TTÜRKİYE CUMHURİYETİ’NDE GERÇEKLEŞTİRİLEN İLK REFERANDUM: 1961 REFERANDUMU’NUN ULUSAL BASINA YANSIMASI

The first coup in the Republic of Türkiye was experienced on May 27, 1960. During the Republic period, the concept of referendum again entered the public agenda in this process. It is noteworthy that referendum, one of the most important tools of semi-direct democracy, was also used in the 1961 Constitution and the majority of the people participated in this process. This article aims to examine in detail the reflection of the 1961 Referendum, the first referendum in the history of the Republic of Türkiye, on the national press. It also evaluates the interpretation of the referendum process through cartoons and the effects of these cartoons on social consciousness. The content analysis method was used in the study. By examining materials such as news headlines, columns and cartoons, the media's approaches to the referendum process were tried to be presented from an objective perspective. In this way, the way the referendum was covered in the national press, the political atmosphere of the period and the perception created in the society were revealed through the media. This study has revealed the historical context and importance of the 1961 Referendum. It has dealt with the political and social dynamics that led to the referendum, the people's preferences in the referendum, and the effects of the results on Turkish politics. In this context, it has analyzed in detail how the referendum results were received in the national press and how different media outlets gave meaning to these results. Examining the social reflections of the referendum process through cartoons has also constituted an important component of this study. As a result, it has been determined that the reflections of the 1961 Referendum in the national press are an important source for understanding the political and social dynamics of the period. The press, one of the most important structural stones of the social and political equation, was used as the main source of the study. In this study, the 1961 referendum was examined as a whole by examining national newspapers. Thus, Türkiye's democratic processes, media relations and the impact of visual media were analyzed.