The post-war period has witnessed the Speakership of the House of Commons evolving from an important internal parliamentary office into one of the most recognised public roles in British political life. This historic office has not, however, been examined in any detail since Philip Laundy’s seminal work entitled The Office of Speaker published in 1964. This thesis updates Laundy’s work and brings the examination of the Speakership right up to the election of John Bercow as Speaker in June 2009. The manner by which the Speaker is elected and how this process has changed since 1945 is explored as is the way in which a Speaker contests a general election if he or she wishes to remain in office for longer than one parliamentary session. The powers and responsibilities of the Speaker are identified and the way in which these have changed and developed are discussed. Each of the post-war Speakers is examined to see what his or her personal contribution has been to the ongoing development of the office. The thesis concludes with an analysis of how the Speakership is viewed today compared with the start of the period. The office has always been held in high esteem by fellow parliamentarians but now it enjoys similar recognition by the wider general public thanks to the introduction of radio and television broadcasting of the House of Commons. Whilst the task of chairing the debates in the chamber remains the same, a modern Speaker must also rise to the challenge of being a skilled administrator, diplomat and media personality.

Journalists&rsquo / commitment to an objective, impartial, balanced way of reporting and their respect for ethical norms are considered a vital prerequisite for democracy to be carried out. The general purpose of this thesis is to reveal whether established journalistic practices in Turkey are shaped through commonly acknowledged professional principles in a way that is compatible with democratic expectancies. In order to achieve this goal, a group of journalists were interviewed in the summer of 2003 who worked as parliament journalists at some time in their careers. They were asked several questions mainly concerning the factors that might have influence on the processes of news making with a special emphasis on the negative consequences of the complex structure of media-politics relationships. The analysis of the interviews reveals Turkish journalists&rsquo / views that journalism in Turkey is faced with serious problems and even may be characterized by a high degree of &ldquo / degeneration&rdquo / .