EXAMINING THE VIEWPOINTS OF THE SPORTS JOURNALISTS IN TURKEY ON TRADITIONAL AND INTERNET JOURNALISM

Research question: With the spread of the Internet, which has become a tool in reaching and spreading information in this information age, the change in journalism has become a matter of curiosity with its different dimensions. The purpose of the study was to determine the viewpoints of sports journalists, who guide the written sports media and visual sports media with their thoughts and interpretations and who make important contributions to the field on the present status of the traditional and online journalism in Turkey; and to evaluate their opinions on the future of sports journalism. Research methods: In the context of qualitative research, interviews were made with 6 journalists, who volunteered to contribute to the study, which was conducted with the Interview Technique. The data that were obtained with the interviews were subjected to Content Analysis. Results and Findings: The interviews were examined in detail and were divided into three main themes as “A General Look on Online and Traditional Journalism”, “A General Look on the Future of Traditional Journalism”, and “A General Look on the Future of Online Journalism”. Within the context of these main themes, different sub-themes were formed. As a result, it was emphasized by the participating sports journalists that traditional newspapers had to analyze their contents well, they had to bring good quality to the forefront in their news, there was no internal control mechanisms or the existing ones were inadequate, the academic education was important in building the journalist identity; and they mentioned that they had problems like journalism not being considered reliable, news was printed with commercial concerns, focusing on branch news, and their jobs being carried out under pressure due to various elements. Implications: This study was carried out in order to establish the current status of journalism, the changes in it and the way the sports journalists evaluate these changes. The findings of this study contribute to the field. This study is to be beneficial for the researchers and experts who would like to be informed about the opinions of the renowned sports journalists regarding the traditional and online journalism in Turkey.