Press function of establishing public opinion

In this study we studied mass media's function of forming public opinion with an emphasis on the relationship between the mass media and the. The fundamental aimed the study is to prove that the mass media plays an important role in forming public opinion. We tried to confirm this hypothesis using the content analysis method. Based on the data acquired during the study if could be suggested that the media mostly try to functionalize the "spiral of silence" and "agenda setting" processes. Press alone doesn't have an absolute power the shape the public opinion but does affect the development of the opinions. But the question of whether this affecting process only help the formation of the opinion or manipulates it towards a certain direction remains as a problem. There is a positive relationship between healthy operation of a democratic political system and objective information level of the society. In a democratic society, it is a duty of the mass media to carry researches on significant events which occupy an important place with him the public agenda and to inform the society. November 3rd, 1996 a vital accident took place near team Susurluk and three people were killed. Reporting the event, press emphasized the victims identities, underlined the triangle of "State-Mafia-Politics", and put the event on the center of the public agenda. As a result it has been found at that the mass media played in important role during the event.