Proximity as a News Value: A Quantitative Analysis of February 2023 Türkiye Earthquakes News in International Media

Yıl 2024, Cilt: 15 Sayı: 3, 662 - 675, 08.10.2024

Oktay Kirazoluğu

Öz

The researchers mainly assert that the press prioritizes the country's neighboring geographical areas in covering foreign news. As a news selection criterion, proximity is an essential measure of becoming news, especially in disasters. Türkiye faced devastating earthquakes in February 2023, and the news on the disaster covered a significant place in international media, which is vital to become a medium for rescue efforts and foreign aid to those in need. This study aims to determine whether the international media covers earthquake news within the "proximity" news value criteria. Hence, selected newspapers in the sixteen countries are analyzed quantitatively for five days after the event. The analysis results show that physically close nations cover the related news more than physically distant nations, partly confirming previous studies. However, the effect of the physical distance of the newspaper's hometown to the event scene on its coverage has started to lose its importance due to its online accessibility. The import, export, tourism, and population volume between countries does not have a significant effect on the coverage of earthquake news in the related country, contrary to what was expected. Earthquakes have a news value of magnitude, but in the absence of physical proximity, journalists seek psychological closeness to the readers. Therefore, the historical background, the religion and nationality relationship, and the current bilateral relations between the countries should also be considered in the evaluations regarding the news coverage in other countries.

Anahtar Kelimeler

News Values, Proximity Effect, Earthquake News

Haber Değeri Olarak Yakınlık Etkisi: Şubat 2023 Türkiye Depremlerine İlişkin Uluslararası Medyada Yer Alan Haberlerin Niceliksel Bir Analizi

Öz

Araştırmacılar, basının dış haberleri aktarırken öncelikle ülkenin komşu coğrafi bölgelerine öncelik verdiğini öne sürmektedirler. Bir haber seçim kriteri olarak yakınlık, özellikle afetlerde haber olmanın önemli bir ölçütüdür. Türkiye, Şubat 2023'te yıkıcı depremlere maruz kalmış, kurtarma çalışmalarına ve ihtiyaç sahiplerine yönelik dış yardımların bir aracı olması açısından hayati önem taşıyan bu felaket ile ilgili haberler uluslararası medyada önemli bir yer tutmuştur. Bu çalışmanın amacı, uluslararası medyanın deprem haberlerini “yakınlık” haber değeri kapsamında ele alıp almadığını ortaya çıkarmaktır. Bu nedenle on altı ülkeden seçilmiş gazeteler olaydan sonraki beş gün boyunca niceliksel olarak analiz edilmiştir. Analiz sonuçları, fiziksel olarak yakın olan ulusların birbirleri ile ilgili haberleri fiziksel olarak uzak olan uluslara göre daha fazla haberleştirdiğini göstermektedir ve bu da önceki çalışmaları kısmen teyit etmektedir. Ancak gazetenin bulunduğu yer ile olay mahallinin fiziki mesafesinin haber miktarına etkisi, gazetelerin çevrimiçi erişilebilirliği nedeniyle önemini kaybetmeye başlamıştır. Beklenenin aksine ülkeler arasındaki ithalat, ihracat, turizm ve nüfus hacminin, ilgili ülkedeki deprem haberlerinin miktarı üzerinde önemli bir etkisinin bulunmadığı görülmüştür. Depremlerin haber değeri büyüktür, ancak gazeteciler fiziksel yakınlığın olmadığı durumlarda okuyucu ile psikolojik yakınlık ararlar. Bu nedenle haberlerin diğer ülkelerde haberleştirilme oranına ilişkin değerlendirmelerde, ülkeler arasındaki tarihsel arka plan, din ve milliyet ilişkisi ile güncel ikili ilişkilerin durumu da göz önünde bulundurulmalıdır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Haber Değerleri, Yakınlık Etkisi, Deprem Haberleri

Kaynakça

• Adams, W. C. (1986). Whose Lives Count? T.V. Coverage of Natural Disasters. Journal of Communication, 36(2), 113–122. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1986.tb01429.x
• Berkowitz, D. & Beach, D.W. (1993). 'News sources and news context: The effect of routine news, conflict and proximity,' Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 70(1): 4–12.
• Boyd-Barrett, O. & Rantanen, T. (eds) (1998). The Globalization of News. London: Sage.
• Bridges, JA & Bridges, L.W. (1997). Changes in news use on the front pages of the American daily newspaper, 1986–1993, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 74(4): 826–38. Brüggemann, M. (2014). Between frame setting and frame sending: How journalists contribute to news frames. Communication Theory, 24(1), 61–82. doi:10.1111/comt.12027
• CNN. (2023). Turkey receives offers of quake aid from nearly 100 countries. Hande Atay Alam, February 9, 2023. https://edition.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/turkey-syria-earthquake-updates-2-9-23-intl/h_2700d06892d3c9707c61820e6d21ab22
• CNNTURK. (2023). June 19, 2023. İçişleri Bakanının açıklaması, https://www.cnnturk.com/turkiye/106-gun-depremde-olu-sayisi-ne-kadar-oldu-guncel-yarali-sayisi-kac-hangi-ilde-kac-bina-yikildi-kac-kisi-oldu
• Cohen, B.C. (1963). The press and foreign policy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
• Croteau, D., & Hoynes, W. (2014). Media/Society: Industries, Images, and Audiences (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
• DiMaggio, A. (2015). Selling War, Selling Hope: Presidential Rhetoric, the News Media, and U.S. Foreign Policy Since 9/11. New York: SUNY Press.
• Eyal, C.H. & Winter, J.P. (2016). Agenda-Setting for the Civil Rights Issue. In Protess, D. and McCombs, M. (Eds.), Agenda Setting (pp. 19–41). Taylor and Francis. Accessed on 05 March 2024. https://www.perlego.com/book/1569868/agenda-setting-readings-on-media-public-opinion-and-policymaking-pdf
• Fishman, M. (1980). Manufacturing the News. Austin: the University of Texas Press.
• Galtung, J., & Ruge, M. H. (1965). The Structure of Foreign News. Journal of Peace Research, 2(1), 64-91.
• Gaddy, G. D., & Tanjong, E. (1986). Earthquake coverage by the Western press. Journal of Communication, 36(2), 105–112. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1986.tb01428.x
• Golding, P., & Elliott, P. (1979). Making the news. London and New York, NY: Longman.
• GRADE, (2023). Global Rapid Post-Disaster Damage Estimation Report: February 6, 2023, Kahramanmaraş Earthquakes - Türkiye Report (English). Accessed on 18 February 2024. https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/099022723021250141/ p1788430aeb62f08009b2302bd4074030fb
• Gui, Q., Liu, C., & Du, D. (2018). International Knowledge Flows and the Role of Proximity. Growth and Change, 49(3), 532-547. https://doi.org/10.1111/grow.12245
• Harcup, T., & O'Neill, D. (2001). What is news? Galtung and Ruge revisited. Journalism Studies, 2(2), 261–280.
• Hargrove, T. & Stempel, G. H. (2002). Exploring reader interest in international news, Newspaper Research Journal, 23(4): 46–51.
• Harrison, J. (2006). News. London: Routledge.
• Henriksson, T., Roper, D., & Veseling, B. (2023). World Press Trends Outlook 2022-2023. Frankfurt: WAN-IFRA, the World Association of News Publishers. Accessed on 18 February 2024. https://wan-ifra.org/insight/report-world-press-trends-outlook-2022-2023/
• Hürriyet Daily News, (2023). March 02, 2023, 2 million people evacuated from quake-hit provinces. Accessed on 18 February 2024. https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/2-million-people-evacuated-from-quake-hit-provinces-181310
• Koopmans, R., & Vliegenthart, R. (2011). Media attention as the outcome of a diffusion process—A theoretical framework and cross-national evidence on earthquake coverage. European Sociological Review, 27(5), 636-653.
• MacBride, S. (1980). Many Voices, One World: Communication and society, today and tomorrow. Paris: UNESCO.
• Majid, A. (2024). Top 50 biggest news websites in the world: CNN fastest-growing top ten news website in January. PressGazette. Accessed on 20 February 2024. https://pressgazette.co.uk/media-audience-and-business-data/media_metrics/most-popular-websites-news-world-monthly-2/
• Masmoudi, M. (1979). The new world information order. Journal of Communication, 29 (2): 172–85.
• McQuail, D. (2010). McQuail’s Mass Communication Theory (6th ed.). Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
• Morton, L.P. & Warren J. (1992). Proximity: Localization vs. distance in P.R. news releases, Journalism Quarterly, 69(4): 1023–8.
• Murphy, A. & Tucker, H. (Edt). (2023). The Global 2000 ranking the world’s largest companies. Forbes. Accessed on 08 March 2024. https://www.forbes.com/lists/global2000/?sh=478fd8575ac0
• Nel, F. & Milburn-Curtis, C. (2021). World Press Trends 2020-21. Frankfurt: WAN-IFRA, the World Association of News Publishers. Accessed on 18 February 2024. https://wan-ifra.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/WAN-IFRA-Report_WPT2020-21.pdf
• Nordenstreng, K. (2011). Free flow doctrine in global media policy, pp. 79–94. In Mansell, Robin, and Raboy, Marc (eds) Handbook on Global Media and Communication Policy. New York: Wiley-Blackwell.
• O’Neill, D. & Harcup, T. (2020). News Values and News Selection. Wahl-Jorgensen, K., & Hanitzsch, T. (Eds.). The Handbook of Journalism Studies (2nd ed.). Routledge. pp.213–228. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315167497
• Pew, Research Center. (2021a). June 29, 2021. Newspapers Fact Sheet. https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/fact-sheet/newspapers/
• Pew, Research Center. (2021b). July 27, 2021. Digital News Fact Sheet. https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/fact-sheet/digital-news/
• Peyregne, V., Henriksson, T. & Stubbs, J. (2016). World Press Trends 2016. Paris: WAN-IFRA, the World Association of News Publishers. Accessed on 18 February 2024. https://wan-ifra.org/insight/world-press-trends-report-2016/
• Protess, D. & McCombs, M. (2016). Agenda Setting. 1st ed. Taylor and Francis. Accessed on 05 March 2024. https://www.perlego.com/book/1569868/agenda-setting-readings-on-media-public-opinion-and-policymaking-pdf
• Robertson, A. (2015). Media and Politics in a Globalizing World. Cambridge: Polity.
• Robinson, P., Goddard, P., Parry, K., Murray, C., & Taylor, P. (2010). Pockets of Resistance: British News Media, War, and Theory in the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. Manchester: University of Manchester Press.
• Sagan, P. & Leighton, T. (2010). The Internet and the future of news. Daedalus, Spring 2010, 119-125. Accessed on 18 February 2024. https://www.amacad.org/sites/default/files/daedalus/downloads/Sp2010_On-the-Future-of-News.pdf
• Simon, A. (1997). Television news and international earthquake relief. Journal of Communication, 47(3), 82–93. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1997.tb02718.x5
• Singer, E., Endreny, P., & Glassman, M. B. (1991). Media Coverage of Disasters: Effect of Geographic Location. Journalism Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1177/107769909106800106
• Shoemaker, P. J., Lee, J. H., Han, G. K., & Cohen, A. A. (2007). Proximity and Scope as News Values. Media Studies: Key Issues and Debates, 231-245.
• Sreberny-Mohammadi, A. (1984). The world of news, Journal of Communication, 34: 121–134.
• Staab, J. F. (1990). The role of news factors in news selection: A theoretical reconsideration. European Journal of Communication, 5(4), 423–443.
• Strömbäck, J., Karlsson, M., & Hopmann, D. N. (2012). Determinants of news content, Journalism Studies, 1(5-6), 718–728.
• Sykes, A. O. (1993). An Introduction to Regression Analysis. Coase-Sandor Institute for Law & Economics Working Paper No. 20.
• Thussu, D.K. (2018). International Communication. 1st ed. Bloomsbury Publishing. Accessed on 18 February 2024. https://www.perlego.com/book/875491/international-communication-continuity-and-change-pdf
• Watson, A. (2023). Most trusted sources of general news and information worldwide from 2011 to 2022. July 12, 2023. Accessed on 18 February 2024. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/381455/most-trusted-sources-of-news-and-info-worldwide/ #statisticContainer
• WTO - World Trade Organization. (2023). Evolution of trade under the WTO: handy statistics. Accessed on 18 February 2024. https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/statis_e/trade_evolution_e/evolution_trade_wto_e.htm
• Van Belle, D. A. (2000). New York Times and Network T.V. News Coverage of Foreign Disasters: The Significance of the Insignificant Variables. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1177/10776990000770010
• Van Dijk, T. (1988a). News as discourse. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Zelizer, B. (1993). Journalists as Interpretive Communities. Critical Studies in Mass Communication, 10(2), 219–237.