An Analysis of Column Writing: Focused Topics, Actors and Diversity in the Text

Abstract

Among the most important texts of newspapers and magazines, columns are written in areas such as politics, economics, sports, culture and art, health, education and technology. The expertise of columnists in a field with a wide range of content is decisive for the nature of the text. However, nowadays it seems that the authors write about everything and focus on different topics within a single text. It is also a problem that columnists always present narratives through the same actors. In this study, the diversity of the topics that the columnists focus on, the actors who stand out in the column articles and the number of topics in the text were examined. The research aimed at identifying the current problems in column writing is important because it shows the status of columnists in the most widely read newspapers in Turkey. A sample of columnists from the most sold newspapers was selected in February. Accordingly, 89 texts written by authors Abdulkadir Selvi (Hürriyet), Emin Çölaşan (Sözcü), Hilal Kaplan (Sabah), Rauf Tamer (Posta), Tunca Bengin (Milliyet) between 01.02.2022 and 28.02.2022 were analyzed. In the study where the content analysis method was used, the texts related to politics and foreign policy were highlighted in the columns. It has been seen that the prominent political actors are Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and Ekrem İmamoğlu. As a result of the studies conducted on in-text diversity, it was found that a single topic was discussed in 67 columns, and two different topics were examined in 18 texts. Based on what has been learned, it is very possible that deep analyzes will be compiled in the relevant information of the texts, although the books mainly focus on the subject of politics, the same political actors, and a single planning is included in the articles.