Medya ve Din Araştırmaları Dergisi (Jun 2024)
The Role of News in Alevi Television Channels: Approaches to Addressing Both General and Alevi Audiences
Abstract
This article examines the function of news media on Alevi television channels. The increased visibility of faith-based identity movements in the public sphere during the 1990s led to the study of these communities in media research. This study contributes to these discussions by focusing on news media, an area not yet extensively examined concerning faith communities. The research is based on an 18-month field study involving participant observation and in-depth interviews, focusing on the news production processes of Cem TV, Yol TV, and TV 10, during 2014 and 2015. The study argues that news media serves a dual function for faith communities like the Alevis, enabling them to address both a general audience and their own community simultaneously. Alevi broadcasters create news bulletins that appeal to a general audience while also including news relevant to Alevis. They achieve this in two ways. The first is by utilizing television technology to include an “Alevi news” segment at the beginning of the news, covering developments particularly relevant to Alevis. The second way is by maintaining a more “neutral” language in the news bulletins while expressing opinions on developments concerning Alevis in news and discussion programs.
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