THE ATTITUDE OF TURKISH CYPRIOT MEDIA ON EU RELATIONS

This study is devoted to the analyzing of the attitude of Turkish Cypriot Press on the development of the relations between EU and Turkish Cypriots, within the context of EU enlargement process. It has been found that a part of the press supports the necessity o f the development of relations with EU; however, a part of the press is more cautious on these relations. The attitude of both groups has an important role in shaping the ideas of Turkish Cypriots on EU.

Together with the developments in communication technologies, media became the most effective power ccenter of the world. Likewise, media is described as the fourth power in Cyprus, like most of the western countries. Naturally, media today, possess the methods and the means to affect as well as to change the attitudes and behavior of people. Media, possessing the power on determining the attitudes is also effective in shaping national and International relations.

In this research, the attitudes of Turkish Cypriot community and the role of press on EU relations in recent past has been studied. Three newspapers of the highest circulation were searched thoroughly, and the news and interpretations concerning EU have been analyzed through “content analysis method”. The results are compared with Euro Barometer 67 and 68 public opinion (on Turkish Cypriots) results, and evaluated.