An alternative approach to traditional journalism understanding in turkey: internet journalism

Internet, being a new communication technology, is now being used in media and journalism as well as many other various fields. The use of Internet in journalism has brought with it discussions on the matter whether it will be able to create an alternative media environment against the mainstream media giants dominating the field. In this regard, this study attempted to unveil the potential of Internet newspapers in Turkey to create an alternative to mainstream media. For this purpose, the Internet versions of main stream printed newspapers operating in Turkey and Internet newspapers that are not affiliated to any printed press or a large media company were examined in terms of the news production format, content, resources and operation. As a result of the study based on critical economy political point of view, it was concluded that Internet press operates in a capitalist market system; and due to the fact that main stream media dominates Internet as well, the potential of Internet press to become an alternative to main stream media and its Internet versions was found to be quite low. Keywords: Political Economy, Internet, New Communication Technologies, Journalism, Online Journalism, Online Newspaper, New Media, Alternative Media, Social Media.