done by a time share with TRT GAP and Turkish Grand National Assembly TV (TBMM TV). The programs include sporting activities, educational, cultural and forms of entertainment programs and news. Advertisements are also permitted in the channel amid airing programs in local languages and dialects. Finally, TTRT 3 like the above mentioned channels broadcasts in 24 hours with a short startup at around 6.58 a.m. This is where TRT Ident is aired following with program list of the day and the National Anthem of Turkey. In the TRT 1 news channel it is evident that it is struggling to balance between addressing the government control versus addressing the public’s demands. This is seen in the programs aired that fosters national unity, entertainment and news purposes. On the other hand, the TRT Ident program that precedes the program listing and the national anthem addresses the government needs. This is a broadcasting element that seeks to indicate how loyal the station is to the government. This is a feature that significantly shows that TRT 1 news channel is not objective in its broadcasting whatsoever. As a matter of fact, it can be argued that the station faces self regulatory challenges and is subject to bias where the government has definite control over their operation. This is a feature that is seen in the other two news channels which include TRT 2 TRT 3. TRT 2 on the other hand focuses on arts and cultural factors which in a great way try to bring the people of Turkey together in order to stay away from the criticism of the public regarding their role in advocating the issues of the government. Finally, TRT 3 which airs sports, educational, cultural and news information and sharing their broadcast with Turkish Grand National Assembly TV (TBMM TV). From this perspective, it can be argued that, this news channel is also balancing with addressing interests of the public and balancing with addressing the government issues. This is despite the fact that, this news channels seems to command a greater public demand ranking at the third most preferred TRT news channel. Further, the introduction of the airing of programs and news in local languages and dialects is a subjective discourse that indicates that the broadcasting station is trying to win the viewership and trust of the public by addressing topical issues in their local languages. This appears like a project that seeks to correct a perception in the society which is the public viewing TRT channels as a voice of the government to TRT channels as the voice of the public. In conclusion, informing the members of the public and enlightening them are some of the social roles or TV channels. In the present day TV broadcasting has turned out to be away from broadcasting that serves the needs of the public due to the powers influenced by the government. In the news gathering stages which are where the basic information is formulated, the combination of government related programs in bid to show loyalty to the state is subjective and works against addressing the needs of the public. It is evident that the TRT news channels contains little informing that address the needs of the public and puts the government needs first. By so doing the main objective of the news text in TRT news channels is to showcase the value of the government, political events and events of the politicians. Subsequent to the year 1990 with the start of commercial broadcasting in Turkey, owing to the increase in competition amongst TV News channels and the significance of news for TV channels, the latest trend is one of the largest impediments to adequately inform the members of the public and create a democratic society. Over and above, this leads to loss of valuable public to other private news channels that serve their needs appropriately. Works cited Allen, Tim 'Perceiving Contemporary Wars'. In Allen, Tim and Jean Seaton (eds.), The Media of Conflict: War Reporting and Representations of Ethnic Violence. London and New York: Zed Books, pp.11-42. (1999) Bausinger, Hermann 'Media, Technology and Daily Life'. Media, Culture and Society, vol.6(4): 343-351. (1984) Berelson, Basil Content Analysis in Communication Research. Glencoe, Ill: Free Press. (1952) Blumler, Jay G. and Elihu Katz. The Uses of Mass Communications: Current Perspectives on Gratifications Research. Beverly Hills: Sage. (1974) Blumler, Jay G., Elihu Katz and Michael Gurevitch 'Utilisation of Mass Communications by the Individual'. In Blumler, J. and E. Katz (ed.), The Uses of Mass Communications: Current Perspectives on Gratifications Research. Beverly Hills: Sage, pp. 249-268. (1974) Bovill, Moira and Sonia Livingstone. 'Bedroom Culture and the Privatization of Media Use'. In Livingstone, Sonia and Moira Bovill (eds.), Children and their Changing Media Environment: A European comparative study. Mahwah, NJ: Laurence Erlbaum, pp. 179- 200. (2001) Collins, Richard. Culture, Communication and National Identity: The Case of Canadian Television. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. (1990) Corner, John (1996) 'Reappraising Reception: Aims, Concepts and Methods'. In Curran, James and Michael Gurevitch (eds.), Mass Media and Society (2 nd ed.). London: Arnold, pp. 280-304. Couldry, Nick. The Place of Media Power: Pilgrims and Witnesses in a Media Age. London: Routledge. (2000b) Curran, James 'The New Revisionism in Mass Communication Research'. European Journal of Communication, vol. 5(2/3): 135-164. (1990) Curran, James and Seaton, Jean. Power Without Responsibility: The Press and Broadcasting in Britain (First edition 1981, with many subsequent editions). Gilbert, Nigel and Michael Mulkay. Opening Pandora's Box: A Sociological Analysis of Scientists Discourse. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Gillespie, Marie. Television, Ethnicity and Cultural Change. London: (1984) Routledge. (1995) Golding, Peter and Graham Murdock. 'Culture, Communications and Political Economy'. In Curran, James and Michael Gurevitch (eds.), Mass Media and Society (2nd ed.). London: Arnold, pp. 11-30. (1996) Hall, Stuart 'Encoding/Decoding'. In Hall, Stuart et al. (eds.), Culture, Media, Language. London: Hutchinson, pp. 128-138. (1980) Hansen, Anders et al. Mass Communication Research Methods. London: Macmillan. (1998) Hargreaves, Alec and Dalila Mahjoub 'Satellite Television Viewing Among Ethnic Minorities in France'. European Journal of Communication, vol. 12(4): 459-477. (1997) Harindranath, Ramaswami. 'Ethnicity, National Culture(s) and the Interpretation of Television'. In Cottle, Simon (ed.), Ethnic Minorities and the Media. Buckingham: Open University Press, pp. 149-163. (2000) Held, David. 'Between State and Civil Society: Citizenship'. In Andrews, Geoff (ed.), Citizenship. London: Lawrence & Wishart. (1990) Heraclides, Alexis 'Greek Minority Policy: Anachronistic Attitude and its Causes'. Syghrona Themata, II./ 63: 32-35. (1997) Human Rights Watch Report Greece: The Turks of Western Thrace. New York and London: Human Rights Watch. (1999) Innis, Harold Adams. The Bias of Communication. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (1951) Jensen, Klaus Bruhn 'Denmark'. In Jensen, Klaus Bruhn (ed.), News of the World: World Cultures Look at Television News. London: Routledge, pp. 39-60. (1998a) Jensen, Klaus Bruhn (ed.) News of the World: World Cultures Look at Television News. London: Routledge. (1998b) Katz, Elihu. 'On Conceptualizing Media Effects'. Studies in Communications, vol.1: 119- 141. (1980) Katz, Elihu. 'The End of Journalism: News on Watching the War'. Journal of Communication, vol. 42(3): 5-13. (1992) Scannell, Paddy 'Public Service Broadcasting and Modern Public Life'. Media, Culture and Society, vol. 11: 135-166. Sc (1989) Copp, Hampton & Roemer (eds.): The Idea of Democracy, Cambridge, New York, Cambridge University Press 1993. Cohen, Joshua & Rogers, Joel: On Democracy: Toward a Transformation of American Society, Harmondsworth, Penguin 1983. McQuail, D. ‘The Netherlands: Freedom and Diversity under Multichannel Conditions’, in Television and the Public Interest, Blumler J. G., London: Sage: 96-111. (1992), Read More