The 1961 and 1982 Constitutions in Hürriyet Newspaper

The theory, which sees the media as one of the persuasion tool of political rulers and underlines the reciprocal dependence relation between the political rulers in power and media institutions, accepts media as ?the new guardian of the order?. This theory also questions the myth of ?neutrality? and defends that media can not be neutral.Newspapers are different in many angles from those of the any other products or services in market. Newspapers have many features that other products or services do not have: They have political impact, economic power, and they also shape the upper structures, create and direct the public opinion.The newspapers in Turkey are not printed for informing the people or the readers, but to direct, preach and force them to take a stance in order to create a biased public opinion. In other words, they do not give news, they propagandize.The coup d?état in 1960 and 1961 Constitution aimed to enlarge the borders of democracy by taking the support of the base of the society. In contrast, the military coup d?état in 1980 was made for the strengthening authority and State, not for the protection and consolidation of freedoms and democracy.The 1982 Constitution, which was accepted by a referendum hold on November 7, 1982, eliminated the second chamber of the Parliament (the Republic Senate), strengthened the executive branch, and made the judiciary open to the effects of the executive branch. It also weakened the rules and institutions, which could protect the citizens against the strong political rulers in power, and widened the ways for containing basic rights and freedoms.Media is the most important political communication tool enabling political parties to reach and introduce themselves to undecided voters. Thereby, the impact of media on the political system becomes direct and discernible. During the campaigns before the referendum in 1961 and 1982, the newspapers in Turkey applied the propaganda as an effective tool for creating a biased public opinion.During these two terms of high political turmoil, citizens? freedom of communication was restricted and news was censored. The military leaders behind the coups used the media tools owned by private sector as an effective tool to present the ongoing process as ?right? and legitimate?. In those years, media did not question the limitation of its activities and freedoms by the repressive laws and only served in line with the expectations and the will of the military.It is understood that it is not possible to talk about media freedom. The economic dependence of the newspaper owners and of their managers and their political and ideological affiliation to some power groups prevent free press, and it will continue to prevent it.KEY WORDS1. Content Analysis2. Critical Approaches3. Press- Ruling Power Affair4. Newspaper Text5. Representation