Discussion

Warnews, which have been shaped by the media and journalists, attracts a largeaudience and often deeply engages people both emotionally and intellectually.How the role of mass media in reporting military situations and influencingpublic opinion have evolved in the past is therefore crucial to comprehend inlight of the Russo-Turkish (or the first ever) war that received worldwidemedia coverage. The aim of this multidisciplinary study is to understand anddescribe the development of war news during the Russo-Turkish War in 1877–1878through a comparison of their similarities and differences from a historical,political, and mediatic standpoint. This comprehensive study uses qualitative content analysis to analyse the texts and asks: What didnewspapers say and show to ordinary readers, and how did they report andrepresent the war in Finland, Russia, and Turkey? What were the contextualrepresentations of the war in each given country? What kinds of texts were widely shared and why?Analysing how popularFinnish, Russian, and Turkish newspapers portrayed the events in the Balkans in1877–78 offers a valuable opportunity to understand the historical andpolitical background of the Russo-Turkish War. Lessons are still to be learned about the way of propaganda was andnow research can contribute to understanding war propaganda, especially withRussia’s war propaganda in Europe.