A SECTION FROM THE HISTORY OF ERZINCAN PRESS: ERZINCAN PRESS, PUBLISHING POLICY, AND LOCAL PRESS-POLITICS RELATIONS DURING THE PERIOD OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY (1950-1960)

Abstract

With the end of World War II, the prevailing winds of change and new balances in the world also affected Turkey. In the context of integration into the new process, the country has experienced a paradigm shift in a political, economic, and cultural sense, and with the multi-party system adopted in 1946, the opposition institution was officially settled which brought changes and transformations in the political, economic, and social structures. The transition to a multi-party political environment and the participation of the Democratic Party (DP) in the process not only diversified the political environment but also created a positive atmosphere for the press. The focus of this study is to reveal the press-politics relations of the DP, which came to power with an overwhelming majority throughout the country in the elections held on May 14, 1950, and stayed in power until May 27, 1960, in the local press of Erzincan. Since the DP established positive and good relations with the press during its establishment phase, opposition years, and the first years of its rule, and promised freedom of the press, it was supported by most of the press. However, in the following years of its rule, changes were seen in the press policies, and as a result, criticisms increased in the press regarding some of its administrative actions. This was also reflected in the publishing policies of the newspapers of the period. The main purpose of this study is to assess and determine the situation of the Erzincan press of the DP period by trying to understand the reflections of the DP’s press policies on the Erzincan press in the context of the publishing policies of the local newspapers of this city at that time. In this qualitative study with a descriptive research design based on literature review and newspaper copy (document) analysis, the local newspapers of Erzincan during that period were analyzed by using a content analysis method. According to the findings, it is concluded that only two of the nine newspapers -one for a while- published in Erzincan during the DP period followed an oppositional policy and seven of them followed a publishing policy that was supportive of the government. Additionally, according to the same findings, it is evaluated that the political power and economic and political environment of the period, as well as the ownership and political economy structures, played an important role in the determination and course of the publishing policies of the local newspapers of this city. Although there are many studies examining the DP period, the number of studies focusing on local press and publishing policies is very limited which constitutes a gap. This study is significant as it aims to contribute to the body of knowledge by addressing this gap.