A Method Of Baiting In Internet Journalism; Fear And Threat Journalism

Abstract

With the forced migration of traditional media to the internet environment, rating competition in televisions and circulation competition in newspapers have become the competition of being the most-clicked on the internet. In fact, this competition was seen as a struggle to survive for news sites. However, this approach worked up producing/making news with the “no matter how, as long as it is clicked” logic in internet journalism. Especially headlines were started to be created in a way which threaten, frighten and cause concern in the reader, beyond arousing curiosity. Unfortunately, this understanding meant ignoring the journalism principles and ethical orders as well as deceiving the readers. In these kind of news reports which are produced with the concern of being widely clicked and read, readers are literally forced to read those news reports since an expectation is created for them by using titles that are more assertive than it already is, which generally address to the feelings of the reader and discuss subjects that are controversial in terms of newsworthiness. In the news, frightening, worrisome, disconcerting and over-thrilling language and wording are used as well as misleading information and noncompliance between the title and the content. The news reports that are produced with this understanding deceive the readers and discredit internet journalism and internet news. The aim of this study is to put forward the creation of a new journalism understanding which frightens, almost threatens and causes worry in the reader (compels them to read) in internet journalism. Within the scope of the research, 5 most followed internet sites in Turkey, according to the web traffic measurements of Alexa (Top Sites in Turkey) for December 2018, were monitored for 2 months. The compliance between the titles and news reports in these news sites were analyzed along with the language and wording, by examining certain news reports that are created and published in a way which threatens, frightens, causes anxiety or worry in the reader . The literature related to the subject was utilized as well.