DEVELOPMENT PROCESS OF LOCAL PRESS IN TURKEY FROM OTTOMAN PERIOD TO PRESENT TIME

Having changed both in broad and local scales, communication methods of Turkish press from Ottoman Period to present time have undergone various transformations due to economical, political and social conditions. In this study, with the aim of determining whether the contemporary local press has adapted to the digital technology or not, 54 local newspapers from 29 provinces in Turkey have been examined with qualitative and quantitative methods. Criteria like age of newspapers, number of employees, proprietorship status, references and photography usage have been handled as data. At the end of the study, it has been observed that number of local newspapers, whose history spans almost a century, has decreased and these newspapers avoid using digital technology. On the other hand, it has been established that there is a significant increase in the number of recently founded local newspapers, however these newspapers also have not sufficiently adapted to digital technology yet. Necessity of enriching local newspaper staff with young communication specialists who can use digital technology and requirement for technical infrastructural support to local newspapers are among other conclusions reached within our study