Turkey’s political landscape is characterized by pronounced regional differences, commonlydescribed through a division between western coastal provinces, the central Anatolian heartland,and the Kurdish-dominated southeast. While these regional patterns are well documented inelectoral statistics and survey research, less attention has been paid to how regional politicalcultures are reflected in everyday political news coverage.

This thesis addresses this gap by examining how politics is described in regional news media fromeastern, western, and central Anatolia. Rather than focusing on voting behavior, the study analysespolitical news articles as media narratives that shape how citizens encounter politics in daily life.The empirical material consists of forty-seven articles from regional newspapers published duringthe 2023 parliamentary and presidential elections, the 2024 local elections, and the post-electoralperiod.

Methodologically, the study applies a qualitative comparative content analysis guided by Robert M.Entman’s framing theory. By integrating the “Three-Way Partition” concept mentioned in Akarca &Baslevent’s 2010 and 2011 studies with Entman’s framing theory, which focuses on differences infocus, tone, and values, the thesis contributes to research on the perception and delivery of politicalevents by different outlets in the context of regional variation. The findings indicate systematicregional variation in how political actors, conflicts, and the role of the state are framed, reflectingbroader differences in regional political culture.