Print Media and Civil-Military Relations in Greece and Turkey
Description:... The media in Greece and Turkey have played a crucial role in the political communication in their countries. Along with their main functions of monitoring the policies of the government on behalf of the public and providing news, the media in these two countries also served as key actors producing meanings through interpretative journalism. This study analyzes how Greek and Turkish newspapers’ columnists interpreted and framed military takeovers in their countries after the takeovers had happened. Refuting arguments in the literature asserting that Greek columnists kept their silence during the military regime due to censorship, while there was strong and open support in Turkey among newspaper columnists for the 12 September coup and the subsequent rule, this study argues that the situations in both countries were much more complex than these studies have claimed. It shows that important similarities existed between Greek and Turkish officers’ approach to the media in their countries during their respective periods of rule. In addition, Greek and Turkish columnists shared both similarities and differences in their framings and interpretations of the military’s takeover in their countries and the subsequent interregna.
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