Self-censorship in news production process: Gaziantep local press example

The concept of censorship and self-censorship is a problem, which has indicated its effect in almost every area, has frequently been encountered throughout the history. Additionally, it can be stated that the media sector is the area where the impact of censorship and self-censorship is commonly felt in the public sphere. One of the biggest problems in today's media sector is undoubtedly censorship and self-censorship practices. Thus, the people who are most affected by these censorship and self-censorship practices in the media field are undoubtedly media employees. Specifically, depending on the idea that people should talk and discuss more about self-censorship than censorship in the 21st century, this thesis was studied in order to find answers to the reasons for self-censorship which is one of the biggest questions in the media sector. In the current study the focus is on local media in Gaziantep and the causes and consequences of self-censorship of journalists working in the local press are discussed. In the frame of the research, in-depth interviews were conducted with the owners/managers, news managers and reporters working for the local newspapers in Gaziantep. In the study, which aimed to highlight how much self-censorship was internalized in the centre of the news and became almost a daily routine, self-censorship was addressed from their own point of view by journalists working in the local press and the conditions of self-censorship for both themselves and news while performing their profession were found out.