Turkey is a difficult country to understand. I have written this sentence many times. But honestly, it is very difficult at times to understand what makes Turkey tick, what makes people react, why people react the way they do, and why things are the way they are.Recently there have been many examples of journalists in Turkey being detained or tried. This, as someone raised in the West, is worrying. But it is not so worrying for the majority of Turks. This puzzled me, so I sat down, did some research and have tried to figure it all out.The problem seems to be one of different paradigms. The origin of newspapers in the Western world and that in countries like Turkey is totally different. Not only were the reasons for their creation different, the reasons why people read newspapers is different; as a result the role newspapers play is different.First let us take a look at the emergence of newspapers in the West.The appearance of the first written material that fulfilled the role of newspapers were the handwritten newsletters that European merchants exchanged with one another during the Renaissance. These included information about wars and the economy, as well as human interest stories. News pamphlets appeared in Germany in the late 15th century.The first newspaper - in the sense that we understand the word - to be published in English was the London Gazette, first issued in 1666. This was an officially sanctioned newspaper. Many other newspapers started to be printed by the end of the 17th century. But only official newsletters could be printed. Other than this, the only news to be circulated was published in "relations", which covered a single event.During the Civil War, political pamphleteering in England became more common. Pamphlets would be distributed in coffeehouses, with each party producing a pamphlet to send its supporters into action.Due to the danger that this pamphleteering posed to the ruling government, the Printing Act was introduced in 1662; as a result, only Oxford and Cambridge universities and master printers in London were now allowed to print newspapers.As time passed there were more newspapers and greater freedom in the British press. This new freedom was the direct result of the slowly growing party system in the British government. The party system created parliamentary opposition; such opposition was not just a nay-saying opposition, but was one that actually provided alternative measures and constructive criticism. As a direct result, newspapers began to reflect the alternative views and make criticisms of policies that they thought to be wrong; in a short amount of time newspapers started to wield an important political and social force. In the 18th century the development of newspapers was positively affected by the growth of the new middle-class. As a result, the importance of property rights, religious tolerance and intellectual freedom, all matters that were of concern to the bourgeoisie, came to the fore.It was in this century that we see many famous novelists writing in the papers. Daniel Defoe had a publication called The Storm, which was published at the beginning of the century. The Storm reports how a great storm struck in London in 1703. This was an innovative work because Defoe asked for eye-witness accounts, and he included around 60 of these. Defoe describes the storm as "The Greatest, the Longest in Duration, the widest in Extent, of all the Tempests and Storms that History gives any Account of since the Beginning of Time." The journalistic hyperbole is recognizable, but one wonders about how fact checking was done at this time.Richard Steele established the Tatler, which not only gave guidelines to the middle class on how to act, but also instructed the men of the era in "…what to think." Jonathan Swift also wrote for newspapers, making fun of the raging arguments between the Tories and Whigs. The "Cato Letters", published in the London Journal discussed ideas of liberty, freedom of expression and democracy; these letters were influential in colonial America. In 1767 over 11,000,000 newspapers were sold annually in Britain, with 53 papers being published in just London.The first national newspaper with mass circulation was the Times. The paper advocated reform, and had very influential editors. It was also the first paper to send war correspondents. As a result of this innovation, an article in the Times highlighted the way wounded soldiers were operated on and treated during the Crimean War. The public were outraged, and as a result, major reforms were introduced.The Times editorials are always carefully aligned with the news. There is also a serious sense of responsibility about what is published. Generally, the paper tries to focus on significant public affairs, and to bring to the fore the best interests of the country.Thus, as we can see, newspapers in Britain started as papers sanctioned by the state and developed into publications that helped educate society and make constructive political commentary. The story is a bit different in America. The first successful newspaper was the Boston News-Letter, which began in 1704, which was subsidized by the colonial government. The first news-sheet was published by James Franklin, the older brother of Benjamin Franklin. The older Franklin established The New England Courant, along with his colleagues, who were collectively known as the "Hell-Fire Club". Their paper, which included essays and satirical articles, angered the elite classes in the colony.The younger brother Benjamin was also involved in printing; however, Benjamin Franklin thought that the printing press and newspapers should be used to help Americans attain greater moral virtues. Franklin's establishment of a chain of newspapers throughout the colonies was not an attempt to establish a business empire, but rather an effort to implement what he saw to be a public service – educating the people.The colonial papers supported the revolutionary ideals, and had a great influence on public opinion. There were a number of factions that were trying to gain power in the new nation, but it was only with the Bill of Rights that freedom of the press was guaranteed in writing.The Industrial Revolution made printing newspapers easier, and helped increase circulation. The census taken in 1850 lists 2,526 newspaper titles. New giant printing presses which could print thousands of papers per hour appeared. Illustrations could now be included in the newspapers. But more importantly, the outbreak of the Civil War meant that people had a need for news about what was happening in the country. Correspondents, known as "specials", reported from the battle lines.American readers felt that as citizens of a free and independent country they had a right to the information in the newspapers, and should not have to pay anything for it. This made things a bit difficult for newspaper owners, but demonstrates the love of information and knowledge that thrived in America during its early years.In the 1830s new technology meant that papers could be produced with less expense; the result was the "Penny Press". Newspapers now cost one penny, and were thus available to all. It is argued that this sudden influx of inexpensive reading material stimulated the population to read, and was a factor contributing to the high literacy rate that now exists in the US. This, combined with the "specials" meant that the newspapers of the time had an impact comparable to that made by CNN during the First Gulf War with the innovation of 24-hour news reporting. News was now pertinent, important and more importantly available at low prices. By the 1890s some newspapers had circulation figures that were as high as 1 million readersNewspaper moguls like Pulitzer and Hearst made money out of entertaining stories and sensationalism. But Pulitzer also believed that newspapers were public institutions which had a duty to improve society, and his World tried to serve social reform. For example, stories like "How Babies are Baked" told how the children of immigrants in Manhattan's poorer housing were dying during a heatwave in 1883. These stories led to serious reforms.Hearst established the Examiner which reported crime (1/4 of the paper being devoted to this), as well as scandalous stories. A classic example from the paper is the following headline about a hotel fire:"HUNGRY, FRANTIC FLAMES. They Leap Madly Upon the Splendid Pleasure Palace by the Bay of Monterey, Encircling Del Monte in Their Ravenous Embrace From Pinnacle to Foundation. Leaping Higher, Higher, Higher, With Desperate Desire. Running Madly Riotous Through Cornice, Archway and Facade. Rushing in Upon the Trembling Guests with Savage Fury. Appalled and Panic-Striken the Breathless Fugitives Gaze Upon the Scene of Terror. The Magnificent Hotel and Its Rich Adornments Now a Smoldering heap of Ashes. The "Examiner" Sends a Special Train to Monterey to Gather Full Details of the Terrible Disaster. Arrival of the Unfortunate Victims on the Morning's Train—A History of Hotel del Monte—The Plans for Rebuilding the Celebrated Hostelry—Particulars and Supposed Origin of the Fire"Here, who, what, where, why and how fade to the background. Drama and hyperbole leap to the fore, changing the way some newspapers reported forever.This is the British and American scene. Although there is sensationalism, scandal, partisanship and an effort to make money in the past (and present) of both countries, there is also a dedication to reform, to ideas, to thinking and social issues. The newspapers perceived that they could instruct society – both the people and the government – with new ideas and help make society a better place.And then there is the Turkish paradigm.The story is much shorter – the Republic is only 93 years old. And the developments are very different.A national press was established with the new Republic. This newspaper was Hakimiyet-i Milliye, later to be known as Ulus. Ulus became the official newspaper of the Republican People's Party. (i.e. the only party in Turkey at that time).It is hard to imagine a free press in a country with only one political party. In particular, people who supported the caliphate were severely oppressed at this time. These people, who opposed Atatürk's secular republic, were prosecuted in the courts. It was thought that the Istanbul press had helped to instigate the Sheikh Said (the leader of devout Muslim Kurds) and as a result there were severe restrictions. All dissenting voices were silenced by the Takrir-i Sükun law. Many journalists were arrested, and many were exiled.The press in Turkey was created as an organ to carry certain political views. Cumhuriyet was one of these organs.Cumhuriyet, 18 of whose journalists were detained last week, is a paper which is still free to print and independent. The paper has a long history, being established early on in the history of the Republic. In 1924 Atatürk called Yunus Nadi and told him to establish a newspaper that would fight those who were opposed to the establishment of a secular republic, preferring the caliphate. That is, from the beginning Cumhuriyet has been a media organ that wears its Kemalist secularism, a secularism that oppresses freedom of religion and belief, on its sleeve.Many famous literati have worked as journalists on this paper, thus giving it the air of "similarity" with Western models. For example, Ziya Gökalp, Reşat Ekrem Koçu, Ahmet Rasim and Peyami Safa have all written for the paper. But that is the only similarity.The circulation of Cumhuriyet after the first 10 years was 25,000; by 1940 this was 62,000. Today the circulation is around 50,000. In general, Cumhuriyet has always defended the secular regime, whether they were in power or not. In fact, Cumhuriyet even stood up for fascism – whether this was the German or Italian version was of little concern. One headline from the newspaper read "Greetings to Fascist Italy from Kemalist Turkey."The reading culture for newspapers in Turkey is very different from that in the West. Today, the newspaper with the highest circulation is Hürriyet, with circulation figures of 350,000. For a nation of nearly 80 million this is a very small figure. The U.K. has a population of just over 60 million, but the largest circulation (the Sun) has a circulation of 1, 800,000. In the U.S., a country with a population of over 300 million, the Wall Street Journal has a circulation of 2,400,000 - that is eight times greater.Secondly, integrity, the belief that journalism is something that can ameliorate society is not, and has not been the overriding concern in Turkish journalism. In particular, one need only listen to the head of the MHP party talk about the arrests of these journalists: "(Journalists of Cumhuriyet) who seek refuge in the freedom of the media while causing harm to the values of the republic, whose name the newspaper carries, are not credible."In the U.K. a vibrant and challenging press was the result of a vibrant and challenging political opposition. In Turkey, there is no vibrant or challenging opposition in parliament. There is merely an opposition that say "Nay" to every proposal put forward. It is an opposition that is unable to produce arguments or even constructive criticism.In the West it was the middle classes of the 19th and 20th centuries that bolstered the independence of the newspapers. However, in Turkey a healthy and large middle class has only started to emerge during the last 15 years.As someone who grew up in the West, the words of Thomas Jefferson "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter resonate. And the mind boggles when journalists are arrested."Journalists should be free to criticize, to comment, to help create a better society.Yes, they should be. And they are in Turkey. However, when journalists are mouthpieces for forces that want to drag the country into chaos, who want to destroy the democratically elected government, then democratic government with such journalists is impossible.The journalists working for Cumhuriyet who have been detained are not being questioned about what they have written. They are being questioned because there is evidence that they have cooperated with the terrorist organizations active in Turkey. There are many journalists in Turkey who have integrity and who try to carry out their profession in the most honorable way. And there are also many who do not have integrity and who abuse their profession to disguise more nefarious actions.During such challenging times journalists, like all other people, must be accountable for what they have done. If all they have done is to propound ideas, then there is no problem. But anyone – be they journalist, soldier, politician or educator – who openly and actively supports terrorism or anyone who is involved in terrorism must be held accountable.