News about women's murders in the print media: A critical discourse analysis

Violence is a concept that we may frequently encounter in our daily lives. Women, both in traditional and contemporary societies, are directly or indirectly affected by and exposed to violence. Femicide and violence against women are among the most significant social problems in both Turkey and the world. Gender-related stereotypes and the construction of women's roles within the family and social life based on these stereotypes are a result of the patriarchal structure, which also shapes the forms that violence against women takes. The marginalization of women, their treatment as second-class citizens, and their exposure to masculine violence are consequences of the male-dominated system that prevails in the political, economic, and social spheres of society. Every day, print and visual media report incidents of violence against women, and such news is increasingly gaining public attention. This situation makes violence against women and its various forms more visible in society. At this point, the language used by the media, its discourses, and the way these news stories are shared with the public are of critical importance. This thesis aims to reveal how news reports about femicide in Turkey's print media represent violence and which discursive strategies are employed in constructing these representations. News reports published between 2013 and 2023 in the newspapers Milliyet and Hürriyet were analyzed using Teun A. Van Dijk's Critical Discourse Analysis method. The news texts, along with any accompanying visuals, were examined together to understand how events are structured, which elements are emphasized, and which are marginalized. In this way, the study questions the role of the language and discourse used by the media in reproducing gender inequalities. The results of the study show that the way femicides are reported renders structural gender-based violence invisible; while the perpetrators are reduced to individual psychological motives, women are positioned as passive victims. This demonstrates that, through its discursive choices, the media functions as an ideological tool that reproduces patriarchal norms.