Reporting Conflict and Peace in Cyprus: Journalism Matters 3030950093, 9783030950095

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Reporting Conflict and Peace in Cyprus Journalism Matters Sanem Şahin

Reporting Conflict and Peace in Cyprus “This is a massively researched, theoretically rich, historically rooted study of the multiple ways in which the media have handled the still on-going nationalistic rivalries and peace process in Cyprus. But in stressing the ethical responsibilities of both professional and non-professional journalists, Sanem Şahin shows how the media can be utilised to transcend the stereotyping of ‘us’ versus ‘them’ dichotomies and promote, instead, understanding and reconciliation between the Greek and Turkish communities. While the focus throughout is on Cyprus, the findings of this are of global significance.” —Richard Lance Keeble, Professor of Journalism, University of Lincoln, UK

Sanem Şahin

Reporting Conflict and Peace in Cyprus Journalism Matters

Sanem Şahin University of Lincoln Lincoln, UK

ISBN 978-3-030-95009-5    ISBN 978-3-030-95010-1 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95010-1 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the ­publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and ­institutional affiliations. Cover illustration: Brain light / Alamy Stock Photo This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

For my mum, Zeynep and my daughter, Maya.

Acknowledgments

I am grateful to many people in many ways for making this book possible. First of all, I want to express my gratitude to all the journalists who shared their views, stories and experiences with me. They gave their time and helped my research in various ways. I have not mentioned their names to ensure their anonymity. In particular, I want to thank those who guided me throughout my research with their ideas and knowledge in journalism in Cyprus. Among them, I wish to express gratitude to Cenk Mutluyaklı and Sami Özuslu for providing insights into journalism in the northern part of Cyprus. I am also grateful to Christos Christofides for helping me connect with Greek Cypriot journalists. I want to say a special thank you to Christophoros Christophorou for helping and supporting me at every stage of my research. He has been very encouraging and has provided me with constructive critiques. He is a good mentor and friend. I am also grateful to Maria Avraamidou, Yücel Vural and Christophoros Christophorou for their comments on various drafts. I found their remarks helpful and inspiring. Many colleagues at the University of Lincoln offered their inspiration and support. I am grateful for their help and guidance. I also want to acknowledge the BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grant (18/19) I received, which helped me conduct my research. It gave me the opportunity to travel to Cyprus to interview journalists. The most precious help came from my family and friends. They gave me encouragement and support throughout the process. All errors and shortcomings in the book are entirely my own. vii

Contents

1 Introduction  1 The Cyprus Problem and Journalism   4 About the Book   5 References   8 2 Understanding Journalism 11 Journalistic Roles and Performance  12 Digital Journalism  18 Conflict, Peace and Journalism  21 Patriotism and Journalism in Conflicts  24 Peace and Journalism  28 Peace Journalism  32 Conflict, Peace and Journalism in Cyprus  35 References  39 3 News Media and the Conflict in Cyprus 53 Understanding the Cyprus Conflict  54 The Establishment of the Republic of Cyprus  56 After the Division  58 The Cyprus Peace Process  59 Media and the Cyprus Problem  61 Broadcasting  65 Media After the Division  67 Journalism and Conflict in Cyprus  71 ix

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Political Party Journalism  76 Conclusion  79 References  80 4 Journalistic Roles in Cyprus 87 Professional Journalism in Cyprus  88 Autonomy  89 Professional Organisations  91 Education  92 Influences on Journalism  93 The Cyprus Problem and Self-Censorship  94 Turkey  97 Political Forces  98 Economic Forces 102 Media Ownership 106 Journalists’ Role Perceptions 109 Ethical Concerns 113 Conclusion 115 References 116 5 The Peace Process and Journalism in Cyprus125 Journalism in Divided Communities 125 Asymmetry in the Flow of Information 126 Interaction Between Journalists 128 Patriotism 132 Journalism and Peace Negotiations 137 Negotiations 138 Polarisation 140 Commercial Pressures 143 Journalists’ Role in Reconciliation 144 Conclusion 151 References 152 6 Digital Journalism in Cyprus159 A Shift in Relations 160 Digital Journalism 162 Audience 164 Sources 168

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Digital Media and the Cyprus Problem 170 Peacebuilding and Social Media 175 Journalism, Peacebuilding and Digital Media 180 Ethical Concerns 181 Conclusion 184 References 185 7 Conclusion195 Conclusions 200 The Way Forward 202 References 203 Index205

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Journalism matters. It is an essential element of the democratic process, as democracy requires information, public debate and scrutiny of power. Journalism provides citizens with the information they need to participate in democratic processes, acts as a platform for public discussions, carries the messages of governments and the governed to each other and acts as a watchdog to check on power. In conflict societies, journalism has additional responsibilities and challenges than established democracies. When tensions rise or the communication between conflicting parties breaks down, the public’s need to get information increases. The news media and journalists become vital sources of information for the public to make sense of the causes of the conflict and the changes their communities are going through. The news media and journalists provide the public with information and interpretations to help understand and respond to the conflict. The way they report these changes can contribute to tensions, fears and intolerance or promote the interests and benefits of a peaceful resolution and democracy. At times like this, their influence on shaping attitudes, beliefs and values can be prominent. Their position as public communicators also puts them in the centre of a power struggle among the powerful elites, who want to control the framing of the conflict. Voluntarily or involuntarily, journalists become part of these political contests that create extra pressures and challenges on their work. Consequently, journalists in

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conflict-­affected societies frequently negotiate their roles and balance professional norms, ethical obligations, patriotic sentiments and commercial and political pressures. Journalism is a social institution. Institutional structures, norms, routines, and rules are discursively created and provide journalists with guidance about managing the complexities of news making (Hanitzsch and Vos 2017; Vos and Thomas 2018). Journalists select and process information according to these accepted norms, rules and procedures of institutions. The construction of roles is ‘the discursive articulation and enactment of journalism’s identity as a social institution’ (Hanitzsch and Vos 2017, 120). In the discursive field of journalism, the meaning and roles of journalism are not fixed but are constantly reshaped or renegotiated. Journalism functions according to its norms and rules but is also related to and influenced by other fields such as politics, economy and culture (Benson and Neveu 2005; Bourdieu 1998). Transformations in these fields also lead to a discursive renegotiation and redefinition of journalism. That is why journalism’s relationship with other institutions is relevant to how journalism is conceptualised and practised. Journalists’ role orientations and experience affect their practice and the news content (Lohner et  al. 2016; Mellado and van Dalen 2014; Pragers and Hameleers 2018). However, it does not mean that the way journalists see their professional roles and practices always match. Research shows that they do not (Hellmueller and Mellado 2015; Mellado 2015; Tandoc et al. 2013; Pihl-Thingvad 2015; Mellado and Van Dalen 2014). What journalists believe they should do, what they think they are doing and what they actually do can be different. In conflict-affected societies, journalists’ perceptions of their roles and responsibilities can also influence whether they play a supportive or undermining role in peacebuilding and democratisation efforts: Journalists, who consider their professional role as a watchdog that scrutinises political authorities, or as a civic one which involves explaining and educating public about peace and conflict, or as supporters of peace and reconciliation by promoting tolerance are more likely to have a positive impact on the conflict resolution efforts. However, when their views and practices are influenced by non-democratic values, they are more likely to undermine the peacebuilding and democratisation process (Lohner et al. 2016). Many studies point to the role the news media and journalism play in escalating conflicts. Yet, it is not an easy task to isolate and study journalism’s role in the development and progress of a war. Other forces, such as

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politics, economy and culture, also shape public opinion, and as a social field, journalism is subject to the changes within them forces. It does not mean that journalism is determined by these forces that push it to conform to the interests of power or lacks the ability to alter things. Just as they affect journalism, journalism can also affect them. It can transform political realities by defining issues, introducing new actors and setting agendas. It is journalists that make editorial decisions that feed into public knowledge and perceptions. In that way, they can have a direct or indirect effect on the political processes. Therefore, it is necessary to consider journalism’s relationship with various forces when examining its role in society. In conflict-affected societies, journalists are involved in the developments that either promote or inhibit a transition from conflict to peace and democracy. They play a significant part in constructing and disseminating their communities’ narratives about conflict, identity and history. They can promote dialogue and tolerance that supports reconciliation efforts, or hinder or obstruct them (Voltmer 2013). They can also define the relevance and significance of democratisation and peacebuilding processes, act as propaganda tools, and disseminate narratives that justify the conflict. The news media have a role as a gatekeeper of information and could decide whose voices to include. They can provide access to different groups and contribute to developing a culture of inclusiveness. But they can also create a polarised environment by inciting tensions and violence through biased and flawed reporting. Journalism adapts itself to the changes that societies go through at different stages of a conflict. They respond to them by adopting various roles in line with the expectations and values of their communities. For example, journalism during a war tends to be more patriotic than any other time. It gives voice to authorities rather than reflect diverse views. It does not and cannot fully fulfil some of its essential professional roles, such as the watchdog role. In post-conflict periods, journalism subscribes to a broader range of responsibilities and adopts roles such as educator, activist, promoting peace and public interest protector (Andresen et al. 2017). It is hard to generalise on the direction journalism will take in transition periods since a diverse combination of factors, which can be different in each case, determine the media’s roles. However, journalism practised during conflicts does not immediately change or disappear in post-conflict periods (Orgeret 2016; Jungblut and Hoxha 2017). Instead, it continues to exist within the new system. Political pressures, economic insecurities and ethical dilemmas still affect journalists and shape their work in the

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post-conflict period. Journalists may develop new practices, values and identities, but these co-exist with the old ones rather than replace them immediately (Voltmer 2013; Jebril et al. 2013). For example, journalism that supports government ideology during a conflict or opposes it could exist together in a post-conflict period. As journalists affect conflicts, they are also affected by them. It can be challenging to maintain the normative ideals of journalism, such as detachment and neutrality when reporting wars. Conflicts are full of risks such as death, kidnapping or arrest and pose extra professional and moral challenges. Covering a conflict for journalists when they are members of one of the conflicting parties present further dilemmas, such as experiencing a tension between their professionalism and sense of belonging to their community (Zandberg and Neiger 2005; Waisbord 2002; Ginosar 2015). On the one hand, local journalists want to be professional that requires them to be impartial and keep their detachment from the issues and events they cover. On the other hand, their attachment to their national or ethnic communities requires them to side with their community. In conflict situations, these journalists deal with values that are at odds with each other.

The Cyprus Problem and Journalism The conflict in Cyprus, also known as the Cyprus problem, started as an ethno-nationalist tension between Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities and resulted in Turkey’s military intervention in 1974 and the division of the island. Today, separated by a buffer zone, Greek Cypriots live in the southern part under the legally recognised the Republic of Cyprus (RoC). Turkish Cypriots live in the northern part under a self-­ declared, but unrecognised administration called the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). The search for a peaceful settlement began in 1968 and is still ongoing without much success. The conflict conditions that restricted and eroded many aspects of public life, such as the development of civil society and democratic citizenship, have steadily improved over the years. Both sides have adopted the principles and institutions of democracy, and today they are free and democratic, although the level of freedoms varies on each side. Numerous peace and confidence-building efforts have increased the contact and communication between the two communities. However, the lack of progress on finding a comprehensive settlement to the Cyprus problem reinforces a sense of insecurity and encourages polarised national narratives. As a result, it contributes to the prolongation of the conflict.

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Cyprus provides an interesting case study to understand journalism in conflict-affected societies. The conflict in Cyprus has never formally ended. However, the lack of violence makes it feel relatively peaceful, unlike many other conflict zones. This ambiguity makes Cyprus a good case study to explore journalists’ role orientations in conflict and post-­ conflict situations. Nevertheless, studying journalism in Cyprus is not just to understand the situation there but also to broaden our understanding of journalism in different places and types of conflicts. Journalism could have similar characteristics in various areas. It could also play different roles and exert other effects in conflicts that look very alike. Therefore, exploring journalism in Cyprus provides further evidence of the media’s impact on society and helps better theorise journalistic roles and influences in conflict situations.

About the Book This book studies journalistic roles and practices in Cyprus to better understand journalism in conflict-affected societies. It explores the relationship between societal changes and journalism at different stages of the Cyprus conflict. It is interested in journalists’ perceptions of their professional roles and external forces that affect their work. Research on journalism and the news media in the Cyprus problem has progressed over the years. Many studies have established that the media’s role in continuing intercommunal tensions has been a negative one. However, the scholarly attention paid to journalism and professional identities, values and practices is more recent. There are still gaps in the knowledge on the journalism culture on each side of the island. This book aims to fill in these gaps by exploring journalism on the island through journalists’ perceptions of their role and the influences on their work. The material comes from other research on journalism in Cyprus and my interviews with journalists working for Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot media. Interviewing journalists was essential to learn their views on professionalism and experiences, especially concerning the Cyprus problem, as research on this area is still scarce. The overall aim is to contribute to the knowledge on journalism’s role in conflicts and peacebuilding. Therefore, the book brings together different elements of journalism, peace and conflict studies to provide a perspective on the role of journalism in conflict transformation. It adds to the comparative understanding of journalism in conflict-affected societies by focusing on Cyprus as a case study of journalism in a conflict situation.

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The book consists of five chapters. The second chapter outlines the main theories on journalism, peace and conflict that guide this work. The central arguments are that journalism is a socio-historical construction, and therefore, its meaning is not fixed but fluid. Journalists renegotiate their roles and responsibilities according to the values and expectations of their societies and reconstruct their professional identities. But journalism is not just determined by these expectations or societal influences. Despite structural restrictions, such as political, economic or organisational forces, journalism has a certain degree of autonomy. Journalists are active players because they define, frame and promote the issues related to conflicts and peace efforts. That is why understanding how journalists see and practice their roles in conflict-affected societies is important in comprehending journalism in conflict and post-conflict periods. Journalism cannot be studied separately from the broader socio-­political and historical context in which it is embedded. Therefore, historical context also needs to be examined to understand today’s journalism better. This is also the case in Cyprus. Journalistic roles and practices have changed with the transitions in the Cyprus conflict. For example, the news media that support nationalist ideologies of each side exist with those that promote reconciliation and peaceful solutions. Journalism has also shifted from partisan to a detached form of journalism that appeals to broader audiences. The third chapter of this book provides a historical context of the conflict and the news media’s involvement in its creation and development. It discusses the transformations in journalism and its responses to political realities over the years. The fourth chapter is about professionalism and explores the progress of professionalism in Cyprus through autonomy, professional organisations and education. The concept of professionalism is essential in maintaining standards and identity and therefore is related to journalists’ perception of roles and societal responsibilities (Hanitzsch and Örnebring 2020, 107). The chapter looks at the broader context of journalism in Cyprus. It examines the influences of forces, such as political, economic, media ownership and organisational, on journalists’ work on both sides of the island. It discusses the impact of internalisation of official ideologies concerning the Cyprus problem and self-censorship. It considers how political parallelism, clientelism, economic pressures and media ownership structures undermine journalists’ autonomy. The fifth chapter of the book focuses on the relationship between peace and journalism in Cyprus. It examines the impact of the division on

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journalism on the island. It discusses the professional and ethical challenges journalists experience, especially when reporting on the issues concerning intercommunal relations. The continuation of the Cyprus problem means journalists must balance their professional responsibilities with patriotic sentiments and commercial and political pressures. Asymmetry in the information flow between sides, patriotism and a lack of trust between communities are some of the problems journalists encounter in their work. Yet, some journalists across the divide have taken steps to improve the relations between the media and communities on both sides. Digital media technologies have changed the relations between the three key actors, elites, the news media and citizens. The new media technologies have increased citizen participation in news production and public debate, diversified the range of sources that appeared in the media, and thus, amplified the possibility of exposing users to alternative views. However, they have also provided elites, who already have access to legacy media, with more media platforms to convey their messages. In Cyprus, where the discourses of the news and peace process are controlled by elites, especially digital networked media have become a platform of counter-­hegemonic and challenging views and expressions. Yet, the main concern with social media is that as they can enhance the intercommunal dialogue by creating an online public sphere, they can also spread hatred and violence. The latter adds to the polarisation and divisions between communities. The sixth chapter explores these changes and discusses their impact on journalism and the mediation of the Cyprus problem. Journalism in Cyprus has developed separately across the divide. Inevitably, there are similarities and differences in the way journalism is conceptualised and practised. When discussing journalism on each side of the island, the book broadly categorises and identifies journalists as Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot. This is done with the knowledge that not all journalists working in the media in the northern and southern parts of Cyprus define themselves with these ethnic identities. Using these terms is not to ignore the diversity among the journalists of Cyprus but to make it easier to distinguish the similarities and differences in the attitudes and characteristics of journalism that are dominant in each part of the island.

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References Andresen, K, Hoxha, A and Godole, J (2017) New Roles for Media in The Western Balkans: A study of Transitional Journalism. Journalism Studies, 18(5): 614 Benson, R. and Neveu, E. (2005) Introduction: Field Theory as a Work in Progress. In Benson, R. and Neveu, E. (eds) Bourdieu and The Journalistic Bourdieu, P. (1998) On Television. New York: New Press. Ginosar A. (2015) Understanding patriotic journalism: Culture, ideology and professional behavior. Journal of Media Ethics 30(4): 289–301. Hanitzsch, T. and Örnebring, H. (2020) Professionalism, Professional Identity, and Journalistic Roles. In: Wahl-Jorgensen, Karin and Hanitzsch, Thomas. The Handbook of Journalism Studies New  York, NY: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group Hanitzsch, T. and Vos, T.P., (2017) Journalistic Roles and the Struggle Over Institutional Identity: The Discursive Constitution of Journalism. Communication Theory, 27(2), pp. 115–136. Hellmueller, L.  and Mellado, C., (2015). Professional Roles and News Construction: A Media Sociology Conceptualization Of Journalists’ Role Conception And Performance. Communication & Society, 28(3), pp. 1–11. Jungblut, M. and Hoxha, A., (2017) Conceptualising journalistic self-censorship in post-conflict societies: A qualitative perspective on the journalistic perception of news production in Serbia, Kosovo and Macedonia. Media, War & Conflict Lohner, J, Sandra Banjac, S. and Neverla, I. (2016) Journalistic Practices, Role Perceptions and Ethics in Democratisation Conflicts: Empirical Findings From Interviews With Journalists in Egypt, Kenya, Serbia and South Africa. Media, Conflict and Democratisation (MecoDem). Available at http://www.mecodem. eu/wp-­c ontent/uploads/2015/05/Lohner-­B anjac-­N everla-­2 016_ Journalistic-­practices-­role-­perceptions-­and-­ethics-­in-­democratisation-­conflicts. pdf (Accessed last 13 October 2019) Mellado, C., (2015) Professional roles in news content: six dimensions of journalistic role performance. Journalism Studies, 16(4), pp. 596–614. Mellado, C. and Van Dalen, A., (2014) Between rhetoric and practice: Explaining the gap between role conception and performance in journalism. Journalism Studies, 15(6), pp. 859–878. Orgeret, K.S., (2016). Introduction. Conflict and Post-Conflict Journalism. Worldwide Perspectives. In: K.S. Orgeret And W. Tayeebwa, Eds, Journalism In Conflict And Post-Conflict Conditions: Worldwide Perspectives. Goteborg: Nordic, pp. 13–22 Pihl-Thingvad, S., (2015) Professional Ideals and Daily Practice In Journalism. Journalism, 16(3), pp. 392–411.

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Pragers, A and Hameleers, M (2018) Disseminating information or advocating peace? Journalists’ role perceptions in the face of conflict. Journalism, 1–19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884918791788 Tandoc, E.C., Hellmueller, L. and Vos, T.P., (2013). Mind The Gap. Journalism Practice, 7(5), pp. 539–554. Voltmer, K., (2013). The Media in Transitional Democracies. Cambridge: Polity Press. Jebril, N., Stetka, V. and Loveless, M., (2013). Media and Democratisation: What is known about the role of mass media in transitions to democracy. September. Reuters Institute For The Study Of Journalism. Vos, T. P., and Thomas R. J. (2018). The Discursive Construction Of Journalistic Authority In A Post-Truth Age, Journalism Studies, 19:13, 2001–2010, https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670x.2018.1492879 Waisbord, S., (2002) Journalism, risk and patriotism. In: B. Zelizer and S. Allan, eds, Journalism after September 11. London, New York: Routledge, pp. 201–219 Zandberg, E.  and Neiger, M., (2005). Between the nation and the profession: journalists as members of contradicting communities. Media, Culture and Society

CHAPTER 2

Understanding Journalism

Journalism is a concept difficult to define. There is no consensus on the definition of journalism or journalist. Different notions of journalism such as a profession, industry, institution, ideology and craft co-exist (Zelizer 2017). Journalism is frequently negotiated in relation to the social, political and professional contexts in which it functions. Cross-national studies also show that there are no sets of universal ideals of journalism, and interpretations of its role in society vary globally (Hanitzsch et al. 2011; Weaver and Willnat 2012, Donsbach and Patterson 2004). The concept of journalism has widened to include diverse practices of people that range from publishers, photographers, citizen journalists and bloggers. Today, journalists increasingly share the same platforms with members of the public who also publish content using digital media technologies. The practice has blurred the boundary between journalism and other forms of public communication and led to the renegotiation of the characteristics and role of journalists and journalism in society (Deuze 2005, 2007; Papacharissi 2015; Zelizer 2017). Journalism has become more collaborative and multifaceted with user-generated content, making debates on journalists’ identity and role in society more complex. The central ideals of journalism are  more ambivalent and liquid (Deuze 2008; Kantola 2016; Koljonen 2013; Jaakkola et al. 2015) with the shifts in journalism’s relationship with knowledge and power. The role and identity of journalists have become more flexible.

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The concepts of journalism and journalists are socio-historical constructions. Journalistic roles are discursively constituted and, therefore, are not fixed but fluid. Regarding journalism as a discursive area provides a conceptual framework to account for the transformations of journalism. It presents a more dynamic understanding of journalism and allows its identity and position in society to be negotiated and reproduced (Hanitzsch and Vos 2017, 2018; Vos and Thomas 2018). Defining journalism as a discursive construction, Hanitzsch and Vos (2017, 129) remark that the discourse of journalistic roles is ‘the central arena where journalistic identity is reproduced and contested; it is the site where actors struggle over the preservation or transformation of journalism’s identity’. In the discursive field of journalism, there is an ongoing struggle over discursive authority on the meaning and role of journalism in society (Hanitzsch and Vos 2017; Vos and Thomas 2018). Therefore, when new journalistic paradigms emerge, such as peace or citizen journalism, a struggle between different views occurs, resulting in identity renegotiation. This chapter sets out the main theoretical discussions about journalism and its role in peace and conflicts. Its main concern is the role orientations of journalists in conflict-affected societies. Conflicts present many professional challenges and moral dilemmas for journalists, especially for those whose communities are involved. The chapter discusses journalism in conflicts and its role in peacebuilding. Finally, it turns its attention to journalism, peace and conflict in Cyprus and outlines the book’s main arguments.

Journalistic Roles and Performance A literature analysis shows that there have been different and sometimes conflicting views towards journalists’ roles. Early studies made a distinction between passive and active dimensions. The passive dimension is associated with roles such as the ‘neutral reporter’ or the ‘gatekeeper’ (Cohen 1963; Janowitz 1975) and refers to the autonomy of the journalist (Donsbach and Patterson 2004). Active journalism involves roles such as the ‘participant’ or ‘advocate’ (Cohen 1963; Janowitz 1975) and reflects the position journalists take on an issue (Donsbach and Patterson 2004). Weaver and Wilhoit (1996) define journalists’ roles as disseminators, interpreters, adversaries and populist mobilisers; Christians et al. (2009) categorise them as monitorial, collaborative, facilitative and radical. Hanitzsch (2007a) proposes a model that defines the role perceptions concerning journalist’s interventionism (passive–active intervention),

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journalist’s position in relation to power (power distance) and orientation towards the market (market orientation). These theories on journalistic roles underline the variety of approaches towards journalism and the fluidity of the concept of journalism. One way of understanding journalism is to look at how journalists see their professional roles and perform them. Role conceptions indicate how journalists negotiate their professional tasks and what they think their social and moral responsibilities in society are (Mellado 2015; Vos 2017). They are related to ideals about journalism and are ‘normative understandings of what journalism is and what it should do’ (Hallin 2017, xi). Exploring the relationship between normative ideals and practice could help understand how those ideals interact with the social context in which they function and provide evidence about the existing culture of journalism (Hallin 2017, xvi). There are differences in the way journalists conceive, perceive and perform their roles. Role conception and role perception may seem similar concepts, but Mellado et al. (2017, 6) point out that they are not the same. While role conception refers ‘to the purposes of the profession that journalists conceive as more important at the individual level’, role perception means ‘perceived role expectations in society’. It indicates what journalists believe society expects them to fulfil as their tasks and responsibilities. Role performance, on the other hand, is the actual practice of journalism. It refers to the outcome of journalistic work shaped by internal and external influences on the news-making processes, such as newsroom decisions and journalistic styles (Mellado et al. 2017). It may seem that the way journalists consider their roles shape their performance and journalistic output, but this is not always the case (Shoemaker and Reese 1996; 2014; Hellmueller and Mellado 2015; Mellado 2015; Tandoc et al. 2013; Pihl-Thingvad 2015; Van Dalen et al. 2012; Mellado and Van Dalen 2014). ‘Having internalised a role conception frame does not evoke that frame in every doing situation, because the performance of the roles is situational’ (Mellado 2015, 597). Journalistic role conceptions influence performance and news content, but organisational and extra organisational factors can have a more powerful impact on them (Hellmueller and Mellado 2015). Contradictions between role conceptions and material conditions of journalistic work, such as lack of sources and economic and political constraints, affect journalists’ role perceptions. Therefore, the way journalists see their role in society and the way they fulfil it do not always match, and some inconsistencies appear

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between journalists’ role conceptions and their performances. Journalists choose and balance their roles according to different expectations and interests, which sometimes results in multiple and conflicting roles (Hallin 2017). Constraints that journalists experience in their work also influence role ideals. The relationship between journalism and political determinants, the role of economic elements in news production, social and cultural factors that shape news production processes and organisational structures present restraining contexts for journalists. Different models of effects, such as Shoemaker and Reese’s (1996) hierarchy of influences, are put forward to explain the complex array of forces that impact journalistic work. Cross-national studies (Hanitzsch et al. 2011; Weaver and Willnat 2012; Donsbach and Patterson 2004) have also looked for comparative evidence of professional orientations, the conditions, and limitations of journalists’ experience throughout the world to reach a universal understanding of journalism cultures (Hanusch and Hanitzsch 2017). The results have provided evidence that journalism is heavily influenced by the political, cultural, economic and historical contexts of the countries in which it is practised, and they affect the journalist’s role perceptions and work practices. Journalists negotiate and legitimate their role and work based on shared professional values (Deuze 2005; Hanitzsch 2007a; Hanitzsch et al. 2011; Reese 2001; Schudson 2003; McNair 1998; Willnat et al. 2013; Weaver and Willnat 2012). Ahva (2013, 790–791) describes professional values as the core of journalism: ‘a collection of shared but continuously contested values that define how proper journalists should act or at what they should aim’. These values, which are self-defined and discursively constructed, help group members describe their roles as professionals (Soloski 1997, 139; Aldridge and Evetts 2003). They are essential in journalism because ‘they articulate the societal obligations of the profession and guide and commit individual journalists in their daily work’ (Pihl-Thingvad 2015, 407). Autonomy is crucial for journalists to be able to apply their professional ideals to their practice. ‘Journalistic autonomy can be conceptualised as the extent to which journalists can put their professional roles and ideals into practice’ (Mellado et al. 2017). It refers to the ability of journalists to work free from the censors and pressures of political and economic interests, technological developments and the high demands of news production, such as time and competition, and having control over their work

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(Skovsgaard 2014; Witschge and Nygren 2009; Deuze 2005; Sjøvaag 2013; Reich and Hanitzsch 2013). Without autonomy, it is difficult for journalists to put their ideals into practice. It could also create challenges to democracy because journalists will not be able to provide information to citizens, monitor the political public sphere, act as a watchdog to those in power and facilitate public debate, all of which are essential for democracy (Gans 2010; Fenton et  al. 2010). Journalistic autonomy can be undermined by various external forces such as political, economic or organisational. However, what journalists perceive as forces that affect their work and the actual limits on their autonomy are not always the same. Reich and Hanitzsch (2013) found a difference between journalists’ perception of influences on their work such as political, organisational and professional forces and the objective determinants of autonomy such as ownership, economy and the level of democracy. They distinguish between perceived influences on professional freedom and objective limits. They argue that autonomy ‘is empirically grounded in the journalists’ perceptions, whereas the limits of autonomy can be either objective or perceived’ (Reich and Hanitzsch 2013, 136). The level of perceived autonomy also shapes the relationship between professional ideals and practice. Journalists, who perceive themselves to have greater freedom, have a smaller gap between their professional role and practice than those who perceive themselves as having less autonomy (Mellado and Van Dalen 2014; Reich and Hanitzsch 2013). Journalistic autonomy can be explored through the debate of media influence. Theories that explain media influence can be broadly categorised into two groups. One group focuses on the dominance of politics on the news media, and the other points at the impact of the news media on political processes. The first set of theories, which can be described either as ‘manufacturing consent’ (Robinson 2002) or as ‘media contest’ (Cottle 2006), stress the power of the political elite over the news media to set the news agendas and provide them with interpretative frames. The news media mainly conform to the interests of the political elite and cover events from their perspectives. The key argument of these theories is that the news media are influenced rather than influence political processes. For example, radical approaches, such as Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky’s propaganda model (1988), focus on the power mechanisms to explain how media serve the dominant elites. The other approaches are more concerned with the media’s role as a site for power struggles. In his indexing theory, Bennett (1990, 2016) refers to the tendency of

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mainstream media to follow the political elite, index or adjust story frames to their viewpoints. This tendency narrows the range of voices heard in the news media and means that if the political elite ignores an issue, the news media are less likely to report it. Similarly, Wolfsfeld (1997), Hallin (1986) and Entman (2003) give priority to politics and argue that the political elites provide the media and the public with interpretative frames. For example, the political contest model sees the media as a platform where different political positions or competing ideologies combat for legitimacy (Wolfsfeld 2004; Bennett 2016). News media is ‘where strategic interests and symbolic contests are publicly waged, won and lost’ (Cottle 2006, 31). In these approaches, the level of elite consensus over a policy impacts the role the news media play in creating consensus on that issue: If there is an elite consensus on a policy, the news media are more likely to adopt the dominant political perspective on it. However, when there is a conflict among elites over a policy, then the news media reflect this conflict and, as a result, reproduce a broader range of frames and more critical coverage on the policy (Wolfsfeld 1997; Hallin 1986; Bennett 1990, 2007, 2016; Robinson et al. 2013; Entman 2003). These theories also argue that the news reflects the social, political and economic agenda of privileged groups, and in the absence of alternative and critical views, it influences the public opinion in support of their views and actions. For example, in conflict situations, when journalists adopt and reproduce official justifications and use elite perspectives to frame events, the media reporting of the conflict becomes patriotic and gives support to political and military campaigns with little criticism. Another set of theories highlight the news media’s ability to affect political processes. They explain how the news media select and transform political realities into news, set public and policy agendas and frame issues; thus, influence public opinion (McCombs and Shaw 1972; Entman 1993; Gamson and Modigliani 1989; Price and Tewskbury 1997). These theories focus on media content, which is analysed in terms of its accuracy or bias in representing a political process (Street 2010). The influence of the media on politics makes politicians adapt their communication to the demands of the media, which result in the mediatisation of politics (Strömbäck 2008). Mediatisation of politics is described as a process in which media have become a significant effect on political processes, organisations and actors (Strömbäck 2008; Strömbäck and Esser 2014; Albæk et al. 2014; Falasca 2014). It means the media shape political communication according to its own logic rather than a political system, making the media more influential.

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These approaches on the relationship between media and politics are broadly categorised into two separate groups, but they are closely interrelated. There is a mutual dependency between them which means that changes in politics lead to changes in the news media and vice versa. Even the theories, which stress the power of politics over the media, acknowledge the latter’s contribution to political processes. However, even when the news media seem they are within the control of the political elites, they are not passive. Despite the structural restrictions, journalism is a field with a certain degree of autonomy (Benson 2006). They can criticise the political elite or join in their political deliberations by expressing their opinion (Street 2010; Wolfsfeld 2004, 2011). Journalists can challenge the dominant discourses of the political elite and, if there is elite dissensus and uncertainty over a policy, influence a political process with their critical coverage. They can introduce new issues, actors and frames into a debate, which may result in the redefinition of a problem (Robinson 2002; Voltmer and Koch-Baumgarten 2010). It is also important to remember that journalism is practised within the cultural values of civil society (Luengo 2012). Therefore, despite external pressures, journalists follow their society’s cultural standards and morals, and this gives them a certain level of autonomy. Journalistic autonomy can also be explored through the concepts of structure and agency. Journalists are agents that exercise their autonomy within the institutional structures of journalism. According to structural approaches, systems and structures determine social behaviour. Structural factors shape the relationship between individuals and communities, and individuals behave within the limits of these social structures. Structures are constraining as well as enabling (Giddens 1984). Journalism is practised within the media structures, and journalists follow the professional norms and routines determined by these structures. By contrast, agency-­ based approaches regard human actions rather than structures as determining factors in social phenomena and see agents or actors (individuals or groups) as leading and shaping change. According to this view, journalists’ judgements, decisions and actions are the critical elements in the news-production process. Therefore, journalists are active agents who define and shape the news. Although journalists are not passive and can influence news production, their work is also affected by structures. Therefore, Giddens (1984) argues against focusing on structure and agency as two separate entities and questioning the primacy over the other. Instead, he proposes

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‘structuration’ theory to stress that structure and agency are interrelated. Saturation theory suggests that structures define agents, but the latter can also affect and change these structures. Structures of social systems are ‘both medium and outcome of the practices that recursively organise’ (Giddens 1984, 25). According to this concept, journalists transform or reproduce the structures that shape their practices while practising their agency within the norms and rules of their institutions. In other words, as journalists practise their journalism within the rules set by institutions, they can change it or contribute to maintaining the existing system (Sjøvaag 2013). For journalists to have any impact on the rules that shape their practices depends on the resources available to them. This could be problematic as it is only by following the rules and getting to higher positions that journalists can gain more autonomy and make changes in the existing system. This, according to Sjøvaag (2013, 163), is why journalism as a profession has been ‘portrayed as a more or less constructive tug-of-­ war between the restrictions that curb the vocational performance within the editorial, financial, managerial and regulatory structures, and the autonomy inherent in practising journalism’.

Digital Journalism New media technologies have transformed the media landscape, altered public and private communication behaviour and led to new information production and consumption habits. News consumption is more pervasive with digital media and has become ‘more like acts of individual and personalised choice rather than acts that relate to a commonly shared public sphere’ (Steensen 2016, 115). Alternative information has become more accessible and communication more interactive. Especially social media provide spaces where individuals can connect and form networks. Audience role and involvement are no longer limited to consuming the media’s information but interacting with, producing, and disseminating it (Hermida 2016). Digital technologies have also altered journalism and news production processes. Practising journalism in a digital environment has brought new demands and challenges for journalists. It has raised questions about professionalism, participation and journalism’s role in democracy. In the new digital media environment, journalists are no longer the only authority to produce and disseminate information based on the idea of the public’s right to know. Collaborative news sites and blogs also produce and spread

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diverse information, and individuals can share their comments and experience. Participation of users in journalism, which has been described by different names, such as produsage, participatory journalism, crowdsourcing (Bruns 2018; Scott et al. 2015; Aitamurto 2016), has blurred the line between users and journalists as producers. The transformation of audiences from being just consumers to active producers and disseminators of information has undermined journalists’ traditional gatekeeping role. In the networked digital media environment, gatekeeping no longer happens in a top-down way shaped by elite concerns. It has become a two-step process that involves users sharing information they consider important, useful or entertaining to others (Singer 2014). In the first step, journalists serve as gatekeepers, selecting information and making it available to the public. In the second step, audiences act as secondary gatekeepers by deciding which information to make visible by re-disseminating it (Singer 2014). This act of sharing information already published in other media, or gatewatching, as Bruns (2005, 2018) calls it, gives visibility to stories that audiences find important. It also brings different perspectives to them as they can include comments and interpretations of the audience. The digital news media have, to a certain extent, democratised news production processes. The integration of user-generated content into the news provides opportunities to present more diverse perspectives while enabling users to shape media messages (Josephi 2016). Social media allow new actors, who would not be considered an authority or elite, to gain visibility and function alongside elite sources (Hermida 2016; Meraz and Papacharissi 2016; Van Leuven et al. 2018). It is similar to what Gans (2004, (1979), 2011) suggested with the concept of multiperspectival news, the inclusion of diverse perspectives. It is a way of changing the news that reflects narrow, elite and top-down views. As journalists use social media to gather the news, they pick up information shared by elites and ordinary people or activists. Hence, they enhance the narratives of ordinary people in the public sphere and give visibility to individuals and groups who are not usually considered news sources. In this way, digital journalism could democratise journalistic processes by benefiting from new sources representing other groups in society. It is also that news bloggers and citizen journalists utilise digital networks to highlight issues that professional journalists fail to report. They use social media to challenge and undermine the agenda-setting role of the mainstream media and to contest mainstream narratives by presenting alternative ones (Meraz and

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Papacharissi 2016). However, having the potential to do it does not mean that social media are more democratic than legacy media. Commercial and political pressures that affect journalism’s role in democracies are still prevalent in the digital media environment. The influence and power of elites have not diminished. On the contrary, now, they have more diverse platforms and ways to communicate with the public with social media and mobile applications (Josephi 2016; Carlson 2016; Van Leuven et al. 2018). As digital networked structures have become important channels of news, information and commentary, the amount of information available to journalists has increased, pushing them to manage the information better. Utilising social media for sourcing has affected journalists’ relations with sources. It has enabled public and political figures, such as politicians and celebrities, bypass journalists and share information directly with others in their networks. This has reduced the reliance of these sources on journalists for their public communication and undermined the latter’s role as mediators. At the same time, the importance of journalists’ tasks of verifying, analysing and contextualising information is strengthened as the proliferation of news and information on social media and diffusion of fake news have increased the need to check and correct them (Tsfati et al. 2020). Newsgathering practices have also shifted with the  development of the digital media platforms. The curation role has gained prominence (Guerrini 2013). In their curation role, journalists select information, link it to its original source and provide context and analysis for their audience. They also increasingly do crowd newsgathering, utilise the content generated by users in their stories and reproduce and disseminate the information and commentary elites and ordinary people share on social media (Cammaerts and Couldry 2016). Using social media, journalists can get statements from a range of sources, sometimes without contacting them. ‘They can flavour their stories from behind the desk by “cherry picking” useful quotes’ (Broersma and Graham 2013, 449) from social media. They no longer need to leave their desks to get information from sources as social media offer easy access to diverse sources (Broersma and Graham 2013). The digital media environment has also transformed professional norms and roles. Journalists’ work is frequently scrutinised, questioned, disputed, and its shortcomings are highlighted by the audience (Bruns 2018; Hermida 2016). Journalism’s claim to objectivity has lost its attainability, and instead, transparency and accountability gained importance. Lasorsa et  al.’s (2012) research on how journalists negotiate their professional norms and practices shows that online journalists are likely to deviate from

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their traditional conventions and contest the rules of objectivity by expressing an opinion. Digital journalists provide links to the origination of their information. It is essential to be clear and open about the sources of information, as accountability and transparency have become important norms in journalism. Professional standards, principles and practices are also showing divergence. For example, Henkel et al.’s (2020, 1365) study on the differences between online, offline and multiplatform journalists’ professional principles and practices found that online journalists are ‘more likely than their offline colleagues to find justification for publishing unverified information and less interested in holding politicians to account’. Other research on digital journalism also demonstrates that changes in audience expectations, participation of diverse actors in journalism and shifts in the interactions with news sources have affected journalists’ role conceptions. They have made a discursive reconstruction of the concept of journalism that involves a broader definition inevitable. (Deuze and Witschge 2018; Hanusch and Banjac 2018).

Conflict, Peace and Journalism Conflict is about change, which ‘takes its origins in economic differentiation, social change, cultural formation, psychological development and political organisation’ (Ramsbotham et  al. 2016, 9). Conflicts become apparent when two or more parties have or perceive themselves as having incompatible goals or interests, attempt to control or influence each other’s behaviour to stop the other party from achieving its desired objective, often with an intent to hinder or destroy (Ho-Won 2008; Ramsbotham et al. 2016; Howard 2004; Reuben 2009). Many factors cause conflicts, but the main ones are related to scarce sources, structural imbalances, identity differences and struggle for power. Journalism frequently deals with conflicts. It explains and interprets political, socio-cultural, economic and natural changes that influence individuals, communities and nations (Toit 2012; Rubenstein et  al. 1994). Conflict is one of the news values associated with deviance and negativity (Harcup and O’Neill 2017; Caple and Bednarek 2013). Unlike Galtung and Ruge (1965), who considered conflict a part of bad news, Harcup and O’Neill (2017) categorise it as a separate group, including controversies, arguments, splits, strikes, fights, insurrections and warfare. However, journalism’s involvement in conflicts goes further than just reporting them. As Pauly (2009, 7) argues, conflict is ‘the very mode through which

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journalists normally understand and interpret the world’. It is mainly because organisational structures, work routines, economic constraints and professional norms support journalism’s preference for conflict. The institutions journalists frequently report on, such as the courts, parliament, the police, etc., are where political and social conflicts occur. Therefore, as Pauly (2009) remarks, it is not surprising that journalism portrays issues within a conflict frame. The news media’s role is not as simple as reporting on conflicts and the audience receiving them. Cottle’s (2006, 9) concept of ‘mediatised conflict’ stresses that media have complex, active and performative involvement and constitutive role in conflicts. Mediatised conflict refers to the media’s ability to enact and perform conflicts. Media report and represent them, which means ‘they are actively “doing something” over and above dissemination ideas, images and information’. In other words, when the media circulate information about a conflict, they don’t just report it but also define, frame, deliberate, amplify and promote it (Cottle 2006). The way the news media enact and perform conflicts can escalate them constructively or destructively (Reuben 2009). The news media can facilitate and enhance communication between parties, which is described as constructive escalation. However, the media are more likely to lead to destructive escalation of a conflict by fostering a zero-sum mindset, polarising the conflicting parties and denigrating the other side’s perspective (Reuben 2009). For example, they contribute to conflict escalation when they amplify the societal feeling of fear towards the ‘other’ by representing a discourse of anxiety, enhancing agitation by shifting the responsibility of ‘our’ suffering to ‘them’ and contributing to alienation by adopting divisive frames (Hamelink 2011). It is crucial to understand how conflicts are framed in the news because the way they are mediated can influence the public’s recognition and response to it (Hutchins and Lester 2015; Hamelink 2011; Baden 2014; Tenenboim-Weinblatt et al. 2016; Wolfsfeld 2004; Reuben 2009). Frames help the public understand  the information provided (Baden 2014; Scheufele and Tewksbury 2007; Berinsky and Kinder 2006; Gamson and Modigliani 1989). Based on Goffman’s (1974) idea of ‘primary frameworks’, framing is how journalists present information to their audiences so that they can make sense of it. The news media engage in framing when they ‘select some aspects of a perceived reality and make them more salient in a communicating text in such a way as to promote a particular problem definition, causal interpretations, moral evaluation and/or treatment

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recommendation for the item described’ (Entman 1993, 52). A central organising idea provides context for an issue using selection, emphasis, exclusion and elaboration, which means certain aspects get attention while others are ignored (Johnson-Cartee 2005). Framing becomes significant, especially when news consumers have no direct experience of that issue, such as distant conflicts. In such cases, the news media can influence public opinion (Lippmann 2007 [1922]). Parties involved in a conflict use the news media to promote their frames and mobilise public support for their causes. When all journalists, sources and audiences are from the same ethnic group and use the same ethnic language, reporting the conflict intentionally or unintentionally becomes ethnocentric (Wolfsfeld et al. 2008). Ethnocentric or nationalist media coverage frames the news from the perspective of one’s ethnic or nationalist group. It excludes the ‘others’ who do not belong, reinforcing negative and hostile attitudes towards them. It enhances the categorisation and description of ‘good ingroup’ behaviour in relation to ‘bad outgroup’ behaviour and increases polarisation and hostility between parties (Baden 2014; Wolfsfeld et al. 2008; Reuben 2009). The news media can intensify conflicts by selecting information on current events and linking them to past and future national projects. Wolfsfeld et al.’s (2008) research on journalistic routines for covering violent conflicts shows that ethnocentric perspectives are frequently used to construct the news. For example, when a victim is from one’s own group, the Victims Mode of reporting is used. In this type of reporting, events are framed as ethnic solidarity stories, and the enemy is demonised. When a victim is from the other side, then the Defensive Mode of reporting is adopted. This type of reporting is characterised by a low level of emotionalism and prominence, analytical perspective, and depersonalisation of victims by transforming them into statistics (Wolfsfeld et al. 2008). Frames are not just formed by journalists and editors but are also determined by cultural and political elites, political and professional communicators and ordinary citizens (Entman 1993). Inevitably, journalists’ news frames reflect the discourses and narratives that exist within a society’s culture. The news media use these frames to  explain the current events and developments. For example, by adopting the politicians’ frames, the news media could define an issue, promote their interpretation of reality (Hamelink 2011) and claim that it represents public opinion (Johnson-­ Cartee 2005).

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Patriotism and Journalism in Conflicts Conflicts present challenging conditions for journalists to work. Reporting in hostile environments, they are faced with risks and dangers of death, injury, kidnap, harassment and imprisonment (McLaughlin 2016). Even in non-violent conflicts, like the one in Cyprus, journalists experience structural and ideological hindrances such as access to the other party, language skills and censorship. Reporting conflicts could create a tension between journalists’ professional values of detachment and neutrality, which are required for objective reporting, and emotional involvement (McLaughlin 2016; Boudana 2015; Tumber and Prentoulis 2003; Zandberg and Neiger 2005). When journalists find that the requirement of objectivity restricts their work, they can experience professional and ethical dilemmas. When that happens, some replace detachment with moral responsibility like in journalism of attachment (Bell 1997, 1998; von Oppen 2009), and others dismiss objectivity as an attainable standard and undesirable norm (Boudana 2010). Boudana’s study (2015) on the detachment of war correspondents found that detachment is not a preferred ideal among French journalists. Assessing war correspondents’ conceptions of detachment and commitment, it concluded that the degree of detachment or commitment depends on a journalist’s own conception of the craft and the situations they are confronted with. For local journalists, covering a conflict when they are members of one of the conflicting parties has extra professional challenges and ethical dilemmas. For example, there are differences between the risks international journalists and local journalists face in conflicts. While international journalists can move in and out of conflict zones depending on the level of danger, local journalists do not always have that option. Accessing the ‘other side for information can also be complicated and dangerous for them. Local journalists and their families can be exposed to intimidation and violence because of what they report and how they do it (Puddephatt 2006; Zarate-Valderrama 2016). Furthermore, censorship and political interference undermine journalists’ autonomy and encourage self-­ censorship (Jungblut and Hoxha 2017; Hughes et al. 2017; Barrios and Miller 2020). Patriotism, which is loyalty and attachment to a nation or ethnic group, presents professional and moral dilemmas for journalists when reporting on a conflict their community is a party. Journalists are members of two communities, a professional community and a national or ethnic

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community, and in times of war, they experience tensions between these two identities (Zandberg and Neiger 2005). On the one hand, journalists try to be professional, which requires them to be impartial and neutral in their reporting. On the other hand, journalists have to deal with patriotic sentiments towards their own country and people (Zandberg and Neiger 2005; Waisbord 2002; Ginosar 2015). It means that they need to deal with values that are at odds with each other. While professional values demand the detachment of journalists from the issues and events they report on, patriotism requires them to side with their own community and cover the conflict from its perspective. The way they manage it is by moving between professional and national/ethnic communities. When they cover a war that their community is not involved or threatened, they follow professional rules. However, when their community is a party to a conflict, they follow their national/ethnic identities and assume patriotic journalism (Waisbord 2002; Zandberg and Neiger 2005). Similarly, journalists, who follow professional norms during normal times, continue to do that when the risk to their community disappears. When ‘our’ side is involved in a conflict, regardless of whether it is right or wrong, reporting events changes from neutral to nationalistic (Ginosar and Cohen 2019; Wolfsfeld et al. 2008). Journalists’ professional conduct diverges from traditional values, such as neutrality and impartiality, and becomes more subjective and patriotic (Zelizer and Allan 2002; Zandberg and Neiger 2005; Liebes and Kampf 2009; Ginosar 2015; Ginosar and Cohen 2019). When journalists behave in a patriotic way, they take on the governmental or elite framing of the crisis, avoid criticism of their government during the confrontation, express solidarity with their national or ethnic community and ignore the ‘other’ side (Ginosar 2015; Ginosar and Konovalov 2015). They adopt discourses, which describe the behaviour of ‘others’ in terms of ‘irrational emotions’ or as ‘bad’ nationalism while portraying ‘our’ love of country as ‘patriotism’ (Billig 1995). ‘Once the phrase “national security” can be uttered with some degree of legitimacy, the mainstream press is likely to adopt a patriotic pose’ (Magder 2003, 36). Subsequently, national unity is established in terms of difference to the enemy, and journalism can contribute to the feeling of unity with its coverage of conflicts. Journalists’ professional behaviour in times of conflict or national crisis is not just determined by an individual journalist. It is also shaped by the national context, media systems and journalistic values and routines.

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Various approaches explore the underlying reasons for patriotic journalism. One explanation is that public consensus encourages patriotic journalism. Journalists monitor their communities, and especially when patriotism becomes a dominant sentiment, they follow general consensus. Hallin’s (1986) model of spheres of journalistic work, which consist of the sphere of legitimate controversy, the sphere of consensus and sphere of deviance, help understand journalists’ position in conflicts and national crisis: The sphere of legitimate controversy is where disputes such as the ones that occur during electoral contests and legislative debates take place. In this sphere, ‘objectivity and balance reign as the supreme journalistic virtues’ (Hallin 1986, 116). The sphere of consensus contains issues that journalists and most of society do not regard as controversial. Journalists ‘do not feel compelled to present opposing views or to remain disinterested observers’ (Hallin 1986, 117). Instead, they act as advocates of consensus values. The sphere of deviance covers the issues that most journalists and the mainstream of society ‘reject as unworthy of being heard’ (Hallin 1986, 117). In this domain, the professional obligation of neutrality is not observed. Journalists adopt the role of ‘exposing, condemning or excluding from the public agenda those who violate or challenge the political consensus’ (Hallin 1986, 117). Conflicts present examples of how journalists move within the sphere of consensus and frame the issues to facilitate or support the communities’ views and feelings, supporting public consensus. Patriotic sentiments of the community are reflected in journalists’ work, but they still seem objective because the issue of consensus is hegemonic (Hallin 1986). In this elite-driven media coverage (Robinson et al. 2009), it is not just the other party that does not get fair coverage but also dissent to conflict is marginalised. Dissent moves from ‘sphere of legitimate controversy’ to ‘sphere of deviance’ (Hallin 1986). Murray et al.’s (2008) study on the press coverage of the anti-war movement in Britain during the 2003 Iraq War shows that once the war started, the anti-war movement failed to get any positive media coverage, as it had done before the war. It underlines that patriotism in journalism fails to provide citizens with alternative views regarding the conflict by excluding any criticisms of government and military actions. It reproduces war propaganda and narrows the range of public debate on conflicts rather than inform the public. As a result, instead of contributing to public deliberation and democratic engagement, the news media provide a distorted realm of communication in which propaganda and dominant views are mainly disseminated unopposed. As a result,

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uncritical and openly patriotic coverage of the conflict is provided (Bennett et al. 2007; Knightley 2003; Cottle 2006). Some argue that this is not patriotic but nationalistic journalism. Elliot (2004) explains that patriotic journalism provides citizens with information to make decisions for self-governance. Nationalistic journalism, on the other hand, reports what authorities want to say or what citizens want to hear. The main difference ‘between patriotic journalism and nationalistic journalism is the difference between “reporting” and “repeating”’ (Elliot 2004, 30). Similarly, Murphy et  al. (2006) distinguish between democratic patriotism and extreme patriotism. They define democratic patriotism as being in line with ethical journalism as it continues with its public scrutiny, is inclusive and supports citizens’ affection for their community. In contrast, extreme patriotism is ‘uncritical, partisan and economical with truth’ (Murphy et al. 2006, 330). Critical journalism requires journalists to scrutinise government actions and provide citizens with information to understand the conflicts they are involved in. Yet, it can be a challenging task to perform during times of crisis. Despite, as Waisbord (2002, 216) suggests, journalists can be patriotic ‘by keeping criticism alive’ and ‘defending diversity and tolerance rather than foundational ethnocentric patriotism’. It is not just political, economic or social/cultural environments that influence journalists’ patriotic behaviour but also their role conceptions and professional ideologies (Hanitzsch et  al. 2016; Ginosar 2015). Journalists, who see themselves as ‘disinterested transmitters of news’ (Hanitzsch 2007a, 372) and embrace principles such as detachment, neutrality and impartiality, are more likely to have a passive approach towards the issues they cover (Hanitzsch 2007a; Donsbach and Patterson 2004). Journalists who assume a more active role participate, intervene, get involved and promote change through their reporting. Interventionism shows itself when journalists set the political agenda to influence public opinion and advocate specific values and ideas for social change (Hanitzsch 2007a; Donsbach and Patterson 2004). Research shows that while journalists mainly in Western cultures see themselves as detached and neutral observers, journalists in other cultures can take a more active role in their reporting of social and political events to promote societal changes (Hanitzsch 2007a, Hanitzsch et  al. 2016; Waisbord 2009, 2017). In countries where journalism is different from Western models, patriotism can be seen differently. Pintak and Nazir (2013) found strong nationalism among Pakistani journalists, which trumped their religious and

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professional identities. Similarly, Arab journalists recognise the importance of objectivity and impartiality but still regard patriotism as a virtue and associate it with ethical journalism. However, these journalists also feel pressure to meet their audience’s expectations and avoid upsetting their government (Al-Najjar 2011). Peace and Journalism Peace is a difficult concept to define. It could be because, as Barash and Webel (2017, 4) explain, ‘peace is something we recognise by its absence’. It is also because the concept of peace is not static but fluid. The terminology related to it can be confusing as similar terms, such as peace, conflict resolution, reconciliation, peacebuilding etc., are used with different meanings. There are various theoretical approaches towards peace and peacebuilding within peace and conflict studies. Galtung (1996) suggests a distinction between negative and positive peace: Negative peace is the absence of war, and positive peace refers to social conditions, including human security, welfare, social justice. Concepts such as liberal peace and post-liberal peace point to diverse approaches in peacebuilding (Richmond 2006, 2011; Mac Ginty 2011). Liberal peace refers to peacebuilding efforts based on liberal democratic ideals with human rights, the rule of law, civil societies operating in a free and global economy (Richmond 2006, 2011; Newman et al. 2009). Hybrid peace or post-liberal peace, on the other hand, contests the assumptions of liberal peace and its top-down approach and instead suggests a bottom-up approach articulated around the involvement of the local community (Richmond 2011). Terminology related to peace, such as conflict resolution, reconciliation, peacebuilding etc., are also used with different meanings, which can sometimes be confusing. The relationship of journalism with peace is not as good as it is with conflict. Conflict is one of the key news values, but peace is not. For journalists, wars involve events that can be observed and reported, but peace is a process that is more difficult to define, monitor and report (Hawkins 2011, 2015; Spencer 2005). Therefore, peace is seen as uneventful (Hawkins 2011, 2015), and the news is thought to be ‘not well disposed to peace’ (Spencer 2005, 1). Wolfsfeld (2004) explains this lack of interest in terms of an inherent tension between peace processes and news routines: While peace requires patience, a calm environment, understanding of the other side, and is a complex process, the news media demands

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immediacy, is interested in violence, reinforces ethnocentrism and hostility, and can only deal with simple events. That said, for the journalists of communities that are party to a peace process, developments from negotiation to implementation are significant and newsworthy events (Hawkins 2011). The media are regarded as an integral element of conflict resolution and peacebuilding efforts. The idea that news media could play a part in resolving conflicts comes from recognising the media’s role in violent conflicts: If the media have the power to provoke them, this power could also be used in conflict resolution. This idea has encouraged media interventions as one of the tools of peacebuilding. In many post-conflict international initiatives, the media’s role is a critical indicator of democratisation and effective governance (Hoffmann 2014; Betz 2015). However, in line with liberal peace, many of these initiatives promote the Western political, social and economic norms of peacebuilding in a top-down way (Richmond 2006, 2011; Mac Ginty 2011). The problem with such approaches is that they suggest general models without taking local conditions into account. They are the ‘paternalistic, technocratic one-size-fits-all approach to peacebuilding’ (Hoffmann 2009, 11). Instead, peacebuilding efforts should have a bottom-up approach and reflect the interests and needs of local people (Richmond 2006, 2011; Mac Ginty 2011). These criticisms also apply to media initiatives in post-conflicts. Media reform and transformation projects are usually based on the Western models practised within a liberal and democratic environment. Nevertheless, conflicts and peace-­ related activities develop and take place in contexts that are not democratic, which make the application of these models problematic. For such projects to impact local contexts, the culture, history, politics, economy and media environments in which the media reform might occur, should be considered. The media restructuring and development efforts should include local civil society groups and media professionals (Haselock 2010). Although there is a consensus that communication is an essential element in conflict resolution, the media’s effectiveness in making changes in public attitudes, knowledge and behaviour is debatable. Schoemaker and Stremlau (2014) argue that there is insufficient evidence to support the claim that the media help or hinder conflicts or resolutions. Others accept that the media could influence the audience’s views but cannot directly control their actions (van Dijk 1995; Hamelink 2011). By disseminating new ideas, the media cannot change behaviours or create political or social change on their own. Change happens because of a combination of

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cultural, political, economic and technological factors, and media influence should be understood in relation to them. As Hamelink (2011, 38) explains in the strict sense of power as the coercive capacity to make people do things they would otherwise not do, media have no power. They have no sanctions, punishments, physical threats or violent means at their disposal. Nevertheless, media do have influence. They are capable of exposing, publicising and accusing.

Instead, Hamelink (2011) suggests that scholars should focus on the ‘facilitation’ role of the media to understand whether it provides space for collective aggression or reconciliation rather than looking for a correlation between media and violence or reconciliation. The groups that have access to the news media can manipulate the public discourse and communication by determining the information available to the audience. Therefore, this facilitating role of the media is an essential element in the public’s understanding of issues and the shaping of its belief and attitudes towards social change (Happer and Philo 2013). When discussing the media’s impact on the public, it is also important to remember that the audience is not passive. On the contrary, it can actively and critically engage with the information the media present. Social media enable and encourage users to interact within a networked society. The level of media exposure, the strength of attitudes on the issue, past personal experiences and knowledge are notable elements in negotiating the meaning of media messages and making behavioural changes (Happer and Philo 2013, 2016). For example, Happer and Philo (2013) found that the impact of media messages was more substantial if people had no direct experience or knowledge on a particular issue and was less influential if they had direct experience of it. It means that those, who have less prior exposure to specific information, are more likely to adjust their views, attitudes and behaviour when they encounter new information than those who had more exposure. The range of information available to an audience is also crucial. If there is no alternative or challenging information, the media’s representation provides a hegemonic framework for understanding a particular social reality. Although alternative information sources are available on the Internet and social media, many examples show that these media also manipulate public opinion.

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Journalism’s role in peace efforts cannot be studied in isolation and needs to be located in the context of ongoing societal changes. The transition from war to peaceful democracy is a complex task. Cessation of violence or signing a peace treaty does not guarantee peace. Societies can progress towards peace but also move backwards and fall back into conflict. Therefore, the transformation from ‘being in conflict’ to ‘being at peace’ should be considered with a process-oriented approach rather than a linear process that defines the beginning or the end of post-conflict with a specific event (Brown et al. 2011). It makes it hard to generalise about the direction the news media will take in transition processes or post-­ conflict societies since a combination of factors, which are different in each case, determine journalism’s role in them. Journalism can support democratisation and peacebuilding, two overlapping but different processes (Jarstad and Sisk 2008). It can define the relevance and significance of the actions taken as parts of these processes, encourage participation and dialogue and thus strengthen civil society (Orgeret 2016). It can also provide information about human rights and investigate and report on illegal actions and corruption (Orgeret 2016). The media’s representations of conflict, identity, history and the justification of transitional measures associated with peace efforts can, additionally, promote a dialogue that supports reconciliation efforts. Overall, it is crucial to understand how journalism adapts itself to the changing conditions during and after the transition period and accomplishes its responsibilities. Journalism developed or practised during a conflict does not immediately change or disappear with its end but continues to exist within the new system. (Orgeret 2016; Jungblut and Hoxha 2017; Voltmer 2013). Political pressures, economic insecurities and ethical dilemmas still affect journalists and shape their work in the post-conflict period. Journalists may develop new practices, values and identities that function together with the existing practices, values and identities (Voltmer 2013; Jebril et al. 2013; Voltmer and Wassermann 2014). For example, during conflict times, journalism is usually in line with official views and gives voice to authorities rather than reflect different groups’ views. It does not and cannot fully fulfil some of its essential societal roles, such as the watchdog role. However, in the post-conflict period, it could co-exist with a new journalism culture shaped by the forces of the democratisation process and can adopt a watchdog role. Moreover, how these roles are performed during a post-conflict period is also important. For instance, the news media could use the gatekeeping role to decide whose voices to

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include. They can practice it in a way that contributes to the development of a culture of inclusiveness by providing access to different groups. However, they can also create a polarised environment by inciting tensions and violence through biased, hostile and flawed reporting. In post-conflicts, like in conflicts, various actors, such as politicians, civil society organisations and businesspeople, compete to get the attention of the news media to reflect their reality. Accordingly, journalism is practised under the influence and the pressures of these actors who try to control the media and public opinion. Journalism’s position in conflict resolutions and reconciliation can be understood by exploring the relationship between the media and social change as both structure and agent (Betz 2015; Voltmer 2013; Puddephatt 2006). In many societies, even when the conflict ceases, existing conditions continue to provide disabling rather than enabling environments for journalists. Media ownership, political and economic constraints and legal and regulatory frameworks continue to act as forces impacting journalism. However, despite being restrained by these structures and the norms and rules of media organisations concerning what information can be conveyed and how, it is journalists and editors who make decisions about what to report and how. They exercise agency within the appropriate institutional, organisational and societal structures, continually renegotiating journalistic autonomy to keep or show their independence, which is essential in establishing the credibility of journalists and media. Peace Journalism The debate concerning peace and journalism is mostly carried out within journalism’s role in peaceful management and resolution of conflicts. A search for alternative approaches to the media’s role in latent and overt conflicts started in the mid-1990s (Howard 2015). The responsibility of the media in the atrocities, such as the ones committed in Rwanda and former Yugoslavia, led to questioning whether the news media could or should support peacebuilding efforts through its reporting (Howard 2009, 2015; Betz 2011). The public dissatisfaction with the way the news media covered conflicts in general enhanced this search. It has also raised questions about the journalists’ role in wars and peacebuilding efforts and resulted in new approaches to journalism and conflict reporting, such as conflict-sensitive journalism and peace journalism (Howard 2015).

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Conflict-sensitive journalism (CSJ) believes that journalists can reduce a conflict by providing accurate, fair, responsible and comprehensive coverage. At the same time, it argues against the idea of them promoting a particular solution or a particular agenda or peace advocacy (Howard 2009, 2015; Toit 2012). It recognises that journalists whose communities are involved in conflicts face challenging decisions while balancing professionalism with ethnic or national sentiments. Therefore, it aims to provide journalists with guidance and tools that they can use to deal with these challenges by expanding ‘their conflict consciousness without overt peace advocacy’ (Howard 2015, 64). Accordingly, CSJ has become more like a training tool that suggests ways of improving conflict reporting within existing norms of news reporting. Peace journalism has developed the ideas of conflict-sensitive journalism further. Combining it with some aspects of peace studies, it has become an area of academic research and a journalism paradigm. It questions existing attitudes and behaviours in the news media’s coverage of conflicts and highlights the problems with journalism practices (Shinar 2007; Lynch and McGoldrick 2005). It describes itself as ‘a normative mode of responsible and conscientious media coverage of conflict that aims at contributing to peacemaking, peacekeeping, and changing the attitudes of media owners, advertisers, professionals, and audiences towards war and peace’ (Shinar 2007, 2). It argues that mainstream journalistic routines and news values exacerbate and escalate conflicts (Hackett and Schroeder 2009). In response, peace journalism provides a model that guides journalists in how to report to prevent the intensification of a conflict and contribute to reconciliation efforts. It suggests that for journalism to contribute to conflict prevention and conflict resolution, journalists should give voice to all parties involved in a conflict, rather than portraying it as a tug of war between two polarised sides. They should broaden their sources to include people outside official and political elites, focus on the effects of violence, such as trauma, damage to structure and culture, rather than just the number of dead or wounded, and expose untruths and cover-ups on all sides (Lynch and McGoldrick 2005, 2007; Shinar 2007). Its central argument is that such journalism would provide more balanced, fair and accurate accounts of conflicts and offer ‘opportunities for society at large to consider and to value non-violent responses to conflict’ (Lynch & McGoldrick 2005, 5). Peace journalism has received a wide range of criticisms ranging from its conception of journalistic professionalism to its approach to news values and institutional contexts. Some argue that peace journalism

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encourages journalists to act as mediators, who actively help find solutions and promote a particular solution or frame (Loyn 2007; Hanitzsch 2007b; Fawcett 2002). They criticise such an interventionist approach as being outside the professional norms and practices of journalism. Its overt commitment to peacemaking is seen as undervaluing the professional norms of objectivity and impartiality, without which journalism would lose its credibility (Loyn 2007). There are also criticisms directed at peace journalism for highlighting the fundamental principles of ‘good journalism’ but naming it peace journalism. As Hanitzsch (2007b, 7) puts it, ‘peace journalism often times reinvents the wheel to the extent that it repeats a “classic” debate on quality in journalism that has a long tradition in communication and media research’. Hamelink (2015, 62) also states that ‘it is pretty obvious that within reasonable limits more balanced and less propagandistic, partisan and war–triumphalist news reporting provides for more serious questioning of the dangers of conflict escalation’. Peace journalism has also been criticised for failing to consider the influences of news production, media structures, political and the economic environment in which journalism functions (Fawcett 2002; Hanitzsch 2004; Hanitzsch 2007b; Keeble 2010; Hamelink 2015). The main question these criticisms raise is whether the current media environment, which treats the news as a commodity and news production as a business, can accommodate peace journalism’s suggested values and routines (Hamelink 2015). Keeble (2010) finds peace journalism’s argument that changes in professional ways and reforms in journalism training can result in improvements of conflict reporting very utopian. He argues that changes could only happen ‘if based on a radical political analysis of the media and society’ (Keeble 2010, 53). Peace journalism also does not provide good guidance on how journalists whose countries are involved in conflicts should or could practice this form of journalism (Şahin and Ross 2012). It fails to consider the tensions journalists experience between their professional and national/ethnic identity during conflicts and places the responsibility of reducing conflicts onto journalists. In places such as Cyprus, where conflicts are fuelled by nationalism, it is difficult for journalists not to take sides or to discard their nationally/ethnically determined views on the conflict or challenge nationalist pressures.

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Conflict, Peace and Journalism in Cyprus The conflict in Cyprus has never formally ended, and the search for its resolution is still ongoing. Therefore, the situation in Cyprus cannot strictly be described as post-conflict. However, the lack of active conflict involving violence makes Cyprus, unlike many other conflict zones, feel relatively peaceful or, as some call ‘comfortable’ (Adamides and Constantinou 2012; Adamides 2014; Dağlı 2017). As Adamides and Constantinou (2012, 242) argue, the conflict is more symbolic, and ‘a certain kind of peace is also in place: i.e., absence of violence combined with democracy, partial freedom of movement and enviable levels of prosperity both north and south of the Buffer Zone’. Yet, there is a search for ‘another kind of peace: i.e. a normalisation of relations and a form of reunification of the island, including a bi-communal sharing of power’ (Adamides and Constantinou 2012, 242). This ambiguity makes Cyprus an interesting case study to explore journalists’ role orientations in conflict-­ affected societies. The search for a peaceful settlement to the Cyprus problem is continuing. The ongoing peace process is elite-led (Micheal 2007; Anastasiou 2009; Vogel and Richmond 2015). It gives the political elites the advantage of shaping the discourses on the Cyprus problem and influencing the public’s opinion on any peacebuilding efforts. Their control over the media also means the domination of their views in the media and public sphere. Meanwhile, civil society has been demanding to be a part of the peace process, as the elites have not successfully resolved the problem for decades. Over the years, various civil society groups from both sides have been working together to increase intercommunal relations, promote reconciliation and resolve the conflict (Jarraud et  al. 2013; Broome 2005; Çuhadar and Kotelis 2009). They are involved in joint initiatives on common issues that affect their communities, such as women, youth, environment and education. Their collaborations demonstrate the benefits of working together and contribute to improving intercommunal relations (Jarraud et al. 2013; Broome 2005; Çuhadar and Kotelis 2009). Digital media platforms have helped communities and groups not usually represented in the mainstream media by providing them with access and visibility. They have enabled them to express and disseminate their views, sometimes alternative ones, and establish contact with others in a networked society. Despite this, the information asymmetry between elites and the public, especially on the Cyprus issue, continues.

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Peace is usually achieved as a result of a long and slow process. It is deemed uneventful and not newsworthy (Hawkins 2015; Wolfsfeld 2004; Hamelink 2015). On the island, the Cyprus problem has a high news value for the media and the peace process is also regarded as important. Any development concerning the Cyprus issue, including the ones related to its resolution, gets prominent media coverage on both sides of the island. Even when there is no significant development, statements made by officials, political figures or foreign diplomats concerning the Cyprus problem are considered newsworthy. Despite the media’s treatment of the Cyprus issue as significant, the public suffers from a Cyprus problem fatigue (Michael 2015; Anastasiou 2008). Therefore, keeping it interested in the peace process has become challenging for the news media. To overcome this problem, they use sensationalism and entertainment to attract audience attention and treat happenings like leaders’ negotiations as media events (Christophorou et al. 2010; Ersoy 2010; Photiou et al. 2019). From early on, the media have been an integral part of the conflict in Cyprus. Since the development of the press in the early 1900s, they have contributed to national imaginings, propagated new ideas and promoted new movements (Bryant 2004; Nevzat 2005; Antoniades 2018; Varnava 2017). Even today, the media in Cyprus do not just report and circulate information about the conflict and intercommunal relations but also define and promote their communities’ national projects. They communicate the powerful elite views, promote identities based on binary divisions of ‘us’ versus ‘them’, and their conflict-centred approach contributes to mistrust and antagonism between communities (Bailie and Azgin 2008; Milioni et al. 2015). Therefore, it is correct to say that the media do not just reflect the Cyprus problem but are a part of it. They contribute to the conflict by enhancing anxiety, agitation, alienation and accusation in communities (Hamelink 2011). The connection between political power and media is also crucial in the media’s portrayal of the Cyprus issue. As discussed earlier, some theories suggest that elite consensus over a policy leads to supportive media coverage, and in elite dissensus, the media reflect the conflict among elites and present more diverse views (Hallin 1986; Bennett 1990; Wolsfeld 2004). Media coverage of the Cyprus peace process, especially the Annan plan, supports these theories. The elite attitudes towards the Annan plan were different across the divide. The broad consensus against the plan within the Greek Cypriot elite found expression in the Greek Cypriot media. They supported the government line and gave critical coverage to it. In

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contrast, the views of the Turkish Cypriot elite were conflicting, which resulted in the reflection of more diverse perspectives (Christophorou et al. 2010). The close link between elite consensus and media influence can also result from the elite dominance over the media on both sides of the island, making the news media act like institutions of the powerful elite. Access and power of elites over the media provide them with an opportunity to control the news framing. Digital media have presented opportunities for non-elite individuals and groups to participate in the public sphere, express views and exchange information. Still, elite dominance continues  because elites have access to both legacy and digital media, which enhances their chances of being seen and heard by the public. It is also that journalists’ sourcing practices have not changed. They still closely follow elite sources and use them in their reports. However, the media’s influence cannot be just fixed to the level of elite consensus. The theories that link the media’s impact to the political elite’s consensus do not fully explain the part the media and journalists can play in political processes. Despite elite dominance and structural constraints, journalists are not passive communicators of power but active agents. Some of their practices, such as news sourcing, reproduce the existing structures, but journalists also criticise, question and challenge the influences and restrictions of external forces. The period in which the Annan Plan was negotiated has good examples of journalists’ active participation to make a change in the existing structures, which are discussed later in the book. Journalists did not just comply with elite perspectives but also challenged them in various ways. It showed that journalists could influence the direction of government policies with their critical coverage, especially when there is elite dissensus and uncertainty over a policy (Robinson 2001). Journalism has influenced the debates surrounding the Cyprus issue, but at the same time, it is also influenced by it. One of the most significant impacts of the conflict on journalism is the late development of professional autonomy. During the tensions, journalistic freedom was frequently undermined as they were pressured to express views that served ‘national interests’. Over the years, as the conflict turned into a more ‘comfortable’ conflict, the restrictions and pressures concerning the coverage of the Cyprus problem have lessened. However, state interference, political demands and commercial pressures are still a threat to journalistic autonomy on both sides.

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Like the conflict, journalism in Cyprus has changed, and journalists have played different roles at different stages of their communities’ histories (Ünlü n.d.; Stubbs and Taseli 2014; Bryant 2004; Antoniades 2017, 2018). Over the years, journalists have renegotiated and discursively reproduced their responsibilities and roles with the social, political and professional shifts in their communities. A simple example is the roles they were expected to play during the intercommunal conflict and today. During the tensions, journalism’s main concern was to serve its community’s ‘national interests’, and the watchdog role was challenging to practice. Today, journalists have assumed different roles such as adversarial and monitorial positions and regard the watchdog role as one of their primary responsibilities. Related to the role perceptions, professional values that guide them are also transformed. While detachment or neutrality was not desirable or attainable during the conflict years, many journalists today identify with impartiality. Some journalists are exploring new forms of journalism, such as peace journalism or citizen journalism, that would respond to the demands of their societies. As new approaches towards journalisms develop, struggles over discursive authority on the role of journalism in society take place, leading journalists to redefine their responsibilities and roles. For example, some journalists identify themselves with peace journalism and challenge the existing news reporting practices of the Cyprus problem. There are similarities and differences on each side of Cyprus in how the media function and journalism is practised. For example, the media systems on both sides of the island are alike and show characteristics similar to the Southern Europe and Mediterranean media model developed by Hallin and Mancini (2004). High political parallelism between political parties and the media means the latter is a part of internal political conflicts. The media in each community also depend on the state, political parties, or businesspeople and they are instrumentalised for political and economic purposes. The segregation has led journalism in each community to develop separately. There are similarities and differences in how journalism is conceptualised and practised across the divide, especially on the issue of the Cyprus problem. They are discussed in the other parts of the book, but an important one that affects journalism greatly is the level of interference journalists experience in each community. The media on both sides of Cyprus are free, but the degree of their freedoms is dissimilar. Journalists in the north experience more political interference and threats than their

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counterparts in the south (Freedom House 2021a, b; RSF, 2021a, b). These threats and interference undermine their autonomy and affect their role conceptions and performance.

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CHAPTER 3

News Media and the Conflict in Cyprus

The Cypriot media are a critical player in the Cyprus conflict. They report and circulate information on the Cyprus problem but, like in Cottle’s (2006) concept of ‘mediatised conflict’, also play a constitutive role defining, amplifying and promoting it. Since the first appearance of the press on the island, the media in Cyprus have contributed to national imaginings, propagated new ideas and promoted new movements. The representation of the Cyprus problem has shifted over the years, but the issue kept is newsworthiness. Since the early stages of the intercommunal tensions, journalists have been active participants in articulating the conflict and its resolution. They have influenced the conflict and the peace process, and at the same time, they are affected by them. Yet, there are differences between the journalism practised in the past and present. Its meaning and roles are constantly reproduced and redefined with the changing values and expectations of the communities. Particularly, the strife between the communities has had a significant impact on Cyprus’s news media and journalism. Therefore, a study of journalism needs to include a historical context to understand today’s professional culture better. This chapter presents a historical account of the conflict and the news media’s involvement in the creation and development of the Cyprus problem.

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 S. Şahin, Reporting Conflict and Peace in Cyprus, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95010-1_3

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Understanding the Cyprus Conflict Defining the Cyprus conflict is not an easy task as the causes of the problem are different for the two communities on the island: Greek Cypriots emphasise the events of 1974 and present the Cyprus problem as an international issue in which Turkey is occupying an independent state. Turkish Cypriots, on the other hand, claim that it is an intercommunal issue. They focus their arguments on the intercommunal fighting in the 1960s and the Greek Cypriot nationalism movement for enosis (union with Greece) (Calotychos 1998; Papadakis 1998; Anastasiou 2002; Tocci 2001). The Greek Cypriots’ version of history tries to normalise the pre-1974 era by ignoring the strife in the aftermath of the independence from British rule. The Turkish Cypriots’ account tries to legitimise the Turkish intervention as the logical outcome of the intercommunal violence and justifies their sense of insecurity about Greek Cypriots. However, defining the Cyprus problem as contrasting Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot versions of history only simplifies a very complex issue (Trimikliniotis and Bozkurt 2010; Michael, M, 2007; Michael E. A, 2015; Ker-Lindsay 2011). The Cyprus dispute is not just an intercommunal problem but also an international one. It involves several parties and is related to local, regional and international security, sovereignty and political rights (Richmond 1998). It is also a context-bound issue, which means its definition and nature have shifted over the years with changes in the circumstances, especially of the elite’s understanding and interpretation of it (Michael 2015). For Cypriots, it acts like a ‘political doctrine’ (Michael 2015, 86), shaping many aspects of their lives that vary from social and political discourses to identities and reconstruction of past and future. During the British administration, two conflicting nationalisms, or what Bryant (2004, 2) describes as ‘ethnic estrangement’, developed. Calhoun’s (1997) definition of nationalism is helpful to understand how the nationalism within the two main ethnic communities on the island developed as different nationalist discourses, projects and evaluations and failed to construct a collective sense of Cypriotism. According to Calhoun (1997), nationalism produces particular versions of thought and language as discourse and sets out to advance the interests of a nation as its project. In evaluation, it fosters political and cultural ideologies to create a sense of loyalty and belief. In Cyprus, despite having lived together, both communities imagined themselves as part of other nations, namely Greek and Turkish. Therefore, rather than joining together in an anti-colonial

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struggle for independence from British rule, these two communities’ nationalism movements demanded enosis (unification with Greece) and taksim (partition). They both wanted to integrate with their so-called motherlands of Greece and Turkey instead of working towards independence. As a result, the concept of Cypriotism did not develop among Cypriots as a discourse, project or evaluation until recent years. There are many suggested reasons for the emergence and development of two separate nationalisms in Cyprus. The modernisation process and colonial policies, the strategic interests of countries such as Britain, Greece and Turkey, demographic changes, socio-cultural and economic factors are said to have played a role in shaping the nationalistic ideals of the communities (Kızılyürek 1988; Pollis 1998; Morag 2004; Bryant 2004; Kitromilides 1977; Attalides 1977). One of the most critical elements in the development and spread of these two nationalist movements was education. As Kitromilides (1977, 44) explained, ‘as literacy grew and cultural symbols became more significant, the awakening of primordial sentiments drew the two Cypriot communities apart’. The British administrators’ changes in the content and context of education in Cyprus enhanced each community’s national narratives separately. The new curriculums included Greece and Turkey’s histories and geographies, which encouraged the construction of national identities among the Cypriot youth as Greeks and Turks. In some ways, through education, Cypriots learned how to be Greeks and Turks (Bryant 2004; Kızılyürek 2002; Pollis 1998). When the British administration realised the part education played in the development of nationalism and the construction of national identities, there were already two fledgling nationalisms on the island (Kızılyürek 2002). In 1955, the Greek Cypriot Right and the Church set up the armed group Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston, the National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters (EOKA) and launched an anti-colonial guerrilla war. The aim was to throw off the British and fulfil enosis, a project which initially did not include Turkish Cypriots. According to Stavrinides (1999, 33), that was because ‘they assumed that once enosis was achieved, the Turkish minority would still be a Turkish minority within a Greek Cyprus, enjoying the security and all the other acknowledged minority rights’. However, this is not how Turkish Cypriots viewed the situation. They were anxious about being a minority in a Greek state. They believed that the annexation of Cyprus to Greece would be the end of their community (Kizilyürek 2002, 2003; Beratlı 1991; Nevzat 2005) and therefore, opposed the enosis movement from the start. The Turkish Cypriots’

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separatist attempt came as a resistance group called Volkan (Volcano), which later restructured and renamed itself Türk Mukavemet Teşkilatı, The Turkish Defence Organisation (TMT). Its main aim was to fight against Greek Cypriot nationalism and the EOKA militants, whom they regarded as their enemy. Now on the island, there were two nationalistic groups opposed to each other. The British benefited from this divergence. They recruited Turkish Cypriots as a police force to control the riots and to help them fight EOKA.  Consequently, the relationship between the two communities deteriorated further, in such a way that Greek Cypriots started seeing Turkish Cypriots as another obstacle in achieving their national ideal (Loizides 2007; Novo 2012). The Establishment of the Republic of Cyprus In 1959, the Zurich-London agreement was signed by Turkey, Greece, the United Kingdom (UK) and the leaders of the two Cypriot communities, Archbishop Makarios and Dr Fazıl Kuchuk, to settle the dispute in Cyprus. In this agreement, a constitution for Cyprus was signed by the participants, and in 1960, the Republic of Cyprus (RoC) was established as an independent state. Turkey, Greece and the UK acted as the guarantors. The foundation of the Republic of Cyprus created a state but not a nation. It was ‘a country born without a people’ (Kaymak 2009, 232). It was because the republic was not set up as a result of shared vision of the Greek and Turkish Cypriots of an imagined community but was imposed as a joint effort by Britain, Turkey and Greece. Competing nationalism movements had not allowed a collaborative national building process but separate ones. The lack of Cypriot nationalism did not support a Cypriot nation, and the imagined communities for Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots had already been founded on two different notions. The establishment of the Republic of Cyprus maintained and reinforced identities along ethnic lines rather than unifying and creating a Cypriot identity (Theophylactou 1995). In other words, it failed to diminish the importance of the nationalist projects of enosis or taksim but just quietened them for a while. The new republic meant that the state was run by members of EOKA and TMT (Stavrinides 1999; Anastasiou 2008). Bryant (2004) argues that both nationalisms were fundamentally democratic as they were based on popular representations. Yet, the political demands and guarantees that each community wanted were conflicting and excluding each other. The constitutional rights gained by Turkish

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Cypriots seemed unfair and undemocratic to Greek Cypriots. They believed that Turkish Cypriots were a minority, and the constitution provided them with more rights than they deserved. For the Turkish Cypriots, though, the numbers were not an issue as they were not a minority but equal partners of a bi-communal republic (Stavrinides 1999). In the constitution, they sought certain guarantees not to be ‘tyrannised by the majority’ (Bryant 2004, 221). In other words, while Greek Cypriots wanted ‘justice’ and Turkish Cypriots ‘respect’, in both cases, the ‘other’ community was seen as an obstacle in achieving their ideals (Bryant 2004). In the end, Greek Cypriots set out to change the constitution that they thought of as undemocratic. In 1963, President Archbishop Makarios’ suggestion of 13 amendments in the constitution, which included taking the right of executive veto away from Turkish Cypriots, was seen by the latter as the destruction of their constitutional rights. Only three years after the establishment of the republic, interethnic violence started. On 21 December 1963, the tensions between the communities turned into armed clashes in Nicosia and spread to other parts of Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots withdrew from the legislative and executive posts of the government. They left their properties and jobs and moved into enclaves. The Greek Cypriot attacks on Turkish Cypriot villages left many Turkish Cypriots dead, and in August 1964, Turkish planes bombed Cypriot targets to stop their offensive. After a truce, a ceasefire “Green” line was drawn in Nicosia in 1964, without ending the violence. The so-called Green Line was extended in 1974, and it still acts as the Buffer Zone and a barricade between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. Having separated from the Cyprus state, in December 1967, Turkish Cypriots set up their own ‘provisional’ administration within the enclaves, making them territories of a mini–Turkish Cypriot state (Bryant and Hatay 2011). Life in the enclaves meant geographical and psychological segregation from Greek Cypriots and the world. When Turkish Cypriots withdrew to armed enclaves, communications and contact between the two communities became minimal. Neither Greek Cypriots were allowed into the enclaves nor the Turkish Cypriots allowed outside (Morag 2004). Little communication and contact made it difficult to see the other community’s point of view, and once they were separated, common characteristics between the two communities were ignored. While the intercommunal tension and violence continued between 1963 and 1974, the relations between Greece and Cyprus were also strained. The Greek Cypriot leadership was slowly moving away from the

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idea of enosis to keeping Cyprus as an independent state. This idea was not supported by radical pro-union Greek Cypriots and the military junta that came to power in Greece in 1967. On 15 July 1974, a coup d’état by the military junta in Greece, supported by the Greek Cypriot nationalist paramilitary organisation EOKA B in Cyprus, attempted to assassinate Archbishop Makarios and take control of the government (Papadakis et al. 2006; Ker-Lindsay 2011; Hoffmeister 2006). Turkey intervened with a military operation against Greek Cypriots on 20 July 1974. The military intervention impacted both communities, but it was mainly Greek Cypriots that suffered. Hundreds were killed, they went missing or they were displaced. A mass exodus took place; Greek Cypriots were forced to move to the southern part of the island and Turkish Cypriots to the north. As a result, the country was divided, and the so-called Green Line became the dividing line between the two communities. As Anastasiou (2008, 100) remarked ‘a Turkish Cypriot north, asserting its autonomous administration with the backing of Turkey’s military might, and a Greek Cypriot south, demanding the restoration of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus, became the new reality of the Island’. After the Division After the division, Turkish Cypriot leadership declared Kıbrıs Türk Federe Devleti, the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus (TFSC) in 1975 and then Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) in 1983. The UN Security Council condemned the unilateral declaration of the TRNC as an act of secession, and the international community refused to recognise the breakaway entity. The Cypriot government has campaigned against anything that can be seen as the recognition of the TRNC.  All this resulted in Turkish Cypriots being isolated and prevented them from engaging with the international community. It created a situation that Volkan (2008; 98) resembles ‘an invisible enclave’. Economic sanctions imposed on the Turkish Cypriot community also meant making very limited trade with the rest of the world. Turkish Cypriots’ reliance on Turkey, the only country that recognised the new establishment, has increased. However, the reliance and patronage relations with Turkey negatively influenced the quality of democracy as it limited the Turkish Cypriot decision-making process (Kanol and Köprülü 2017; Kaymak 2009). Today, Turkish Cypriots increasingly feel they cannot exercise their sovereignty for fear of losing their aid from Turkey

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(Kanol and Köprülü 2017; Kanol 2015; Ayberk et al. 2019). Meanwhile, in May 2004, the Republic of Cyprus joined the European Union (EU). Although the whole island is considered to have joined the EU, the body of law are suspended and not implemented in the northern part of Cyprus.

The Cyprus Peace Process Cyprus has seen many peace initiatives to find a political settlement to the conflict, but they all failed to solve the dispute (Michael 2015). The leaders of both communities have been negotiating different aspects of the problem, such as constitution, governance, territory and security on the basis of a federation for years but failed to reach an agreement (Christophorou and Şahin 2018; Michael 2015). As Michael (2015) explains, getting the community leaders to the negotiating table is not difficult, but leaders’ meeting is not enough to produce an implementable or sustainable agreement. When the intercommunal tensions became violent in 1963 and 1964, the UN Security Council established the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP). It aimed to control and prevent the escalation of the violence between the two communities (Michael 2015; Ker-­ Lindsay 2011). The UNFICYP is still on the island. However, after the division, its role is reduced to mainly patrolling the Buffer Zone. The Buffer Zone, which extends along the Green Line, is deserted. Therefore, some refer to it as the Dead Zone (Papadakis 2005). On either side of this zone, there are Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot barricades and checkpoints. The efforts to resolve the conflict through intercommunal negotiations started as early as May 1968 under the auspices of the UN but were unsuccessful in securing an agreement. Since 1974, there have been numerous attempts to find a solution to the problem. In 1977, the two community leaders, Archbishop Makarios and Rauf Denktash, signed an agreement, establishing that a settlement would be based on the principles of a federation. This high-level agreement was also to be the basis of future talks. It consisted of four points and defined the terms of a settlement as ‘independent, non-aligned, bi-communal Federal Republic’. The second-high level agreement was signed between the community leaders, Rauf Denktash and Spyros Kyprianou, in 1979. It was based on the principles of the first high-level agreement. However, these two agreements failed to produce any results. Despite agreeing in principle to a settlement on the basis of a

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federation, Turkish Cypriot leadership’s unilateral declaration of independence in 1983 further solidified the division. Since then, two of the numerous UN initiatives, Boutros-Ghali’s ‘Set of Ideas’ (1992) and Kofi Annan’s ‘Comprehensive Agreement’ (2004), created great expectations about resolving the problem but again, they failed to bring any settlement. The Ghali Set of Ideas, an overall framework agreement, aimed to break the ongoing deadlock between the sides since 1979, the second-high level agreement (Michael 2015; Ker-Lindsay 2011; Hoffmeister 2006). The talks between the parties showed deep mistrust between the sides, so confidence-building measures, ‘Draft ideas for the implementation of the package of confidence-building measures’ (1993) were proposed to overcome this problem. They aimed to increase intercommunal trust and cooperation. However, the measures were not accepted and were unsuccessful in securing any progress in settlement of the conflict (Michael 2015; Ker-Lindsay 2011; Hoffmeister 2006). The efforts to solve the Cyprus problem intensified between 2002 and 2004 when both sides negotiated the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s ‘the Basis for Agreement on a Comprehensive Settlement of the Cyprus Problem’, also known as the Annan Plan. The plan was revised following numerous negotiations. The fifth version, Annan V, was put to referenda in both north and south of Cyprus on 24 April 2004. It was rejected by 76% of Greek Cypriots and accepted by 65% of Turkish Cypriots and therefore was unsuccessful in resolving the Cyprus dispute. One of the most important developments during this time was the opening of the Buffer Zone. The restrictions regarding the crossings that separated the Turkish Cypriot and the Greek Cypriot side of the island were relaxed on 23 April 2003 by the Turkish Cypriot administration. Since then, people from both sides can cross the divide and go to the ‘other side’. This relaxation has increased the contact, communication and cooperation between communities. As Michael and Vural (2018; 7) remark, ‘it has contributed to the normalisation of intercommunal relations’ by increasing visibility of each other and creating a bi-communal space at the Buffer Zone. Crossings have strengthened the bi-communal peace-oriented movements, which were weak and marginal before (Broome 2005; Anastasiou 2008; Lönnqvist 2008). After a while, the Buffer Zone has increasingly become the physical space for bi-communal conflict resolution activities (Vogel 2018). After the referenda, the talks between the community leaders restarted in 2008 and have continued on and off. The latest peace initiative, which

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took place between 2015 and 2017 between the Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akıncı and the Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades, was seen as one of the most promising attempts to settle the dispute and reunify the island. It collapsed in July 2017 following a conference in Crans Montana in Switzerland. Secretary-General António Guterres, in his report to the UN Security Council after the collapse of the process, stated that ‘the parties had come close to reaching a strategic understanding on security and guarantees, as well as on all other outstanding core elements of a comprehensive settlement. It is therefore my firm belief that a historic opportunity was missed in Crans-Montana’ (Gutteres 2017).

Media and the Cyprus Problem The press in Cyprus, which was a crucial tool in imagining a nation and disseminating nationalism, mainly grew during British rule. The development of the press alongside modernisation contributed to the cultivation of national communities on the island. The early newspapers, such as Kypros, Saded, Eleftheria, and Zaman, made people aware of the existence of the distant others and created a relationship between individuals and the rest of the members of their community that they had never encountered before, creating imagined communities (Anderson 1993). The print media were also the embodiment of new and competing thoughts. They propagated the ideas and movements, such as enosis and resistance to British colonialism, which facilitated the creation of new publics (Samani 1999; Bryant 2004; Nevzat 2005; Antoniades 2018; Varnava 2017). Politicians, in particular, benefited from this characteristic of the media as they needed the newspapers to both instruct and create a ‘public’ for themselves to get support for their causes. They took advantage of the newspapers as sources of information in Cyprus at the time by using them to influence public opinion (Bryant 2004). Discussing the process of constructing a national identity, Anderson (1993) points at the media’s contribution to standardising vernacular languages, which later become ‘national’. He argues that while particular dialects are more suitable to print language and continue to exist, others ‘still assimilable to the emerging print-language, lost caste, above all because they were unsuccessful (or only relatively successful) in insisting on their own print-form’ (Anderson 1993, 45). In Cyprus, the situation was no different as the language of the print media was an essential element in the advancement of national consciousness among Cypriots.

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Turkish and Greek became national languages. They were standardised as the print language by the media, which encouraged further divergence between the two communities (Nevzat 2005; Varnava 2017). Other dialects, such as Kypriaka for the Greek Cypriot community and Kıbrıs Türkçesi for the Turkish Cypriot community, slowly disappeared. Panayiotou (2006, 29) argues that ‘the campaign for writing in the “correct language” was the first structural form of censorship in the public sphere’. Education had an impact on the development of the press. Initially, low literacy rates limited the number of readers of these papers to only a few intellectuals. This was especially the case for Turkish Cypriots. Compared to the early Greek Cypriot newspapers, there were only a few Turkish Cypriot newspapers, and they sold few copies. For example, by 1890, there were around half a dozen Greek language newspapers compared with only one Turkish language newspaper, Saded with 64 subscribers (GB Colonial Office 1889–1890; Dedeçay 1989; Ünlü n.d.; Bryant 2004). An increased emphasis on education within communities of Cyprus raised interest in the press, which then was reflected in the circulation rates of the newspapers. As Bryant (2001, 592) states, ‘village coffeehouses filled with unemployed secondary-school graduates who passed their days reading newspapers and debating politics’. The relationship between education and the press was not one-directional. The press also showed interest in educational matters and championed better education (Bryant 2001, 2004). The British administration recognised the importance of newspapers in spreading nationalist ideologies and anti-colonial sentiments and sought to control them. It introduced press laws in the 1930s that brought restrictions for the newspapers and journalists. In October 1931, an anti-­colonial revolt of the Greek Cypriots resulted in tighter restrictions on civil rights and liberties and closer scrutiny of the newspapers. The press law introduced in 1934 gave power to the administration to suspend newspapers temporarily or shut them down if they were found unlawful (Dedeçay 1989; Ünlü n.d.; Stubbs and Taşeli 2014; Bryant 2004). Under these repressive laws, the freedom of the press was curtailed, and some newspapers were closed. Apart from the hardship they caused, these laws also contributed to the animosity of the press towards the British. Criticisms of the British government on the island appeared in the press frequently (Fedai 1986; Altay 1969; Antoniades 2017, 2018; Stubbs and Taseli 2014). For example, the publisher of Masum Millet Con Rıfat, who was

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known for his anti-Britishness (Fedai 1986), wrote an article titled ‘editorial object’ in which he criticised the British government: This government not only restrained but also chained the press, the freedom of action and of speech, interfered with our language, destroyed with a stroke of a pen the religious institutions without consulting the proper Turkish Authorities and obtaining their consent and did not yet replace them by the new ones in the way I have suggested and pointed out two years ago, wanted to govern us without laws and rules, subjected us to treatments which can only be meted out to a primitive and Bedouin Clansmen, ridiculed with the Moslem rights and openly challenged our social honor and dignity. (Masum Millet, 11 April 1931 quoted in Fedai 1986, 74)

Under these rules, newspapers changed their content to escape the strict censorship and the risk of being seized or closed. They avoided criticising the government and described the facts without expressing a critical opinion (Ünlü n.d.; Sophocleous 2014 cited in Stelgias and Antreou 2019, 233). It was not just the British administration that imposed restrictions on the press. Later, both Greek Cypriot nationalist group EOKA and Turkish Cypriot resistance group TMT controlled the media and turned them into disseminators of their nationalist ideas. While Greek Cypriot publications aimed to create a Greek ethnic consciousness and incite the community against British colonialism (Antoniades 2017, 2018), Turkish Cypriot print media were expressing their reaction to both the Greek Cypriots’ ̇ enosis movement and the British administration (Ünlü n.d.; Ismail 1988; Samani 1999). Those, who criticised these organisations’ views, were regarded as traitors and with a mix of formal and informal means of control and pressure such as threats, imprisonment, the dismissal of critical journalists from their jobs, they were silenced. These control and pressure mechanisms caused the press to avoid critically reporting them. The conflict was not just between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots. There were also tensions between left- and right-wing groups in both communities. While right-wing groups supported their community’s nationalist movements, left campaigned for cooperation between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots. However, in this political environment, it was not just the ‘other’ community that was treated suspiciously. Dissent in each community  was also marginalised and moved from a ‘sphere of legitimate controversy’ to  a ‘sphere of deviance’ (Hallin 1986). In the

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nationalist projects of the communities, there was no tolerance for anyone who did not support the nationalist ideals or opposed them (Kizilyürek 2002; Yaşın 1990; Panayiotou 2006). The nationalists especially disapproved of leftist ideas and movements. They saw them as serving communism, and communism was the enemy of both nationalist movements (Alecou 2014; Katsourides 2018; Kizilyurek 2012; Evre 2004; Kitromilides 1977). Thus, Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots, who worked together in the left-wing workers’ institutions, felt that they were being victimised by the right-wing nationalists (Ioannou and Sonan 2014, 2017; Papadakis 2006). In conflicts, when nationalism becomes the dominant discourse, there is very little room to be critical or defend diversity and tolerance. In Cyprus, with the increased pressure, the press became more nationalist and voiced support to their community’s nationalist movement. Ideas critical of the leftist ideology found expression in the press of both communities. For example, Türk Sözü and Sabah in particular, two Turkish Cypriot newspapers with a Pan-Turkist and an anti-communist line, puḃ lished articles condemning leftist views (Ismail 1988). Similarly, some Greek Cypriot newspapers, such as Neos Kypriakos Fylax and Eleftheria, included extreme right ideas and were against the left (Rappas 2009). However, despite pressures, some newspapers published leftist views. As Panayiotou (2006, 30) argued, the leftist press of the 1940–1960 period contributed to ‘the consolidation of a mass leftist movement which articulated a discourse emphasising, not only coexistence and tolerance, but also active cooperation among people from different communities in social-­ economic and anti-colonial struggles’. Greek Cypriot newspapers, such as Anexartitos, published articles that reflected leftist political views and ‘clashed with the paternalism conveyed in the articles of Eleftheria or Neos Kypriakos Fylax’ (Rappas 2009, 202). In the Turkish Cypriot community, Emekçi, a leftist newspaper which claimed to be the voice of Turkish Cypriot workers and farmers, was critical of the Turkish Cypriot leadership and was engaged in a constant polemic with the nationalist newspapers (An 2005). In the Greek Cypriot community, newspapers were dominantly supportive of the leadership and enosis (Antoniades 2018; Christophorou 2010). In the late 1950s, their main role was to unite Greek Cypriots against the British. During this time, some Greek Cypriot journalists were arrested and imprisoned for writing articles against the establishment (Sofokleous 2006, cited in Antoniades 2017). However, the leadership’s

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shift in policies from enosis to independence in the late 1960s resulted in a conflict between Cyprus and Greece. The Greek Cypriot press was in the centre of this power struggle, and a ‘war within the Greek Cypriot press’ started (Varnava 2015, 119). As Christophorou  (2005, 3-4) (2005) explains On one side there were the super pro-Enosis newspapers, supported by circles that were not included in the power team and never accepted the existence of a Cypriot state or a solution other than Enosis. On the other hand, the pro-Makarios papers that did not agree between them but considered the others as their common enemy.

Meanwhile, in the Turkish Cypriot community, two different imaginings of national identity, Cypriot and Turkish, found their expression through the print media. Halkın Sesi and Nacak were the voices of the Turkish Cypriot leadership who fought for taksim and did not believe in Cypriotness. In contrast, Cumhuriyet, a Turkish Cypriot newspaper, which had begun publication on the same day as the Republic of Cyprus was established, defended the republic and the Cypriot identity. It criticised the Turkish nationalist ideals of the Turkish Cypriot leadership and called for harmonious relations between the two communities. In an article entitled ‘Cyprus belongs to Cypriots’, Cumhuriyet wrote the duty of every Turkish and Greek Cypriot is to respect the rights of the other, to make an independent Cyprus live and develop and work with all its effort to provide both communities more democratic, prosperous, happy and peaceful life. To claim the opposite, in our view, is not to see the reality, not to understand the reality or to shut eyes to the reality. In brief, Cyprus’ independence is not its being annexed to another nation or a state but to be governed by Cypriots. (Cumhuriyet, 2 January 1961, quoted in An 2005, 168)

Cumhuriyet was frequently engaged in a polemic with Nacak, the unofficial organ of TMT (Dedeçay1989; Ünlü n.d.). Broadcasting Broadcasting in Cyprus started during the British Colonial era with the establishment of the first radio station, Cyprus Forces Broadcasting Service, by the British forces in 1948. The radio produced programmes for British military personnel on the island and broadcasted in Greek and

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Turkish. The British administration later set up a radio station for Cypriots, the Cyprus Broadcasting Service (CYBS), which began transmitting in 1953  in English, Turkish and Greek. Television broadcasts were introduced in 1957. In 1959, the Cyprus Broadcasting Service became the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC), and its administration was passed to both communities in Cyprus (Sophocleous and Papademetris 1991; Dedeçay 1988). The service’s launch received very little attention from the local press apart from an English language newspaper, Cyprus Mail (Sophocleous and Papademetris 1991). It was because the service was seen as a propaganda instrument of the British administration. The British governor at the time became aware of these concerns of Cypriots about the broadcast service. He tried to assure them that the service was not for propaganda, and following the English tradition, only aimed to inform the public (Sophocleous and Papademetris 1991). Yet, at the time, a resistance movement had been launched against the British and such statements were not convincing. Conscious of the power of radio as an instrument to promote the views and policies of the British throughout the island, the Greek Cypriot nationalist group EOKA bombed the radio station three times to silence it during their struggle to overthrow the British (Dedeçay 1988; Sophocleous and Papademetris 1991). The radio programmes were broadcast in three languages, English, Turkish and Greek, and became a social routine (Dedeçay 1988). The radio broadcasted mass events such as festivals, carnivals, fairs, and other entertainment programmes. In a way, turning some exclusive events into mass experiences and bringing together the dispersed members of the audience, it facilitated a sense of unity among Cypriots. However, this construction process happened separately for each community. For example, when Turkish Cypriots, who were spread around the island and surrounded mainly by the Greek Cypriot community, listened to Turkish language programmes on the radio, they might have imagined the other members of the community doing the same thing at the same time. It would have forged a relationship with other dispersed Turkish Cypriots and enhanced their sense of being a community. Although the press developed separately for each community, the broadcast media were set up to be shared by the communities of Cyprus. As Simopoulos (2012, 8) remarks, ‘for a brief period at the start of independence from British rule in 1960, the media landscape was unified under the newly-created institutions of the Republic of Cyprus’. However,

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increasing tensions meant this ‘bi-communal CYBC project’ was a short-­ lived one (Stelya 2016, 219). From the start, there was a lack of cooperation between the communities. Turkish Cypriots accused Greek Cypriots of ignoring the poor conditions in the Turkish section and not making the necessary improvements (Stelya 2016). Turkish Cypriot press claimed that ‘since independence, the Greek-Cypriot community had chosen to ignore the Turkish-Cypriot staff shortage, had “occupied” CYBC, and had violated the constitutional rights of the Turkish-Cypriot community’ (Stelya 2016, 221). When Turkish Cypriots withdrew from the government and moved into enclaves, jointly run radio and television services were left to the control of Greek Cypriots. Having left the official communication channels, Turkish Cypriots needed an alternative means of communication to broadcast and promote their ideas and news. Such communication was also required to preserve contact within the dispersed Turkish Cypriot community. They set up a radio broadcaster called Bayrak (Flag), which also aimed to facilitate the unity of Turkish Cypriots behind the leadership and the nationalist movement against Greek Cypriots. It was later renamed Bayrak Radyo Televizyon Kurumu, Bayrak Radio Television Corporation (BRTK) and became the governmental broadcasting corporation of Turkish Cypriots. Its television broadcasts began in 1976.

Media After the Division After the separation, the media on both sides of the island continued to serve the dominant nationalist ideologies. They reproduced and embedded the nationalist proclamations of various official sources in their news discourses. The common practices supported the binary division of ‘us’ and ‘them’ and demonising the ‘other’ (Şahin 2008, 2011, 2014; Avraamidou 2018; Christophorou et  al. 2010; Bailie and Azgın 2008). The media claimed to speak on behalf of and to their communities and characterised the ideas they presented as the consensus of their nations. Society was depicted as united behind one perspective. Differences or challenges to this perspective were characterised as deviance from the norm. Nationalist discourses were embedded in the news, and the media collectivised their audience around the national interests they had been promoting. On both sides, the press became an instrument in the efforts of political leaderships to represent their communities as homogenous and stable,

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making differences between the members of the national community invisible. In the Turkish Cypriot community, the nationalist movement against the Greek Cypriots’ enosis was a powerful ideology in shaping and setting the boundaries within which the news media operated before and after the division. According to this ideology, the ‘national struggle’ of Turkish Cypriots did not end. It continued under the threats of Greek Cypriots, and that is why all Turkish Cypriots should unite behind the Turkish Cypriot leadership to present their voices as one to the world (Kizilyürek 2005). Opinions that did not comply with this view were regarded as undermining the state and the nation, and such opinion holders were branded as traitors. In the Greek Cypriot community, there were also pressures for unanimity on the issue of the Cyprus problem. The efforts to become one voice reduced the number of newspapers that voiced opposition to the government. These conditions led to polarisation and polemics within the community rather than encouraging a productive exchange of ideas (Christophorou 2010). In both communities, the left-wing newspapers took an oppositional stand to the nationalist views and supported a united Cyprus and the concept of Cypriotness, but their numbers were smaller, and they were constrained by censorship or self-censorship. The tensions between left and right were not just in politics but also affected social life in Cyprus and were reflected in the media. Papadakis (2006, 72–73), reflecting on the impact of left-right divergence on everyday life, wrote In general, people chose to read party-aligned newspapers, avoiding those of other parties. No one dared carry the wrong newspaper into the other party’s coffee shop. In this way, individual social actors came to be immersed in the ideology and arguments of their own party while becoming highly dismissive of others. The media also came to be highly segregated into right-­ wing and left-wing television stations or radio channels. Even so, on both sides one clearly noted that the right dominated in mass media and the left had a disproportionately small share views that were aired in the media, ones unwilling to engage in discussions of the suffering of the other side or of violence inflicted within one’s own side.

The division of the island hindered the direct communication between the two communities. Having no postal or telephone services meant people got news about the community across the divide through their news media, which disseminated the information provided by official sources

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(Anastasiou 2002; Gumpert and Drucker 1998). Public Information Office (PIO) on each side distributes information on the Cyprus issue in line with the official position of their administration. This information is provided to the media by the public-owned news agencies Türk Ajansı Kıbrıs, Turkish Agency Cyprus (TAK), in the Turkish Cypriot community and Κυπριακό Πρακτορείο Ειδήσεων, The Cyprus News Agency (CNA) in the Greek Cypriot community. The political administrations of each community control both agencies. Together with PIOs, they set agendas and communicate the official selection and interpretation of events to the public (Christophorou et al. 2010). For example, for years, TAK selected and translated stories from the Greek Cypriot media that helped the Turkish Cypriot administration to portray Greek Cypriots as an ‘unchanging evil’ and a continuous threat. It attached news value to anything negative about Greek Cypriots. Papadakis (2005, 103), pointing to ‘the news from the south’ page of a right-wing Turkish Cypriot newspaper, observed that Anything negative about the Greek Cypriot side was good news over here. They adored Greek Cypriot extremists. Any statement they found in the Greek Cypriot press about Turkish Cypriots by extremists, made it to the section. If someone said ‘A good Turk is a dead Turk’ not only did it become news, it was presented as a general Greek Cypriot outlook.

A similar stereotyping process also existed in the Greek Cypriot media to a certain degree. In the 1960s, the Turkish Cypriot leadership was described as terrorists, gangsters, kidnappers, extremists and outlaws (Christophorou 2005, Christophorou et  al. 2010). Later, all Turkish Cypriots were categorised as Turks with little reference to the community or specific groups (Christophorou 2005). Such mediation through nationalist stereotypes enhanced political legitimacy and self-justifying categorisations of ‘us’ versus ‘them’ (Anastasiou 2009). On each side, internal criticisms were exploited by the PIOs as evidence for the truth of their arguments (Papadakis 2006). Especially the criticisms of the left were used by the other side’s PIO to demonstrate the self-righteousness of their positions. However, those whose writings they used faced accusations of being traitors for providing propaganda material to the other side (Papadakis 2006). While nationalism stressing Greek and Turkish identities dominated the political spheres in each community and enhanced the separation in the

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1990s, there was also resistance from those who emphasised Cypriotness and reconciliation between the communities. They supported the unification of the island (Loizides 2007). Their criticisms and opposition to nationalism usually found expression in the left-wing press. Panayiotou (2006, 30) states that in the Greek Cypriot community, a form of journalism, in which ‘journalists, often editors, maintained a position critical of nationalism despite the general climate or the general direction of their readers’ became noticeable in the 1990s. Similarly, some media in the Turkish Cypriot community also subtly resisted the hegemonic nationalist discourses and attempted to replace them with a Cypriot oriented one (Christophorou et al. 2010; Şahin 2008). Broadcast media on both sides acted as instruments of nationalist propaganda and disseminated and amplified official nationalist discourses. They also broadcasted propaganda programmes to the community across the divide. These programmes, produced in Greek by BRTK and in Turkish by CyBC, aimed to present their views to the ‘other’ community to persuade them of the righteousness of their arguments. Many Cypriots did not watch these programmes. Yet, when these organisations broadcasted other types of programmes such as films, dramas or sports, they attracted an audience from the community across the divide (Drucker and Gumpert 2018; Panayiotou 2006). In a way, the broadcast media, which contributed to the segmentation of communities, also brought them together. As Drucker and Gumpert (2018, 82) argued, such collective viewing experiences could foster a sense of community, collective consciousness and experience. The privatisation of the broadcast media in the 1990s changed the media landscape on both sides of the island. Privatisation resulted from the ‘pressure by social forces and local authorities as well as the general climate in regard to technological progress and changes in European media policies’ (Christophorou 2010, 239). Until then, broadcast media were under the monopoly of the political power in each community. Bayrak Radyo ve Televizyon Kurumu, the Bayrak Radio and Television Corporation (BRTK) in the north and Radiofonikó Ídryma Kýprou, the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC) in the south mainly reproduced (and they still do) the statements of their respective governments and disseminated official ideologies. Privatisation of the Greek Cypriot broadcast media in the early 1990s and the Turkish Cypriot media in the mid-1990s disrupted this monopoly. The emergence of new radio stations and television channels encouraged a transformation of broadcast media

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from political organisations to commercial ones shaped by business interests. In a way, the proliferation of radio and television channels and commercial concerns curtailed some of the power and control of the authorities on broadcast media. Still, nationalist ideology continued to be a dominant feature of private media content, in particular the news. Before the privatisation, newspapers provided political diversity as the broadcast media in each community disseminated official information. With the emergence of commercial media, the number of news media that could act as a communication tool rose. Privately owned radio and televisions also became crucial instruments of political communication. However, even with the increased number of broadcast media, there was still a lack of variety of views aired (Christophorou et al. 2010). An increase in the quantity of broadcast media did not bring a rise in quality or diversity. As Maniou (2017, 5) explained, ‘very soon after the introduction of private TV channels’ public realised that ‘these channels could not be trustworthy and reliable in terms of information dissemination, especially regarding political issues’. Despite this, new radio stations and television channels expanded the range of political views in the media. The competition amongst them for advertising and audience increased and broadened the range of topics covered in the news. More social, financial and human-­ interest stories started to appear in the media rather than just the statements and actions of political actors, which usually dominated the news. The proliferation of commercial broadcast media outlets allowed more journalists to enter the sector and practice new ways of storytelling. However, since the journalists employed in the new private radio and televisions were from the public broadcasting and the print media, the established patterns of journalism practices did not change immediately (Maniou 2017).

Journalism and Conflict in Cyprus The news media in Cyprus, like in Cottle’s (2006) concept of ‘mediatised conflict’, played a constitutive role in the communication of the conflict. As they acted as a mediating tool between political leaders and the populace, reflecting elite perspectives, they also defined, amplified and promoted the conflict. They contributed to the efforts of the nationalisms of the communities in shaping and disseminating national ideas, which helped the transformation of the people on the island from Ottoman Muslims and Christians into Turks and Greeks (Bryant 2004; Nevzat

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2005). In the Turkish Cypriot community, in the early 1920s, journalists took on the mission of educating and enhancing a sense of belonging and identification of the Turkish Cypriot community with the Turkish nation. Journalists in their articles promoted the adoption of Turkish reforms in Cyprus and communicated ideas for modern and secular improvements (Dedeçay 1989; Ünlü n.d.; Nevzat 2005). When the Greek Cypriot enosis movement became a threat to their community, journalists shifted their position from promoting social reforms to defending the Turkish Cypriot community’s rights (Stubbs and Taşeli 2014). Similarly, in the Greek Cypriot community, journalists, with other educated elites, such as teachers and politicians, adopted the ideology of Greek nationalism and took part in mobilising the public behind the enosis movement (Christofis and Kyritsi 2018; Katsourides 2018). Initially, the nationalist sentiments and opposition to the British colonial administration were mild, but in time, they grew stronger (Christofis and Kyritsi 2018). When the violence against the British increased, the colonial government brought restrictions to the print media (Stubbs and Taşeli 2014). Despite this, journalists continued to voice their support for enosis in opinion articles and comments without revealing their names to protect themselves from the British administration’s strict censorship and repressive laws (Antoniades 2018). Journalism on the island developed mainly in support of the nationalist projects, undertaking the mission of defending the rights of their own communities and developing national consciousness. For example, in the Turkish Cypriot community, a form of journalism that is commonly known as ‘national cause journalism’ (milli dava gazetecilig ̆i) developed during this period. It gave voice to the political and military elites, who were trying to create a unified voice for the sake of national unity against the ‘other’ community. It was a top-down communication, relaying the leaderships’ messages to the public. The role of Turkish Cypriot journalists in this process was a collaborative one. They joined in the efforts of the leadership to form a national unity and disseminated its ideologies and policies. However, it was not always voluntary. Existing censorship in the community meant journalists had to follow the leaders’ rules whether they shared their ideals or not.  Hanitzsch and Vos (2018) explain  that collaborative-­facilitative attitudes can be based on a shared commitment or ideal, or they can be forced upon journalists. The tensions within the Greek Cypriot community between pro-enosis and pro-government created radical positions and enhanced the polarisation of groups. The press was at the centre of these political struggles.

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Some newspapers were creating anti-Makarios feelings, condemning his policies, while others that supported the government engaged in a polemic with them defending its policies (Varnava 2015). Each side, using the newspapers, promoted their positions and attacked the views of the other side. It encouraged a form of advocacy journalism. In advocacy journalism, journalists identify and promote the causes of certain groups, which results in acting as their mouthpiece (Hanitzsch and Vos 2018; Cáceres 2019). Journalists in the Greek Cypriot press became a part of the ongoing power contest, and as the print media grouped around these conflicting views, they became their voice. Broadly defining journalisms in both communities as collaborative and advocacy does not mean that they did not exist in the other community. While Turkish Cypriot journalists also practised advocacy journalism, a cooperative attitude was present among Greek Cypriot journalists. However, it shows the way journalism responded to the expectations of the power in each community and adapted its roles according to its demands. In the Turkish Cypriot community, the censorship and pressures of the leadership to unite people behind its nationalist ideology and policies meant the media, voluntarily or involuntarily, supported its efforts. The political conflicts and divisions in the Greek Cypriot community encouraged the media to align around different political groups and act as their mouthpiece, defending and explaining their ideas to the public. All this meant journalists were not and could not be objective disseminators of information. Any issue that diverged from national and political ideals, such as the ideological conflict between the right and the left and the suffering caused by the violence against the ‘other’ community, was censored or self-censored (Papadakis 2006; Panayiotou 2006). In such a political environment, it was not possible to practice neutral journalism. Instead, journalists reproduced and disseminated the views of dominant political forces in their communities. Sometimes, their work was in the format of propaganda rather than journalism. A Turkish Cypriot journalist, who used to work for Halkın Sesi, a newspaper founded by Turkish Cypriot community leader Fazıl Kuchuk, explained that they ‘produced articles to stress that Turkish Cypriots should have equal rights as Greek Cypriots. They were like messages to the public’ (Personal interview, 2019). They were fulfilling a journalistic responsibility to inform and educate the public about the disputes and interests of their communities. Journalists, who opposed the views of their leadership, were constrained by censorship or self-censorship. The lack of tolerance meant some

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journalists, who were regarded as dissent, were arrested, imprisoned or killed. However, there were some differences in the way censorship was applied. As Anastasiou (2002, 589) explained, ‘censorship in the G/C community has been indirect through the nationalism permeating the general culture, which inevitably cuts across party lines’ while in the Turkish Cypriot community, it was ‘more through direct control or supervision and even active intervention by the administrative authorities’. In the Turkish Cypriot community, journalists, who challenged the leadership or promoted coexistence with Greek Cypriots, were attacked. Fazıl ̇ Önder, the publisher of Inkılapçı, who supported a Greek and Turkish Cypriot united workers movement, was murdered in 1958 (An 2005). Four years later, Ayhan Hikmet and Muzaffer Gürkan, two lawyers who were publishing Cumhuriyet, were killed. These attacks created fear and chilling effect among journalists, and the absence of opposition was evident in the Turkish Cypriot press during the intercommunal strife. All the existing publications at the time, such as Halkın Sesi, Mücahit, Limasol’un Sesi and Zafer, were in support of the Turkish Cypriot leadership and the TMT (Ünlü n.d.; Azgın 1998; Kıbrıs Türk Gazeteciler Birliği 2012). Much later, Kutlu Adalı was killed in 1996, while others, such as Şener Levent, faced frequent harassment from the authorities and court proceedings for their critical reporting. In the Greek Cypriot community, the main cause of violence against journalists and media was criticism of Makarios and the government. The tensions between pro-Enosis and pro-Makarios groups also affected journalists. There were no murders, but some journalists and newspapers were attacked. For example, Antonis Pharmakides, the owner of Alithia and the editor of Ethniki, which opposed Makarios, was kidnapped in April 1960. He had been criticising Makarios and EOKA members before his abduction. The British Pathe archives show that the kidnapping and other attacks were reported as a climax of a ruthless campaign to silence the anti-Makarios press. A leader writer on “Ethniki” had earlier been beaten up in Limassol. Vans distributing the papers have been ambushed, and thousands of copies burned. In the streets small boys have been threatened for selling copies. (British Pathe, n.d)

Journalists, such as Antonis Shiakallis and the offices of Ethniki newspaper in Nicosia were assaulted on various occasions in the 1960s. When

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Takis Evdokas announced his presidential candidacy in mid-February 1968, Patris was attacked, and the attackers destroyed the typesetting of the next day edition. Later, an article of Evdokas with the headline ‘Macchiaveli (talks) to Makarios’ prompted his arrest and jail for defamation (Christophorou, Personal communication, 2021). Inevitably, these events created a chilling effect on journalists. Later, journalists acting as ‘journalistic thought police’ against ‘opponents of national ideals’ emerged in the 1990s. As Panayiotou (2006, 30) describes, ‘these journalists tended to focus their commentary on evaluating the “national dedication/credentials” of other journalists or public figures, and would create a “scandal” (leading to rituals of public denunciation) against alleged traitors’. In societal transitions from an authoritarian to a democratic system or from conflict to peace, the existing form of journalism does not disappear or change immediately  (Voltmer, 2013). Instead, it adapts itself to new conditions and continues to exist with the new forms of journalism, struggling for legitimacy. As the pressures and restrictions of the conflict eased in Cyprus, journalism has adapted itself to the new settings. Inevitably, political tensions and professional and ethical dilemmas related to the conflict continued to shape their work. Nevertheless, when the conflict-related forces started losing their effectiveness  after the division, conditions for journalists to practice new ways began developing. For example, the news media gradually moved away from the instructions of political authorities. They started to cover a broader range of topics, including social and cultural events, in various formats. The shift did not happen immediately, and journalists continued to perform them within the constraints of the existing institutional structures and power relations but, at the same time, gradually challenged and changed them. As the new institutions, such as political parties and their newspapers, developed with the civic and democratic transformations, journalism slowly moved from a passive role to a more interventionist one. It took on more adversarial positions and critiqued the political power. As well as normative functions, such as dissemination and monitoring, journalists also adopted others, sometimes conflicting ones, such as watchdog, collaborator, adversarial, advocacy and educator. Such hybrid notions of journalistic role perceptions are not exclusive to Cyprus. Research documents similar patterns in other conflict-­affected societies, where journalists adopt broader responsibilities such as watchdog role, civic or educational role, or agents of social change or activist of peace than their counterparts in democratic countries (Andresen et al. 2017; Lohner et al. 2016; Pragers and Hameleers 2018; Voltmer 2013).

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Political Party Journalism The history of journalism in Cyprus shows that politics has been influential in shaping the journalism culture from early on. Journalists are closely involved in politics and are key actors in political conflicts. Sometimes, they participate in political debates, not to inform but to influence the public. The news media are aligned with different political parties and they act as mediators between political figures and the populace. They are also a platform for elite discussions. Consequently, a journalism culture with the characteristics of advocacy journalism exists on both sides of the island. Transformations in politics in the aftermath of 1974 impacted the media and journalism practices. Greek Cypriot politics were defined by the divisions between left and right parties until the emergence of the political centre in the 1970s. As Faustmann (2009, 28) explained, ‘although the party political system remains highly polarised – a relic of the rivalry and violent clashes of the past – the political climate since the second half of the 1970s is, in general, moderate’. The death of Makarios and the foundation of two new parties, Dimokratikó Kómma, The Democratic party (DIKO) and Dimokratikós Sinagermós, the Democratic Rally (DISY) in 1976, were critical political developments in the Greek Cypriot community (Christophorou 2010; Sonan and Faustman 2018; Katsourides 2016). In the Turkish Cypriot community, the multiparty system developed after the division of the island in 1974 (Kaymak 2009). Cumhuriyetçi Türk Partisi, The Republican Turkish Party (CTP) was established in 1970. Other parties emerged after 1974: Ulusal Birlik Partisi, the National Unity Party (UBP) in 1975 and Toplumcu Kurtuluş Partisi, the Communal Liberation Party (TKP) in 1976. With the foundation of new political parties, publications that would reflect party ideologies and policies also emerged. Political parties established newspapers to communicate with their public, influence opinion and gain support for their causes. As the parties competed for power, the news media became a part of this contest. Organised around left or right ideologies, they were instrumental in different political and ideological struggles. For example, first Dimokratis and then, Haravgi were mouthpieces of Anorthotikó Kómma Ergazómenou Laoú, the Progressive Party of the Working People (AKEL), a left-wing party. In the Turkish Cypriot community, it was a ‘sociological need’ rather than a choice for the new political parties to set up newspapers to convey their views and policies to the public (Azgın 2015; 52). It was because, when these new parties

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started emerging in the 1970s, their access to the public through the existing media, which were controlled by the leadership, was limited. They needed new channels of communication with the public. So, the CTP established Yenidüzen, the TKP Kurtuluş and Ortam, and the UBP used Birlik to convey their messages to the public. The connection between these groups and newspapers created a system that can be defined as press-party parallelism. Press-party parallelism happens when there is a clear link between newspapers and political parties (Seymour-Ure 1974). In the case of Cyprus, ideological and financial connections of some of these newspapers with political groups mean these publications, or ‘party newspapers’ as they are commonly referred to, acted as their mouthpieces. The link between newspapers and parties was usually exhibited in the mast of the paper, in editorials and the content. The news was also always framed in line with the affiliated party’s political views. These newspapers mainly provided interpretation and commentary on events in line with the ideology of the political party they were associated with. They disseminated and promoted their messages and took part in the production of them. It is because of these close links that journalism in Cyprus is usually defined as advocacy journalism. Over the years, the close ties between the political parties and the media have diminished, and the number of newspapers acting as party mouthpieces has decreased. There is more effort in these papers to practice journalism that would attract a broader range of audiences. However, propagating the views of the parties they support is still a characteristic of the press on both sides of the island (Christophorou et al. 2010). The newspapers that were (and still are) affiliated with political parties are criticised for being partisan. Their style of journalism is usually disapproved for lacking professionalism and failing to fulfil democratic responsibilities to the public. They are accused of scrutinising the wrongdoings of their opponents but not of their own groups. They are also seen as biased as they frame news according to their ideology and policies. However, the function and role of these newspapers were crucial in developing the democratic values in Cyprus. Party journalism, as some describe their journalism, has contributed to political diversity and discussion of different ideas in societies. Despite the constraints, such as strict control over their content or limited resources, it has provided a platform for various voices. In this way, it has contributed to the development of freedom of thought and expression. Party newspapers are also an essential element of political participation because, as Van Kempen (2007) explains, media

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parallelism can strengthen party attachment and increase electoral participation. By reporting on the issues addressed by their parties and providing their readers with commentary, these newspapers keep them informed of the political debate. Furthermore, when the party they are affiliated with is in opposition, they check on the government. This is an important role especially, as the development of the democratic culture and civil society was late and slow in Cyprus. The outbreak of violence in 1963, the withdrawal of Turkish Cypriots from the administration and the events of 1974 meant that the development of liberal democracy in Cyprus was postponed until the division of the island, making Cyprus ‘a late blooming democracy’ (Charalambous and Christophorou 2016, 2). The party newspapers monitored the government, especially when civil society organisations and market forces were not strong enough to perform this role. In recent years, the significance of party newspapers as party communication instruments has decreased. The development of commercial media and changes in the media landscape encouraged a shift from pressparty parallelism to political parallelism. Political parallelism means favouring a specific political perspective rather than a particular party (Mancini 2012). The media on both sides have moved away from being partisan. Instead, they are more likely to identify themselves with a political camp, such as right or left or, in the case of the Cyprus problem, supporting a united Cyprus or the status quo. The political orientation of a medium manifests itself mainly in the media content. Political parallelism leads to favourable treatment of political groups a news outlet has a connection with, while the others are criticised (Christophorou et al. 2010). However, the relations between media and political actors are not fixed and change depending on the favours and support they give to each other. The media moving away from political affiliations and adopting more commercial approaches to increase their circulation have impacted journalism in Cyprus. Journalists were usually considered as representatives of the political position of the medium for which they worked. They were seen as if they were under the influence of political forces with little autonomy. Journalists have moved away from this image in the commercial media environment and adopted a more professional attitude. Distancing themselves from political positions, they now claim their independence

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from political forces and embrace more neutral positions. However, it does not mean that political interests have lost their power and are no longer a force in the news media. Although partisanship in the media has declined, political and business interests of the owners and political elite are still influential in shaping the news frames. In daily practices, journalists still experience pressure from media owners, politicians and businesspeople, which sometimes affects their adherence to professional principles.

Conclusion Understanding journalism, especially in conflict-affected societies, cannot be complete without looking at the conflict they experienced and the way it impacted their media and journalism. Therefore, studying journalism in the historical context is necessary to understand journalists’ roles and practices on the island. This chapter outlined the forces that influenced and shaped journalism over the years. Journalism has undergone many changes over the years. Intercommunal tensions invoked patriotism, and journalism accentuated the power and agenda of leadership. When there was an elite consensus about national aspirations in the communities and elite positions and discourses became the dominant frames to describe the disputes, the news media reflected and supported these positions. Challenges to the dominant framing of the issues were limited. However, when conflicts appeared among elites, they were also manifested in the media. For example, when Greek Cypriot nationalism developed as two separate movements, independence and enosis, the divergence between elites was evident in the Greek Cypriot newspapers (Christophorou 2010). During the intercommunal tensions and conflict between 1963 and 1974, the Turkish Cypriot leadership silenced all opposition to its policies. As a result, there was very little criticism of it in the press. When disagreements within the community appeared, and opposing views started finding expression with the emergence of new political parties, newspapers reflected the divergences (Azgın 1998; Kıbrıs Türk Gazeteciler Birliği 2012). During the tensions, the dominance of the political power on the news media limited journalistic agency. The watchdog role of journalism was undermined, ethical rules were ignored and the media followed the agenda

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and narratives of power holders. However, journalism also influenced political decisions. The news media provided a platform for the dissemination of new ideas. Political forces were influential in developing these ideas, but it was  journalists who  produced and communicated them to their publics. They acted as communicators between political power and the public, informing each other’s views and engaging them in debates. At times journalism behaved as a nationalising institution that aimed to unite people behind various national projects. Other times they contributed to the polarisation between the communities. They became mobilisers and activists encouraging people to get involved in political debates and campaigns or played adversarial roles scrutinising and criticising political power on behalf of people. Changes in role trends indicate the struggle between different approaches to defining the meaning of journalism in society. Journalistic roles are ‘subject to discursive (re) creation, (re) interpretation, appropriation, and contestation’ (Hanitzsch and Vos 2018, 160), as the history of journalism in Cyprus shows. Journalism in both communities has changed with the shift of the demands of their societies.

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CHAPTER 4

Journalistic Roles in Cyprus

In conflict-affected societies, journalism has a significant part in shaping the public’s perception and knowledge of national identity, history, conflict and peace. When mediating a dispute, journalists do not just circulate information about it but also define, frame, deliberate and promote it. Mediation of information during conflict and post-conflict periods is not a smooth process. During conflicts, journalists experience many constraints and difficulties while practising their profession. Cessation of violence or a transition to a more peaceful state presents no fewer challenging conditions for them. Political pressures and professional and ethical dilemmas experienced during the conflict could affect them even when the violence and tensions end. Journalists in such societies renegotiate their role and (re)establish their professionalism as the dynamics of the conflict change (Voltmer 2013; Andresen et al. 2017). The previous chapter discussed how conflict and journalism in Cyprus had influenced each other. It explained that journalism had adapted to the shifts in political disputes in each community and the intercommunal tensions by adopting new roles. This chapter focuses on current journalistic roles and practices. It examines the concept of professionalism and is interested in journalists’ perception of the influences of forces, such as media ownership, political, economic and organisational, on their work.

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Professional Journalism in Cyprus In their study on media systems, Hallin and Mancini (2004) use a framework that includes the development of media markets, political parallelism, journalistic professionalism and the degree and nature of the state intervention in the media system. They categorise the systems into three models, the Mediterranean or Polarized Pluralist Model, the North/ Central European or Democratic Corporatist Model, and the North Atlantic or Liberal Model. Using this framework, they identify the characteristics of these media models. When applied to Cyprus, the news media on both sides show some similar features to the Mediterranean media model. The close ties between political parties and the media mean the latter are heavily instrumentalised for political purposes and are intimately involved in political conflicts. The media are often dependent on the state, political parties, or wealthy patrons. There are also overt and covert state interventions. In this model, journalism is characterised by low professionalism. It means weak professional organisations and journalism unions, lack of formal accountability systems, which results in a limited system of professional ethics and journalistic standards, lack of recognition of journalism as a collective and autonomous profession and late development of formal journalism education (Hallin and Mancini 2004). The current media systems on both sides of Cyprus resemble but do not precisely fit Hallin and Mancini’s (2004) Mediterranean media model. The transformations in the state intervention, media markets, political parallelism and media landscapes have changed the existing systems, creating hybrid patterns. The state intervention still happens but in different forms, such as media subsidies and public broadcasting. The domination of commercial concerns is increasingly affecting the media, and political parallelism has not lost its effectiveness. Journalism, which usually is described as advocacy journalism, co-exists with impartial journalism. Meanwhile, the development of formal journalism training and recognition of professional organisations as the representatives of journalists’ rights and standards have transformed journalism and increased its acceptance as a profession by the wider society. Professionalism is based on shared norms, rules and practices that guide journalism and journalists’ role perceptions. As Hanitzsch and Örnebring (2020) explain, professionalism connects norms (i.e., ideals) to practice and ‘professionalisation is the degree to which journalists share this system’ (Hanitzsch and Örnebring 2020, 107). Therefore, subscribing to a set of

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norms and practices is necessary for maintaining professional standards and identity. They show society how journalists fulfil their responsibilities, meet expectations and shape journalists’ perception of their roles in society. Journalists in Cyprus describe their roles in different ways, such as giving accurate information, monitoring political and business elites, educating and informing the public about societal problems. Providing opportunities to people to express their views, encouraging social change and promoting peace are also among the responsibilities they list (see Milioni 2017). At the core of these roles is the idea of serving the public by impartially presenting the facts and truth. Impartiality, truth and accuracy are regarded as the elements of ‘good’ journalism. By subscribing to these norms, journalists in Cyprus aim to safeguard their professional integrity and credibility against the forces that undermine their autonomy. Their attachment to these values is a way of legitimising their professional identity and roles. They underline them to establish their differences from other forms of journalism, such as nationalist or party journalism that lack impartiality and fail to report facts accurately. During the conflict years, journalists collaborated with their leaderships with little criticism. Party journalism, on the other hand,  is a form of journalism that encourages scrutiny on rival groups and parties but not so much on their parties. By emphasising accuracy, impartiality and public service orientation as the core of their professionalism, journalists redefine their role and identity according to the normative norms of ‘good’ journalism. These role conceptions are no different from the global approaches to professional roles, but they are reproduced and practised under the influence of local forces and media structures. Therefore, they are not fixed but shift when society’s understanding of, and expectations from journalism change (Voltmer 2013). Autonomy Professional journalism demonstrates itself through journalistic autonomy. Autonomy allows journalists to work free from pressures and have control over their work (Skovsgaard 2014; Witschge and Nygren 2009; Deuze 2005; Sjøvaag 2013; Reich and Hanitzsch 2013). In Cyprus, the level of media freedom or pressure on journalists is different across the divide. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index for 2021 ranks the media in the southern part of the island as the 26th (Reporters without Borders 2021a). It shows that they have independence from political and corporate influences and pressures compared to the media in

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the northern part. The media in the north is ranked as the 76th (Reporters without Borders 2021b), indicating more pressures and interferences on journalists and the media. Journalists’ perceptions also support these results. Journalists from both sides believe that professional autonomy among the journalists working for the Greek Cypriot media tends to be higher than the Turkish Cypriot ones. A Greek Cypriot journalist, who sometimes contributed to the Turkish Cypriot media, knew that she had to be careful with her language and avoid using terms such as ‘illegal actions of Turkey’: ‘We don’t have such issues. I am free to write whatever I want. …. I don’t have a problem as a journalist. They don’t come to my house and say, “Why did you write this?”’. However, she believed her Turkish Cypriot counterparts did not have such freedom and could get in trouble with Turkish Cypriot authorities (Personal Interview, 2020). Milioni’s (2017) study1 also confirms that journalists working for the Greek Cypriot media believe they have a high degree of professional autonomy and freedom in deciding how to frame their stories. Journalistic autonomy is not fixed. In Cyprus, the level of journalistic independence and struggle to attain it has changed over time. During the intercommunal tensions and political and ideological conflicts in each community, journalistic freedom was undermined by interferences from military and political leadership. Journalists were under pressure to report events from the perspectives of their communities or parties. Even today, expressing views favouring the other community may attract criticisms from one’s community for impeding their own community interests. State and political interventions continue but pressures from market forces and media ownership have also become significant forces that undermine journalistic autonomy (see Milioni 2017). Journalists’ ability to expose abuses of power or wrongdoings can be restricted by their editors or management teams if the investigation goes against media owners’ political and business interests. The concept of autonomy is also context-bound. Within each community, the level of autonomy varies depending on the type and structure of media organisations and individual journalists’ experience. Some media are less likely to interfere with their journalists’ work while others are more controlling. Journalists also recognise that if they share similar political 1  The research did not include Turkish Cypriot media, and there is no similar research on the autonomy of journalists working for the Turkish Cypriot media.

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views with the media they work for, their work attracts less criticism from their editors and managers (Personal interviews, 2019, 2020). Experienced and renowned journalists, whose political views are well-known by the public, are also likely to have a higher level of autonomy than less experienced ones. Professional Organisations Another aspect of professionalism is to have mechanisms to control standards and have a code of ethics. Aldridge and Evetts (2003, 555–6) remark that ‘professionalism as a discourse of self-control and motivation crucially depends on effective mechanisms of occupational socialisation and identity formation and maintenance’. Membership to professional organisations indicates upholding standards and following code of conduct and ascribes journalists a professional identity as ‘real professionals’ (Davis 2010, 100). Professional associations are important ‘field-level actors’ (Sherrill et al. 2021, 1). They observe the developments in the industry, provide research and learning, promote good values and practices and engage in advocacy activities (Nordqvist et al. 2010; Sherrill et al. 2021). In Cyprus, in each community, there are established professional organisations and trade unions that promote better standards in journalism and defend the rights of journalists. The efforts to bring journalists together under a trade union started in the early 1930s. Still, the union did not materialise until 1960, the same year as the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus (Union of Cyprus Journalists 2021). The Union of Cyprus Journalists (Ένωση Συντακτών) was founded in 1960 with 27 journalists from daily and weekly newspapers. The aim of the union was (and still is) to protect the independence, freedoms and rights of journalists, regulate the conditions of their employment through a collective agreement and raise the standard of journalism. The intercommunal tensions hindered journalists of Cyprus from uniting under one organisation. Turkish Cypriot journalists’ attempts to form a separate union were put on hold when the violence between the two communities intensified in 1963 (Kıbrıs Türk Gazeteciler Birliği 2012). It was in 1971 that a Turkish Cypriot Journalism Association (Kıbrıs Türk Gazeteciler Cemiyeti-KTGC) was established (Kıbrıs Türk Gazeteciler Birliği 2012). The Press Workers’ Union (Basın-Sen), founded in 1972, is the first Turkish Cypriot trade union formed in the press area to protect all media workers’ rights and conditions of employment. Kıbrıs Türk Gazeteciler Birliği, the Turkish

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Cypriot Journalists’ Union (KTGB) was founded in 1982 by some journalists separated from the KTGC. The progress of the professional organisations on the island was also linked to the late formation of civil society. The control of the governments and political parties over the communities hindered the development of a strong and independent civil society until after 1974 (Demetriou and Gürel 2008). In the Greek Cypriot community, especially during the conflict, national issues were prioritised over societal ones. ‘The prevailing argument was that, with the intercommunal conflict still unresolved and the very survival of Greek Cypriots at stake, the Republic of Cyprus was going through difficult times, forcing citizens to be careful with demands’ (CIVICUS 2011, 26). In the case of the Turkish Cypriot community, ‘without an institutionalised state structure, particularly between 1964 and 1975, the line between civil society and the state in the TCC (Turkish Cypriot community) became blurred’ (CIVICUS 2011, 72). These restrictions impacted the development of a strong civil society in Cyprus, making it dependent on political structures (CIVICUS 2005, 2011; Gilespie et al. 2011; Çuhadar and Kotelis 2009; Michael and Vural 2018). Inevitably, they also affected the growth of journalism organisations as influential professional associations. However, today on both sides of the island, journalism organisations have become important field-level actors, upholding standards, promoting good practice and protecting the freedoms and rights of journalists. Education Education and training for journalism is another element of professionalism. Globally, university education in journalism has increased professionalisation, formalisation and standardisation worldwide (Nygren and Stigbrand 2014; Josephi 2016; Mellado et al. 2013). Through university education, journalism students learn and internalise professional values and develop a professional identity. It is also an essential socialising agent, helping new journalists’ socialisation into the profession (Deuze 2006). In the case of Cyprus, journalism education is another factor that has contributed to the development of the professional values and identities of journalists. It started in the 1970s and developed more in the 1990s and 2000s (Roussou 2009; Azgin and Bailie 2009). Initially, many journalists in both communities were teachers, poets and prose writers who published articles in newspapers (Roussou 2009; Ismail 1988). They were

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self-taught and learned the job while working in the papers or, in some cases, when they set up their own newspapers (Roussou 2009; Azgin and Bailie 2009). Some journalists received training abroad, but their numbers were limited. Some colleges in the Greek Cypriot community that had journalism training attracted a small number of people. However, in the 1990s, with the ‘media explosion’ (Roussou 2009, 235) and the beginning of private broadcasting, journalism education gained more importance. Later, training in colleges became university-level courses. It was not just the courses on the island that attracted students. Many studied journalism degrees abroad, and when returned, brought with them the professional values, role conceptions and identities they learned during their education. Using the ideas and practices they acquired through studies, they challenged and transformed the existing forms of journalism in the communities.

Influences on Journalism Journalists perceive and practice their roles in many ways. Studying their social and moral responsibilities in society and how they negotiate their professional tasks helps in understanding them better (Mellado 2015; Vos 2017). There is extensive research on journalism that categorises journalistic roles in different ways, such as active and passive or monitorial, collaborative, facilitative and radical or the disseminator, the interpreter, the adversary and the populist mobiliser (Donsbach and Patterson 2004; Weaver and Wilhoit 1996; Christians et  al. 2009; Hanitzsch 2007; Hanitzsch and Vos 2017, 2018). They show that journalistic role conceptions usually follow global journalistic norms and rules, but they are practised under the influence of local forces. Individual, organisational and external factors affect journalists’ role perceptions and news production processes and can create inconsistencies between journalists’ role ideals and performances. Therefore, the way journalists see their professional roles and the way they practice them may not always correspond (Hellmueller and Mellado 2015; Mellado 2015; Tandoc et al. 2013; Pihl-­ Thingvad 2015; Van Dalen et  al. 2012; Mellado and Van Dalen 2014; Hanitzsch and Vos 2017). In other words, what journalists believe they should do, what they think they do and what they do can be different things. Journalists have certain ideas about their professional responsibilities, such as what they consider to be their job and what tasks are expected of them by society (Mellado et al. 2017). Professional role perceptions are

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not just based on the characteristics and ideas of individual journalists but also on ‘how journalists meet the demand of the organisation, and a specific society, and how they integrate those into their individual understanding of professional roles’ (Hellmueller and Mellado 2015, 8). Their normative roles can conflict with the expectations of other actors such as the audience, advertisers and politicians. Therefore, journalists cannot always perform according to what they think their role should be or what they want to do (Hanitzsch and Vos 2017, 2018). External influences that originate from news routines, organisational and national contexts impose limitations on journalists’ autonomy (Reich and Hanitzsch 2013; Shoemaker and Reese 2014). Their performance is also determined by editorial routines and resources, other colleagues, family and friends. The interrelations of all these forces are complex, and sometimes, they interact with each other and create extra pressures and dilemmas for journalists. For example, when reporting on the Cyprus problem, the political alignment of a media organisation usually sets the frame of the news content. Journalists also function within the dominant ideologies of their communities, which shape their work. The following section focuses on the main forces that significantly impact journalists, especially concerning their work on the Cyprus problem. The Cyprus Problem and Self-Censorship In Cyprus, there are no longer violent clashes, but the conflict continues. The official narratives each community has developed to explain the cause and continuation of the problem also shape the reporting of the Cyprus problem. Whenever tensions between the two communities increase, the news media are dominated by nationalist discourses that portray the ‘other’ as irrational and wrong and ‘our’ behaviour as good and positive (Avraamidou 2018; Avraamidou and Kyriakides 2015; Christophorou et al. 2010; Şahin 2008, 2014; Christophorou and Şahin 2017; Bailie and Azgın 2009; Ersoy 2010; Ciftcioglu and Shaw 2020). They reproduce their authorities’ ethnocentric statements and display a form of nationalistic journalism (Elliot 2004). The official narratives in Cyprus are exclusive of each other and refuse to recognise the legitimacy of the other administration. The news media support them by employing phrases, such as ‘pseudo-state’ (rather than the TRNC), ‘so-called leader’ or ‘the GreekCypriot administration’ (rather than the ROC), to refer to the state across the divide.

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Journalists on both sides of the island learn and internalise their official narratives as part of their socialisation process into the profession. They avoid reporting issues if they believe they would receive flak or be censored by their editors. In the case of Turkish Cypriot media, the process of censorship can be direct. The rules of what they can and cannot say concerning the Cyprus problem are the first things new journalists learn. As a Turkish Cypriot journalist explained, ‘Journalists on their first day at work learn that they should refer to the administration across the divide not as the Republic of Cyprus but as the Greek Cypriot Administration’ (Personal interview, 2019). In the case of Greek Cypriot media, these rules are also internalised and determine journalists’ framing of the news. A journalist from the CyBC stated, ‘There is no censorship coming from the organisation because as journalists we know the (official) line and limits. So, I think, in a sense, we apply self-censorship’ (cited in Şahin 2021). This internalisation process works like self-censorship and is common in conflict and post-conflict societies (Jungblut and Hoxha 2017). It helps to regulate and censor journalists’ work in line with the state control or market demands. External or internal and covert or overt pressures lead journalists to restrain themselves from reporting certain events or encourage them to cover in a way that will not cause any harm to themselves and others (Jungblut and Hoxha 2017). Journalists choose to self-censor themselves for various reasons, mainly to avoid political and economic pressures, especially when they have concerns about their job security or personal safety (Walulya and Nassanga 2020; Rožukalne 2020; Iordanidou et al. 2020). Yet, they are not always keen to acknowledge practising self-­ censorship, despite doing it, because it is perceived to be a threat to autonomous journalism. Once specific social and political values are internalised, the tendency to self-censorship continues even when there is no systematic or public censorship (Cook and Heilmann 2013). As the last quote from a Greek Cypriot journalist demonstrates, sometimes self-censorship is based on journalists’ perceptions of various forces affecting their work. Yet, what journalists perceive as influencing their journalism and the actual, objective forces that practically impact their work do not always correlate (Reich and Hanitzsch 2013). In other words, ‘the decision to withhold a story does not necessarily reflect any real-life occurrences. Rather it correlates with the journalists’ interpretations and perceptions’ (Jungblut and Hoxha, 227). In some cases, rather than the actual censorship, the fear of interference leads to self-censorship among journalists. A Turkish Cypriot news editor recognised the tendency of journalists to

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censor themselves by steering clear of certain issues and avoid criticism: ‘I tell my staff not to self-censor themselves about a story. If you have any doubt, check with me whether we could publish it or not’ (Personal Interview, 2019). The level and amount of control and censorship journalists experience have shifted over the years. In the past, the conflicts within and between the communities meant criticisms of authorities were not accepted. The leadership of each community exercised an ideological control mechanism similar to the anticommunism filter in Herman and Chomsky’s (1988) Propaganda Model. They justified silencing condemnations directed at their policies and practices with serving national interests (Kızılyürek 2002; Anastasiou 2002, 2009). Journalists, who challenged these policies, were arrested, publicly branded as traitors and threatened. Hence, journalism that avoided criticising authorities developed. Even when the intercommunal tensions diminished, journalists, who learned and internalised official ideologies and discourses, applied self-censorship and avoided publishing anything that opposed it. They stayed within the margins of the political consensus of their communities when they reported on the Cyprus problem. In the  Turkish Cypriot community, journalists faced direct control and intervention by the authorities. The Turkish Cypriot leadership utilised the media as an instrument in creating and maintaining a unified voice for the sake of the national struggle against Greek Cypriots. The media and journalists felt the pressure to report the news in line with the official discourses, which showed ‘us’ positively and cast the ‘other’ as the one doing wrong. A Turkish Cypriot journalist’s account of clashes at the Buffer Zone gives an idea of the extent to which the authorities pressured journalists to support their views. A journalist from the BRTK, who went to cover a demonstration at the Buffer Zone in August 1996, in which a Greek Cypriot, Solomos Solomou, was shot dead by the Turkish Security Forces for attempting to lower the Turkish flag, was asked to lie in his report: When I got back to the newsroom, the director asked me to join in the on-­ air news programme and say that it was not our side who had shot him, but it was Greek Cypriots. I said, “are you joking? I cannot say such a thing”… I told him that I would say that it was our Security Forces that shot him and explain why they did it. Fortunately, while we were discussing, a press release from the Security Forces came, saying: “we shot him”. After this, I joined the programme and gave my account of the events. (Personal interview, 2019)

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The state control and pressure to follow the official line also existed in the Greek Cypriot media, especially for those journalists who worked at the state-owned media. A journalist, who worked for the CyBC, explained that when they were asked to frame the news in a certain way, they couldn’t question or challenge and had to comply with the instructions (Personal interview, 2020). Today, there are different levels of pressure and censorship on both sides, but the freedom of the media is generally respected. While journalists in the Greek Cypriot media, despite some political pressure, can criticise authorities without fear, journalists in the Turkish Cypriot media can face insult and threats, especially when they criticise Turkey and its policies on Cyprus (RSF 2021b). Turkey Turkey’s presence on the island influences journalism on both sides, especially in the northern part. For Greek Cypriots, Turkey is a country that invaded and divided the island and is still an obstacle in resolving the problem. They regard it as the enemy that occupies the northern part of the island and affects the decision-making of Turkish Cypriots in the peace process (Christophorou et al. 2010). For Turkish Cypriots, the situation is more complicated. Despite the self-proclaimed republic with its elected head of state and members of the parliament, Turkey is influential in governing the country. It has political, economic, cultural and military power in the north of the island. For some Turkish Cypriots, it is the guarantor and protector, but, its power and presence on the island are a problem for others. Many Turkish Cypriot journalists believe their freedom of expression is restricted when it comes to criticising Turkey, especially its policies on the Cyprus problem. Criticisms can lead to legal proceedings as they did in the case of Afrika. Afrika is a daily newspaper with a small circulation and limited web presence. It includes many opinion columns and news articles received mainly from the news agencies. It is pro-settlement in Cyprus and disapproves of Turkey’s presence on the island. In 2017, Afrika republished a caricature depicting a Greek statue urinating on Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s head with a caption ‘seen through Greek eyes’ (Afrika 2017). It was an image taken from a newspaper published in Greece. The former Turkish ambassador to the northern part of Cyprus filed a complaint against the paper. The staff also received death threats. A Turkish

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Cypriot court threw out the charges against its editor Şener Levent and journalist Ali Osman Tabak and decided that the caricature’s publication was within the scope of freedom of expression. It was not the first time that the paper was targeted for its views. When it disapproved of Turkey’s military operation against Kurdish fighters in Syria (Afrika 2018), Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called ‘his brothers’ in the north of the island to show their reaction. The next day the paper’s office was attacked by a group of Turkish hardliners. The attack of the mob threatened the lives of journalists and others there. These kinds of reactions and pressures from Turkish officials create a chilling effect on journalists and enhance self-­ censorship. As Şener Levent, the editor of Afrika explained, journalists here know what they can and cannot write. They are aware that there is a frame in which they cannot step outside. No one is standing beside them with a gun or sword to their head. They have learned and internalised what they can and cannot write. (Personal interview, 2019)

Levent argued that journalists were afraid to take an adversarial position towards Turkey’s Cyprus policies, as they feared it might lead to isolation, rejection or attack on themselves (Personal interview, 2019). That is why they choose to stay within the sphere of political consensus. Court cases of the kind Afrika has faced are not frequent in the country. Still, examples, like the attack on Afrika and its journalists, feed the fear, and journalists avoid open conflict with Turkey and its representatives in Cyprus. Another Turkish Cypriot news editor described this fear: In the north, the news media cannot write anything critical of Turkey. If you do, it could create problems for you and your organisation. Therefore, you cannot write freely. You must be careful of what you say or write and avoid things that might put you in a difficult situation. (Personal Interview, 2019)

Political Forces The news media are a crucial part of the contest for political power. Therefore, political actors want to control and manage the news media to communicate information from their perspectives (Wolfsfeld 2004, 2011; Bennett 1990, 2016; Hallin 1986; Cottle 2006). They want the news media to frame events and ideas in a way that favours them. In Cyprus, the media have always been at the centre of political contests. Political forces

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have influenced and utilised the  media for their interests. Governments have employed overt and covert methods to control and use the media as their propaganda instruments. Political parties have established their own newspapers as their party communication instruments. Meanwhile, private media have favoured and supported political actors and parties according to their political and economic interests. Consequently, political parallelism has developed as a media characteristic on both sides of the island (Christophorou et al. 2010). In time, political and business interests and limited resources have created new relationships and dependencies between political actors and media. The significance of newspapers as political party communication instruments has lessened but not disappeared. Whether political groups or businesspeople own them, the media are used for political and business interests. While the politicians benefit from the media to communicate their messages to the public and other elites, business owners use them to advance their businesses and political interests. The power relationship between political elites and media owners can be explained with clientelism. Clientelism means a powerful patron is dispensing favours such as appointments, promotions and access to services and goods to a less influential client in return for political support (Hallin and Mancini 2004; Hallin and Papathanassopoulos 2002; Örnebring 2012; Roudakova 2008; Kitschelt and Wilkinson 2007). In Cyprus, clientelism is widespread and affects most aspects of life (Faustmann 2008, 2010; Sonan 2014; Sonan and Faustmann 2018). Clientelism influences the media at the organisational level through the instrumentalisation of media outlets (Hallin and Mancini 2004; Hallin and Papathanassopoulos 2002; Roudakova 2008; Camaj 2016; Örnebring 2012). In clientelist environments, ‘information tends to be treated as a privately held resource, to be exchanged only within particularistic relationships’ (Hallin and Papathanassopoulos 2002, 188) for the benefit of owners. ‘Public opinion becomes a resource that “patrons” –politicians, governors, oligarchs, financial tycoons – can use in the struggle to retain and augment their influence’ (Roudakova 2008, 43). In this relationship, the media are utilised for promoting support for allies while discrediting or denying the other parties’ access to them. Clientelism diminishes the independence of the news media and reduces the autonomy of journalists. It undermines the idea that journalists serve a public interest that goes beyond the interests of politicians, media owners, businesses and other social organisations (Hallin and

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Papathanassopoulos 2002). The relationship between media owners and politicians determines and impose news agenda and frames on journalists. It is a big concern among journalists in Cyprus. They feel that they are being used as a tool in this media–political clientelist relation. They are expected to engage in journalism that serves elite agendas rather than work for the common good. They find their autonomy is weakened, and their work is censored by their editors, or they self-censor. Political or commercial interests of ownership and the government’s overt and covert control mechanisms on the media hinder journalists from scrutinising and investigating the power. According to some journalists, these pressures deterred Greek Cypriot media from investigating Cyprus’s golden passport scheme’corruption in 2020. Instead, the Al Jazeera news channel exposed it. The golden passport programme involved some politicians who illegally issued Cypriot passports to wealthy investors. The story was reported by some Greek Cypriot media but not to the extent Al Jazeera did, which received extensive national and international attention. Some journalists believe that the media and political power relationship held journalists back from thoroughly investigating the problem. It was also, as a Greek Cypriot journalist explained, the pressures from the political power: some investigative journalists revealed stories (on this issue). They were heavily attacked. They were forced not to continue because you also need to have the support of society. It was so easy for those in power and for Anastasiadis to blackmail the media to stop them. After Al Jazeera’s report, this has changed completely. (Personal interview, 2021)

Despite the pressures and restrictions of the clientelist relations in Cyprus, journalists are not the powerless puppets of the media owners, political actors, businesses or the state. Within the resources available to them, they try to expose corruption and wrongdoing and campaign for reform. Some journalists are also closely involved in political life and are interested in influencing politics. They act as public and political intellectuals, and by sharing information, opinion and commentary, they join in the elite debate. The number of commentary pieces in the print media on both sides of the island shows that opinion articles are a prominent characteristic of the media and journalism in Cyprus. Journalists acknowledge pressures and interferences in their work, but the general attitude is to work for the public interest or the common

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good. It is important to distinguish between interference and criticisms journalists receive because sometimes, criticism is confused with interference. A Greek Cypriot journalist explained this difference: ‘As journalists, we usually get negative comments from the politicians but not interference about what to write and what not to write. Usually, the reaction comes after we publish’ (Personal interview, 2020). The level of interferences and journalists’ experience of interventions vary among media outlets. Therefore, it is not easy to determine how much of the interference or pressure is actual or perceived by journalists. For example, the interference in some news media associated with a political party could be less than in others. A Greek Cypriot journalist, who used to work in Haravgi, the mouthpiece of the left-wing AKEL, remarked that she had never experienced interference. ‘No one came and told me, you must write this, … but many friends of mine who worked in other newspapers that are liberal or independent, were told by their editors “you must write this” or were given a written article just to put their names on’ (Personal interview, 2020). Similarly, a Turkish Cypriot journalist working for a radio station associated with a political party stated that she had never felt pressured to produce a story in a certain way (Personal interview, 2019). It could be that journalists, who support the political ideologies of a news outlet, perform their work in line with its political framework and do not need to be told how to frame their stories. However, not everyone in a news organisation shares its political position. When that happens, journalists behave, as a Turkish Cypriot journalist remarked, ‘professionally’ (Personal interview, 2019). Professionalism in this context means that when the political views of a news outlet and a journalist working for it conflict, journalists produce and frame their stories according to the latter, but the work they produce does not necessarily reflect their professional and personal values. The relationship between politicians and journalists needs to be considered when studying the impact of political forces on the work of journalists. Cyprus is a small island. Politicians and journalists in each community know one another, most of the time personally. Whether their relationship is formal or informal, this recognition has the advantage of making it easy for both sides to access each other. For example, it is common for journalists in Cyprus to have official and personal telephone numbers of the community leaders, government representatives and other key political figures. They stress its exceptionality by saying that it is something foreign journalists find surprising. However, this close

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relationship can also cause problems. On the one hand, journalists are dependent on political sources for information, but on the other hand, they need to be independent and act as a watchdog on these people to serve the public. When the relationship between politicians and journalists is too close, it gets difficult for the latter to scrutinise politicians. A personal or intimate relationship can affect their neutrality. Therefore, as a Greek Cypriot journalist stated, some ‘avoid being friends with politicians’ (Personal interview, 2020). In Cyprus, the relationship between politicians and journalists is a two-­ way relationship based on mutual understanding and respect for formal and informal rules, which guide the interactions between them. Both parties recognise that they should protect this mutual trust to continue exchanging information with each other. However, it does not stop them from fighting for control over information. While politicians want to manage the amount and framing of the information they give to journalists, journalists want to produce their stories without any pressure from their political sources. It makes the relationship between them simultaneously adversarial and symbiotic. Research on political journalism (Johansson and Nygren 2019; Albaek et al. 2014) shows that if both politicians and journalists have overlapping goals, and there is no conflict, then the interaction between them is more likely be symbiotic. However, if there are conflicting interests, then politicians and journalists have more adversarial interactions. It is no different for journalists in Cyprus. Journalists believe that despite their friendly or symbiotic relations, they could be critical of political figures and scrutinise their ideas and actions. A Turkish Cypriot journalist described their relationship with political actors: ‘we can sit and have coffee with the president and listen to his ideas, but the next day we can publish an article criticising him’ (Personal interview, 2018). It shows that journalists believe they could keep their professional distance from the people they are monitoring. Economic Forces Over the years, the shifts in political and economic environments and technological developments have transformed the media markets on both sides of the island. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, political events and processes, such as the establishment of new political parties and changing attitudes towards the national movements, affected the development of the press. With the founding of new parties, new publications affiliated

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with them emerged and created diversity in the media. Meanwhile, technological developments increased the number of publications and intensified the competition between them. Christophorou (2010) explains that in the 1980s, developments in print technology increased the number of days the daily newspapers published from six to seven in the Greek Cypriot community. However, it also meant that not all newspapers were able to go through this modernisation process due to its costs, and only the ones with more resources and regular readership survived it (Christophorou 2010). The number of weeklies declined sharply. The same happened to the partisan press between the end 1980s to the mid-1990s when commercialisation started gaining strength. In the south, enterprises gradually transformed from family businesses to corporations, and with the privatisation of broadcast media, they have become ‘all-media corporations’ (Christophorou 2010, 239). Small media businesses also looked for ways to survive the challenges of commercialisation. Some continued with the support of the political parties they were affiliated with, but others disappeared. The state control of the media gradually diminished but did not cease to exist. Yet, it was a step towards more independent and pluralist media. Although the Cyprus problem kept its newsworthiness, journalists began reporting on a broader range of topics. Today, there are many newspapers, magazines, radio stations, television channels and online news sites on both sides of the island. An increase in the number of media outlets has intensified the competition over audience and revenues. The digitalisation of the media has escalated this struggle further. Apart from the local media, the communities also follow the media in Greece and Turkey, which affect the ratings and media’s income in Cyprus. All this is a cause for concern for journalists in Cyprus. The competition over the fragmented audience and available revenues is intense and affects the quality of journalism. A Greek Cypriot journalist explains why the quality of the news is not as good as it should be: ‘there are more media than the market. The number of people working in journalism is spread out. So, you have less qualified people on each medium, and you don’t have a fully staffed team in any of them’ (Personal interview, 2021). With less revenue, understaffing has become a common problem in the media on both sides. They end up employing less-qualified people. The result is dissatisfaction with the news quality and unethical journalism practices. Lack of resources also makes the media more dependent on official sources, including the public-owned news agencies, CNA in the south and TAK in the north. Newsrooms also rely on other external

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sources such as press releases, which they can copy-paste and the Internet sites, where they can duplicate stories to fill in the gaps in their output. In such situations, journalists become mere information processors. It shows that the abundance of media has failed to guarantee plurality and diversity of voices in the public sphere. There is a difference between the number of daily newspapers in the north and south. For example, in 2021, there are four Greek-language and one English language daily (Press and Information Office, n.d. 2021) but, in the Turkish Cypriot north, there are 19 daily newspapers (TRNC Public Information Office n.d.). There are various reasons for this difference, but the main one is that businesspeople, some from Turkey who has other businesses, have also entered the media market in the north. The advertising is not enough for all, but they can support their media with the income from their other businesses, such as hotels and casinos. The situation creates unfair competition for other media. Competition, combined with the reduction of resources, has made the media more dependent on economic support, such as state subsidies and advertising. State subsidies, which can be direct by providing funds to media or indirectly, such as reduced taxes or lowered social fees, aim to support private media (Ots and Picard 2018). However, governments can also use them to influence news production and presentation and limit the ability of journalists to scrutinise them. Journalists on both sides explain that their governments have used subsidies to control the media. A Greek Cypriot journalist argued that such support prevented journalists from investigating the abuse of power. ‘I have many friends who tried to go deep into an investigation, and they received a call from someone in the government saying, “please do not go that deep”‘(Personal interview, 2021). The dependency on advertising also brings limitations to journalistic autonomy. In some cases, journalists apply economic self-censorship (Jungblut and Hoxha 2017) not to cover a story that might harm their media organisation’s financial situation or relations with its advertisers. Sometimes, they are specifically asked not to report on the wrongdoings of businesses that advertise with them or they are prevented from doing it. If they continue with their investigation, companies threaten to pull their advertising from the organisation. A news editor of a Turkish Cypriot daily stressed their dependency on advertising and remarked that ‘we cannot publish anything negative about the people who advertise with us. As the circulation rates of the print media have gone down, our dependence on

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advertising has increased’ (Personal Interview, 2019). The situation is similar in the Greek Cypriot media. A journalist explained that ‘the media depend on advertising because they don’t sell papers. … for example, if you want to investigate a businessperson, you must check if it’s your client. And if it is an important client for the media group, you don’t write anything about it’ (Personal interview, 2021). The economic crisis in the Republic of Cyprus during 2012 and 2013, which resulted in the near-collapse of banks and financial assistance from the European Union, has had a negative impact on the media and journalism. The economic conditions led to a set of austerity measures, including cuts in public spending and reduced the media’s income in general (Maniou 2021). As a result, they became vulnerable to political and economic interventionism. Even today, they feel the effects of the crisis. The crisis has also affected the public broadcasting, the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation, which is funded by the state budget. It has become more susceptible to political interventionism and dependent on the governing elites (Spyridou and Milioni 2018). Spyridou and Milioni’s (2018, 113) study shows that following the budget reductions, the broadcaster ‘struggles to cover essential operating costs and maintain a decent level of quality production with reduced staff ’. The media’s increased dependency on business and government sources for funding undermined journalistic autonomy, and journalists were exposed to more pressures. ‘On the one hand, they had to cover suicides or school closures and, on the other, cuts on wages and continuing lay-­ offs, which were an everyday phenomenon (Iordanidou et al. 2020, 18). The crisis also negatively affected journalists’ working conditions, such as job security, salaries and working hours and reduced ‘the journalists’ will or power to consistently claim editorial independence or to defend salaries and benefits against arbitrary cuts’ (Christophorou and Spyridou 2017, 5). During the economic crisis, while fear of job insecurity increased, a decline in the media funds reduced journalists’ income. Combined with pressures on journalists to follow the media’s editorial line meant ‘censorship from the administration offices as well as self-censorship as a means of survival bloomed’ (Iordanidou et al. 2020, 23). Economic conditions from this period still affect journalism. Many newsrooms still feel the impact of the restrictions imposed on them during the crisis. A Greek Cypriot journalist, who used to be a member of a team

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of 40 people and now works with only six people, remarked that their working conditions had not improved: Once, we had three people checking our articles and making corrections. Now we tend to do the job quickly, and there are a lot of mistakes … We can’t ask for a pay rise because it’s ridiculous to ask for a rise in these conditions. So, I’m with the same salary for the last ten years now. Everybody’s had the same salary, and we are one of the biggest media groups in Cyprus. (Personal interview, 2021)

Similarly, journalists working in the Turkish Cypriot media stress job insecurity and low wages as the factors affecting their work (Zeybek and Koyuncu 2018). Zeybek and Koyuncu’s research (2018) found that journalists recognised they could be unemployed if the media they worked for got in financial difficulties. Therefore, they do not challenge the interference from owners and commercial interests and avoid criticising the government and businesses that provide them with financial support. Deteriorating working conditions lead journalists to self-censor as a way of protection and survival (Milioni et  al. 2017; Iordanidou et  al. 2020; Zeybek and Koyuncu 2018). Iordanidou et  al.’s (2020) research shows that journalists working for the Greek Cypriot media experienced direct and indirect pressures during the economic crisis in 2013 that led the critical voices among them to be ‘self-silenced’. Zeybek and Koyuncu’s (2018, 176) study, which examined self-censorship among Turkish Cypriot journalists, also found that journalists have internalised self-censorship and justify it ‘as an attitude required by their circumstances’. Media Ownership Media owners have a significant impact on the professional autonomy of journalists. Their interference in the news production process and decision making about the allocation of resources, profit expectations and advertising considerations are some of the limitations imposed on journalists. They can be an obstacle to their professional freedom (Reich and Hanitzsch 2013). The media ownership on both sides of Cyprus is similar, a combination of the public, private and political parties. There are also community media that are not profit-seeking or statist entities. They are embedded in civil society and have substantial autonomy from the market and state (Voniati et al. 2018). Ownership shapes the media output according to its

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political and economic interests. For example, the public-owned media, Ραδιοφωνικό Ίδρυμα Κύπρου, the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC or PIK), Κυπριακό Πρακτορείο Ειδήσεων, the Cyprus News Agency (CNA or ΚΥΠΕ) in the Greek Cypriot community, Bayrak Radyo Televizyon Kurumu, the Bayrak Radio Television Corporation (BRTK) and the news agency Türk Ajansı Kıbrıs, the Turkish Agency Cyprus (TAK) in the Turkish Cypriot community produce and distribute news in line with official ideologies. The directors and administrative board members of these media are political appointments, and they change with governments. It means that these media are vulnerable to political interventions by the governing parties and are used as political tools. The failure to transform these media from instruments of state control to channels of public deliberation casts doubts about the standards and independence of the journalism performed in these institutions. The journalists working for these media cannot investigate any government or state corruption. This situation creates conflicts between the aims and values of journalists and these  media and affects journalists’ role perceptions and performances. In other words, it creates a gap between what journalists believe they should do and what they do. The gap between professional roles and practices shapes journalists’ perception of freedom (Mellado and van Dalen 2014). Journalists, who have a smaller gap between their professional role and practice, perceive themselves to have greater freedom, and those with a big gap feel they have less autonomy. The gap between journalists’ professional roles and practices can be significant in public-­ owned media, such as CyBC, CAN, BRTK or TAK. As a Turkish Cypriot journalist working for the public media explained, they can only perform their profession within the framework of government policies. Their work cannot be critical of the government or the state as they are expected to reflect the ‘voice of the state’ (Personal interview, 2019). This situation contributes to the disillusionment of some journalists with their professional roles in these institutions. It leads to dissatisfaction, as a Turkish Cypriot journalist explained: What I do is not journalism. We communicate information, but journalists should also investigate and research. That is not what we do. Politicians make statements, and we announce them to the public. Can we report on things that they don’t want the public to know? This is what journalism is about, but it is not what we do. (Personal interview, 2019)

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Similar sentiments were expressed by some Greek Cypriot journalists working for the state media. A journalist from CyBC remarked that journalists should do more than ‘just record and convey the statements of the politicians’ (cited in Şahin 2021), which is not always possible. Media ownership’s impact on democracy is a concern for journalists. In the Greek Cypriot community, the concentration of the media ownership in the hands of few has limited the diversity and made it easy for the owners to use their media to serve their economic and political interests (Christophorou and Spyridou 2017). In the northern part, the high number of media is not celebrated as a sign of diversity. On the contrary, it is regarded as a risk to democracy. Some of these media are set up by businesspeople who own other businesses to control information, influence public opinion and pressure political power. It is to gain support for their other business interests in the country rather than serve the public. ‘Otherwise’ asks a Turkish Cypriot news editor ‘why do they continue functioning when losing money? They are not in this business to make money. Their main intention is political. They want to influence the government’ (Personal interview, 2019). Journalists claim that these media can pay high salaries to attract experienced journalists or sell advertising for a much lower price. They can do these by using the resources from their other businesses. As a result, they create unfair competition and increase the financial difficulties of already struggling local media. Owners use their media outlets to get involved in political debates if any proposed policy would impact their businesses. It is a way of forming a public opinion on important issues or pushing governments to act according to their interests. Inevitably, owners’ economic and political concerns affect the news production process, sometimes creating conflicting conditions for journalists. It is especially the case when profit maximising practices are encouraged at the expense of professional standards. For example, owners’ relations with politicians or businesspeople determine whether journalists promote or smear them. If the interaction is an adversarial one, then the treatment of that politician or business is usually critical. If it is based on good relations, then the coverage is more likely to be symbiotic. Such relationships worry journalists because it determines their performance. Journalists are held back from investigating wrongdoing of certain politicians or businesspeople if it is against the owner’s interests. A news editor of a Turkish Cypriot daily confirmed this practice. Referring to the newspaper he worked, he said, ‘This paper’s owner is a businessman and has close relations with politicians. When you investigate an allegation

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of wrongdoing against one of these politicians, you get to a point and then you are warned not to go any further’ (Personal interview, 2019). Similar restrictions apply to Greek Cypriot media. The interference of the owners of Kathimerini Kyprou (Kathimerini Cyprus) to its news editor and director Andreas Paraschos’ story is a good example of how the relations between owners and power could affect journalists. When Paraschos wrote an article in 2021, claiming that RoC President Nikos Anastasiadis had benefitted from an illegal golden passport scheme (Paraschos 2021), the publishers asked him to retract his article before any reaction from the president. Paraschos refused and resigned from his position, accusing the publishers of siding with the power (KNews.com 2021). The case demonstrated the interference of media owners to journalistic autonomy and the impact of their relationship with the powerful elite on journalism.

Journalists’ Role Perceptions Journalism is not just shaped by national ideologies, societal and organisational structures but also by journalists and their professional and personal values. According to Gidden’s (1984) theory of structuration, journalists are constrained by the structures, yet they have the power to maintain or change the conditions in which they work. Journalists exercise their agency within the national and organisational framework not only to reproduce these structures but also to modify them. It means that journalists are not passive but active agents. They can negotiate certain independence from the constraints of socio-political influences and organisational restrictions (Hanitzsch and Vos 2017, 2018; Reich and Hanitzsch 2013; Lauk and Harro-Loit 2016). Therefore, although the news is shaped by the political elite, media ownership and other external forces, it also reflects journalists’ personal and professional values. Journalistic roles and identity are discursively constituted, and therefore, they are not fixed but reproduced and contested through time (Hanitzsch and Vos 2017; Zelizer 2017). There is a discursive struggle for dominance between different forms of journalism. This struggle is not separate from the contests in other social institutions such as political, economic, and media. Journalism practised on both sides of Cyprus is a good example of discursive contests as the meaning and practices of journalism are transformed with the changes in societies. Shifts in societal values, dominant ideologies and political and commercial pressures have influenced journalists’ self-perceptions of their role and practices. For

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example, during the intercommunal tensions, the news media mainly reproduced their leaderships’ statements. In those circumstances, professional values of detachment, balance and fairness were not practical or desirable for journalists and clashed with the ideas of serving their community’s interests. When party journalism developed, it encouraged journalists to practice their watchdog role on the political elite of rival parties, but not so much on their own groups. Although state interference and party pressures still exist, commercialisation and digitalisation of the news media have brought further changes to the journalists’ roles. For example, with the Internet and networked digital media, journalists are no longer the only gatekeepers of news and information. They are also increasingly acting as curators and finding, contextualising and sharing information on social media (Hanitzsch and Vos 2018). These transformations in values and roles have not happened linearly, one replacing the other, but over a long period, with different role constructions struggling over legitimacy with each other. The role perceptions of journalists in Cyprus are being studied as a part of an international collaborative project called the Worlds of Journalism Study (https://worldsofjournalism.org/). The project aims to provide evidence to professional orientations, conditions and limitations under which journalists work worldwide. The initial findings of the research indicate that the role perceptions of the journalists working in the Greek Cypriot media2 are to ‘report things as they are’, ‘provide analysis of current affairs’, ‘support national development’ and ‘be a detached observer’ (Milioni 2017). Detachment appears to be a significant journalistic value, and reporting the truth and informing the public are the main professional responsibilities (Milioni 2017). These role perceptions are reflective of the historical, political and social contexts in which journalism is embedded. In communities across the divide, information, especially on the Cyprus problem, has been controlled and manipulated by the elite to combat political and economic conflicts. When journalists state that they communicate the truth or report things as they are, they stress detachment as an essential characteristic of their professionalism. At the same time, they are redefining their professionalism to separate it from those who disseminate biased, partisan or propaganda related information. Removing themselves from the control of the power, journalists are re-­establishing their role as impartial and neutral professionals. In other words, they are discursively 2

 This part of the project did not include Turkish Cypriot journalists.

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reconstructing themselves as ‘truth seeking’ professionals (Pingree et al. 2021). Similarly, the role of supporting national development can be linked to ‘Cyprus’ turbulent political past and still ‘unsettled’ present’ (Milioni 2017, 2). The research shows that journalists also articulate other roles such as checking the political and business elite and promoting social change. Monitoring the political and business elite is related to the watchdog function of journalism. Watchdog journalism, an essential element of democracies, involves scrutinising those in power, denouncing their wrongdoings and holding them to account (Waisbord 2000; Marquez-Ramirez et  al. 2019; Norris 2014). The performance of watchdog journalism is determined by various factors such as press freedom, economic influences and socio-political contexts. Marquez-Ramirez et  al.’s (2019) study argues that in democratic countries, the watchdog role is more detached. In transitional or non-democratic countries, this role could be more interventionist as journalists openly scrutinise those in power. Yet, a cross-national study shows that journalists in Cyprus are more likely to demonstrate the characteristics of interventionist journalism (Hanitzsch et  al. 2019). Interventionist journalists are described as socially committed, motivated and participating in political life rather than acting as objective bystanders (Hanitzsch 2007; Hanitzsch et al. 2019). They function as advocates, missionaries, facilitators and agents of change (Hanitzsch et al. 2019, 171). Milioni’s study (2017, 2) focusing on journalism in the Greek Cypriot media confirms that journalists adopt assertive roles such as monitoring and scrutinising political leaders. However, the study finds that the watchdog role is adopted only by minority journalists in Cyprus. The contradiction could be related to the definition of the watchdog role adopted in the study: ‘an adversary of the government and motivating people to participate in political activity’ (Milioni 2017, 2), which describes a role usually associated with advocacy and radical journalism. Journalists on both sides of Cyprus regard it as their responsibility to check on elites, question and criticise their wrongdoings rather than act as disinterested disseminators. Still, the amount and level of scrutiny in the news media is low. It is because journalists find it hard to practice watchdog journalism. They are not always provided with the resources, such as time, money or human, to monitor and investigate the power. High levels of clientelism, political parallelism and state intervention also undermine journalists’ autonomy and ability to scrutinise the abuses of power. For example, research (Maniou and Photiou 2017) found that during the

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economic crisis in the southern part of Cyprus in 2013, watchdog journalism was non-existent in the newspaper coverage. The print media failed to question how and why the country reached the crisis or scrutinise the power. Instead, they framed the issue in a way that favoured the government (Maniou and Photiou 2017). In societies with clientelist culture, monitoring and scrutiny are not always for the public good but can also be used for elites’ political and economic interests. A Turkish Cypriot journalist stressed that the main question should be who benefited from the scrutiny: ‘Who does such scrutiny serve? If it is for personal gains, this is problematic. If it serves the public, then there is no problem’ (Personal interview, 2019). Journalists in Cyprus regard promoting change as one of their roles. Advocacy for peace is a part of their responsibilities. Journalists support the idea that the news media and journalism could and should play a positive role in the resolution of the conflict (Şahin and Karayianni 2020). However, there is a difference between the general attitudes of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot journalists towards this role. Greek Cypriot journalists recognise their responsibilities in the ongoing peace efforts. Yet, the Cyprus problem is not always the most important issue for them, and they do not associate activism for peace with their professional identity. One explanation for this could be that some journalists do not always and closely experience the impact of the conflict on their professional and personal lives. It can be related to Maniou’s (2021, 11) observation that the young generation of journalists working in the Greek Cypriot media has no memories or experience of the conflict or 1974. ‘Their own experiences regarding the Cyprus Problem revolve around the numerous political efforts to facilitate negotiation, with little substantial success’. The situation is different for Turkish Cypriot journalists. The young generation of journalists does not have the experience of intercommunal violence either. But they have been living with the sanctions imposed on their community since the establishment of the TRNC. Isolation from the international community has affected their daily lives, and they are anxious about its long-term effects on their community. Therefore, the Cyprus problem is an important issue for them, and they are more likely to adopt and practice the role of advocacy for peace. They argue that promoting the peace efforts is not in contradiction with their professional values because it is in the interest of their communities. They see it as their responsibility to inform and educate the public on the benefits of a resolution. When asked if journalists should promote the ongoing peace process, a Turkish

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Cypriot journalist answered, ‘Yes. If we lived in another society without a conflict, we could have answered this question differently. But we live in Cyprus, and we have concerns about our future’ (Personal interview, 2019). This attitude of Turkish Cypriot journalists is not an isolated case. Research confirms that journalists in conflict and post-conflict societies adopt broader responsibilities than their counterparts in democratic countries do, and advocacy for peace is one of them (Andresen et  al. 2017; Prager and Hameleers 2021).

Ethical Concerns Ethics is another important aspect of professionalism (Aldridge and Evetts 2003; Singer 2003; Waisbord 2013; Ward 2015). Professions present their distinctive ethics in codes of conduct. Ethical codes help professions regulate themselves, provide guidance to their members and outline the responsibilities of their members to the public (Singer 2003; Frost 2007; Keeble 2009; Sanders 2003). The journalism code of ethics shows that journalists are committed to serving the public and legitimise their role as watchdogs of society. It tells the public that journalists follow certain principles such as accuracy, fairness and impartiality. Changes in the global media landscape have affected journalists’ ethical commitments (Ward 2010). Journalists in Cyprus are also experiencing these changes in their daily work. They are under pressure to produce the news faster and meet the demands of their audiences to improve ratings. Competition for audience and advertising is pushing journalism into a commodity and challenging its ethical and professional values. Journalists are increasingly faced with problems, such as uncertainty of job security and low salaries, that make them vulnerable to corruption and manipulation. Bribery or payment from sources is a growing concern among journalists across the divide. In literature, it is known as ‘envelope journalism’ or ‘brown envelope journalism’ (or red envelope in Asia). It means journalists receive payment to produce favourable coverage or smear and damage a person’s reputation or business. Sometimes, they are paid to kill a story, in other words, not to publish a negative story about a powerful individual. (Xu 2016; Mongo 2021; Voltmer 2013; Lodamo and Skjerdal 2009). It is hard to investigate these practices, as they are usually at a personal level and are confidential. Therefore, it is hard to know how widespread these practices are.

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Journalists are aware of these unethical practices in their societies and are concerned that such behaviour will further damage the public’s trust in them. Bribery and corruption issues are a big concern, especially for Turkish Cypriot journalists, as they mentioned these problems more frequently in the interviews conducted for this study. It does not mean that they are non-existent among Greek Cypriot journalists. They also acknowledge that there are similar practices in the media, but they don’t believe they are widespread. The utterances of these problems mainly by Turkish Cypriot journalists could indicate that they happen more in the Turkish Cypriot community. One reason could be the economic hardship and job insecurity among Turkish Cypriot journalists. Those, who have no job security or have low salaries, are more likely to be tempted with such bribery practices. However, this could be just a suitable and convenient reason to justify the practice. Low salary and security issues apply to the majority of journalists working in the private media. Yet, bribery payments are not an institutionalised practise but reflect some journalists’ preferences and character. It is also that well-known journalists with high wages could also be involved in such practices. Another reason could be the lack of ethical consciousness. Developing a regulatory framework to ensure professionalism and economic sustainability can slow in conflict and post-conflict societies. (Voltmer 2013; Lohner et al. 2016). Its gradual progress also affects the understanding and performance of ethical journalism. Ethical ideals and values are still being learned and developed among the journalists in Cyprus. Journalists’ lack of knowledge about journalism ethics could be why journalists do not consider such practices to negatively reflect their professionalism. Bribery and corruption in the media are a reflection of similar problems in society. The reports on corruption in the northern part of Cyprus show a perception of corruption among businesspeople, especially high-level civil servants and politicians (Gökçekuş and Sonan 2019, 2020). They demonstrate that such practices are common in some parts of society and can also happen in the media industry. Similarly, a report prepared by Transparency International (Kukutschka 2021, 10) shows that ‘in Cyprus, an overwhelming number of people (65 per cent) think that corruption increased over the past year’. Among other causes, the scandals related to Cyprus’s golden passports scheme are the main reasons for this public perception. There are other ethical problems such as racism or sexism in the news content. Plagiarism is also frequently seen with the development of online

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news media. Some online news sites publish stories from other media without any attribution to them. On both sides, self-regulatory bodies aim to deal with all these ethical problems and promote good ethical practices. In the Greek Cypriot community, Επιτροπή Δημοσιογραφικής Δεοντολογίας, the Cyprus Media Complaints Commission (CMMC) was established in 1997 with the support of the Cyprus Union of Journalists, the Cyprus Publishers Association and the Owners of Electronic Mass Communication Media. In the Turkish Cypriot community, Medya Etik Kurulu, the Media Ethics Council was founded in 2011 with the efforts of the Cyprus Turkish Journalists Union and other professional organisations. Both self-­ regulatory bodies deal with complaints from the public about the professional conduct of journalists. The communities have different codes of ethics, the Journalists’ Code of Practice in the Greek Cypriot media and the Principles of Professional Journalism in the Turkish Cypriot media that guide journalists on their responsibilities, roles and standards when practising their job. They are based on similar concepts and, like other journalism codes, they cover ethical issues in gathering and presenting the information.

Conclusion This chapter outlined how journalism in Cyprus is influenced by political and economic forces and the ambitions of media owners. It discussed that the news media have been instrumentalised as tools of political communication and acted as sites of political activism. Today, journalists frequently experience tensions between their professional responsibilities for the public and media organisations’ economic and ideological demands. They deal with interferences from media managers and owners that undermine their work and journalistic freedom. Journalists in Cyprus have strong professional role ideals, but they cannot always fulfil them. The conditions under which they work have changed and, in many cases, worsened. Journalists express alarm about their job security, low salaries and heavy workload. Furthermore, they have ethical concerns, especially about corruption. Practising their profession in this environment, journalists worry about failing to meet their responsibilities towards their societies and losing public trust. Journalism in Cyprus has been shaped by each community’s political, cultural, economic and media contexts. Inevitably, there are differences in the way it is conceptualised and practised. For example, Turkish Cypriot

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journalists, who experience economic and political restrictions due to the internationally non-recognised status of their administration, are keen to position themselves to support the resolution of the Cyprus problem. They also face pressures and restrictions, especially on issues related to Turkey and its Cyprus policies. In contrast, Greek Cypriot journalists perceive themselves to have fewer restrictions and more freedom of expression. All these factors influence the way journalism is perceived and practised on the island.

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Şahin, S. (2008). The discursive construction of national identity by the newspapers in North Cyprus (Doctoral dissertation). University of Westminster. Şahin, S. and Karayianni, C. (2020) Journalism matters: reporting peace in Cyprus. Media, culture & society, 42 (7–8) 1360–1376. Spyridou, L. P and Milioni, D. L. (2018) Financial Crisis, Austerity and Public Service Media in Cyprus: Reforming or Downsizing? An Analysis of Discourses and Critiques.In: V. Doudaki and N. Carpentier, eds, Cyprus and its Conflicts. New York: Berghahn, pp.123–141. Tandoc, E.C., Hellmueller, L. and Vos, T.P., (2013) Mind the gap. Journalism Practice, 7(5), pp. 539–554. TRNC Public Information Office (KKTC Enformasyon Dairesi) (n.d.) Günlük Gazeteler (Daily newspapers) Available at https://pio.mfa.gov.ct.tr/gunluk-­ gazeteler/ (Accessed 21 June 2021). Union of Cyprus Journalists (no date) History, achievements, problems, targets and prospects. Available at http://www.esk.org.cy/EnglishSite/UnionOf CyprusJournalist1.htm (Accessed 21 June 2021). Van Dalen, A., De Vreese, C. and Albæk, E., (2012) Different Roles, Different Content? A Four-country Comparison of the Role Conceptions and Reporting Style of Political Journalists. Journalism, 13(7), pp. 903–922. Voltmer, K., (2013) The Media in Transitional Democracies. Cambridge: Polity Press. Voniati, C., Doudaki, V. and Carpentier, N. (2018) Mapping community media organisations in Cyprus: A methodological reflection. Journal of Alternative & Community Media, 3 (1) 17–32. Vos, T.P., (2017) Historical Perspectives on Journalistic Roles. In: C.  Mellado, L. Hellmueller and W. Donsbach, eds, Journalistic Role Performance: A New Research Agenda in a Digital and Global Media Environment. New  York: Routledge, pp. 41–59. Waisbord, S. (2013) Reinventing professionalism. 1. publ. Cambridge: Polity Press. Waisbord, S.R. (2000) Watchdog journalism in South America. New  York: Columbia University Press. Walulya, G. and Nassanga, G.L. (2020) Democracy at Stake: Self-Censorship as a Self-Defence Strategy for Journalists. Media and Communication, 8 (1) 5. Ward, S. J. A. (2015) The invention of journalism ethics: the path to objectivity and beyond. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press. Ward, Stephen (2010) Global journalism Ethics. Montréal, Québec: McGill-­ Queen’s University Press. Weaver, D.H. and Wilhoit, G.C., (1996) The American journalist in the 1990s: U.S. news people at the end of an era. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Witschge, T. and Nygren, G., (2009) Journalistic Work: A Profession Under Pressure? Journal of Media Business Studies, 6(1), pp. 37–59.

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CHAPTER 5

The Peace Process and Journalism in Cyprus

The previous chapter outlined the complex relationships between the multiple forces, such as political, economic, organisational and ideological, and discussed their impact on journalism. However, there are extra factors that affect journalists in conflict-affected communities, like the ones in Cyprus. Directly or indirectly, the structural and cultural elements of the conflict influence journalistic roles and practices. Journalists balance their professional responsibilities with societal values, patriotic sentiments and commercial and political pressures. This chapter discusses how journalists in Cyprus negotiate and perform their roles in their communities’ peace and conflict settings. The aim is to understand journalism in divided communities.

Journalism in Divided Communities Journalism in Cyprus has developed as two separate institutions and stayed within the boundaries of their communities. On both sides, the news media claim to speak to and on behalf of their communities. They also contribute to national identity construction processes (Şahin 2011, 2014; Avraamidou 2018). The news concerning the Cyprus problem is usually framed according to each community’s perspectives and based on an ‘us’ versus ‘them’ dichotomy. Stereotypical representation of ‘us’ ‘who want a solution’ and the ‘other’, ‘who prevents it’ is a common media discourse in Cyprus (Bailie and Azgin 2009; Chrisophorou et al. 2010; Şahin 2011, 2014; Way 2011; Milioni et al. 2015; Avraamidou 2018). © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 S. Şahin, Reporting Conflict and Peace in Cyprus, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95010-1_5

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The current situation on the island influences journalism in many ways. There is an asymmetry in the flow of information between the communities. Journalists face difficulties communicating with their colleagues or accessing sources on the other side of the Buffer Zone mainly because of a lack of trust or not being bilingual. Having no shared media means the news media have no incentives to represent a common sense of responsibility or call for action on issues that affect both sides. Journalists working in these conditions have to balance their identities and responsibilities to their societies and profession. Asymmetry in the Flow of Information For the people of Cyprus, the media are the primary source of information on the community across the divide. PIOs in both communities daily monitor the media on the other side and produce reviews of the other community’s current affairs. It is a means of informing the public of what is happening in the other community, even though the information they provide is selective and do not always give a fair or balanced picture. The treatment of this information in the media is different in each community. It is a common and routine practice for Turkish Cypriot media to circulate selected stories from the Greek Cypriot community. In an act of double mediation (Şahin and Ross 2012), the news is simply lifted and translated from the Greek Cypriot media and reproduced by the Turkish Cypriot ones. Some outlets even have regular sections for these stories. In contrast, this practice is used little in the Greek Cypriot media, and less news concerning the internal affairs of the Turkish Cypriot community appear in them. This situation creates an asymmetry in the flow of information between the communities. While the Turkish Cypriot public receives regular news of the community on the other side, Greek Cypriots do not get much information on Turkish Cypriots unless something dramatic happens in the community. As a result, more news from Greek Cypriots is reported by the Turkish Cypriot media. The asymmetry in the flow of information is related to the perception of communities of each other. When one side sees the other as a threat or enemy, the media are more likely to monitor and cover that side and vice versa (Wolfsfeld 2004; Wolfsfeld et al. 2008). In other words, ‘lower the threat, the less the media covers an enemy’ (Wolfsfeld 2004, 151). Turkish Cypriot authorities have been monitoring the Greek Cypriot media closely for decades and feeding the public with selected news from the

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community across the divide. The information the Turkish Cypriot public receives is usually negative and portrays the Greek Cypriot community as a threat. It has helped the Turkish Cypriot leadership demonise the Greek Cypriot community and get the public to support their national unity efforts. Today, not all stories come from the PIO. The individual media outlets also gather and disseminate them. They show the affairs of the other community to their audience, and there is a broader range of stories from the Greek Cypriot community, not just the negative ones. In contrast, the interest of the Greek Cypriot media in Turkish Cypriot people and their affairs is less. The news from the Turkish Cypriot community is usually reported when a major or dramatic event happens or if there are any critical developments such as changes in its governance following parliamentary or presidential elections. An editor from a Greek Cypriot daily confirmed that the reason for not following the current affairs of the Turkish Cypriot community was that their audience was not interested in them (Personal interview, 2020). The lack of interest makes the Turkish Cypriot community invisible in the Greek Cypriot media. According to Avraamidou (2018), the invisibility of Turkish Cypriots as a community is a result of a common perception that they have no agency but are a pawn of Turkey. She argues that the concepts of a fair and viable solution to protect the rights of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots are interpreted differently by the two communities despite the media similarly using them. Therefore, the more the Press used these ideas as having bi-communal appeal while they were heavily carrying Greek-Cypriot biases, the more the Turkish-Cypriots, as a distinct community with its own interests and needs, became invisible: in effect they became absent through their presence – an extension of Greek-Cypriot own interests. (Avraamidou 2018, 453–454)

It has become harder to ignore the other community with the opening of the checkpoints, but the media still treat the Turkish Cypriot community as unimportant. They want to maintain the predominant perception of a community that has yet to be emancipated from Turkey (Avraamidou, Personal communication, 2021). The unbalanced information flow is also related to the differences in the media resources on each side. Many stories that Turkish Cypriot media take from the Greek Cypriot news are about the Cyprus problem. The Greek Cypriot media is independent and have well-established networks with media and other sources abroad. They can follow international

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and Cyprus-related issues easier and quicker with their correspondents in other countries. In contrast, interference of external actors in the Turkish Cypriot media is high. The media have fewer resources to invest in technology or journalists (Kalkan et al. 2015). It makes it harder for them to establish good contacts in both Cyprus and abroad and access relevant and exciting information for their public. Therefore, the Turkish Cypriot media monitor the Greek Cypriot news to learn the current affairs in the other community across the divide and get the latest information about the developments on the Cyprus problem in the international arena. The practice of double mediation is problematic. The stories from the Greek Cypriot media are usually used without verification. It is deemed unnecessary to check them, or when journalists make attempts, they cannot access the relevant sources to confirm them. Instead, by stating the source of information as the Greek Cypriot media, the responsibility of providing accurate information is shifted onto the latter. However, the practice increases the risk of spreading false information. It causes concern among some  Turkish Cypriot journalists because it makes the Turkish Cypriot political and public agenda vulnerable to the Greek Cypriot political elite manipulation. The latter already influences the news media in the south. So, when the Greek Cypriot media circulate stories that they know will interest the media in the north, which are usually on the Cyprus problem, they are indirectly trying to manage the Turkish Cypriot public agenda. Journalists are aware of these practices. A news editor of a Turkish Cypriot daily expressed his concerns about them: ‘Sometimes Greek Cypriot media produce scenarios, and Turkish Cypriot media use them. The Greek Cypriot media know that we would do this and continue to do it to influence the north’ (Personal Interview, 2018). Yet, the practice of double mediation continues. Interaction Between Journalists Since the start of the crossings in 2003, contact between the communities has increased. It has also helped journalists across the divide to communicate with each other. Some have established connections and communication with their counterparts in the other community at a personal and professional level. Today, some Turkish Cypriot journalists work for the Greek Cypriot media, and some Greek Cypriot journalists contribute to the Turkish Cypriot publications. Journalists who have established contacts with each other reach out to get or cross-check information for their

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stories. However, these are not widespread practices, and the number of the journalists involved in such relationships is still small. In Cyprus, language is an important obstacle for intercommunal communication. The number of people who are bilingual in each other’s language is small. One of the main reasons is that many cannot speak the language of the other community. Instead, English is used as a lingua franca, a ‘neutral language bridge’ (Riegl 2008, 10) for communication. Language policies of the past have contributed to today’s linguistic barricade for communication. When the Republic of Cyprus was established in 1960, Turkish and Greek became the state’s official languages. English was also frequently used in official activities (Özerk 2001; Karyolemou 2002). Education in schools was separate: Greek was taught in Greek Cypriot schools and Turkish in Turkish Cypriot schools. As the intercommunal tensions increased, the interactions and the communication between the communities were reduced. An ongoing campaign among Turkish Cypriots to encourage them to speak in Turkish and not Greek was already discouraging people from learning and speaking that language (Gökçeoğlu 1994; Kızılyürek 2002; Kızılyürek and Gautier-Kızılyürek 2004). With the island’s division, ‘the geopolitical separation deepened linguistic isolation: the lack of contact between the two communities rendered the knowledge of Greek and Turkish irrelevant to Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot speakers respectively’ (Karyolemou 2002, 4). Today, Turkish is still one of the official languages of the RoC, even though it is not used much. However, in the northern part of Cyprus, Turkish is the only official language. Scholars (Özerk 2001; Karyolemou 2002; Riegl 2008) stress that a bilingual policy that would get many Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots to learn each other’s languages should be a crucial element of peace initiatives. Not being bilingual in each other’s language means the communities receive information on each other mainly from the media in their community. The number of bilingual media (Turkish and Greek) and their audience is small. The most well-known online news site, Voice Kıbrıs, is owned by a Turkish Cypriot and published in Turkish and Greek. There are also some English language media that provide news to English speakers. Public-owned media on both sides produce and broadcast programmes in other languages, such as Greek, Turkish or English, but they are not shared media. On the contrary, these media deliver political messages that are usually nationalist and ethnocentric, and therefore they are unlikely to be consumed by the other community members. Shared media can have a

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critical role in conflicts and peace processes. Wolfsfeld (2004, 42) argues, ‘The greater the extent of shared media, the more likely it is that the news media will play a constructive role in a peace process’. Cultural, commercial and political motivations of shared media influence how a conflict is represented. They are more likely to portray issues in a way that is acceptable to conflicting parties. Political actors talk to people from different sides of a conflict and employ less aggressive rhetoric. There are also commercial concerns. When there is shared media, upsetting some segments of the population means losing them as an audience (Wolfsfeld 2004). Therefore, there are more incentives to adopt political positions that would appeal to more audiences. In Cyprus, there are no shared media that provide a balanced picture of the communities on both sides and are sensitive to words, frames and subjects that may upset them. Instead, the media tend to reflect their community’s perspective. The news on the Cyprus problem is generally presented with a nationalist and ethnocentric frame. Journalists pursue dramatic and sensationalist angles in their stories when covering intercommunal affairs. Similarly, the absence of shared media means political messages are ethnocentric and usually aimed at a domestic audience. Political leaders target and talk only to their own communities and blame the other community for any tensions or problems. Lack of trust is another obstacle. Mistrust still exists between the communities because of the intercommunal tensions and years of geographical segregation across ethnic lines. Fear and insecurities are mainly related to the ‘diverging views of the other community’s intentions’ (Beyatlı et al. 2011, 117). Mutual mistrust and different understandings and expectations from the resolution of the problem underlie these relations. Each side has developed their official narratives on the Cyprus problem that are supported by both media and educational systems. As a result, different social representations of the past exist and feed into the public’s distrust towards the other (Psaltis 2016). Psaltis (2016, 26) found that especially Greek Cypriots ‘who adhere to the official Greek Cypriot narrative today show increased levels of prejudice and distrust not only toward Turks but also toward Turkish Cypriots’. Some Greek Cypriot political parties’ stigmatisation of crossings to the northern side that might indicate indirect recognition of the self-declared state in the north also means they have less contact with the Turkish Cypriot community (Psaltis 2016; McKeown and Psaltis 2017). Other research also points to the existing distrust and prejudice between the communities and argues that increased contact can

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raise the level of trust and the potential success of reconciliation and peace efforts (Ekici et al. 2016; Yucel and Psaltis 2020). Mistrust also affects journalism. Journalists from both sides experience it when they reach out to sources on the other side. The contact and communication between politicians and journalists of the other community are limited, mainly because of the fear of indirect recognition of the other administration and lack of trust. Politicians are not keen to talk to the other community’s journalists, as they do not trust them and they fear that those journalists will distort their messages. Especially Turkish Cypriot journalists experience difficulties in accessing the Greek Cypriot political leaders. They find that Greek Cypriot political figures reject their requests for interviews. A Turkish Cypriot journalist argued that it was mainly because of a common perception in the Greek Cypriot community that Turkish Cypriot journalists act like puppets of the administration in the north (Personal interview, 2019). Meanwhile, Greek Cypriot journalists are more likely to comply with official policies, and therefore, are more reluctant to approach the Turkish Cypriot political figures to interview them. They regard them as unreliable and untrustworthy and fear that interviewing them would mean recognising their ‘pseudo’ official positions (Şahin and Karayianni 2020). Intercommunal relations influence the interactions between journalists. Turkish Cypriot journalists accuse their Greek Cypriot counterparts of being uncritical towards their own leadership on the issue of the Cyprus problem. In their view, Greek Cypriot journalists follow the line given by their administration, while Turkish Cypriot media adopt a more critical approach towards their own one. Meanwhile, when it comes to collaboration, Greek Cypriot journalists do not fully trust Turkish Cypriot counterparts. A Greek Cypriot journalist observed this tendency among some journalists in his community: Some journalists from our community, who seemed to be pro-solution and willing to collaborate, is suspicious that Turkish Cypriot journalists would put something in the paper that would leave them in a difficult position. That is the result of the culture built up in years and difficult to give up. They think every Turkish Cypriot support the regime (in the north) (Personal interview, 2020)

In divided communities, even general journalistic practices, such as verifying information, can raise suspicions rather than be considered an

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essential professional practice. Also, journalists’ motives, who reach out to get information from political actors in the ‘other’ community, can be questioned in Cyprus. They can experience political barriers and are likely to be treated with suspicion. A Turkish Cypriot journalist uttered that Turkish Cypriot political figures are suspicious of journalists like her, who wanted to check the information with the Greek Cypriot politicians. She remarked that she had been criticised for not trusting ‘our’ politicians and was even accused of working for the ‘other’ side (Personal interview, 2018). She argued that such accusations from the political elite discouraged other journalists from reaching out to the other side and enhanced journalism that provided only one side’s perspectives. Patriotism Journalists have differing loyalties and obligations as citizens and professionals serving the public (Ward 2010). In times of crisis, when their communities are threatened, they feel tensions between these two identities. Voluntarily or involuntarily, they become part of the conflict and find themselves dealing with the values at odds with each other (Waisbord 2002; Zandberg and Neiger 2005; Ginosar and Konovalov, 2015; Ginosar 2015). On the one hand, their professional role requires them to maintain autonomy and stay neutral despite various pressures from the state, military and public. On the other hand, they are members of their communities, and their attachment makes it difficult to be impartial towards their people and the conflict (Zandberg and Neiger 2005; Ginosar 2015; Nygren et al. 2018). In other words, journalists are in ‘crossfire’ as they try to balance professional autonomy with pressures from political leadership and military, as well as audience expectations of patriotism (Nygren et al. 2018, 1059). Patriotic journalism is a practice seen mainly in times of crisis, such as terrorist attacks or in conflicts. However, patriotism in journalism should not be seen as journalists’ reaction to the attacks on their community but as its responses as a cultural and political institution (Waisbord 2002). Journalism is not separate from the national contexts in which it is embedded. Historical narratives and political, cultural and economic characteristics shape journalism and its relations with society. Furthermore, in circumstances in which patriotism becomes a dominant public sentiment, individual journalists find it hard to stay outside of the patriotic manifestations (Waisbord 2002; Zelizer and Allan 2002; Elliot 2004; Neiger and Rimmer-Tsory 2012).

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Journalists balance their contradicting loyalties to their profession and community by moving between their professional and national/ethnic identities (Zandberg and Neiger 2005; Hallin 2017). These identities are not fixed but fluid. Depending on the situation, journalists renegotiate and reproduce their roles. That is why ‘while muted during “normal circumstances” under the observance of professional rules, sheer patriotism emerges in situations in which the “national community” is considered to be at risk’ (Waisbord 2002, 206). As Zandberg and Neiger (2005, 139) argue, the patriotism of journalists should be considered not in terms of being ‘opposed to professionalism but as an inevitable component of the profession’ in conflict societies. In Western cultures, patriotic journalism may seem like a departure from objective and good journalism, but it may be a part of journalism in other cultures and forms of journalism (Ginosar and Cohen 2019). For example, in the Arab media, patriotism can be considered ‘a virtue and not a breach of journalism ethics’ (Al-Najjar 2011, 754). Journalistic values and role conceptions can encourage journalists to express solidarity with their nation or ethnic community when faced with a crisis or conflict. Patriotism is integrated into the culture of journalism on both sides of the island. Journalists must balance their loyalties to their professional and ethnic communities. Especially those, who report on the Cyprus problem, are expected to identify with their ethnic community rather than their profession. Such identification requires involvement rather than detachment which makes impartiality challenging to achieve. Journalists feel the pressure to represent the Cyprus problem within the political and cultural framework of their communities and in line with the official narratives of each community. Research on the media in Cyprus shows patriotism as a characteristic of journalism (Maniou and Photiou 2017; Maniou et  al. 2016; Şahin and Karayianni 2020; Şahin, 2021). A study on Greek Cypriot journalism demonstrated that journalists perceive it as a part of ‘their journalistic rights, their ethical obligations and an integral component of their professional function, to promote and display patriotism and national achievements’ (Maniou 2021). Journalists in Cyprus have lived with the Cyprus problem and experienced its impact on their lives. Their emotional involvement with the conflict also reflects on their professional practice. A news editor of a Turkish Cypriot daily commented that it was difficult to separate his professional and personal identities as they were interlinked and influenced by the Cyprus problem. He remarked that the conflict had shaped his journalism

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so much that he wondered whether he would have practised journalism in the same way if he did not live in a conflict-affected society (Personal interview, 2018). Another Turkish Cypriot journalist also argued that the Cyprus problem affected all journalists: We are journalists, but we have lived with the Cyprus problem all our lives. Inevitably it affected many aspects of our lives. As journalists, we try to be objective, but our personal views and experiences regarding the Cyprus problem influence our journalism. (Personal interview, 2018)

Similarly, a Greek Cypriot journalist, referring to the Cyprus problem, noted that my personal views influence the angle of my reports. When you form a strong opinion on such a serious issue, it will definitely affect the way you present the developments. Not by misinforming but by highlighting those aspects that reinforce what you believe. In my case, the prospect of a solution. (Personal interview, 2020)

Different understandings and expectations from the resolution of the problem underlie journalists’ attitudes towards the Cyprus problem. A project exploring ways of finding a sustainable solution in Cyprus identified the divergences in the positions of two communities towards a solution: It is not surprising that Turkish Cypriots expressed more willingness to see changes in the status quo than Greek Cypriots did since they are generally not satisfied with their lives. Having more to lose, tangibly and in the form of shared sovereignty, change and uncertainty tend to worry Greek Cypriots more. (Beyatlı et al. 2011, 64)

For Turkish Cypriot journalists, the Cyprus problem is an important issue that affects them professionally and personally. Therefore, they regard the promotion and portrayal of a resolution as a professional responsibility and are more likely to adopt and practice the role of advocacy for peace. However, in the Greek Cypriot community, the Cyprus problem is not the most important issue. Especially for young journalists, there are other significant issues (Maniou 2021). It is also that the economic crisis of 2012 and 2013 has shifted the communication of patriotism to other areas. As Maniou (2021, 12) explains, ‘the effects of the

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economic crisis seem to have functioned as an operational excuse for maintaining aspects of nationalism in news content as well as notions of separatism in post-crisis Cyprus’. Therefore, issues, such as economic nationalism, have become more important for journalists than the Cyprus problem. However, it does not mean that Greek Cypriot journalists do not consider the Cyprus problem as significant or a force that affects their professional role. Some recognise that directly or indirectly, the conflict presents certain restrictions to their personal and professional lives. Even if they do not experience them professionally, they do it in their personal lives. A Greek Cypriot journalist, whose work does not involve covering the Cyprus issue, feels the impact of the division on her personal life: I don’t think in reality you can be objective. You can’t be with the Cyprus problem. You can’t have a distance from it because you live it every day. It’s your reality, and you’re either working for its solution or working against it. (Personal interview, 2021)

Journalists in their professional identity follow the usual institutional practices to cover the issues related to the Cyprus problem. When the intercommunal relations get tense, patriotism surfaces and nationalistic sentiments are articulated. As suggested by Hallin (1986), journalism tends to move from the ‘sphere of legitimate controversy’ to the ‘sphere of consensus’. Then, the range of debate narrows, and elite framing dominates (Avraamidou 2018; Ciftcioglu and Shaw 2020). Journalists recognise that their behaviour may diverge from professionalism and become patriotic and biased when the relations between the two communities get tense. The ones, who are aware of this tendency, adopt a cautious approach to maintain their professionalism. As a Greek Cypriot journalist who acknowledged these difficulties explained: In periods of tension with the other community, I intentionally choose not to write anything related to the other community because I know I would be emotional. I consider it a big mistake to write while in that state as you often end up writing the wrong things. (cited in Şahin, 2021)

The period during which the Annan Plan was negotiated provides good examples of the role-related tensions journalists experience during peace processes. The Annan Plan was a comprehensive plan initiated by the UN General Secretary Kofi Annan to settle the Cyprus problem, which was

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discussed for two years and then put forward for the communities’ approval in April 2004. While the negotiations for the plan continued, the news media on both sides of the island became platforms for public deliberations. However, the media in each community represented the plan differently. Like many in the community, Turkish Cypriot news media regarded the plan as a way of settling the conflict, ending their isolation and bringing democracy and economic prosperity (Grigoriadis and Felek 2019; Çiftçi, 2014). Therefore, as well as supporting it, they were actively involved in the campaigning for it. They were one of the key actors in driving this social and political change. Some journalists saw it as a responsibility given to them by the public to communicate their demands for a settlement to the world: Journalists offered an alternative for the Turkish Cypriot community. They identified journalists as the opposition and gave them a mission to raise their voices and put pressure on the political elite. Therefore, Turkish Cypriot society believed that they could not live in isolation from the world anymore, and Turkish Cypriot media would convey their demands to the world which consisted of finding a solution for the Cyprus problem and EU membership. (Düzgün cited in Grigoriadis and Felek 2019, 116)

During this time, journalists also experienced tensions between their professional and personal values and questioned their role in the process. A Turkish Cypriot journalist explained the dilemma they were faced with: What attitude should we adopt during this period? Should we keep our distance, be detached and objective and practice journalism like Reuters or the BBC does, or should we take part in the process actively? We are the journalists of this community, and this was an important period in Turkish Cypriot history. (Personal interview, 2019)

In the Greek Cypriot community, the media followed the government and opposed the plan. Some journalists were against it, but others came under pressure to support the government line. Describing this period as ‘a difficult one’ and ‘the worst time for journalism’, a Greek Cypriot journalist explained that even those, who tried to be objective and keep their distance from the groups campaigning for the plan, were not safe from accusations. Their lack of support for the government position was interpreted as not being ‘with’ us but ‘against us’ (Personal interview, 2020).

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A report by Drousiotis (2005, 7) claimed that the government and the mass media manipulated public opinion to defeat dissenting opinions. Pressures from political power and media owners resulted in some journalists, whose views on the plan clashed with theirs, resigning and moving to other media. For example, some journalists left pro-plan Politis newspaper and moved to Fileleftheros, a daily critical of it. Some journalists decided to go, partly because they disagreed with the outlet’s position and partly, to get away from the pressures to maintain their journalistic autonomy. Similarly, some Turkish Cypriot journalists, who supported the plan to settle the Cyprus problem, opposed their organisations’ stance regarding the plan and tried to change it. For example, a group of journalists working for Kıbrıs Media Group told its owner they would resign unless it supported the plan. Until then, this media group had been critical of it. As one of these journalists explained, ‘the owner realised that he would lose us. Continuing to oppose the plan would also mean going against public opinion. Going against people’s will is the worst position for a newspaper’ (Personal interview, 2019). When the communities debated the plan, Kıbrıs and other media outlets changed their positions favouring the plan.

Journalism and Peace Negotiations The peace efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem are dynamic processes. As they change, the part the news media play in the ongoing peace process also shifts. The interaction between the news media and politics shapes the media’s role in the process. How the political elite communicates information and the media’s transformative power over this communication determines the public’s understanding and reaction to the peace process. In Cyprus, the communities’ debating process of the Annan Plan has good examples of how the relationship between politics and the news media influences journalism during a peace process. In the beginning, the reaction of the Turkish Cypriot elites to the plan was mixed, and conflicting political positions and views were contesting for legitimacy and public support. The Turkish Cypriot media became a reflection of these conflicts. They gave broad and positive coverage to the voices they sympathised with and criticised those who expressed opposite views (Chrisophorou et al. 2010; Şahin 2014). Closer to the referendum date, the level of division among the political elite changed. Elites showed a high level of consensus, and the media’s support towards the plan also increased (Chrisophorou et al. 2010; Ciftci 2014; Şahin 2014). The media did not

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just reflect the elite perspectives but also led the debate on the plan. Journalists actively joined the public deliberation and gave coverage to civil society groups that represented diverse views on Annan’s settlement proposal. In contrast, elite consensus against the plan in the Greek Cypriot community resulted in less media support towards the proposed solution. The Greek Cypriot media followed the government and the political parties that rejected the plan and, therefore, were biased against it (Taki 2009; Chrisophorou et al. 2010). Journalists were pressured to follow the government line. Consequently, the media gave more coverage to the opponents of the Annan plan than the ones who supported it (Alexandrou 2006; Taki 2009). Negotiations In Cyprus, it is the political elite that lead the peace process. They conduct the negotiations and shape the discourses on the ongoing conflict and peace efforts. Negotiations between the sides are a crucial part of these efforts. Official and unofficial dialogue between the sides paves the way for the community leaders to engage in talks to discuss their positions and expectations to settle the problem (Michael 2015). It is the meetings between the two community leaders that the news media are most interested in. The talks between them are usually conducted by a mediator appointed by the UN and performed behind closed doors with limited media coverage. These meetings either take place at the Buffer Zone in Cyprus or outside the island when they reach a critical stage. The dates, places and identities of the participants of these meetings are known. However, once the talks start, information disseminated to the media and the public can be restricted. In peace processes, media management is crucial for the successful progress of the negotiations. Officials and negotiators benefit from different levels of media and public exposure during talks. In secret diplomacy, there is no media coverage as journalists and the public are excluded. In closed-door diplomacy, limited information is given to the media, which is usually restricted to the technical aspects of the process rather than include any substantial issues such as security or territory (Gilboa 2000). The aim is to isolate the participants from the pressures of domestic public opinion, opposition and pressure groups and allow them to focus on dealing with the issues on the negotiating table rather than deal with public anxiety (Gilboa 2000; Wolfsfeld 2004; Handelman 2012). In the case of Cyprus,

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the negotiation process gets varying levels of media exposure. The meetings between the community leaders are reported but with some news restrictions. The media are briefed on the progress of the talks by a spokesperson that both parties agree. Even when community leaders or their spokespersons give information about the progress of the negotiations or answer journalists’ questions, they do it within the limits of the agreed news restrictions. Closed-door negotiations aim to control the information flow to the media and the public. They also increase the management of information by the political elite and allow them to determine what information to disseminate, when and how, strengthening their power over the news media. This situation creates an unbalanced relationship for journalists as they rely on political power for information. News blackout can also lead to an information vacuum and create an environment suitable for spreading misinformation and disinformation. In negotiations, the information provided to journalists is usually limited and given in a top-down way, which is not always possible to verify. Sometimes, journalists consult with parties that are not directly involved in the negotiations, a practice that leaves them open to manipulation. Incomplete or distorted information can cause confusion and influence public opinion by the groups that want to spoil the process. Spoiling is ‘actively seeking to hinder, delay or undermine conflict settlement through a variety of means and for a variety of motives’ (Newman and Richmond 2006, 1). The Cyprus peace process is no stranger to spoiling. Since the start of the conflict, especially since the island’s division, the UN’s efforts to find a settlement to the problem have been spoiled by different actors at different points in time (Tocci 2006). Spoiling activities are usually aimed at reinforcing a specific bargaining position. While they intend to fulfil ‘the basic needs of one party, they negate the basic needs of the other’ (Tocci 2006, 263). The news media contribute to these efforts by acting as platforms for such activities and feeding the messages of groups that want to spoil the process into the public debate. In negotiations, despite attempts to control the information flow to the media, leaks happen. It is another way of managing the information that reaches the public. Motivations and effects of leaks vary (Negrine 1996). Graber and Dunaway (2018, 248) explain that leaks may ‘destroy the timing of negotiations, alienate the parties whose secrets have been exposed and cause great harm by disclosing politically sensitive matters’. They can also bring important information to public attention. In the case of Cyprus

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negotiations, this is no different: Parties give off-the-record information to media for political advantage, spoil the process and make journalists aware of an issue discussed at the table so they can present it to public attention but without revealing its source. Journalists from both communities confirm that information leaks to the news media frequently happen during the negotiations. They also add that sometimes, these leaks are the only way for journalists to get information on the progress of talks. As a Greek Cypriot journalist put it ‘when there are leaks, we get information. If there are no leaks, there is no information. Then, it becomes difficult to write a story’ (Personal interview, 2020). Journalists in Cyprus know that news restrictions are to give the negotiating parties time and space to talk free from media and public scrutiny. They do not want to weaken their side’s negotiation strategy or jeopardise the process by revealing information that would create unnecessary tensions. At the same time, they regard it as their responsibility and professional duty to inform the public of the developments at the talks. At times like this, they are conflicted with national and professional responsibilities. Some, as a Greek Cypriot journalist put it, choose their duty to their audience. If you have people discussing your future, you have the right to know. It is something that is deep in the constitution of every country. The citizens have the right to know, and this is your job as a journalist. It doesn’t make any difference if it is affecting the peace negotiations or not. You have to report it, and the citizens have the right to know it. (Personal interview, 2020)

Yet how much information to reveal creates professional and moral dilemmas for journalists in Cyprus. Polarisation The talks for the settlement of the Cyprus problem can be polarised environments for journalists. They usually follow their own community leaders and contact their side’s negotiating team for information. Even when they reach out to the other party’s representatives, the latter can be reluctant to speak to them. In the past, some media briefings excluded journalists from the other community. A Turkish Cypriot journalist was asked to leave when he showed up at a media briefing organised by the Greek

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Cypriot spokesperson after a meeting between the community leaders Akıncı and Anastasiadis (Personal interview, 2018). Similarly, a Greek Cypriot journalist remarked that Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akıncı was ‘unpleasantly surprised’ to see her in one of his briefings (cited Şahin and Karayianni 2020). For journalists, attending the media briefings of the other party is a way of getting direct information on its positions and expectations from the process. It helps clarify any misunderstanding on issues discussed by the leaders and reduce the spread of misinformation by groups that want to spoil it. However, it also presents a potential risk to undermine the leaders’ authority and control over the information on the negotiations. During the negotiation process, political actors compete to control the information flow to their publics. They use the media to promote their position and attain legitimacy in the internal debate. They want to control the media, so the news does not contradict their versions of events. Therefore, they do not like when journalists challenge or question their positions and journalists from the other community could do these. Journalists could undermine political power’s control by publicising alternative and conflicting material obtained from the other party. When a Greek Cypriot journalist announced the information she had received from her Turkish Cypriot sources, it contradicted what the Greek Cypriot officials had told the public: When I first received the message from the Turkish Cypriot colleagues about what had been agreed between the two sides on the map issue, I thought it was a joke because we hadn’t been informed about it by the Greek Cypriot officials at all. I cross-checked it and decided that this information should be made public. So, the next morning, while I was reporting live on the progress of the negotiations for a CyBC TV programme, I announced it …. It showed the public that there was a contradiction in the information shared by the two sides. (cited in Şahin and Karayianni 2020)

As a result of this report, she was condemned by the Greek Cypriot leader (Şahin and Karayianni 2020). Similarly, the editor of a Turkish language online news site stated that when they published a story they had received from a Greek Cypriot source, they were accused of serving the interests of Greek Cypriots (Personal interview, 2018). Journalists recognise that media briefings on the negations are not just to give information about the talks but also to control the information flow to the public. They are an essential part of the information

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management strategies of the negotiation parties. That is why journalists believe it is necessary to attend and question political power. However, some are sceptical about the benefits of following each other’s media meetings. As a Greek Cypriot journalist remarked I don’t think there’s a point in having a common briefing if you don’t have common media. So, if you had a bilingual or trilingual newspaper or two competing for information, it would be a completely different game. But the way things are now, it wouldn’t make the necessary difference, I guess, to have everyone be in everyone’s briefings. Then those briefings won’t have a point of existing because that’s not what they are for. The two sides are not doing their briefings to the journalists to give out information. They do it to give out spin. (Personal interview, 2021)

Lack of bilingualism in each other’s community language hinders journalists from following each other’s media briefings. When statements are made only in Greek or Turkish, non-Greek or non-Turkish speakers cannot understand them. A Turkish Cypriot journalist stressed that the lack of bilingual media announcements or joint news briefings in English was one of the main problems for the journalists covering the negotiations in Crans Montana in 2017. She explained that despite their repeated demands, they could not get a statement in English or Turkish from the Greek Cypriot leadership about the progress of the talks (Personal interview, 2018). She believed it was another way of controlling journalists access to information. When journalists cannot access the negotiators of the other community, they reach out to its journalists. They approach their counterparts to get or check their facts. A Greek Cypriot, who was at the negotiations in Crans Montana in 2017, confirmed these collaborations: As Greek Cypriots or Turkish Cypriot journalists, we were trying to find out what was going on in the talks, in the table of negotiations. We were always exchanging information, trying to confirm or check stuff. So, I think, in this type of development, there is a lot of cooperation between the two communities. (Personal Interview, 2021)

The cooperation between the journalists from both communities has improved in recent years. As a Greek Cypriot journalist explained, this was not something that happened in the previous negotiation processes, such as the Annan plan:

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Going back to previous discussions, in the Annan plan and other talks, the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot journalists didn’t have, let’s say, some cooperation between each other to ask what they thought about, or something like that. Everybody was far away from each other. (Personal interview, 2020)

Commercial Pressures The challenges journalists experience during the negotiations are not just political but also derive from economic pressures. Competition to attract audience and revenue adds extra tensions to their work. Journalists are caught between commercial concerns and the requirements of their professional conduct. Also, the public suffers from a ‘Cyprus problem fatigue’ (Anastasiou 2008; Michael 2015), and keeping them interested in the peace process has become a difficult task for journalists. Therefore, especially when the negotiations reach a critical level, the talks between the leaders are treated like media events (Dayan and Katz 1992). In their efforts to enthral and grip large audiences, the media focus on drama, and the coverage turns into infotainment. Sensational coverage or entertainment has become a way of attracting audience attention for the media in Cyprus (Chrisophorou et  al. 2010; Ersoy 2010; Photiou et  al. 2019). Photiou et al.’s study (2019) on the photographs published in the digital media to report on the negotiations between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities in 2016 and 2017 found that visual infotainment, including sensationalism, was frequently used to address and frame the Cyprus Problem. Concerns and pressures to attract an audience and revenue push journalists to announce information fast, sometimes without verifying it. In a peace process, sharing unverified or false information could have a serious impact on the process. If the information is proved to be incorrect, it could affect the public mood, damage the support for the peace process and reduce the trust in journalists. In 2017, some Turkish Cypriot journalists convinced a breakthrough in the negotiations at Crans Montana was about to happen. They rushed to announce it without waiting for any confirmation. The news raised the expectations of the public, who were already optimistic about the outcome. Soon after, the talks collapsed, causing a big public disappointment. A journalist, who had announced that the leaders had reached an agreement, admitted that he regretted doing that. However, he disagreed that it impacted the process. He said,

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‘I think it was too early to announce them. I don’t think they affected the process’ (Personal interview, 2018). Yet, he recognised that his announcements raised the expectations of his audience only to disappoint them when the negotiations ended without a result. In the competitive media environment, it is not always journalists who fail to verify information that is criticised but also those who take their time to check it. A Turkish Cypriot journalist, who covered the negotiations between Anastasiadis and Akıncı in Crans Montana for the public broadcasting corporation, received condemnations for not reporting the developments faster: Private media were in a rush to produce the news frequently. It was to keep the audience. But most of the information they communicated was unverified. During these times, one of the criticisms I received was that I was not reporting as fast as they did. It didn’t mean that I was not doing my job. I refused to report anything without verifying it properly, and verification takes time. (Personal interview, 2018)

Journalists’ Role in Reconciliation In Cyprus, the news media in both communities have played a role in the aggravation of the intercommunal tensions. They have treated the community across the divide as the ‘other’ and enhanced negative perceptions (Avraamidou 2018; Şahin 2008, 2014). Such representations have done little to improve the tolerance and trust between the communities. Yet, for reconciliation, the communities must learn and understand each other’s perspectives. The relationship between journalists can contribute to the development of intercommunal relations. Research on journalism in conflict-­affected societies, such as in Kosovo, Serbia, Israel and Palestine, found that the interaction between journalists across conflict lines can act as a bridge between communities and improve mutual understanding (Gonen and Hoxha 2019). It argues that despite the constraints of media structures and external forces, journalists use their ‘interactions to manage restrictions, overcome censorships, obtain new information, send messages to people on the other side, and understand the conflict more comprehensively’ (Gonen and Hoxha 2019; 2495). Collaboration between journalists across the divide allow them to overcome political and structural problems to exchange information and produce accurate stories about each other’s communities.

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Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot journalists recognise their responsibility in improving the relations between the communities. They have taken some steps to increase the communication and cooperation between them. For example, journalists’ unions and journalistic communities from both communities, Ένωση Συντακτών Κύπρου, the Cyprus Journalists’ Union), Kıbrıs Türk Gazeteciler Birliği, the Turkish Cypriot Journalists’ Union (KTGB) (and Basın Sen, the Press Workers’ Union signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2017 to increase the collaboration between them. The joint agreement, which was supported by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), is for ‘mutual cooperation and solidarity on issues of journalists’ safety, access to information and adherence to professional standards’ (IFJ 2017). A journalism exchange programme between news organisations from both sides is another initiative that helps journalists better understand the other community and establish networks. These projects also have professional concerns. They aim to provide platforms for journalists from both sides to discuss issues, such as ethics, accountability and self-regulation, and promote quality journalism (OSCE n.d.). A fair representation of the ‘other’ community is vital in a reconciliation process, and news language is an element of this portrayal. By adopting the official frames and embedding ideological meanings in the news discourses, journalists legitimise existing social relations, hierarchies of authority and control in society (van Dijk 1988; Bell 1991; Fairclough 1995). In Cyprus, politically charged terms, such as ‘border’ and ‘invasion’, are frequently used in the news. A word list, ‘Words that Matter: A Glossary for Journalism in Cyprus’ (2018), is produced ‘to encourage careful and sensitive reporting’ and highlight ‘some words and phrases that some people regard as negative or biased’ (White 2018). Two Turkish Cypriot and two Greek Cypriot authors, Esra Aygın and Bekir Azgın, Christos Christofides and Maria Siakalli, respectively, wrote the glossary in English, Turkish and Greek. It includes a list of phrases and words frequently used by journalists and explains why the other community may perceive these words as unacceptable. It also suggests alternative words and phrases. The aim is to create awareness of the impact of language on communities. Esra Aygın, one of the glossary authors, stressed that the objective was to challenge the power’s domination on the news language. For her, the glossary was a way of saying ‘no’ to the discourse of political power:

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We knew it (glossary) wouldn’t change journalism in one day. But the debates that followed its publication showed us that the administrations on both sides do not want journalists to use words other than the ones they approve and impose on them. … They do not want journalists to go out of their official discourse or established journalism practices. They have particular rhetoric, and they want journalists to follow it. (Personal interview, 2019)

When published, the glossary received a strong reaction, mainly from Greek Cypriot journalists. They criticised it for threatening their freedom of expression, being biased in favour of Turkish Cypriots and imposing a vocabulary that did not reflect historical facts. Some journalists thought the glossary provided helpful guidance but were critical of the way it was produced. One such Greek Cypriot journalist stated that ‘such initiatives help, as long as they are done correctly and at the right time. I believe that mistakes were made in this effort, with the result that the initiative did not work’ (Personal communication, 2020). Others reacted to it because they perceived it as a set of rules that should be followed rather than just guidance: I think the way it was done was wrong. I think that if you try to set terms and conditions, must or rules, for journalists, it may work the other way. Yes, I can agree with some terms, but I do not think that they should be imposed. (Personal communication, 2020)

According to the Cyprus Mail, an English language daily published in the southern part, around 160 journalists signed a petition condemning the glossary (Kades 2018). Two Greek Cypriot contributors were verbally attacked and threatened. Although Siakalli (Ülker 2018) and Christofides (Personal interview, 2020) expected some reaction to the glossary, they did not anticipate the extent they received it. Some journalists in Cyprus believe practising peace journalism can contribute to the ongoing reconciliation efforts. They identify their work with peace journalism, which supports Lynch’s (2016) argument that journalists in societies that experienced violent conflict in the past and still experience some tensions show an interest in peace journalism. Peace journalism challenges the dominant understanding of conflict reporting by questioning existing attitudes in the news media’s coverage of conflicts. It highlights problems with journalism practices when covering conflicts and

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encourages journalists to renegotiate their identities and roles (Lynch and McGoldrick 2005; Shinar 2007; Kempf 2008, 2017, 2019; Shaw 2011; Nohrstedt and Ottosen 2015). It is based on the idea that journalists can shape the news to support conflict resolution and peacebuilding efforts. Therefore, peace journalism urges journalists to make choices that would contribute to the de-escalation of a conflict when covering it (Lynch and McGoldrick 2005). In other words, it stresses a journalistic agency that can shape the news in support of conflict resolution and peacebuilding efforts (Prager and Hameleers 2021). In Cyprus, journalists, who are interested in peace journalism, regard it as a form of journalism that can contribute to the reconciliation efforts on the island. They believe that by practising it, journalists can support the peaceful conflict transformation efforts. A Turkish Cypriot journalist uttered that journalists ‘should practice peace journalism and it should be more widespread. So, in future when there is a settlement, it can help communities live in peace’ (Personal interview, 2019). The ideas of peace journalism are more apparent in the Turkish Cypriot media. For example, Yenidüzen, one of the dailies, has adopted peace journalism as one of its principles (Yenidüzen n.d.). It asks the public to support peace journalism by buying their newspaper. In Greek Cypriot media, peace journalism is met with caution. For example, a Greek Cypriot journalist criticised the influence of peace journalism as limited to those already supportive of the reconciliation efforts. He argued that peace journalism’s messages ‘never goes to those that need to hear it… (it is) seen by people who are already convinced. So, peace journalism, as a term, I feel, creates a bubble inadvertently from the wider society’ (Personal interview, 2020). Others are also sceptical of its application in Cyprus: I’m aware of peace journalism. I think it does help, but only if people are willing to listen. Take Cyprus, for example. I think the conditions that led to the conflict are documented well by some writers. But how many people here are willing to read that their side also massacred women and children and believe it? … So, I think it’s a good concept, but people must want to listen. (Personal communication, 2020)

One of the reasons peace journalism is more noticeable among journalists in the Turkish Cypriot media is that its concepts are perceived as more compatible with their journalistic role ideals. Turkish Cypriot journalists

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regard it as one of their responsibilities to promote the resolution of the Cyprus problem and are more likely to adopt and practice the role of advocacy for peace. In that sense, peace journalism provides them with more guidance to fulfil this role than traditional journalism, which emphasises detachment and neutrality. Another reason for the differences in approaches towards peace journalism is related to the communities’ broader political, economic and cultural circumstances. A Greek Cypriot journalist argued that the dissimilarity in the communities’ adoption of peace journalism was linked to the positions of the communities in the current situation: I have this impression that in the Turkish Cypriot side because the society is in a more precarious position over the decades, the awareness of the need to be socially and politically aware, and anti-imperialist, anti-war or pro-peace is more prominent. So, journalists are more prone and ready to go in that direction or think in that way. In the south, I think, because it is a bigger society, it was able to go on with its life after the war, without having to think about the other side. It had the opportunity for journalists to go on without thinking about the north once. … none of these people would say I want war, but fewer of these people will say peace is a thing that needs to be. So, it’s probably because of that there’s this difference in how things are seen. (Personal interview, 2020)

Some journalists associate their role and responsibilities with peace journalism, but the news content does not always reflect the ideas of this form of journalism. Some journalists confuse being pro-settlement and supporting the ongoing peace process with practising peace journalism. As Çiftcioğlu (2017), a Turkish Cypriot journalist and the author of ‘Peace journalism: A Practical Handbook for Journalists in Cyprus’ explained, ‘wanting peace is not enough to be a peace journalist’ (Personal interview, 2019). According to him, many journalists, even those who describe themselves as peace journalists and genuinely want the ongoing peace process to be successful and the Cyprus problem to be resolved, still demonstrate the characteristics of war journalism in their work. Research also found that journalism in the Turkish Cypriot media does not always exhibit the qualities of peace journalism (Ersoy 2010; Ciftcioglu and Shaw 2020; Şahin and Ross 2012). The adoption of peace journalism should not be linked to the support to the resolution of the problem. Some journalists back the ongoing peace

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process but do not identify their role with peace journalism. Their criticisms are similar to those that already appeared in the literature, such as failing to consider the influences of the news production, the media structures and the political and economic environment in which journalism functions (Hanitzsch 2007; Loyn 2007; Keeble 2010). Some journalists in Cyprus argue that it is hard to practice peace journalism when political and economic forces undermine their autonomy. Others are critical that peace journalism fails to consider the current political state of the island. A Greek Cypriot journalist suggested that ‘peace journalism in Cyprus should focus on the liberation from the occupation of Turkey rather than a peace agreement’ (cited in Şahin 2021). The tensions between professional and national/ethnic identities are also not articulated by peace journalism. In conflict-affected societies, journalists may find it hard to step outside of their nationally/ethnically determined identities or the pressures of patriotic sentiments (Şahin and Ross 2012). A study (Ciftcioglu and Shaw 2020) on the media in Cyprus found that the ‘“national struggle” mentality is deeply rooted amongst journalists on both sides of the divide. Journalists in Cyprus prefer to sensationalise the threat of war rather than discuss the negative repercussions of a possible war’ (Ciftcioglu and Shaw 2020, 20). Journalistic projects aiming to contribute to the reconciliation of the communities, such as the stories of missing persons, also exist. In Cyprus, 492 Turkish Cypriots and 1510 Greek Cypriots went missing during the intercommunal fighting of 1963–1964 and the events of 1974 (Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus n.d.). A bi-communal body, the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP), was established in 1981 to recover, identify and return missing persons to their families. The media on both sides generally cover this issue in a nationalist way. They focus on ‘our’ suffering and portray the barbarity of the ‘other’ rather than deal with the issue holistically and indiscriminately (Iakovou and Kornioti 2019). For instance, even today, media each side will only cover the funerals of the identified missing persons who belong to their own community. This is also often the position of the officials, who only attend the funerals of identified missing persons of their community. (Iakovou and Kornioti 2019, 20)

Some journalists have been investigating and bringing the stories about the missing persons to the public’s attention. These stories help families see each other’s pain and loss and develop a mutual understanding. Sevgül

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Uludağ, who writes for both Yenidüzen and Politis, two dailies published in the north and south consecutively, is the most well-known journalist working on this issue. People from both communities have shared their stories and shown possible burial sites to her. Her work has brought together relatives of missing persons from both communities. As Uludağ explained, she ‘wanted to show the relatives of missing persons from both communities that the pain was the same; that they had a lot to share’ (cited in Afxentiou 2017). Uludağ’s close involvement in bringing these families together and helping them to work with each other to uncover the stories of missing persons is an example of activist journalism (Ward 2009, 2018; Fisher 2016; Ginosar and Reich 2020). Activist journalism is an interventionist form of journalism that ‘seeks to reform society’ (Ward 2009, 299). Ginosar and Reich (2020, 1) argue that ‘motivated by a strong sense of justice and a passion to make a significant change, these journalists promote their social or political agenda in both spheres: the professional and the public’. They describe it as a new model of journalism called obsessive-­ activist journalism. They explain that activist journalists report on the issue they care for in their professional capacity but are also personally involved in activities such as lobbying and consulting politicians or providing personal assistance to individuals and groups in need (Ginosar and Reich 2020). While promoting and campaigning for a cause, activist journalists adhere to professionalism and use their reporting skills to make a significant change. In Cyprus, activist journalism is mainly associated with journalists who actively campaign to resolve the Cyprus problem. Some journalists are critical of activist attitudes in journalism. They regard it as subjective and unprofessional. As a Greek Cypriot journalist explained, journalists associated with activism for a cause were perceived as biased as their journalism could exclude the views of the people who oppose them (Personal interview, 2020). Others state that they cannot be impartial when reporting on the Cyprus problem (see Şahin and Karayianni 2020). They recognise the activism element in their journalism and argue that it is not contradictory to their professionalism. A Turkish Cypriot journalist, who actively and openly supports groups that campaign for the resolution of the problem and reunification of the island, remarked that being partial towards the ongoing peace process rather than supporting the status quo is not in clash with her professional values:

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I have always stated that I cannot be impartial because I support the peace process. If you publicly state this, then there is no problem… I don’t think it conflicts with professional values if a journalist expresses its partiality when practising her profession. (Personal interview, 2019)

She argued that it was a problem if one hid its political tendencies and then produced biased news items.

Conclusion In principle, journalists aim to provide good quality information to their communities, so they can engage in public debates and make informed decisions about their future. However, delivering such information in communities that have been separated by conflict and developed little communication, trust and tolerance towards each other can be challenging. In Cyprus, the media, like the communities, are separated and align with one side of the divide. Journalists who want to contribute to the reconciliation efforts must deal with the challenges of the division and polarisation within and between the communities to give them the information they need to communicate with each other to settle their problems. They navigate various political and cultural barriers, such as lack of trust and bilingualism, that hinder their interactions with the community across the divide. At the same time, they try to maintain the balance between commercial pressures and professional conduct. Journalists’ role perceptions and practices are at the centre of these challenges. How much should they be involved? The spectrum of role dimensions changes between detachment or neutrality and activism or advocacy (Cohen 1963; Janowitz 1975). It is a dilemma that journalists in conflict-affected societies experience when they cover the conflict for their communities. In Cyprus, journalists on both sides subscribe to perform their roles within their communities’ specific political, economic and cultural circumstances. They renegotiate and adapt their professional values and practices according to the expectations of their societies. When covering the negotiations as part of the peace process, journalists are involved in the political contest between elites, who want to manage the news flow to their publics and other political actors. In this contest, journalists do not always conform to the demands and pressures of political power. They can demonstrate journalistic agency by interpreting and reporting events based on professional values and routines. They know

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that the way they cover the negotiations could affect the political atmosphere and public expectations. Journalists participate in the reconciliation efforts and the debates concerning the resolution of the problem. They are involved in political contests among the elites and join in the discussions on the peace negotiations, but their main contribution is with their journalism. Some journalists have already taken steps to improve their relations and promote ethical and accountable journalism. Even though these may seem like small steps, these efforts show that journalists can challenge and alter structural boundaries that restrain them.

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CHAPTER 6

Digital Journalism in Cyprus

New digital media technologies are now an integral part of journalism. They have challenged the foundations of journalism and, in some ways, reshaped them. Journalists, who used to be the main actors conveying information from the political elites to citizens, are no longer the only gatekeepers of content or mediators between citizens and leaders. The level and form of information flow between three key actors, elites, the news media and citizens, have shifted (Meraz and Papacharissi 2016; Josephi 2016). Elites, who have benefitted from legacy media to convey their messages to the public, now also have other media platforms to employ. Citizens do not have to rely on the news media or journalists for information either. They can choose from a range of media platforms that are fragmented and diversified with new technologies. Digital media have produced new spaces for the public to get information and participate in civic conversations. Using the new media platforms, individuals can actively take part in public communications, share their information, opinion and comments and express their likes and dislikes (Hermida 2013, 2016; Josephi 2016; Hanusch and Tandoc 2019; Scott et al. 2015; Craft et al. 2016). The transformation of the relationship between elites, the news media and citizens, has also influenced journalism and have altered journalists’ practices and role conceptions (Vos and Ferrucci 2018; Hanush and Banjac 2018). This chapter explores the impact of these changes on

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journalism in Cyprus. It is interested in how these shifts in media have affected the role journalism plays in the communication of the conflict and peace efforts in Cyprus.

A Shift in Relations The changes in the relationship between elites, citizens and journalists have had an impact on journalism. In the era of legacy media, journalists were the main actors obtaining information from the political elites and conveying it to citizens. They had a gatekeeping and mediation role between citizens and leaders (Tandoc 2018; Shoemaker and Vos 2009; Meraz and Papacharissi 2016). The process worked to the advantage of the political elites as they had the power to control the framing of the news. Alternative views rarely found expression in the media, and there was limited engagement and interaction between journalists and the audience (Batsell 2015). Citizens mainly relied on journalists to learn the news in their communities and around the world. The Internet and digital media environment have presented structural, representational and interactional transformations in public and political communication (Dahlgren 2005). The structural dimension, which refers to the institutional structures of media, such as ownership, regulation and finance, has changed, affecting the way information is produced and disseminated. The media content, such as the portrayal of various groups or agenda-setting, is also altered in the digital media environment. There are more opportunities for marginalised groups to produce and disseminate information and join in civic debate. Many social and political groups benefit from digital communication technologies to assert their presence in physical and virtual space. The engagement of citizens with the media and each other has shown divergence from offline modes and increasingly become online (Dahlgren 2005). Consequently, all these have presented new ways for citizens to get involved in public debates concerning their communities and the resolution of the Cyprus problem in the case of Cyprus. The impact of the Internet and new media technologies on participation and democracy has raised questions about citizens’ engagement and contribution to political communication. There is no consensus on whether online news consumption improves citizen participation or not (Kitchens et al. 2020; Flaxman et al. 2016). On the one hand, there are concerns that search engines and social networking sites create filter bubbles or echo chambers that limit the range of information users encounter.

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The content and ideas users see tend to be similar to their own ideological beliefs (Kitchens et al. 2020; Flaxman et al. 2016). Filter bubbles narrow the variety of content that users consume and contribute to the fragmentation and polarisation of the audience (Carlson 2018; Hanusch 2017). On the other hand, there are arguments that digital media encourage citizen participation in public debates and diversify information sources, exposing them to different viewpoints. The Internet and networked digital media have provided space for alternative views, which are counter-­hegemonic and challenge elite discourses, to be expressed and circulated. They can be amplified when shared via social media and picked up by the mainstream media. Increased citizen participation and diversification of the range of sources have not diminished the influence and power of elites (Josephi 2016; Carlson 2016b; Leuven et al. 2018). Elites, who have controlled and benefitted from the traditional media to convey their framing of events to the public, are now using social media and mobile networks to get wider public attention. They can communicate their ideas directly and faster to the public and without the risk of the news media misrepresenting them. Digital networked media have lessened elites’ dependence on journalists and provided them with another, non-news platform to communicate with the public. They also continue to be the primary news sources (Carlson 2009, 2016b). In contrast, non-elite ones still rely on their ideas to be amplified by being shared by other users or picked up by mainstream media to gain public attention (Hermida 2016). In Cyprus, the interaction between elites and citizens varies from using traditional media’s limited, one-way communication to benefitting from the interactivity of social media to comment and disseminate the news, images and messages (Arslan and Secim 2015; Akkor 2017; Ktoridou et al. 2018; Gouliamos et al. 2020; Komodromos 2015). However, there is more news flow from elites to the public because they can access both legacy media and the new media platforms. This situation puts them in an advantaged position with other sources and enhances the information asymmetry between elites and the public, especially on the Cyprus issue. As the negotiations for the settlement of the problem are an elite-led process, they benefit from having more information on the developments. They can control the amount and frame of the information that reaches the public. Citizens need the information to monitor, hold their leaders to account and participate in the process. Still, sometimes, the only information they get is through political power and the mainstream media that communicate it.

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The process of receiving information for both journalists and citizens has shifted. In the past, journalists ‘depended on briefings and interviews with policymakers, and citizens, in turn, relied on the curated representation of events offered by those journalists’ (Baum and Potter 2019, 751). Today, citizens can get information from primary sources themselves. However, while direct interaction is advantageous to the political elite, it could work to the disadvantage of citizens. More and direct communication between the political elite and the public does not always mean that the latter is better informed. As Baum and Potter (2019) explain, when combined with the amount of information available, such communication contributes to a less informed public especially, in the absence of professional journalism. Journalists question the information they receive from elites and present it with a context and interpretation for citizens to understand it better. Direct communication between elites and their followers lacks these aspects of journalism. It reduces journalists’ interactions with political figures and limits their chances of questioning and holding them to account. It raises the possibility of misinformation and manipulation. Journalists on both sides of Cyprus understand the risks of getting information from social media without interacting with the sources. They recognise that these messages are for elite interests (Personal interviews, 2021). However, they also assert that it makes journalists’ jobs easier to obtain elite figures’ statements through their social media accounts.

Digital Journalism The changes in the production, dissemination and consumption of the news have transformed journalism in Cyprus. Social and mobile media technologies are now an integral part of newsrooms. Many utilise them to appeal to audience demands. They use them to present the latest news with frequent updates, interact with sources and audiences and follow the reactions towards their journalistic work. Journalism in digital newsrooms requires different skills, practice and knowledge from journalists. Communication via social media, multiskilled staff, continuous news updates, and increased interactivity have become characteristics of journalism. As the information spreads quickly, promptness has gained more importance in news production and dissemination. Journalists are required to prepare their stories for different platforms and meet many deadlines faster. The pressure makes it challenging to balance immediacy with accuracy. Increasing competition between the news

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outlets to break the news first has shortened the available time for news production, including the time used to verify the information. As a Greek Cypriot journalist put it In digital media, control and accountability are certainly important, especially in large news organisations. However, the competition that exists in the digital field ‘sacrifices’ the essence for speed and impressions. What counts is the collection of views and who will be the first to send the information. (Personal Interview, 2021)

As the quote above shows, the main reason for failing to follow these essential journalism steps is the editorial pressures. Announcing a breaking story first attracts more audiences and more sales. Journalists face a dilemma between taking time to verify the information they have received and reporting it first. They know the risks of publishing false information, such as disseminating misinformation and, as a result, losing the trust of the public. Journalists, despite recognising the risks, frequently publish information without checking or researching it further. There is also the idea that mistakes can be corrected after publication. As a Turkish Cypriot journalist explained, the knowledge that the errors in online news can be altered after its publication encouraged journalists to follow the ‘publish first and then correct’ mentality (Personal interview, 2019). As well as demands to deliver their reports faster and for diverse platforms, journalists are also expected to produce a higher number of stories. Some newsrooms impose high quotas, the number of stories each journalist needs to generate every day. A Turkish Cypriot journalist working for an online news site explained that he was expected to find around 70 stories a day (Personal interview, 2020). Such pressures push journalists to focus on stories that involve minimal information gathering and checking process, so they can turn them around quickly rather than the ones that would take time and effort. The quota system also encourages journalists to practice copy/paste journalism. Journalists frequently use material from other media, such as news agencies and social media, to meet the number of stories expected of them. The quick turnaround means stories get shorter and fail to provide any context or analysis to aid the audience to understand what is reported in them. When combined with web analytics to measure audience reaction to stories, these practices can shape content choices and result in churnalism (Harcup 2004; Saridou et al. 2017). In churnalism, journalists ‘relies on recycling press releases and agency copy

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and which involves little or no independent reporting or attempt at verification’ (Harcup 2004, 3–4). It also includes user-generated content, which is published by journalists, sometimes without verification. Digital media have offered journalists new ways of content production and presentation to appeal to more audiences. Multimedia journalism is one of them. Many news sites are experimenting with multimedia possibilities in Cyprus and have adopted new genres and practices such as online live broadcasting or online discussions. However, this type of journalism is still at its early stages and developing gradually. Lack of technological infrastructures, such as the speed of the internet connection and resources as time and personnel, hinders practising multimedia journalism. There is also the tendency among the managers and editorial decision-­ makers in newsrooms to follow the legacy media logic. Even though journalists use diverse media, such as social media and mobile applications, in their daily newsgathering practices, the presentation of the output is similar to traditional media. It mainly consists of text and images. As a Turkish Cypriot journalist explained, it was just digitalising the traditional journalism rather than practising online multimedia journalism: In Cyprus, we have not moved to digital journalism properly. Neither the infrastructure nor the news production process has changed. We haven’t made a radical transformation. Journalism is still practised in the same way as traditional journalism. When a story develops, we announce it on the Internet and regularly update it. There is no video journalism or anything like that. (Personal interview, 2020)

A Greek Cypriot journalist had similar criticisms that the Greek Cypriot media were following the traditional news routines to produce the news but publishing it online (Personal interview, 2021). Another journalist also argued that multimedia reporting had started but needed more time to develop and become established (Personal interview, 2021). Audience Digital technologies have transformed how journalists and audiences interact with each other. In the past, their communication was mainly in one direction: journalists produced the news, and the audience consumed it. Digital participatory communication technologies, especially social media, have changed the level and form of this interaction. They have

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facilitated and increased how journalists and audiences can converse and share information (Russell 2016; Bruns 2018; Vos and Ferruci 2018; Nelson 2019). In Cyprus, communication between journalists and the public has become easier and faster. Individuals can contact journalists by email, social media messages, mobile messaging and phones. Face-to-face interaction also exists. However, social media have become an important platform and tool for news sourcing practices. In both communities, journalists underline Facebook and Twitter as the most used social media sites by the public. Therefore, they regularly monitor them for events and ideas that are trending. Journalists want to establish a good network with social media users as potential news sources. A Turkish Cypriot journalist working on an online news site stated that he became Facebook friends with many users to increase the number of his potential news sources (Personal Interview, 2020). Another one, who had closed his Facebook account for personal reasons, reopened it when he started working as a journalist. He found it necessary to be on Facebook for his daily newsgathering routines (Personal Interview, 2020). The new media technologies have enabled the audience to participate in the production and dissemination of journalistic content. Individuals circulate information or produce and share images, audio or video on social media or with journalists. Journalists put the information they find relevant or interesting for their audience through the journalistic process of fact-checking and rewriting to reproduce it in the news format. In Cyprus, it has become a common practice in journalism to benefit from user-generated content (UGC), the information or audio/video materials non-professionals produce (Çatal 2017, 2018; Antonopoulos et al. 2020). Çatal’s research (2017, 2018) on online journalism in the Turkish Cypriot community shows that online news sites heavily rely on social media for their newsgathering practices. They frequently benefit from UGC including the information, ideas and the messages public figures put on their accounts. Crowdsourcing, another information gathering method, also exists, but it is practised less. Aitamurto (2016, 2019) describes crowdsourced journalism as a method when a media organisation or journalists ask users to contribute to a task by sharing information, knowledge or talent. Sometimes journalists and users collaborate and co-create a journalistic output. Antonopoulos et al.’s (2020) research indicates that some types of crowdsourcing, such as crowdwisdom that allow users to like, dislike or rate other users’ comments, are employed in the media in Cyprus. However, it presents little evidence of how widespread these practices are.

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Audience participation in news production has blurred the lines between journalists and audiences and led to what Bruns (2005, 2018) calls produser, a hybrid role of producing and using content. The hierarchical relationship between journalists and audiences concerning the news production process has been reduced but not eliminated (Hanush and Banjac 2018; Bruns 2018). Despite the increased role and influence of the audience in the news creation and selection, it is still journalists who control the news production by deciding which story to develop and produce it by putting it through journalistic processes such as verification. The audience, as Tandoc and Vos (2016, 957) put ‘are deputised as gatekeepers’ and ‘considered as subservient to the newsroom’. Journalists use the information they get from the audience, but they have editorial control over it. In a way, they involve the audience in their monitorial role by using the information and material provided by the audience (Christians et al. 2009, Hanitzsch and Vos 2017, 2018). Journalists are keen to establish their differences from citizens who produce and disseminate information on their websites and blogs, mainly by highlighting professional norms and ethics. They stress that their professional responsibility is to provide society with accurate information, which they accuse citizen journalists and bloggers of lacking. A Greek Cypriot journalist associating the two with fake news underlined the importance of professional journalism: ‘Definitely this phenomenon favours fake news. People must trust professional journalists as we are a reliable source of information’ (Personal interview, 2021). Journalists recognise that the boundaries between them and bloggers and citizen journalists are getting blurred, sometimes undermining the public’s trust in them. A Greek Cypriot journalist argued that when every social media post was treated as a news item and a fact, it undermined the confidence in traditional journalism (Personal interview, 2021). Journalists from both sides point at the difficulties they experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic when misinformation and disinformation frequently circulated on social media about the pandemic. Journalists had to work harder to get the public to trust their messages rather than social media ones. A Turkish Cypriot journalist remarked that ‘When false information circulated on Facebook, we checked and told the public that it was not true, but they did not always believe us. They accused us of hiding the truth from them’ (Personal interview, 2020). Low trust affects journalism negatively, and the public’s lack of confidence in the news media became apparent during the pandemic.

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Digital journalism has enhanced interactivity. The audience is no longer passive consumers but an active distributor of information (Singer 2014). It can select and disseminate the information journalists present and express its opinion by liking or disliking it. The audience also acts as critics and comment on journalistic performance (Carlson 2016a, b; Singer 2014; Ksiazek and Springer 2018; Craft et al. 2016). Social media have enabled news audiences to respond to journalists and share their views and criticisms of their work. The audience, commenting on news stories published on social media sites, communicates its feedback to journalists and makes them aware of their preferences (Singer 2014). These reactions also indicate the audience’s expectations from journalists. Journalists in Cyprus frequently receive criticisms from the audience about their performance. They are usually accused of presenting false, biased, inaccurate or partisan information. There is a mixed feeling about the usefulness of these comments. Some journalists take these comments as a contribution to a public debate on an issue. Yet, for many, they fail to make any positive contribution to their stories. According to a Greek Cypriot journalist The reactions are many and varied. Most of them are negative, and most of them do not refer to the essence of the news or the report they comment on, but they just tell you their opinion, either what they want to say or what they understand. I avoid reading them because they spoil my psychology. But I see if there are enough comments as an indication that news or report had an impact. (Personal communication, 2021)

As the quote above shows, many journalists do not engage with audience responses, as some are offensive and abusive. Some comments are so bad that a Turkish Cypriot journalist uttered that reading them feels like being ‘lynched’ by readers (Personal interview, 2020). A Greek Cypriot journalist also explained why he no longer reads audience comments to his messages: I used to follow them closely at first, but these days I don’t really care unless the comment relates to a mistake in the story. I gradually realised that people often don’t bother to read past the headline, and whatever you say or do wouldn’t change their mind. (Personal communication, 2020)

Those who comment on journalists’ work may not be representatives of the general public. Yet, they are the followers who actively share and

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engage with journalists and, in some ways, guide them in their selection and production process. Sources News sourcing practices have shifted with the Internet and social networking sites. Before digital media platforms, journalists were the main communication channel between sources of information and the public. They decided on the stories that would come to the public’s attention, produced and disseminated them. Sources had to go through journalists to communicate their messages to the public. As Carlson (2016b, 237) puts it, ‘to be a news source was to speak within the mediated space, being left out relegated a source to silence’. Now, journalists are no longer the only gatekeepers to the mediated public sphere. They are increasingly competing with other sources who have direct access to the public (Carlson 2016b). The Internet and social media have provided non-elite sources with more opportunities to gain visibility and get their voices heard in the public debate. They have increased the potential for these sources to access public and mainstream news media. Non-elite sources can communicate with their audiences through their websites and social media and publicise their views, campaigns and debates. They can get wider public attention when their messages on social media are liked or disliked, shared by other users or picked up by the mainstream media. Some of these sources are individuals or groups who are ‘crowdsourced to prominence’ (Meraz and Papacharissi 2013, 138; 2016, 99). They are usually non-elite and have a high number of followers on social media. They are regarded as ‘influencers’ and have become the new news sources for journalists. This is also the case in Cyprus. As a Turkish Cypriot journalist explained, journalists follow these users and usually approach them for comments on current affairs (Personal interview, 2020). Despite increasing the potential for marginalised or non-elite sources to access the media and public, digital media have not diminished the power of elites (Paulussen and Harder 2014; Kleemans et al. 2017). In Cyprus, elite sources still dominate the news. Journalists continue to report on elite actors and rely on institutional sources for information. Digital media platforms have increased the range of media the elite figures can use to reach the public. As well as having access to legacy media, they also benefit from social media to communicate with the public. If their access to legacy media is restricted,

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then they are not without a media platform. They can use digital media platforms such as social media for public communication. In contrast, non-elite sources get public attention and visibility when their messages on social media attract the attention of others or the mainstream media report them. Journalists’ newsgathering practices are transformed with new media opportunities. Journalists on both sides of the island use social and mobile media for newsgathering and dissemination purposes. They regularly monitor social media to select and publicise information, find sources and direct users to their media websites. That is how events and ideas circulating on social media can get into mainstream news and reach a wider audience. Journalists act as content curators, which has become a significant part of journalism using social media. The content curator is ‘a person who selects the best information found online with regard to its quality and relevance, aggregates it, linking to the original source of news, and provides context and analysis’ (Guerrini 2013, 4). Social media are treated as a resource for news ideas, and as a journalist put it, ‘many times a post becomes the source for a news report’ (Personal interview, 2021). When journalists find interesting information on social media, they apply traditional reporting skills to reproduce it in the news format. It is similar to the gatekeeping role as it is journalists who decide which stories to select and promote. However, this gatekeeping role has been weakened with active audience participation as the audience also decides what is newsworthy to it with its reactions to messages. Thus, it affects the news creation and selection process. Apart from acting as a resource for news ideas and information, social media provide journalists with quick access to news sources. It has become easier for journalists to follow the activities and messages of public figures and various groups on social media. They can access their statements directly. Elite figures benefit from the new sourcing practices of journalists. They know journalists regularly monitor their social media accounts for information and therefore publicise their views and activities on these media platforms for journalists to access. In a way, they communicate with the public directly and through journalists. According to a Greek Cypriot journalist, these practices benefit both political figures and journalists: Every political person uses social media. So, if you want to find something from someone, you can go to their Twitter account and see what they said two years ago or five years ago. You can ask them by directly messaging them. …. But a political personal can also write (in their social media

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accounts), and they can be in the news. Before, they needed to call the media or organise a conference to get media coverage. (Personal interview, 2021)

Digital Media and the Cyprus Problem In conflict, the media can have both destructive and constructive roles. Literature shows that the media are an integral part of war propaganda. At the same time, they could be a tool of conflict transformation (Spencer 2004; Reuben 2009; Howard 2004; Pauly 2009; Bratic 2008; Hoffmann and Hawkins 2015; Schoemaker and Stremlau 2014). In conflict-affected societies, like in Cyprus, digital media and mobile network systems have ‘multi-level and multi-dimensional potential in the transformation as well as the intransigence and promotion of conflict’ (Tellidis and Kappler 2016, 75). The nature of the relationship between these new media and conflict depends on the political context and how actors use them in their communication with the public (Bodrunova et al. 2019). For example, these media provide local and international actors with tools to promote their efforts in peacebuilding. In Cyprus, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), European Union (EU) and European Commission all benefit from social media to publicise their civil society initiatives that aim to change conflict attitudes and behaviours (Tellidis and Kappler 2016). New media platforms, especially social media, allow individuals and groups to expose the wrongdoings of power and rally support for their causes (Zeitzoff 2017). They can also promote their stories, communicate with each other, get together and organise protests. When mainstream media use these stories, they are conveyed to a higher number of audiences. However, social  media can also act as platforms to reinforce existing power imbalances when powerful elites use them to shape the narratives of conflict or rally support for their causes (Tellidis and Kappler 2016; Zeitzoff 2017; Papacharissi 2015). Many examples worldwide, such as in Turkey, the USA, Russia and Egypt, show that autocratic leaders use them to monitor and block opposition movements, mobilise support and promote their positions. Therefore, it is hard to reduce the influence of social media and mobile technologies in conflicts and political movements to one outcome as they can do both good and harm (Shirky 2011). The media in Cyprus are diverse, and the audience is fragmented. Diversification and fragmentation of media and audience have made it harder for elites to control the narrative on the main policy issues such as the

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Cyprus problem. It was easier to control the media framing and influence the public and news discourses when there was only legacy media. It has become more challenging for elites to manage information in a fragmented media and audience environment (Baum and Potter 2019). Individuals and groups can challenge authorities’ versions by disseminating their alternative frames on social media. The representation of opening Varosha to the public by the Turkish Cypriot authorities is an example of it. Varosha, a suburb of Famagusta, has been under the control of the Turkish military since its inhabitants were forced to flee in 1974. In 2020, Turkish Cypriot authorities opened a small part of this area for public visits with the approval of Turkey. The official representation portrayed this move as a constructive step that offered those who owned properties there the possibility to reclaim them. Despite some support within the Turkish Cypriot community, many people on both sides of the island denounced it. They expressed concern that it would hinder the efforts to resume the settlement talks. They used their social media accounts to condemn the decision of the Turkish Cypriot authorities. Later, when Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan visited the area,  many criticised it on social media with the slogan and hashtag ‘NoPicnicOverPain’ (e.g. see https://www.facebook.com/groups/varosha or https://twitter.com/hashtag/NoPicnicOverPain?src=hashtag_click). Another example of using social media to challenge dominant discourses is conscientious objection, a debated topic, especially in the northern part. In Cyprus, there is a long tradition of conscription, and under the conflict circumstances of the island, military service continues to have political and security importance. In the southern part, this importance is based on the idea of defending the borders against Turkey while in the north, it is against the Greek Cypriots. However, changes in the political, economic and cultural life in both communities have influenced the views on military service. For example, Efthymiou (2021, 17) found that in the Greek Cypriot community, there is a decline in the interest among young men mainly because ‘EU accession changed Cypriots’ public sense of security and defence’. A change also exists among young Turkish Cypriot men, as the debate on conscientious objection demonstrates. In recent years, conscientious objectors have been increasingly challenging the political discourse on military service based on the threat of the other community with ideas of human rights and peace. They argue against the notion that military service is to ‘serve one’s nation’ and use peace and human rights discourses to present their counterarguments. They employ

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social media to promote and disseminate their views and experiences to the public. In 2019, when a Turkish Cypriot conscientious objector and peace activist, Halil Karapaşaoğlu refused to serve in the army, he was prisoned for not paying the fine set by a military court. His case attracted media attention and public debate. Individuals and groups, such as Voice of Initiative for Conscientious Objection in Cyprus, joined his campaign. Using the Internet and social media, they mobilised many to express their support for him. They rallied for his cause both domestically and internationally. Digital media also allow individuals and groups to bypass traditional media gatekeepers and collaboratively generate and disseminate content (Poell and Dijck 2014; Fisher 2018). Occupy Buffer Zone (OBZ), inspired by global Occupy movements and comprised of Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot participants, inhabited the Buffer Zone between October 2011 and May 2012. Defining the Cyprus problem as ‘one of the many symptoms of an unhealthy global system’ (https://www.facebook.com/ OccupyBufferZone/), the movement linked it to international global economic and social issues. With their anti-establishment and anti-capitalist stance, they produced an alternative position: ‘Transforming the Buffer Zone in an undivided space where Cypriots could live together questions the existence of two distinct territories and their respective political powers, thus, triggering a violent act of re-territorialisation/re-normalisation’ (Antonsich 2013, 176). The group rejected national identities based on the dichotomy of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots (Ilican 2013) and reconstructed a common ‘we’ in opposition to ‘they’. ‘They’ included political actors and institutions, such as the government, the army, the mainstream media and the UN, whom they regarded as the actors enhancing discord between the communities (Papa and Dahlgren 2017). They were active on the ground, but social media was an essential element in their political activism. They used social media, especially Facebook, as a space for discussion, coordination, solidarity and rallying people for social change (Ilican 2013; Papa and Dahlgren 2018). As Papa and Dahlgren (2017, 199) expressed, OBZ used social media ‘not just for mobilisation and coordination purposes but mostly to strengthen “bonding” among Greek-Cypriots and Turkish-Cypriots’. For OBZ, social media offered a new communicative space, different from mainstream media. In this space, they produced and disseminated their counter-hegemonic discourses, which would not be possible in the mainstream media.

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These examples may cast social media as an alternative to legacy media. However, research (Poell and Dijck 2014; Poell and Borra 2012) shows that activists’ use of social media does not always produce alternative reporting or enhance the democratic power of users. They provide access to non-elite sources to convey their messages and join in the public debate, which is more challenging for them to do with legacy media. However, social and legacy media are not alternative or opposite of each other but parts of the same media system. There is a close interaction between them. Individuals and groups share their views and stories on current events on social media. The influence and reach of these posts are increased when they are disseminated by a high number of users or reported by journalists as media gatekeepers (Zeitzoff 2017). Some of these stories circulated and commented on are from mainstream media, which give their news more visibility and reproduces their news discourses. In Cyprus, the new communicative space social media offer enhances intercommunal dialogue. Given that the mainstream media have not successfully established a transformative conversation with external and internal others (Avraamidou and Psaltis 2019; Christophorou et al. 2010), the importance of this space becomes apparent. Other media, such as community media, also provide opportunities to express alternative views and content not represented in the mainstream media. Community media in Cyprus are a mixture of media, print, radio, and internet-based, but digital technologies have helped them become more visible and easily accessible (Voniati et al. 2018). They give voice to various marginalised communities and act as platforms of alternative and counter-hegemonic discourses (Voniati et al. 2018). Voniati et al. (2018, 28) describe the objectives of community media organisations in Cyprus as ‘representing/reinforcing the voices of the communities’, promoting ‘a culture of active citizenship’ and ‘being “transformative/alternative”, meaning that they oppose power structures (e.g. patriarchy, neoliberalism, nationalism, militarism), while also proposing alternative modes of social organisation’. The audience they reach is not big, but they use new media opportunities to make themselves seen and heard by a broader range of audiences. Community  media can  act as alternatives to the Cypriot mainstream media by challenging the concept of the ‘other’ and getting people from both sides to meet and work together (Carpentier 2017). They encourage intercommunal and intercultural dialogue and foster tolerance within the communities of Cyprus (Carpentier 2015, 2017; Carpentier and Doudaki 2014). Their role in peacebuilding comes from their ‘ability to integrate a

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diversity of non-professional producers, embedded in a diversity of (sub) communities (and in civil society)’ (Carpentier and Doudaki 2014, 418). Community media in Cyprus are connected to alternative and social movements. Their representatives are usually the activists of human rights, reunification and demilitarisation groups, which underline their role in conflict transformation (Voniati et  al. 2018). A good example of these media in Cyprus is the Cyprus Community Media Centre (CCMC) and its affiliated community web radio station, MYCYradio. Carpentier and Doudaki (2014, 429), in their study on the CCMC, highlight that the main contribution of community radios to conflict resolution and reconciliation is to bring diverse voices together and provide them with a space to meet: By allowing them to work together on specific media content and projects, which form alternatives to the content produced by Cypriot mainstream media, but also by having them decide collectively on the community media organisation itself, they become sites of collaboration and collective decision making, transgressing the dichotomised realities of conflict. (Carpentier and Doudaki 2014, 429)

However, community media are not very prominent in the media landscape of the island. There are various reasons for this, and one of them is the slow development of civil society as an independent institution in Cyprus (Voniati et al. 2018). The political and military restrictions of the conflict impacted the progress of a strong civil society (CIVICUS 2005, 2011; Gillespie et al. 2011; Çuhadar and Kotelis 2010; Michael and Vural 2018) and the development of community media. Today, community media still do not reach a large audience. Their ability to set an agenda or influence the public, as the mainstream media do, is also restricted. However, these are not their main objectives. As a Turkish Cypriot journalist, who had worked for a community/alternative news site, explained, these media aim to disrupt the dominance of elites on news production and discourses. They do that by focusing on issues that mainstream media fail to report or presenting alternative perspectives on the ones they cover (Personal interview, 2020). On the Cyprus issue, their main strength is their contribution to a discourse of peace. ‘Their role in conflict resolution and reconciliation is further strengthened by their very nature as a medium, which allows them to act as discursive machineries that make these sometimes still counterhegemonic discourses on peace circulate within society’

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(Carpentier and Doudaki 2014, 429). However, Carpentier (2015) also warns against the capabilities of these media to produce and support agonistic discourses.

Peacebuilding and Social Media The peace process in Cyprus is dominated and led by elites. They conduct negotiations and shape the discourses on the ongoing peace efforts and conflict. Civil society on each side has existed as actors in the peacebuilding efforts since the island’s division but they are not directly included in the process. Jarraud et al. (2013, 45) describe this exclusion as the ‘inherent democratic deficit’ of the process and the reason for its failure. They underline that ‘participatory approaches remain one of the only untried methods for unlocking the Cyprus conflict stalemate’ (Jarraud et al. 2013, 46). Peace-oriented civil society groups or the bi-communal peace movement has had a crucial part in establishing an intercommunal dialogue after the island’s division. Initially, these groups were weak and marginal. Therefore, they were supported and facilitated mainly by third parties, such as United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Very few Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots were involved in the bi-communal peace movement. Yet, they managed to get together to build networks and establish dialogue as a step towards reconciliation, so they could understand each other’s fears and expectations and develop trust (Broome 2005; Lönnqvist 2008; Richmond 2013; Hadjipavlou and Kanol 2008). These intercommunal contacts were necessary for improving the communication between the communities (Richmond 2013). As Anastasiou (2008, 182) remarked, ‘leaving the communication process solely in the hands of the mass media and nationalist terms of reference would have failed’. For these groups, especially when no crossings were allowed and face-to-face communication was not possible, getting together was not easy. They met abroad or at the Buffer Zone at different bi-communal activities, such as conflict resolution training, cultural events, professional gatherings. They also communicated using early internet tools such as email lists and forums (Karayianni 2013). Especially during 1994 and 1997, the number of people and groups engaged in bi-communal activities increased (Broome 2005; Jarraud et al. 2013; Hadjipavlou and Kanol 2008; Çuhadar and Kotelis 2010). These groups included professionals,

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women’s groups, youth groups, environmentalists, businesspeople and educators (Demetriou and Gürel 2008; Hadjipavlou and Kanol 2008). Initially, the media were not supportive of these groups. They were critical of the bi-communal activities that aimed to establish an intercommunal dialogue between the communities in Cyprus. Therefore, these bi-­ communal groups received very little media coverage, and when they did, it was negative. The media condemned and ridiculed their efforts and cast the participants as marginals (Broome 2005; Anastasiou 2008; Lönnqvist 2008). They ‘were accused as traitors to the national cause, as friends of the enemy, as paid agents of the international community’ (Broome 2005, 39). It was not surprising as these bi-communal groups’ efforts were outside the negotiation process conducted by the political elite and were contradicting their national claims about the conflict. They challenged ‘the Turkish Cypriot claim that “we cannot live together” as well as the Greek Cypriot attempt to define the conflict exclusively as a problem of external occupation and invasion instead of admitting its ‘intercommunal component’ (Vogel 2015, 160). On both sides of the island, the political authorities controlled the media politically and economically with information and funding subsidies. Therefore, the supporters of these bi-communal movements had little opportunity to access the mainstream media and tell their stories. The relaxation of crossings at checkpoints in 2003 was a critical point in the history of intercommunal relations. It has made it easier for individuals and groups to meet face-to-face without third-party facilitations (Çuhadar and Kotelis 2010). Crossings have allowed many Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots to establish contact and interact with each other. Civil society’s efforts to contribute to the peace process reached a significant point in the period between the start of the crossings and the referendum on the Annan Plan in April 2004. People, who were active in the bi-communal movements, increased their interactions and started leading civil society organisations in their communities (Hadjipavlou and Kanol 2008). In the Turkish Cypriot community, civil society organisations, joined by the bi-communal activists, managed to mobilise the public to support the plan in the referendum. The media in the northern part gave more favourable coverage to these groups and their efforts (Şahin 2014; Christophorou et al. 2010; Ciftci 2014). In contrast, in the Greek Cypriot community, peace supporters failed to organise an effective campaign and generate support for the peace plan. As Jarraud et al. (2013, 51) explained, ‘The Greek Cypriot civil-society-based peace movement was in

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disarray and at the crucial moment was incapable of mounting a coherent challenge to the nationalist forces in its own community’. The media were biased towards the ‘no’ camp (Taki 2009) and restricted these groups’ ability to communicate their arguments favouring the plan. Greek Cypriot rejection of the plan led to a big disappointment among civil society groups who worked hard to get a ‘yes’ vote in the referenda. After the referenda, the disappointment dampened the motivation and enthusiasm of the communities to work together for a while. The number of structured bi-communal activities was reduced but it did not stop (Çuhadar and Kotelis 2010). Despite the disappointment, intercommunal activities continued and still do. Crossings have increased the potential for communication and contact between communities, paving the way for more intercommunal projects and cooperation. However, not all go across the divide. The communities have prejudice and distrust towards each other. Also, some Greek Cypriots do not want to show their identity documents at the checkpoints, as they fear it would mean the recognition of the administration in the north. In such cases, the intercommunal groups meet at the Buffer Zone. The Buffer Zone, also referred to as the Dead Zone, the Green Line or No-Man’s Land and controlled by the UN, has provided the space for such interactions and become ‘the geographical home of intercommunal peacebuilding’ (Vogel 2018, 431). It is not just the Buffer Zone that provides bi-communal groups with space to continue their communication, but social media do it too. Today, the mission of many groups has moved beyond establishing communication and now focuses on campaigning together for a peaceful settlement. Their communication methods and use of the media have also shifted. They no longer only rely on the mainstream news media for publicity. They continue to engage with journalists and benefit from the opportunities social and mobile media offer them to reach the public. As a representative of a cultural group in the northern part of Cyprus explained, ‘if our statements are ignored by the mainstream media, which happens for different reasons, we use social media. It allows us to spread our views more effectively’ (Personal interview, 2019). Social and mobile media help civil society groups with limited resources that struggle to get media attention to publicise their ideas (Fenton 2010). They also provide them with channels to promote their campaigns and mobilise the public to support them. Unite Cyprus Now’s (UCN) media practices are a good example of how intercommunal groups use digital media to get their voices heard by the public. Their website shows that the UCN is a ‘multicommunal

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grassroots non-party initiative of Cypriots founded in May 2017 promoting actions in support of peace and the reunification of the island through a negotiated settlement’ (UCN n.d.). The group got together in 2017 during the negotiation process between the community leaders, Akıncı and Anastasiadis. Its aim is ‘to connect Cypriots by seeking the truth, building empathy, respecting diversity, reinforcing solidarity and promoting a joint future’ (UCN n.d.). It challenges the official nationalist ideologies of both sides by circulating counter-discourses (Themistocleous 2021). The group announces events and shares photographs and videos of their activities on its social media accounts. Themistocleous (2021 100511), who studied its protests before and during the leaders got together in Crans Montana, Switzerland, found that the group acted as media producers and ‘creatively appropriated their digital messages’. Their use of digital media helped mobilise support for the movement, kept the morale of the initiative and shared news from their events. It used ‘journalistic-type practices’ to disseminate its messages or events because the mainstream media did not show much interest. As an activist explained … they didn’t want people to know that this thing was happening, they didn’t want to, but at the times that they did broadcast the events, they only showed a few scenes and misrepresented what happened […] Because the media, they are controlled. At the end of the day the media could have said ‘hey guys, everyone should go and protest too’, in other words, to promote the protest instead of hashing-down and not talking about it. (Lydia cited in Themistocleous 2021, 100513)

Intergroup dialogue is an essential step in peacebuilding. Used mainly at the grassroots level, it helps overcome prejudice and hostility (Broome 2013; Broome and Jakobsson-Hatay 2006; Bar-Tal 2013 book). In the context of conflict-affected societies, such as in Cyprus, social media can act as a platform where communities on different sides of the conflict and have limited face-to-face interactions can communicate with each other. They create spaces ‘for citizen-initiated civil discourses with implications for peace and conflict in the arena of public diplomacy’ (Kumar and Semetko 2018, 613). Research from other conflict areas also shows that social media provide a sphere where a dialogue between groups in conflicts occurs. It exposes each side to the other’s narrative, involves them in discussions and establishes solidarity (Mor et al. 2016; Ron et al. 2020; Vries et al. 2017; Shahini-Hoxhaj 2018). In Cyprus, digital and mobile

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media have made it easier for individuals and groups to communicate and collaborate with those across the divide. For example, they offer those who are reluctant or cannot cross to the other side an opportunity to converse with the people across the Buffer Zone. They have created a networked public sphere where users from both communities can participate and share information and opinions. On Facebook, the widely used social networking site in Cyprus, many intercommunal groups such as Bicommunal Peace Initiative-United Cyprus, Cyprus Culture and Cyprus Bi-Communal Artists allow their followers to share images, views and opinions on various cultural and political issues. The intercommunal conversation on social media is not just about the Cyprus problem and how to resolve it, it also includes similar issues such as crime, women’s rights, and environmental issues, some describe as the real Cyprus problems. As a Turkish Cypriot journalist remarked, sharing information and experience on social media made people from both communities recognise that they had similar issues and had started conversations about them (Personal interview, 2020). By communicating through these media, individuals can avoid the discomfiture of face-to-face discussions of politics or peace and conflict issues. They are also seen as a safe environment from the interference of official scrutiny (Karayianni 2013). The number of people involved in these online discussions may not be very high for various reasons, such as not having access to the Internet or skills to use social media or not communicating in the other community’s language or English. Yet, the existing interactions show that these media platforms have encouraged contact and generated various dialogues between the communities. Social networking sites are constructive when they connect people and promote dialogue and enhance inclusivity between communities. In an online environment, public and media spheres are evolving and no longer homogenous. Users can challenge the division based on ethnic identity, and members of ‘us’ and ‘them’ groups change with new groups that identify themselves other than ethnic identity. However, these sites can also spread hatred and violence and enhance polarisation and divisions between communities (Shahini-Hoxhaj 2018; Schirch 2021). In divided societies, getting information from a narrow range of sources based on specific political orientations deepens political divisions, especially on issues about the conflict. In the context of Cyprus, this is no different. Dialogue on social media is not always reflective of peace, tolerance or democratic ideals. Conflicting views on the resolution of the problem

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encourage intolerance and resentment towards others who have opposing views. The digital networked public sphere has made it easier to express such sentiments and opinions towards the other.

Journalism, Peacebuilding and Digital Media Social media have provided more possibilities for the news media to monitor and contact peace-oriented civil society groups. It does not mean they take these opportunities and follow them closely. Still, it has become harder to ignore these  groups, especially when their messages on social media attract considerable public attention. Meanwhile, the reliance of civil society groups on journalists has lessened. They can convey their messages or publicise their campaigns without the mediation of journalists. The example of UCN shows that they can produce and disseminate their messages even if the media fail to report their campaigns or activities. However, although digital and mobile media platforms have made civil society groups less reliant on journalists and the news media, they have not replaced them. Coverage by mainstream media is still crucial for civil society groups to attract public attention, get involved in the elite debate and present their counterarguments to the public and policymakers. Media coverage provides opportunities for these groups to bring their messages to the public and the political elite (Waisbord 2011; Powers 2016). They can use social media, but given that the public still gets their news from the mainstream media, these groups still rely on the latter for publicity. Internet and social media have enabled journalists in Cyprus to follow the community’s affairs across the divide easier. They no longer need the translations of the official news agencies to learn what is happening on the other side of the Buffer Zone. Journalists can visit the online news sites and monitor the social media accounts of other journalists, political figures and various social and cultural actors in the other community. Lack of bilingualism is still a problem, but online translation sites give journalists an idea of the meanings of texts written in the other community’s language. Some journalists, especially in the Turkish Cypriot community, are interested in the current affairs of the other community so they can report them to their audience. As a Turkish Cypriot journalist explained, reading the news about the Greek Cypriot community may help the public learn their perspectives, understand their problems and encourage trust in each other: ‘These stories have increased the visibility of the life in the south. People on both sides can see that they have common characteristics and

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similar issues. These stories show our similarities. This has happened with the new digital media’ (Personal interview, 2020). For years, the communities in Cyprus have learned the news about each other via their mainstream media. These media usually got the information on the other community from their official news agencies, whose selection of the news portrayed it mainly negative. Now, the public has other and alternative information sites and is less reliant on the mainstream media for information on the other community. Social media have created a cross border public space. In this space, people across the divide can communicate and get news about each other. If necessary, they can check the primary sources and debunk the information disseminated by the mainstream media. It is similar to what Bruns (2005, 2018) describe as gatewatching. Gatewatching is monitoring the outputs of news outlets to identify relevant material for publication and discussion. Gatewatchers publicise rather than publish new information, which aids in its visibility. Yet, at the same time, they can question, interpret and contextualise it (Bruns 2005, 2018). It offers a way of countering manipulation of information mainly by official sources and journalists. Users can easily challenge them about the correctness of the information they share. However, it undermines the trust in journalism. A Greek Cypriot journalist stressed that the audience is distrustful towards them. ‘For the most part, the public is suspicious and has a negative attitude towards us. Sometimes they correct or add to a news story, but mostly their comments are to criticise’ (Personal interview, 2021). Journalists confirm that they receive comments from the audience that challenge the correctness of their stories. Some of these comments express an opinion, but sometimes they correct a factual error in the story. In the latter case, journalists correct and republish the report. A Turkish Cypriot journalist remarked that comments that pointed at the factual mistakes were the only comments he paid attention to (Personal Interview, 2020). It shows that the audience is less tolerant of falsehood or bias, and journalists are held accountable for their stories and confronted with criticism of their work.

Ethical Concerns Maintaining ethical journalism is a big concern for journalists on both sides of the island. As technological developments have transformed and diversified the way of gathering and disseminating information, they have also presented extra challenges for journalism. Journalists can access

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information faster, but the volume and range they need to deal with have increased. They need to clarify information, put it in a context and present it to their audience faster, sometimes, for multiple media platforms. Journalists are frequently faced with the dilemma of announcing the news first or verifying the facts before reporting them. Competition between the media to be the first to break the news pushes journalists to publish their stories with the idea that ‘they would correct it if it is found to be wrong rather than waste time by verifying it’ (Özejder 2018). The number of online news sites has risen over the years, increasing the amount of information available to readers. Despite efforts, it is difficult to regulate them properly. Some of these sites function without editorial responsibilities, and their misconduct can go without any warning, sanction or fines. Without any control over their fact-checking processes, they can be sources of misinformation and disinformation. Some are set up and run by one person with no journalists working for them and therefore are known as tek kişilik (one-person) online sites in the Turkish Cypriot community (Özejder 2018). Journalists in Cyprus are concerned about the impact these online sites claim to be ‘news sites’ have on the public and journalism. News aggregation with sensational headlines is a practice they frequently use to lure readers into clicking on their stories. Aggregation is ‘taking news from published sources, reshaping it, and republishing it in an abbreviated form within a single place’ (Coddington 2019, 3). Some online sites use it to rewrite or comment on a piece of news that has already been published somewhere else. They present them sensationally and excitingly to invoke readers’ curiosity and encourage them to click on the link. It is called clickbaiting. Clickbaiting is a term used to describe different techniques to attract the readers’ attention and lure it into clicking to read the story (Kuiken et al. 2017). However, most of the time, the headlines used for clickbaiting are misleading or disappointing as the content do not always fulfil what the headline suggests. However, the number of clicks a story gets shows the number of people who visited the page, indicating which stories attract more audience. It is used for advertising and when making decisions on news production strategies (Tandoc 2014). A Greek Cypriot media editor confirmed that media considered analytics but argued that it was not the only thing that determined their news decision-­making (Personal interview, 2020). Journalists also argued that algorithms affected their journalism, including news decisions and practices. As a journalist put it

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The news is a product, and the media are for-profit companies. So, you are looking for an audience to sell your news, which means it has to be interesting. Therefore, a journalist or a news organisation is affected by algorithms. (Personal interview, 2021)

There is also concern that it may damage the trust in journalism. It is a worry, especially for professional online news sites. A Turkish Cypriot (TC) journalist/editor working for an online news site believed it could undermine the media that made an effort to produce professional, accurate and good quality news. It is also that readers are more likely to click on the headlines of these sites than theirs. Clicks indicate the number of people who visited these sites and can help them get more advertising (Personal interview, 2020). Sometimes, news aggregation of these online ‘news’ sites is combined with plagiarism. Plagiarism is taking someone else’s story without attribution. It is another ethical problem that has increased with online publishing. Some online sites copy-paste stories from other media and publish them without attribution to the journalist or the news organisation that produced them as if they were their own stories (Özejder 2018). Journalists describe these practices as stealing and condemn those who republish their work without permission or acknowledgement. They are angry that their work is used to create ‘unfair competition’ in attracting advertising, thus undermining their job security (Özejder 2018). It was frequently mentioned by the journalists working in the Turkish Cypriot media in the interviews for this project. It can be an indication that these practices are a more widespread problem in the northern part. Still, it needs to be further investigated to establish the extent and impact of this problem on journalism on the island. The main challenge journalism faces today is the lack of public trust. Ethics is the underlying reason why journalists’ reputation is undermined, and the public’s trust is waning. Journalists are concerned that confidence in journalism will be further damaged with unethical practices such as clickbaiting, fake news and plagiarism. Regulation is a crucial aspect of maintaining journalism standards. On both sides of the island, self-­ regulatory bodies monitor all media to ensure that professional codes of ethics are implemented. In the Turkish Cypriot community, there is the Media Ethics Council (Medya Etik Kurulu). In the Greek Cypriot community, Επιτροπή Δημοσιογραφικής Δεοντολογίας, the Cyprus Media Complaints Commission (CMMC) promotes ethical practices. They deal

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with complaints about alleged violations of codes and conducts. However, some journalists question the application and effectiveness of these codes. The ethics committees cannot impose any fines or award compensations but only issue warnings and condemnation, which journalists regard ineffective. For example, the Cyprus Mail, an English language newspaper, was critical of one of the Cyprus Media Complaints Commission’s decisions on a complaint that involved racism: The committee wields soft power and is unable to impose any penalties on offenders, restricting itself to issuing announcements about its findings or arranging the publication of corrections in newspapers after it mediates between the two sides. In short, it is a low-profile body that invariably uses a discreet and soft approach in dealing with the issues brought before it. (Cyprus Mail 2017)

Journalists working for the Turkish Cypriot media also express similar concerns that the power of the Media Ethics Council is limited to giving warnings and is not effective.

Conclusion Digital media have transformed societies and journalism around the world, and the situation in Cyprus is not different. A significant change is that they have increased the potential for the audience to participate in the news production processes. The audience is not just consuming the news but also contributing to its production. Participatory communication technologies have enabled users to interact with journalists and play a part in their news selection and creation. Increased audience participation raised expectations that they would democratise the journalistic process. However, as Peter and Witschge (2015, 19) argued, ‘participation in the news’ has not led to ‘participation through news’ and it has not enhanced democracy with better citizen engagement. In Cyprus, audience participation in journalistic processes is mainly limited to acting as sources of news ideas and information. Their actual involvement in the news production is restricted. Traditional media logic still governs journalism, and existing news production structures favour elite sources. With the opportunities digital networked media platforms offer, elite figures can access both legacy and social media. They also know that journalists follow them on social media, so they benefit from these sourcing practices of journalists. Marginalised groups and non-elite sources, on the other hand, use social

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media to publicise their campaigns but still rely on mainstream news media to reach a bigger audience. In Cyprus, in contrast to the legacy media, which enhanced the separation of communities, digital networked media present opportunities for a shared public sphere for people from different communities to meet and establish a conversation. Social media contribute to the intercommunal dialogue, which is essential for conflict transformation in divided societies. They act as platforms where communities can join and communicate with each other. However, these platforms can also enhance polarisation between communities by presenting information from a narrow range of sources based on particular political orientations. Digital media technologies allow alternative narratives on the Cyprus problem to be produced and disseminated easier and faster. On both sides, individuals and groups that challenge the official nationalist narratives can circulate their counterviews on the Cyprus issue using social media. They also gatewatch the sources and media to check and dispute the manipulation of information on this issue by official sources. Today’s media environment involves professional and non-professional journalists, mainstream and alternative media, legacy and online media. The number of media available to the public to get their news has multiplied and diversified, and the audience is fragmented. Journalists are required to adopt new skills and develop new routines to meet the demands and expectations of their audiences. The audience holds journalists accountable for their stories and confronts them with criticisms. Meanwhile, the characteristics of journalism have changed. Journalists are no longer identified with just print or broadcast but expected to have the knowledge and skills to produce their stories for multi-platforms. Consequently, journalism has become a profession that demands journalists to balance the pressures to appeal to the audience and advertisers with their professional roles and ethical practices.

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Ron, Y., Suleiman, C. and Maoz, I (2020) Women for Peace: Promoting Dialogue and Peace through Facebook?, Social Media + Society, 6. https://doi. org/10.1177/2056305120984461. Russell, A. (2016) Networked Journalism. In Witschge, T, Anderson, CW, Domingo, D, & Hermida, A (eds) The SAGE Handbook of Digital Journalism, SAGE Publications, London. Saridou, T., Spyridou, L. and Veglis, A. (2017) Churnalism on the Rise?, Digital Journalism, 5:8, 1006–1024, https://doi.org/10.1080/2167081 1.2017.1342209 Scott, J., Millard, D. and Leonard, P. (2015) Citizen Participation in News, Digital Journalism, 3:5, 737–758 Schirch, L. (2021). Digital Information, Conflict and Democracy. In Schirch, L. (Ed.) Social Media Impacts on Conflict and Democracy: The Techtonic Shift. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003087649 Schoemaker, E. and Stremlau, N. (2014) Media and conflict: An assessment of the evidence, Progress in Development Studies, 14(2), pp. 181–195. https://doi. org/10.1177/1464993413517790. Shahini-Hoxhaj, R. (2018) Facebook and Political Polarization: An Analysis of the Social Media Impact on the Kosovo-Serbia Dialogue, Journal of Media Research, 11(3), pp. 71–93. https://doi.org/10.24193/jmr.32.6. Shirky, C. (2011). The Political Power of Social Media: Technology, the Public Sphere, and Political Change. Foreign Affairs 28–41. Shoemaker, P.J., and Vos, T. (2009). Gatekeeping Theory (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203931653 Singer, J.  B. (2014) ‘User-Generated Visibility: Secondary Gatekeeping In A Shared Media Space’, New Media And Society, 16(1), Pp. 55–73. https://doi. org/10.1177/1461444813477833. Spencer, G. (2004) The Impact of Television News on the Northern Ireland Peace Negotiations, Media, Culture & Society, 26(5):603–624 Şahin, S., (2014). Diverse media, uniform reports: An analysis of news coverage of the Cyprus problem by the Turkish Cypriot press. Journalism, 15(4), pp. 446–462 Taki, Y (2009) The Plan, Public Discourse and the Role of the Mass Media in Getting to ‘No’. In Varnava, A and Faustmann, H (eds) Reunifying Cyprus: The Annan Plan and Beyond. London: IB Tauris & Co. Tandoc, E. (2018). Journalism as Gatekeeping. In: Vos, T. (ed). Journalism. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter Mouton, pp.  235–254. https://doi.org/10.151 5/9781501500084-­012 Tandoc Jr., E. C. (2014) ‘Journalism is twerking? How web analytics is changing the process of gatekeeping’, New Media and Society, 16(4), pp.  559–575. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444814530541.

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Tandoc, E.  C. and Vos, T.  P. (2016) The Journalist Is Marketing the News, Journalism Practice, 10(8), pp. 950–966. https://doi.org/10.1080/1751278 6.2015.1087811. Tellidis, I. and Kappler, S. (2016) ‘Information and communication technologies in peacebuilding: Implications, opportunities and challenges’, Cooperation and Conflict, 51(1), 75–93. Themistocleous, C. (2021) From public to digital spaces: Spatial and media practices of the 2017 ‘Unite Cyprus Now’ peace protests. Discourse, Context & Media, 42 100504 Unite Cyprus Now, (n.d.). About UCN. https://unitecyprusnow.org/. Vogel, B. (2018) Understanding the impact of geographies and space on the possibilities of peace activism, Cooperation and Conflict, 53(4), pp.  431–448. https://doi.org/10.1177/0010836717750202. Vogel B (2015) The Cyprus conflict and party–society relations. In: Charalambous G and Christophorou C (eds) Party-society Relations in the Republic of Cyprus. London: Routledge, 151–166. Voniati, C., Doudaki, V. and Carpentier, N. (2018) Mapping community media organisations in Cyprus: A methodological reflection. Journal of Alternative and Community Media, 3 (1), 17–35 Vos, T. P. and Ferrucci, P. (2018) Who am I? Perceptions of Digital Journalists’ Professional Identity. In Eldridge, S.A., & Franklin, B. (Eds.). (2018). The Routledge Handbook of Developments in Digital Journalism Studies Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315270449 Vries, M., Kligler-Vilenchik, N., Alyan, E., Ma’oz, M. and Maoz, I. (2017) Digital contestation in protracted conflict: The online struggle over al-Aqsa Mosque, The Communication Review, 20:3, 189–211, https://doi.org/10.108 0/10714421.2017.1362814 Waisbord, S. (2011). Can NGOs change the news? International Journal of Communications 5: 142–65 Zeitzoff, T. (2017) How Social Media Is Changing Conflict, The Journal of Conflict Resolution, 61(9), pp. 1970–1991.

CHAPTER 7

Conclusion

Journalism is full of challenges on many grounds, such as professional, moral, political, economic and technological. Its values, practices and conventions are dynamic and related to situational and historical contexts (Zelizer 2017). Zelizer (2017) suggests considering journalism as a construct of culture to account for its fluid nature. The news media and journalism do not exist and function on their own. They are a part of society, and when the society changes, journalism also transforms itself to meet its new expectations. Journalists renegotiate their roles and responsibilities and discursively reconstruct them. In the centre of their professional ideals and performances is the concept of serving the public and protecting its interests. Yet, constraints that range from political and economic pressures to ethical concerns and technological challenges can hinder journalists from fulfilling their service to the public good. The book looked at the media’s role in conflicts through journalism. The complex and dynamic relationship between the news media and wars has been widely discussed in academic literature. In this study, journalists’ role perceptions, routines and practices are the main focus. It approached journalism as a professional and social field with its internal relations and as linked and influenced by others, such as politics, culture and economics. It considered the impact of these forces and the constructed and flux nature of journalism to understand this profession’s dynamic character in Cyprus.

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Over the years, journalism on the island has navigated through the pressures and challenges of the intercommunal and political tensions and adapted to new conditions. Journalists have always been critical and active actors in the communication of these conflicts in their societies. They have joined in the production and dissemination of the national narratives of their communities on history, identity and conflict. They are still a part of this process. They convey messages to inform their audiences and provide them with frames to understand their communities’ issues. Their performances are underlined with the idea of serving the public, a concept that is subject to different interpretations. Inevitably, the external forces, such as the political and economic elites, audience and technological developments, affect their professional routines and practices. However, despite the structural restrictions, journalism is a field with a certain degree of autonomy, and journalists continually negotiate their freedom in their daily routines. Journalism cannot be separated from the societal forces and historical context it has been embedded in. The second chapter on the history of the conflict and media demonstrated that journalists from early on have acted as intellectuals and introduced new ideas, joined in both public and elite debates and offered their audiences ways to think about the issues that concerned them. The media on both sides of the island were grouped (and still are) around ideological (left-right) groups and ethnic divisions and voiced their messages. By getting involved in political debates and conflicts, journalists influenced them as well as being influenced by them. For example, during the armed conflict between the communities, journalists worked under pressure from military and political leadership. In those days, detachment or neutrality was not desired or possible. Journalists were expected to show their attachment and loyalty to their community and serve national interests. Dissent was not tolerated and usually silenced. Their treatment created a chilling effect on journalists and pushed them to stay within the sphere of consensus of their communities’ official discourses. These experiences contributed to the development of journalism with a conflict-oriented approach. For example, the news on the Cyprus problem was (and still is) reconstructed with a conflict frame using a binary and confrontational manner based on positive ‘us’ versus negative ‘them’ (Bailie and Azgın 2008; Milioni et al. 2015). The Cyprus problem is still covered with a conflict-oriented approach, but today, journalism has changed and is different in many ways. One significant variation is that journalism has gained more recognition as a

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profession by societies. Journalists also regard themselves as a professional community with shared values, rules, practices and identity. As Hanitzsch and Örnebring (2020) explained, ‘If professionalism is the system of shared norms, rules, and practices that guide journalistic work, then professionalisation is the degree to which journalists share this system’. Journalists learn the ideas of professionalism through formal education and socialisation at work. At universities, students acquire and internalise professional values, role conceptions and identities, and when they enter the media workforce, they bring those ideas with them. In Cyprus, another force that has helped with the acceptance of journalism as a profession is professional organisations. On each side of the island, there are professional organisations and trade unions for media workers. As civil society has developed, these organisations and unions have gained more strength and are recognised as important actors in the media sector. They work to protect the rights of journalists, encourage professional socialisation and uphold standards. Journalistic freedom is a big concern for journalists in Cyprus. Political parallelism and clientelism undermine the independence of the news media and the autonomy of journalists. Reduced resources have increased the media’s dependency on business and government sources. State subsidies and advertising exposed journalists to more pressure. Competition between the news outlets is challenging journalists’ ethical and professional values. They also experience restrictions on their freedom of expression. This is especially the case for Turkish Cypriot journalists when they report on Turkey and its policies on the Cyprus problem. Reactions and pressures they face have a chilling effect on them and enhance self-censorship. Journalists in Cyprus recognise the expectations of their societies, which shape their role perceptions. They stress that communicating the truth and detachment are crucial elements of their profession. They support the development of their communities and consider the watchdog role as one of their primary responsibilities, although they sometimes find it hard to practice. Political or commercial interests of ownership, the government’s control mechanisms on the media combined with deteriorating working conditions, such as job insecurity and low wages, hinder journalists from scrutinising and investigating the wrongdoings of powerful actors. The Cyprus problem has always dominated the news media on both sides of the island. Stories on this issue have a usually prominent place in

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the news content and frequently appear as the subject of opinion columns. In recent years, economic concerns and political and social problems have shifted the media’s attention, but the Cyprus problem is still newsworthy for the media. Especially the negotiations to resolve it interest the news media. They treat the talks between the leaders as media events to attract the audience’s attention who suffers from ‘Cyprus problem fatigue’. Negotiations are not easy to report and present challenging situations for journalists. Obtaining and verifying information from talks that are conducted behind closed doors is one of them. The controlled and restricted amount of information given at these events pushes journalists to rely on sources such as leaks or third-party actors, exposing them to manipulation and misinformation. Journalists knowingly or unknowingly can be part of a spoiling process of the settlement talks. It is also that when journalists acquire information, it is mostly from their own party as the negotiators are usually reluctant to talk to journalists from the other side. It means the stories include only the perspective of one party rather than provide a complete picture. Negotiations are usually reported with a conflict-­ oriented frame, promoting nationalist positions that enhance polarisation (Christophorou and Şahin 2018). During the negotiations, a political contest among the elites to control the media to frame events from their perspective takes place. Voluntarily and involuntarily, journalists become a part of this struggle. They join in the discussions on the peace negotiations and offer the public ways of understanding them. However, their role in peace efforts is not limited to covering leaders’ talks. Journalists recognise that their work can impact the relations between the communities. Journalism organisations from both sides have expressed a commitment to demonstrate more responsible journalism when covering intercommunal affairs. Some journalists have established contact with each other, which is helpful for their journalistic practices. The collaboration reduces the reliance on official figures and helps reach sources in the other community. Journalists use counterparts in the other community also to learn about their current affairs. The relationship puts the latter in the position of a source or, when crosschecking information, benefits from them as a tool for verification (Gonen and Hoxha 2019). These interactions act as a bridge between the communities and help develop mutual understanding.

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Despite these efforts, journalists in Cyprus are part of complex relationships with the media, community and elite sources across the divide. They are influenced and restricted by factors, such as mistrust, lack of bilingualism, negative social perceptions, security concerns and sometimes, limitations on movement from one side to the other. It is also that not all journalists are interested in establishing contact with the other community. The number of journalists, who interact with each other professionally and informally, is small. Those, who are keen and want to improve their connection with the other community, must navigate through political and cultural barriers. There is also an asymmetry in the information flow between the sides. While the Turkish Cypriot media follow and report on the Greek Cypriot community affairs, fewer stories appear in the Greek Cypriot media on Turkish Cypriots. It creates an imbalance in the amount and range of information the communities receive about each other. The last chapter of the book focused on the impact of digital media on journalism in Cyprus. In general terms, the transformations journalism is experiencing are similar to those in the global media landscape. Social and mobile media technologies are now an integral part of journalism on the island. The relationships between elites, journalists and audiences have shifted with digital networked media’s opportunities to their users. The audiences’ interaction with journalists has increased, but mainly as sources of ideas and information. Their involvement in news production is still restricted. Traditional media logic still dominates the media on both sides. The news presentation is similar to legacy media, and the news structures still favour elite sources. At the same time, all these changes are affecting journalism. Journalists’ gatekeeping role has been increasingly undermined by the users who react and disseminate information others have produced and brought to the public’s attention. The internet and social media have impacted the way the Cyprus problem has been debated. Social media have created a shared public sphere for people from different communities to meet and establish an intercommunal dialogue. There are more media for individuals and groups to circulate their views on the Cyprus issue. They benefit from various platforms to challenge the official nationalist narratives. These counterarguments do not usually appear in the mainstream media. Still, it has become more difficult for them to ignore these views, especially when they attract considerable public attention on social media. Digital media platforms do not just

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support intercommunal dialogue and promote tolerance. They also spread hate and hostility based on conflicting nationalist ambitions or racism. Filter bubbles social networking sites create limit the range of information users see to ones similar to their own ideological beliefs, which enhances division.

Conclusions The book provided a picture of journalism in Cyprus to understand its role in peace and conflict. Its scrutiny into journalism shows that journalism in each community has adapted itself to their societies’ needs following the changes in their politics, economy, media landscape and technology. Journalism is not independent of these forces, and power structures shape its practices. Although the news media are free from state interference (apart from public broadcasting services and news agencies) in both parts, their dependence on government subsidies has increased and threatens their independence. The commercialisation of media has safeguarded them from state interference but also made them reliant on advertising. The concentration of media in a few hands allows these companies to control the market. The close relationship between politicians and media owners also reinforces their influences on the media and journalists: Owners use their media to mobilise public opinion and exert pressure on the government, and politicians benefit from the media for favourable coverage for themselves and criticisms for their opponents. Either way, the dominance of elites in news content continues. The media’s endorsement of particular political parties or groups also results in political parallelism on both sides. All these external factors inevitably influence journalism. Journalists navigate between professional responsibilities and political and commercial pressures. Furthermore, their concerns about job security, personal safety and low pay add to the difficulties they face in their work. Practising their profession in conflict-affected societies has added challenges for journalists in Cyprus. Censorship, self-censorship and mistrust are some barriers they experience in their work. They also deal with personal and professional dilemmas. They follow professional norms and values and combine practices that emphasise characteristics, such as detachment and neutrality, adversarial and the watchdog role. Yet, when events that are perceived to be threatening to their communities take place, they feel the tension between a sense of attachment to their community and their professional values and roles. Luckily, the conditions of

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the conflict in Cyprus do not create threats to communities, which means there are not many events that present such dilemmas for journalists. However, it shows that journalists in conflict-affected societies must negotiate their roles and identities depending on the conditions of the conflict and shift between their identities. These difficulties of journalists in Cyprus do not just emerge when intercommunal relations get tense. Journalists are also conflicted with national and professional responsibilities during the settlement talks between the communities. They see it as their responsibility to inform the public of the developments at the negotiations. They believe the public must know what is negotiated on its behalf. At the same time, they do not want to undermine their side’s negotiation strategy or put the process at risk by revealing sensitive information that would create unnecessary tensions. Journalism functions as a part of the society it is embedded. The contexts in which it operates shape journalists’ role perceptions and performances. In Cyprus, the way societal forces affect journalism has some similarities and differences. For example, although both sides have freedom of expression, the level of this freedom and media plurality is reflected in journalisms differently. Greek Cypriot journalists are perceived to have more autonomy than their Turkish Cypriot counterparts do, by journalists from both sides. Similarly, journalists’ concerns about the risks to professional freedom, such as political interference, market pressures, media concentration, ownership influence over media content, job safety and security, are alike. Journalists from both sides emphasise them as the factors that undermine their professional freedom. Yet, these forces work differently in each community. The number of newspapers, available resources, ownership structures and role perceptions concerning the Cyprus problem are examples of these differences. Journalists’ perception of their roles and responsibilities also shows similarities. For example, journalism in Cyprus is interventionist. It means journalists take an active stance towards issues and participate in debates rather than act as objective bystanders (Hanitzsch 2007; Hanitzsch et  al. 2019). They also value impartiality, truth and accuracy. However, there are also divergences in their perceived professional roles, especially concerning the Cyprus problem. Journalists in the northern part, whose community is affected by international isolation, are more likely to practice the role of advocacy for peace than their Greek Cypriot counterparts. They also articulate peace journalism as a guiding professional ideology and consider its concepts

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compatible with their professional responsibilities. In contrast, peace journalism is not adopted by the journalists working for the Greek Cypriot media.

The Way Forward Exploring journalism’s role in the Cyprus conflict is to understand if journalism can contribute to conflict resolution efforts. Journalism can play a part in the reconciliation of the communities only with ethical practices that involve accountability and transparency. Low public trust is one of the biggest problems of the current journalism in Cyprus. On both sides of the island, journalists recognise that the public confidence in them is wavering. There is a common public perception that journalists serve political and economic interests rather than citizens. Unethical journalistic practices and lack of transparency and accountability contribute to the erosion of the public’s trust in journalism. Yet, the public needs reliable information sources. The internet, alternative news sites and media platforms provide diverse but sometimes contradictory and confusing information. Citizens require sources they can trust and offer them the information they need to self-govern. In conflict-affected societies, like in Cyprus, the communities also need sources that give reliable information on each other. Ethical journalism is essential for the public to gain trust in journalism. Professional ethics regulate the standards and show the public that journalists are committed to serving the public. On both sides, self-regulatory bodies promote good ethical practices and check on journalists’ professional conduct. Still, unethical practices exist and undermine the public’s trust in both the regulatory bodies and the media. In each community, there are criticisms that these bodies do not have the capacity to make sure that professional codes are followed. The way these bodies tackle complaints from the public about the unethical performances of journalists and the media is important in regaining the public’s confidence. However, it is important to remember that ethical problems cannot be isolated from the conditions in which journalists work. Lack of resources, poor economic conditions, pressures of clientelism and partisanship all affect journalists’ performance. Therefore, there should be an environment that supports and enables media and journalists to follow ethical guidelines. Ethical journalism is responsible journalism. In Cyprus, journalists are still critical gatekeepers of information. They select, frame and present the

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news. They work within the structural restrictions, but they are not submissive or powerless against them. They can challenge the elite discourses and arguments with new frames, issues or actors and redefine a problem. However, they should not use this power without any responsibility. They should be accountable to the public. In other words, journalists should be responsible for their actions and be able to explain their reasons. Irresponsible journalism damages the reputation and efforts of other journalists who promote responsible or accountable journalism. In conflict societies, the consequences of journalism that demonstrate ignorance, stereotyping and unethical practices that disseminate inaccurate information can damage conflict resolution efforts. Transparency is another crucial step in restoring public trust. Transparency in journalism explains the decision-making involved in a story (Allen 2008; Zelizer 2017; Koliska 2021). It clarifies and justifies the decisions taken during newsmaking. Transparency facilitates openness about journalism and gives journalists time to reflect on their actions (Zelizer 2017). It encourages responsible journalism and can help improve the trust between journalists and the public. In the past, objectivity was the key norm emphasising journalists’ efforts to seek and report the truth, and now it is transparency that aims to do that. ‘Transparency can transcend the notion of objectivity or the idea of right versus wrong, as it allows for a dialogue, an interaction, and a relationship’ (Koliska 2021). In conflict-affected societies, such as Cyprus, objectivity, which involves detachment and neutrality, can be a challenging goal to achieve. Transparency also faces similar challenges. Yet, it is vital to strengthen the public’s trust in journalism. Only then, journalism could play a positive role in the reconciliation of communities.

References Allen, D. (2008). The Trouble with Transparency, Journalism Studies, 9 (3), 323–340, https://doi.org/10.1080/14616700801997224 Bailie, M. and Azgın, B. (2008) A Barricade, A Bridge and A Wall: Cypriot Journalism and The Mediation of Conflict. In Cyprus. The Cyprus Review, 20(1), 57–92. Christophorou, C.  And Şahin, S., (2018) The ‘Others’ in Peace Talks: Representation of ‘Us’ and ‘Them’ in the Turkish-Cypriot and Greek-Cypriot Press. In: V.  Doudaki And N.  Carpentier, eds, Cyprus and its Conflicts. New York: Berghahn, pp. 123–141.

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Gonen, Y. and Hoxha, A. (2019) Interactions between Journalists Located in Different Sides of a Conflict: A Comparative Study of Two Conflict Zones, Journalism Studies, 20:16, pp. 2495–2512. Hanitzsch, T. and Örnebring, H. (2020) Professionalism, Professional Identity, and Journalistic Roles. In: Wahl-Jorgensen, Karin and Hanitzsch, Thomas. The Handbook of Journalism Studies New York, NY: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group. 105–122. Hanitzsch, T., (2007). Deconstructing Journalism Culture: Towards A Universal Theory. Communication Theory, 17, Pp. 367–385. Hanitzsch, T., Vos, T.P., Standaert, O., Hanusch, F., Hovden, J.F. and Hermans, L. (2019) Role Orientations: Journalists’ Views on Their Place in Society. In: Worlds of Journalism Journalistic Cultures Around the Globe Columbia: Columbia University Press, 161–197. Koliska, M. (2021). Transparency in Journalism. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication. Available at https://oxfordre.com/communication/ view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.001.0001/acrefore-­978019022 8613-­e-­883. (Accessed 7 Nov. 2021). Milioni, D.L., Doudaki, V., Tsiligiannis, P., Papa, V. And Vadratsikas, K. (2015) Conflict as News and News as Conflict: A Multidimensional Content Analysis of TV News in Cyprus. International Journal of Communication (19328036), 9 752–772. Zelizer, B., (2017). What Journalism Could Be. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Index

A Abuse of power, 104 Accountable, 203 Accuracy, 16, 89 Accurate, 33, 89 Active, 6, 12 Activism, 115 Activism for peace, 112 Activist, 3 Activist journalism, 150 Actors, 3 Adalı, Kutlu, 74 Administration, 57, 131 Adversarial, 75, 102 Adversaries, 12 Advertisers, 94 Advertising, 108 Advocacy, 73, 75 journalism, 73, 77 for peace, 113 Affiliated, 78 Afrika, 97 Agency, 17, 127 Agendas, 3 Agenda-setting, 19, 160

Agents, 37 Agents of change, 111 Aggregation, 182 Akıncı, Mustafa, 61 Ali Osman Tabak, 98 Alithia, 74 Al Jazeera, 100 Alternative, 160 narratives, 185 views, 26, 161 Anastasiades, Nicos, 61 Anexartitos, 64 Annan, Kofi, 135 Annan Plan/Annan plan, 36, 60 Anorthotikó Kómma Ergazómenou Laoú (AKEL), the Progressive Party of the Working People, 76 Anti-Britishness, 63 Anti-colonial revolt, 62 Anti-colonial struggle, 54–55 Anti-communist, 64 Anti-Makarios, 73 Antonis Pharmakides, 74 Antonis Shiakallis, 74 Archbishop Makarios, 56

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 S. Şahin, Reporting Conflict and Peace in Cyprus, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95010-1

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INDEX

Asymmetry, 7 Attachment, 24 Audience, 18, 94 Austerity, 105 Authoritarian, 75 Authorities, 171 Autonomy, 6 B Bad outgroup, 23 Balance/balanced, 33, 110 Barricade, 129 Basın Sen (the Press Workers’ Union), 145 Bayrak (Flag), 67 Bayrak Radyo Televizyon Kurumu (BRTK), Bayrak Radio Television Corporation, 67, 70, 107 Bias/biased, 16, 77, 145 Bi-communal, 35, 57, 67 Bilingualism, 126, 142 Birlik, 77 Bloggers, 19 Blogs, 166 Border, 145 Bottom-up, 28 Boutros-Ghali’s ‘Set of Ideas,’ 60 Bribery, 113 Britain, 55 British administration, 62 British colonialism, 61 British rule, 61 Broadcasting, 65 Brown envelope journalism, 113 Buffer Zone/Buffer zone, 4, 35 Business interests, 99 Businesspeople, 38, 99, 104 C Censorship, 24, 63 Challenges, 4

Change, 89 Checkpoints, 127 Chilling effect, 74 Churnalism, 163 Citizen, 7, 159 Citizen journalism, 12 Civil society, 4, 35, 92 Civil society groups, 29 Clickbaiting, 182 Clientelism, 6, 99 Clientelist, 100 Closed-door diplomacy, 138 Closed-door negotiations, 139 Code of conduct, 91, 113 Code of ethics, 91, 113 Collaborations, 35, 144 Collaborative, 11, 12, 73 Collaborator, 75 Colleague, 126 Comfortable, 35 Comment, 167 Commercial, 2, 71 media, 78 pressures, 37 Commercialisation, 110 Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus, 149 Communicators, 1, 80 Communism, 64 Communities, 3, 4 leaders, 139 media, 106, 173 Competition, 103, 104 Comprehensive settlement, 4 Conflict, 1, 2 resolution, 2 societies, 1 Conflict-affected, 2, 3 Conflict-centred, 36 Conflict-oriented approach, 196 Conflict-sensitive journalism, 32 Conscientious objection, 171 Conscription, 171

 INDEX 

Consensus, 11, 16 Constitution, 57 Constitutional rights, 56 Constitutive role, 53 Constraints, 14, 87 Constructive, 170 Consumers, 19 Content curator, 169 Control mechanism, 96 Cooperation, 64 Copy-paste, 104 Copy/paste journalism, 163 Corporations, 103 Corruption, 100 Counterhegemonic/Counter-­ hegemonic, 161, 174 Counterparts, 198 Covert or overt pressures, 95 COVID-19, 166 Crans Montana, 61 Credibility, 34, 89 Crisis, 105 Criticism, 91 Critics, 167 Crosscheck, 198 Crossfire, 132 Crossings, 60 Cross-national, 14 Crowdsourcing/crowdsourced, 165, 168 Crowdwisdom, 165 Culture, 3 Cumhuriyet, 65 Cumhuriyetçi Türk Partisi (CTP), The Republican Turkish Party, 76 Curation, 20 Curators, 110 Cypriotism, 54 Cypriot media, 53 The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC), Ραδιοφωνικό Ίδρυμα Κύπρου (PIK), 107

207

Cyprus Broadcasting Service (CYBS), 66 Cyprus Community Media Centre (CCMC), 174 Cyprus conflict, 5, 54 Cyprus Forces Broadcasting Service, 65 Cyprus issue, 35 Cyprus Mail, 66, 146 Cyprus Media Complaints Commission (CMMC), Επιτροπή Δημοσιογραφικής Δεοντολογίας, 115, 183 The Cyprus News Agency (CNA), Κυπριακό Πρακτορείο Ειδήσεων (ΚΥΠΕ), 69, 107 Cyprus problem, 4 Cyprus problem fatigue, 36, 143 Cyprus Publishers Association, 115 D Dead Zone, 59 Defensive Mode, 23 Democracy, 1 Democratisation, 2 Denktash, Rauf, 59 Destructive, 170 Detachment, 4 Dialects, 62 Dialogue, 7 Digitalisation, 110 Digital journalism, 162–170 Digital journalists, 21 Digital media, 7, 18 Digital networked media, 7, 161 Digital networks/digital networked, 19, 20 Dilemmas, 4 Dimokratikó Kómma (DIKO), The Democratic party, 76 Dimokratikós Sinagermós (DISY), the Democratic Rally, 76

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INDEX

Dimokratis, 76 Discourse, 174 Discursive, 2, 174 Discursively constituted, 12 Disinformation, 139 Disinterested, 111 Dissemination, 75 Disseminators, 12, 19, 111 Dissensus, 17 Dissent, 26, 196 Diversity, 71, 77 Divided communities, 125–137 Division, 6, 7, 60 Dominant elites, 15 Double mediation, 126 Dr Fazıl Kuchuk, 56 E Echo chambers, 160 Economic crisis, 105 Economic sanctions, 58 Economy, 2 Education, 6, 55 Educator, 3, 75 Eleftheria, 64 Elite consensus, 16 Elite debate, 100 Elite-driven, 26 Elite-led, 35 Elites, 7 Emekçi, 64 Emotional involvement, 24 Enclaves, 57 Enemy, 56, 126 Enosis, 54 Envelope journalism, 113 Escalation, 22 Ethical, 3 codes, 113 dilemmas, 24, 87 journalism, 202

Ethics, 113 Ethnic communities, 4 Ethnic group, 23 Ethnic language, 23 Ethniki, 74 Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston (EOKA), the National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters, 55, 56 Ethnocentric, 23, 94, 129 Ethnocentrism, 29 Ethno-nationalist, 4 European Commission, 170 European Union (EU), 59, 170 Evaluations, 54 Evdokas, Takis, 75 External forces, 196 F Facebook, 165 Face-to-face, 176 Facilitating role, 30 ‘Facilitation’ role, 30 Facilitative, 12 Facilitators, 111 Fair, 33 Fairness, 110 Fake news, 166 Federation, 59 Field-level actors, 91 Fileleftheros, 137 Filter bubbles, 160 Finance, 160 Financial, 105 Financial support, 106 Flak, 95 Flexible, 11 Fluid, 12, 133 Forces, 3 Fragmentation, 161 Fragmented audience, 103

 INDEX 

Frames, 6, 22 Framing, 22, 160 Freedom, 90 Freedom of expression, 97 G Gatekeepers, 3, 12, 19 Gatekeeping, 19 Gatekeeping role, 19 Gatewatchers, 181 Gatewatching, 19, 181 Glossary, 145 Golden passport scheme, 100, 109 Good ingroup, 23 Good journalism, 34, 89 Government, 57, 99 Greece, 55 Greek Cypriot elite, 36 Greek Cypriot media, 36, 90 Green Line, 57 Gürkan, Muzaffer, 74 H Halkın Sesi, 65, 73, 74 Haravgi, 76 Headlines, 182 Hegemonic, 70 Hegemonic framework, 30 Hierarchy of influences, 14 Hikmet, Ayhan, 74 Historical context, 6, 196 History, 3 Hostile, 32 Hostility, 23, 29 Hybrid peace, 28 I Identity, 89 Ideology/ideological, 4, 11, 115

209

Imagined community, 56 Immediacy, 162 Impartiality/impartial, 4, 89 Imprisonment, 63 Inaccurate, 167 Independence, 60, 65 Independent, 54, 58 Indexing theory, 15 Influencers, 168 Influences, 15 Information leaks, 140 Inkılapçı, 74 Institution/institutional, 11, 32 Instrumentalisation/ instrumentalised, 38, 99 Intellectuals, 62, 196 Interactivity, 167 Intercommunal, 5, 54 Intercommunal relations, 60 Interference, 24 Internalisation/internalised, 6, 106 International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), 145 International journalists, 24 Interpreters, 12 Interventionism, 12, 27 Interventionist, 34, 111 Interventionist journalists, 111 Invasion, 145 Investigation, 104 Isolation, 112 J Job insecurity, 105 Job security, 95, 113 Journalism, 1, 11 of attachment, 24 culture, 76 education, 92 training, 93 unions, 88

210 

INDEX

Journalist, 11 Journalistic autonomy, 15, 89 Journalistic freedom, 37 Journalistic processes, 19 Journalistic thought police, 75 Journalists’ Code of Practice, 115 Journalists’ perception, 87 K Kathimerini Kyprou (Kathimerini Cyprus), 109 Kıbrıs Media Group, 137 Kıbrıs Türkçesi, 62 Kıbrıs Türk Federe Devleti, the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus (TFSC), 58 Kıbrıs Türk Gazeteciler Birliği (KTGB), the Turkish Cypriot Journalists’ Union, 145 Kofi Annan’s ‘Comprehensive Agreement,’ 60 Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), 58 Kypriaka, 62 Kypros, Saded, Eleftheria, and Zaman, 61 L Lack of resources, 103 Lack of trust, 130 Leaderships, 67, 79 Leaks, 139 Leftist, 64 Left-wing, 64 Legacy media, 20 Legitimacy, 110 Levent, Şener, 74 Liberal peace, 28 Limasol’un Sesi, 74 Lingua franca, 129

Literacy, 62 Local journalists, 24 Low salaries, 113, 114 Low wages, 106 M Mainstream media, 19, 170 Manipulation, 113 Manufacturing consent, 15 Marginalised, 26, 160 Market, 13 forces, 90 orientation, 13 Masum Millet, 62 Media contest, 15 Media Ethics Council (Medya Etik Kurulu), 183 Media events, 36, 143 Media landscape, 18, 70, 78 Media logic, 184 Media markets, 88 Media ownership, 6, 32 Media parallelism, 77–78 Media systems, 88 Mediation, 160 Mediatisation of politics, 16 Mediatised conflict, 22 Mediators, 20, 34, 76 Mediterranean or Polarized Pluralist Model, the North/Central European or Democratic Corporatist Model, and the North Atlantic or Liberal Model, 88 Medya Etik Kurulu, the Media Ethics Council, 115 Memorandum of Understanding, 145 Military, 90 intervention, 58 junta, 58 operation, 58 service, 171

 INDEX 

Minority, 55, 57, 111 Misinformation, 139 Missing persons, 149 Missionaries, 111 Mistrust, 36, 130 Mobile applications, 20 Mobile media, 162, 169 Mobile networks, 161 Mobilisers, 12 Modernisation, 55 Monitor/monitoring/monitorial, 12, 15, 38, 75 Monopoly, 70 Moral, 4 Motherlands, 55 Mouthpiece, 73 Mücahit, 74 Multimedia, 164 Multiperspectival, 19 Multiplatform, 21 MYCYradio, 174 N Nacak, 65 Narratives, 3, 80 ‘National cause journalism’ (milli dava gazeteciliği), 72 National communities, 61 National consciousness, 61 National development, 110 National identities, 55, 87, 125 National imaginings, 36 Nationalising institution, 80 Nationalism, 34 Nationalist, 23, 129 discourses, 54, 67 ideologies, 67 projects, 56 propaganda, 70 Nationalistic journalism, 27 National languages, 62

211

National narratives, 4 National struggle, 68, 96 National unity, 25, 72 Negative peace, 28 Negotiation process, 139 Negotiations, 138 Neos Kypriakos Fylax and Eleftheria, 64 Networked digital media, 110 Networked society, 30 Neutral/neutrality, 4, 73 Neutral reporter, 12 News agency (Türk Ajansı Kıbrıs, TAK), 107 News aggregation, 182 News blackout, 139 Newsgathering, 20, 169 News media, 7 Newspapers, 62 News production, 7 News sources, 19 News values, 21, 28 Newsworthy, 36 1974, 76 Non-elite, 161 Non-violent, 33 Non-violent conflicts, 24 Normative ideals, 4 Normative roles, 94 Norms, 2 O Objective, 21, 24 Objectivity, 20 Obsessive-activist journalism, 150 Obstacle, 130 Occupation, 149 Occupy Buffer Zone (OBZ), 172 Official ideologies, 96 Official languages, 129 Official narratives, 95, 133 Offline, 21

212 

INDEX

Off-the-record information, 140 Önder, Fazıl, 74 Online, 21 journalism, 165 news site, 129 sites, 182 Organisational, 6, 13, 32 Organisational framework, 109 The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), 145 Ortam, 77 Other, 22 Owners of Electronic Mass Communication Media, 115 P Parallelism, 6 Participant, 12 Participation, 7, 19, 77 Participatory communication, 184 Partisan, 6, 78 Partisanship, 79 Party journalism, 77, 89 Party mouthpieces, 77 Party newspapers, 77 Passive, 12 Patriotic, 3 journalism, 27, 132 manifestations, 132 sentiments, 2, 7, 26 Patriotism, 24 Patris, 75 Peace, 2, 6 advocacy, 33 efforts, 31 initiative, 60 journalism, 32 journalists, 148 process, 29, 35 Peacebuilding, 2 Peaceful, 1, 5

Peacemaking, 33, 34 Perceptions, 3, 5 Perform, 13 Plagiarism, 183 Polarisation, 7, 23, 72, 140–143 Polarised, 33 Political actors, 98, 141 Political conflicts, 76 Political contest, 198 Political contest model, 16 Political debates, 78, 196 Political elite, 16, 110 Political interests, 99 Political journalism, 102 Political leadership, 90 Political parallelism, 38, 78 Political parties, 38, 76 Political power, 79 Political pressures, 2, 3, 87 Politicians, 94 Politics, 2 Politis, 137 Positive peace, 28 Post-conflict, 3 Post-liberal peace, 28 Power, 15 Powerful elites, 1 Power struggles, 1, 15 Practice, 2 Prejudice, 130 Press laws, 62 Press-party parallelism, 77 Pressures, 6 Press Workers’ Union (Basın-Sen), 91 Primary, 161 frameworks, 22 sources, 181 Principles of Professional Journalism, 115 Print language, 62 Print media, 61 Privatisation, 70, 103 Producers, 19

 INDEX 

Produsage, 19 Produser, 166 Pro-enosis, 72 Profession/professional, 2, 4, 11 associations, 91 community, 24 organisations, 88, 91 roles, 2 Professionalism, 6, 87 Profit, 108 Projects, 54 Pro-Makarios, 74 Promote, 6 Promoting peace, 89 Propaganda, 3, 26 instruments, 99 model, 15, 96 Pro-settlement, 148 Pseudo, 131 Pseudo-state, 94 Public, 11 broadcasting, 88 debate, 7, 26 good, 112 knowledge, 3 opinion, 3, 16 service, 89 sphere, 7 private, 106 perception, 87 Public Information Office (PIO), 69 Q Quotas, 163 R Radical, 12 Radiofonikó Ídryma Kýprou, the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC), 70 Recognition, 130

213

Reconciliation, 2, 3 Red envelope, 113 Referenda, 60, 177 Referendum, 137 Regulation, 160, 183 Renegotiation, 12 Reporters Without Borders (RSF), 89 Republic of Cyprus (RoC), 4, 56 Resolution, 1, 112 Resources, 104 Responsibilities, 2 Revenue, 103, 143 Right-wing, 63 Role, 20 conceptions, 13 orientations, 2 perception, 13 performance, 13 Routines, 2, 195 S Sabah, 64 Saded, 62 Safety, 95 Salary, 114 Sanctions, 112 Scrutiny, 140 Secretary-General António Guterres, 61 Secret diplomacy, 138 Segregation, 38 Self-censorship, 6 Self-declared, 130 Self-proclaimed republic, 97 Self-regulatory bodies, 115, 183 Self-silenced, 106 Sensational Sensationalism/sensational, 36, 143 Sensationalist, 130 Sense of belonging, 4 Separation, 67 Settlement, 171

214 

INDEX

Shared media, 129 So-called leader, 94 Social institution, 2 Socialisation, 92 Socialising agent, 92 Social media, 18 Social networking sites, 179 Societal structures, 32 Societies, 2, 13 Socio-political, 109 Sources, 7 Southern Europe and Mediterranean media model, 38 Sovereignty, 54, 58 Sphere of consensus, 26 Sphere of deviance, 26 Sphere of legitimate controversy, 26 Spoiling, 139 Spyros Kyprianou, 59 Standards, 89, 108 State interference, 37 State interventions, 88 State subsidies, 104 Structuration, 18 Structures, 2, 17 Subjective, 25 Subsidies, 88 Symbiotic, 102 T Taksim, 55 Technological, 196 Tek kişilik (one-person), 182 Threats, 63 Tolerance, 73, 151 Top-down, 19 Toplumcu Kurtuluş Partisi (TKP), the Communal Liberation Party, 76 Trade unions, 91 Traitors, 63, 96 Transition/transitional, 111 Transparency, 21, 203

Trust, 102, 114 Truth, 89, 197 Truth seeking, 111 Türk Ajansı Kıbrıs (TAK), Turkish Agency Cyprus, 69 Turkey, 54, 55, 97 Turkish Cypriot community, 69 Turkish Cypriot elite, 37 Turkish Cypriot Journalism Association (Kıbrıs Türk Gazeteciler Cemiyeti, KTGC), 91 Turkish Cypriot Journalists’ Union (Kıbrıs Türk Gazeteciler Birliği, KTGB), 91 Turkish Cypriot media, 90 Turkish intervention, 54 Turkish minority, 55 Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), 4 Türk Mukavemet Teşkilatı (TMT), The Turkish Defence Organisation, 56 Türk Sözü, 64 Twitter, 165 Two-way relationship, 102 U Ulusal Birlik Partisi (UBP), the National Unity Party, 76 Undemocratic, 57 Understaffing, 103 Unethical, 103, 114 Unilateral, 60 Union of Cyprus Journalists (Ένωση Συντακτών), 91, 145 Unite Cyprus Now’s (UCN), 177 The United Kingdom (UK), 56 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), 170, 175 United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), 59 United States Agency for International Development (USAID), 175

 INDEX 

University education, 92 UN Security Council, 58 User-generated content (UGC), 11, 19, 165 ‘Us’ versus ‘them,’ 36 V Values, 4 Varosha, 171 Verification, 128, 198 Vernacular languages, 61 Victim, 23 Victims Mode, 23 Violence, 3, 5, 78 Voice Kıbrıs, 129 Voice of Initiative for Conscientious Objection in Cyprus, 172 Volkan (Volcano), 56

W Wages, 114 War, 3 Watchdog, 1, 75 Watchdog role, 31 Web analytics, 163 Websites, 168 Words that Matter, 145 Workers’ rights, 91 World Press Freedom Index, 89 Worlds of Journalism Study, 110 Y Yenidüzen, 77 Z Zafer, 74 Zurich-London agreement, 56

215