Selçuk iletiŞİM

Predicting the Image of Turkey and the Prime Minister Erdoğan… (68-75)
71
- Peacemaker
- Protector of Turkey's reputation
- Populist (Acted for the sake of upcom-
ing elections)
- Acted in humanitarian terms not politi-
cal terms
- Anti-semitist
2.3. Intercoder Reliability
In order to attribute the news articles to the
defined categories two coders were used in the
data collection. To increase inter-coder objec-
tivity, the coders were informed on the nature
and the meaning of the classification criteria
and the categories that are used. Coding form
was pre-tested after the training of the coders.
The necessary refinements were made accord-
ing to the results of the pilot study. After that,
the coders received coding sheet for every
news article in the sample and each coder at-
tributed news articles to the defined categories.
The items that show no agreement between
coders where resolved by referee.
All the categories of the coding sheet were
consisted of nominal scale questions so
Cohen’s Kappa coefficient was computed for
reliability tests among the coders. Calculated
inter-coder reliability for nominal questions
(Cohen’s Kappa) is 77%. Most published con-
tent analysis report a minimum reliability coef-
ficient of about 75% or above when using pi or
kappa (Wimmer et al. 2006: 169). According
to the inter-coder agreements, the study is reli-
able.
3.  FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS
Within the confines of the research period (30
January 2009-14 February 2009) 647 news
articles mentioning the word “Davos” appeared
in four selected newspapers, Hürriyet, Cum-
huriyet, Zaman and Yeni Şafak. Out of 647
news articles 325 were found relevant and
coded.  Table  1  indicates  that  in  terms  of  the
frequency of news articles per newspaper, there
were no sharp distinctions between Yeni Şafak,
Zaman and Hürriyet. All three newspapers
gave the same amount of attention to the Davos
incident. Cumhuriyet reported on the incident
less than the other three.
Table 1. Distribution of the articles
Newspaper
Frequency
Percent
Hürriyet
81
%24,9
Cumhuriyet
63
%19,4
Zaman
93
%28,6
Yeni Şafak
88
%27,1
Total
325
%100
Table 2 indicates that the majority of news
articles on Davos incident appeared in the
agenda section of the newspapers with %40.3
which was followed by other (%24.6) and
foreign news section (%19.4). It shows that the
incident was reported mostly as part of the
agenda of Turkey. Although headline section
seems to have a relatively lower rate (%11.1)
than other sections, the reason behind this is
that for the most part the news articles that
appear in headline section continue in agenda
section or foreign news sections.
Table 2. Section of Newspaper where the arti-
cle on Davos incident appeared
Frequency
Percent
Headline
36
%11,1
Agenda
131
%40,3
Foreign News
63
%19,4
Economy
15
%4,6
Other_%_within_Newspaper_Name_4,9%_23,8%_25,8%_42%_Count_81_63_93_88_Total'>Other
80
%24,6
Total
325
%100
As  Table  3  indicates  that  for  the  most  part
Hürriyet reported the news on Davos incident
in its agenda section (%67.9); headline, foreign
news, economy and other sections had signifi-
cantly lower rates in terms of allocating the
news articles on Davos. What can be said from
there is that Hürriyet framed Davos incident
heavily part of Turkey’s own agenda. Simi-
larly, Cumhuriyet used mostly its agenda sec-
tion (%49.2) to report the Davos news but also
foreign news (%20.6) and other (%23.8) sec-
tions had considerable rates. What is signifi-
cant for Cumhuriyet is that headline (%4.8) and
economy (%1.6) sections were almost not used
to report the news. What is worth mentioning is
that Cumhuriyet framed Davos incident not as

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Selçuk İletişim, 6, 3, 2010
72
an important issue (or hard news) to report it in
its headline section. Different than Hürriyet
and Cumhuriyet, Zaman and Yeni Şafak used
every section with considerable rates for the
news articles on Davos. This suggests that
Zaman and Yeni Şafak reported different as-
pects of Davos incident by giving the news
articles in every section of the newspaper.
Table 3. Section split in newspapers where news articles on Davos incident appeared
Newspaper Name
Hürriyet
Cumhuriyet
Zaman
Yeni Şafak
Count
8
3
14
11
Headline
% within Newspaper Name
9,9%
4,8%
15,1%
12,5%
Count
55
31
21
24
Agenda
% within Newspaper Name
67,9%
49,2%
22,6%
27,3%
Count
8
13
33
9
Foreign
News
% within Newspaper Name
9,9%
20,6%
35,5%
10,2%
Count
6
1
1
7
Economy
% within Newspaper Name
7,4%
1,6%
1,1%
8%
Count
4
15
24
37
Other
% within Newspaper Name
4,9%
23,8%
25,8%
42%
Count
81
63
93
88
Total
% within Newspaper Name
100%
100%
100%
100%
Table 4 shows that Hürriyet, Zaman and Yeni
Şafak used general news more than column
news whereas this trend is vice versa in Cum-
huriyet with significantly more column usage
(%57.1) than general news usage (%36.5).
Here it is important to give the operational
definition of general news that implies news
articles by reporters and by news services.
Given the split of news coverage types within
the selected newspapers, it suggests that Hürri-
yet, Zaman and Yeni Şafak represented its offi-
cial opinion on Davos incident by its reporters
and by news services. On the contrary, Cum-
huriyet represents its official opinion by its
columnists. Moreover, the other category in-
volving commentaries by experts from outside
and special/featured interviews demands a
special attention for examination. Cumhuriyet,
Zaman and Yeni Şafak used such commentaries
and interviews to report on Davos incident. In
contrast, Hürriyet did not report through such
news coverage at all.
Table 4. Type of news coverage
Newspaper Name
Hürriyet
Cumhuriyet
Zaman
Yeni Şafak
Count
48
23
58
54
General
news
% within Newspaper Name
59,3%
36,5%
62,4%
61,4%
Count
33
36
24
29
Column
% within Newspaper Name
40,7%
57,1%
25,8%
33,0%
Count
0
4
11
5
Other
% within Newspaper Name
0%
6,3%
11,8%
5,7%
Count
81
63
93
88
Total
% within Newspaper Name
100%
100%
100%
100%
Table 5 supports the findings of the Table 4. It
shows that Hürriyet, Zaman and Yeni Şafak
rely notably on fact/declaration news style
whereas Cumhuriyet used opinion/comment to
report on Davos incident. It is clear that differ-
ent  than  the other   newspapers,
Cumhuriyet
reported the news more through subjective
approaches.  When  we  look  at  the  Table  4  we
see that Cumhuriyet  used  column  as  the  main
news  coverage  type.  At  the  same  time,  when
we investigate Table 5 Cumhuriyet used opin-
ion/comment as the main vehicle to convey the
news.

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