Reflections on the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election in the Turkish Blogosphere

Abstract

The current study presents the results of a research investigation into the role of political blogs in the international political communication process by focusing on the 2008 U.S. presidential election and its reflection in the Turkish blogosphere. Four types of analysis were carried out in order to (a) evaluate the overall blogosphere’s reaction in Turkey towards the U.S. presidential candidates; (b) measure the awareness of Internet audience in Turkey about the candidates; (c) identify the main themes of discourse in the Turkish blogosphere; and (d) determine the level of interactivity in blogs in the discussion of the candidates. A total of 205 political blogs were examined. The findings indicate that a direct relationship between the level of online activity of the candidates and the number of blog entries and comments.