Digital transformation of local news: Comparison of Yozgat printed newspapers and websites

In this master's thesis, the effects of the digitalization process on local journalism are examined in Yozgat province. The main objective of the research is to analyze the transformations brought by new media technologies to the local press by evaluating the changes in news production and content in both the print and digital editions of six local newspapers published in Yozgat. The study questions the impact of digitalization in journalism on content structure, news presentation, news sources, and the emphasis on locality. The data set of the research consists of news articles published in six daily newspapers based in Yozgat and their respective websites in February 2024. Both quantitative and qualitative content analysis methods were employed, and variables such as news category, source, scope, headline characteristics, and the use of visual-audio elements were systematically coded. The data were evaluated statistically and the findings were interpreted content-oriented. According to the research findings, digitalization increases the use of visual-audio content and the diversity of news in local newspapers, emphasizes locality in headlines, yet the dominance of agency-based content in certain categories limits editorial originality. Significant differences were identified between print and digital newspapers in terms of the number of news articles, scope, and content. It was determined that local newspapers could not fully utilize technological opportunities in the digitalization process, particularly lagging behind in terms of interactivity and multimedia usage. This study addresses the relationship between local media and digitalization in Anatolia through a current example and contributes to the literature by providing recommendations for the digitalization processes of local newspapers.