Staten Island Professor Wins Prestigious Award for Media Book

A professor at the College of Staten Island has been awarded the Distinguished Scholarship Award – Best Book of 2025 by the National Communication Association’s International and Intercultural Communication Division. This honor recognizes Bilge Yesil for her significant contributions to the field of international communication through her latest publication, “Talking Back to the West: How Turkey Uses Counter-Hegemony to Reshape the Global Communication Order.”

Published in 2024, the book provides an in-depth analysis of how Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party has attempted to reshape the country’s global image. In the 2010s, the party initiated an English-language media system aimed at countering Western criticism of its increasingly authoritarian practices and promoting Turkey’s geopolitical interests.

Examining Media Strategies

Yesil’s work explores how media outlets supported by the party frame Turkey as a defender of the oppressed while simultaneously serving the government’s domestic and regional agendas. The book reveals that these communication strategies often obscure factual realities, exploit identity politics, and employ anti-Western rhetoric to solidify the ruling party’s power.

In her acceptance of the award, Yesil expressed her appreciation, stating, “It really feels wonderful to receive this recognition from my peers. As academics, we invest a great deal of time and energy in our work—often over many years—so it is deeply rewarding to see it recognized and appreciated by readers.”

She added that the acknowledgment serves as a reminder that her extensive research and writing efforts have resonated with an audience, sparking important conversations.

Acknowledgment from the Academic Community

The International and Intercultural Communication Division highlighted Yesil’s innovative approach to understanding the complex intersection of communication strategies, authoritarianism, religion, and identity politics. This division is recognized as one of the most active scholarly communities, dedicated to advancing research and education that bridges cultural and national divides.

Yesil hopes that her book will inspire further discussions and research on communication strategies employed by various countries, encouraging scholars to explore these topics from perspectives beyond traditional frameworks.

As the field of communication continues to evolve, works like Yesil’s contribute to a deeper understanding of the global media landscape and the impact of political narratives on public perception.