ABSTRACT

This study aims to examine how local media framed the elections and shaped public opinion by analyzing the headlines of 679 local newspapers published after the 2024 Turkish local elections, within the framework of the First and Second-Level Agenda Setting Theories. At the first level, it was found that the vast majority of newspapers presented the election results with a local focus, while those evaluating the results from a national perspective constituted a small minority. This finding indicates that local newspapers primarily concentrate on their respective regions, with national-level framing being more common in metropolitan areas. At the second level, more than half of the newspapers adopted a person-oriented framing, while over a quarter focused on political parties. Success was predominantly associated with individuals, whereas parties were often subjected to more critical coverage and linked to failure. Sentiment analysis further revealed that individuals were generally portrayed positively, while discourse on political parties was more critical. Overall, the findings demonstrate that local media employed an actor-driven and emotionally charged framing strategy, playing a significant role in shaping voter perceptions.