Abstract:

In the Balkan geography, which was reshaped in the post-Cold War period, Türkiye also sought to form an area of influence in parallel with the developing power parameters. Since the first half of the 1990s, it has contributed to the cessation of conflicts in the region and the establishment of peace under the umbrella of the UN it was also among the first countries to recognize the independence of Macedonia, Bosnia, and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Kosovo. Besides European powers, Türkiye also seeks to be a productive actor with its economic, political, and cultural means in the field where many external forces exist, especially the USA, Russia, and China. In this framework, public diplomacy activities are carried out through public institutions such as Tika, YTB, Yunus Emre Institute, Maarif Foundation, municipalities, NGOs, and private sector organizations. On the international broadcasting side of public diplomacy, the necessity of broadcasting activities in regional languages was a subject that was discussed in the literature. This study assumes that TRT Balkan, which started its broadcasting life in June 2022, will also provide a contribution to Türkiye's public diplomacy activities to the extent that it can produce quality and sustainable content compatible with the dynamics of the region. Based on this assumption, the contents of the first month of TRT Balkan are discussed with a descriptive approach. The study seeks answers to the following questions - What is the content production rate of TRT Balkan? Is the categorical distribution of the contents balanced? - Does the content produced appeal to the audience in the region's geography? - Are the Türkiye-based news in TRT Balkan sufficient in terms of quantity and quality? - What is the circulation status of the content produced in TRT Balkan on social media channels? - Is the content produced by TRT Balkan compatible with Türkiye's public diplomacy goals? The study, which is essential since it is the first study focusing on TRT Balkan. The focus of the research period on the first month data, which can be expressed as a beta version, is a temporal limitation. On the other hand, it is considered that the analyzes to be made on the pioneer data will contribute to the practitioners as well as the literature. Within the scope of the research, primarily TRT Balkan (AL, BHSC and MC) digital platform has been quantitatively classified according to the titling practices. It is seen that news contents are shared under the headings of News, Society, Culture, Lifestyle, Perspective, Opinions and Video on all three websites. In the research, it was found that the platform mainly includes regional and world news, and the news about Türkiye is relatively less. This distribution is understandable as it can destroy the perception of propaganda and appeal to the peoples of the region. Following the classification of quantitative data, the focus was on the presentation and thematic distribution of news about Türkiye. During the research period, a large number of news written on the axis of Türkiye's security and foreign policy theses (NATO, Greece, Finland, Sweden, FETÖ etc.) were found. In addition to these, there are also news affirming Türkiye and Turkish products in areas such as tourism, defense industry and automotive. During the research period, TRT Balkan has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube and Tiktok social media platforms. The interaction rates of the relevant pages are below 1, and most of the shares do not receive likes, retweets and / or comments. Today, when social media tools are used effectively, they increase the circulation speed of the content, provide access to new target audiences and increase recognition. It is seen that all TRT Balkan social media pages are far from this target in their current form. TRT Balkan, which set out with the claim of being a respected and effective broadcaster in the region, should focus on promotional activities that will increase its recognition in order to contribute to the public diplomacy efforts of Balkan. Overall, results obtained from the analysis indicated that the platform has significant aspects of public diplomacy but needs to be developed. TRT Balkan is a remarkable tool that can be used in public diplomacy activities for Türkiye, which is trying to establish a sphere of influence in the region at a time when the competition of global and regional powers is intense. Although broadcasts are made in regional languages on trtvotworld.com by the TRT Foreign Broadcasting Department, the creation of the TRT Balkan brand, which produces content directly for the region and in all regional languages, is an important development. As a result, TRT Balkan will contribute to Turkish public diplomacy to the extent that it produces interesting and sustainable content and is promoted.

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