The Syrian civil war began in March 2011 and spread throughout the country in April 2011. Therefore, in this study news articles and columns published in 2011 were selected and analyzed through purposive sampling. This study uses content analysis to examine the coverage of Syrian President Bashar al‐Assad in mainstream print newspapers with different ideological orientations in Türkiye. The theoretical framework of this study is based on the concept of localization of foreign news. The research has the potential to reveal both the transformation of the tone of media texts over time and the similarities and differences in the coverage of an international conflict by newspapers with different ideological orientations. Despite ideological differences, the study reveals similarities in the orientation of the newspapers studied toward local interests. The dominance of Turkish officials as news actors, the limited portrayal of Syrian security forces, and the selection of photographs reinforce the parallel stance with Turkish foreign policy. The media's tone toward Assad and Syrian politics became more negative and critical as the conflict escalated.