The Liberation Struggle in Cyprus and the Greek-Cypriot Press: The Positions of the Leading Greek-Cypriot Press in 1957-1960. The Caseof “Eleftheria” Newspaper
Journal
Athens Journal of Mass Media and Communications
Date Issued
January 2015
Author(s)
DOI
10.30958/ajmmc.1-1-2
Abstract
Little is known of the relationship between the anticolonial
movement in Cyprus and the role of the Greek-Cypriot press The
lack of prior work is a major obstacle and a challenge for
communication, media and/or social movements researchers who
have no empirical knowledge-base on which to found contemporary
studies. The archival material is vast, while at the same time the
researcher is confronted with various problems, such as the choice
of methodology and testimonials. In a bid to address this absence,
this paper presents the preliminary findings of a study dealing with
the Liberation Movement of Cyprus (EOKA) and how this was
depicted through the Greek-Cypriot press. The period under study is
1957 to 1960, which is when the EOKA movement was active. Based
on a content analysis this study investigates the positions of three
leading Greek-Cypriot newspapers of that period and aims to
present the positions of each newspaper at the level of policy
towards the liberation movement. The study finds that each
newspaper had its own political approach (agenda – settings),
framework (framing) and mediation. Preliminary findings suggest
that the Greek-Cypriot press under the colonial regime presented the
liberation and the “enosis” movement more in its news-articlesreports and less in opinion articles and commentaries. The study
further reveals that journalists’ articles were mostly unsigned. These
observations illustrate that one consequence of the politically
explosive situation in Cyprus was that journalists were reluctant to
take sides for or against the leaders of the liberation movement.
movement in Cyprus and the role of the Greek-Cypriot press The
lack of prior work is a major obstacle and a challenge for
communication, media and/or social movements researchers who
have no empirical knowledge-base on which to found contemporary
studies. The archival material is vast, while at the same time the
researcher is confronted with various problems, such as the choice
of methodology and testimonials. In a bid to address this absence,
this paper presents the preliminary findings of a study dealing with
the Liberation Movement of Cyprus (EOKA) and how this was
depicted through the Greek-Cypriot press. The period under study is
1957 to 1960, which is when the EOKA movement was active. Based
on a content analysis this study investigates the positions of three
leading Greek-Cypriot newspapers of that period and aims to
present the positions of each newspaper at the level of policy
towards the liberation movement. The study finds that each
newspaper had its own political approach (agenda – settings),
framework (framing) and mediation. Preliminary findings suggest
that the Greek-Cypriot press under the colonial regime presented the
liberation and the “enosis” movement more in its news-articlesreports and less in opinion articles and commentaries. The study
further reveals that journalists’ articles were mostly unsigned. These
observations illustrate that one consequence of the politically
explosive situation in Cyprus was that journalists were reluctant to
take sides for or against the leaders of the liberation movement.
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