A Democratic Approach to Religion News

This book introduces the first systematic and unified four-dimension democratic approach to newspaper religion reporting. It explores the coverage of faith, with a particular focus on Christianity and Islam, in the British and Turkish national press. The results of framing analysis, conducted through content analysis of 1,022 news articles, reveal that, in both countries, alongside the contrasting portrayals of the minority religions, even the dominant religions had a disproportioned employment of the four dimensions – spiritual, world life, political, and conflict. It contributes to scholarship not only empirically but also theoretically and methodologically, with its theoretical and methodological contribution surpassing its empirical findings. As such, it will transcend geographical and temporal boundaries, making it appealing and relevant to an international audience of academics, professionals, and students in the fields of journalism, religion, democracy, media, communication, society, and culture, as well as individuals from various backgrounds.

“Topkev expertly traces the roots religion and media scholarship from very core of the communication field and offers a groundbreaking study that is specific and yet broad in implications: unveiling the complicated interplay of news values/news coverage in dominant and minority religions. This book solidifies religion as an essential topic for journalism studies, an invaluable contribution to scholars of both religion and journalism.”

Associate Professor Gregory P. Perreault, Zimmerman School, University of South Florida, USA

“In this systematic examination of the treatment of Christianity and Islam in the British and Turkish press, Dr. Topkev makes an important contribution to both media studies and religious studies. Through adopting a “monitory democracy” approach, this innovative book illuminates how, in differing national contexts, state and private sector interests interface with varied media representations of religious majorities and minorities.”

Dr.Paul Weller, Regent’s Park College, University of Oxford and Emeritus Professor, University of Derby, UK

“This book offers a useful, significant, original and unique contribution to the scholarly discourse on religion in the news. By introducing and applying a comprehensive and systematic approach to the coverage of religion in newspapers, Topkev takes existing scholarship forward. His book has the potential for a meaningful and lasting impact within the field of religion and media studies.”

Research Professor Ihsan Yilmaz, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia

“Addressing religion as “the most neglected topic in communications”, Topkev makes a valuable contribution to this underexposed research field with his detailed and well-argumented book, based on deep, illuminating and convincing comparative analysis. This empirical study, I believe, will have a significant impact both on researchers and journalists willing to rethink their approaches and revise their practices.”

Associate Professor Victor Khroul, Department of Journalism, Catholic University in Ružomberok, Slovakia

Dr Ahmed Topkev is a university teacher at Cardiff University’s School of Journalism, Media and Culture (JOMEC). He obtained a PhD in Journalism Studies from JOMEC in 2021. His research interests revolve around journalism studies, comparative journalism studies, and the interplay between democracy, news media, society, and religion, with a specific emphasis on religion in the news.