Analyzing “Child” Stories in Cyprus Newspaper Regarding the “Child Image in Cyprus Culture”

Abstract

Child is one of the most sensitive issues of societies and states in all around the world. Also, “childhood” is such a stage of life that arouses the interest of every segment of society. News about child in the press arouses more interest compared to other topics of news. The “newsworthiness” of news about child sometimes brings about the phenomenon of child abuse in media. What is more, the content and quality of news about child in the press give important clues regarding the value and status of child within society. For this reason, in this research it was aimed to study the content of news about child in the press in Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The research reviewed 4 national newspapers with largest circulation, everyday between March 2012 and May 2012. The news were analyzed according to the region of the country; if the news source is domestic or from abroad; the topic of the news; target group of the news; the content of the message (positive/negative); and, type and category of the news. Content analysis was applied to the collected data. According to the analysis results, the topics of the news are mainly about education, culture-art, and social solidarity-charity, and news with negative message are generally about child abuse. Findings of the research were analyzed according to the way they reflect child’s status and value in society in Cypriot culture.