Prof. Dr. Erkan Yüksel was born in 1972 in Terme, a district of Samsun, Türkiye. He graduated as the top student in 1994 from the Department of Printing and Publishing at Anadolu University’s Faculty of Communication Sciences. He received his master's degree in 1996 with a thesis titled “The Role of Economy in the Development of the Turkish Press and the Emergence of Economic Journalism”, and earned his Ph.D. in 1999 with the dissertation “The Relationship Between the Agenda of Economic Journalism and the Political Agenda in Turkey.”
Since his student years, Yüksel has been immersed in journalism. From 1991 to 1995, he worked for Sakarya Newspaper in Eskişehir, where he served as editor-in-chief of its economic supplement, Tasbaşı. He held editorial positions at various local radio stations and news agencies in Eskişehir.
In 1995, he was appointed as a research assistant at Selçuk University, where he took active roles in the university’s newspaper, Radyo Üniversite, and ÜNTV. He also served as the director of the university radio station.
In 1998, he transferred to Anadolu University, working at the Press and Public Relations Office of the Open Education Faculty. There, he launched the student newspaper Genç Anadolu. In 2000, he was appointed as an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Communication Sciences.
In 2002, upon the invitation of the late Prof. Dr. Maxwell McCombs — the founder of the agenda-setting theory — Yüksel served as a visiting scholar at the University of Texas at Austin. During this time, along with McCombs and Serra Görpe, he co-founded Communication in the Millennium, now one of Turkey’s longest-running international academic symposiums in the field of communication. He also served as its organizing committee chair.
During the 2003–2004 academic year, he served as the Head of the Department of Journalism at the Faculty of Communication at the International Cyprus University and was editor-in-chief of the university’s periodicals.
In 2004, he was awarded the title of Associate Professor. Between 2005 and 2008, he served as Vice Dean of the Faculty of Communication Sciences at Anadolu University. From 2006 to 2014, he was the managing editor of Anadolu Haber, the university’s weekly institutional newspaper, and hosted the TV program Tercih Zamanı on the university’s television channel, TVA.
In 2010, Yüksel was promoted to Full Professor, becoming one of the youngest professors in Anadolu University’s history. Between 2011 and 2023, he served three consecutive terms as Head of the Department of Journalism at the Faculty of Communication Sciences.
He has taught numerous undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral courses, including Scientific Research Methods, Content Analysis, Agenda-Setting Research, Project Management, News Gathering Techniques, Types of News, Economic Journalism, Effective Communication Techniques, and Health Communication.
Since 2010, he has focused his academic work on health communication and health journalism. Through numerous national and international projects, papers, articles, and thesis supervisions, he has contributed significantly to this field. He has also mentored a new generation of scholars in health communication. He is the founder of the Health Communication Symposium, first held in 2015, and continues to lead its ongoing organization.
His publications mainly focus on media, journalism, communication theories, communication skills, and health communication. He is the author of over 20 books and has published more than 100 academic articles and papers.
Throughout his academic and professional journey, he has actively contributed to many media outlets, including Sakarya Newspaper, ESFM Radio, Selçuk University’s radio, newspaper, and television channels, the student newspapers of the International Cyprus University, the publications of Anadolu University’s Department of Journalism, and TVA. He has held various managerial positions within these organizations.
Over the years, he has written opinion columns for several print and digital platforms, including Dördüncü Kuvvet Medya, TASAM Political Communication Platform, Bianet, Sakarya Newspaper, Köprübaşı Newspaper, Taşbaşı Newspaper, and Eskişehir Anadolu Newspaper. He continues to write regularly on the Akademik Akıl platform and his personal blog.
Since 2020, he has served as a field editor for the Anadolu University Journal of Social Sciences.
Since 2021, he has been a member of the Anadolu University Ethics Committee for Scientific Research and Publications.
Between 2021 and 2022, he served on the Advisory Board of TUBITAK KAMAG.
Since 2023, he has been serving as a member of the Advisory Board of TUBITAK SOBAG.
Fluent in English, Prof. Dr. Erkan Yüksel is married to İlkcan Yüksel and is the proud father of Melek Ece Yüksel.
His professional motto is as follows:
“To illuminate the practical lives of individuals and society through education, instruction, guidance, and mentorship based on scientific knowledge — to pave new ways, extend a helping hand, leave a lasting mark, and create lasting value.”
"Light the way with science, extend a hand through education, leave a mark through guidance, and add value to individuals and society at every step..."