NAZ AKMAN- Young journalists from 16 different cities ranging from Van, Adıyaman, Tekirdağ, Denizli, Sakarya, Konya, Burdur and Artvin met up in the Association of Journalists’ Press House in Ankara to attend “New Media and Journalism Ethics” training conducted with the financing of the Irish Embassy. Attendants were given training on classical journalism and digital media.

Chairman of the Association of Journalists Nazmi Bilgin made the opening speech and stated that the doors of the Association are always open to journalists who pursue their careers honestly, objectively and ethically: “We are trying to become a safe haven for honest and honourable journalists. If you ever find yourself in need of such a place, you are always welcome here. If people can see that journalism practised in Turkey today is not done according to the universal principles of journalism, and if they were to improve themselves striving for real journalism; this would be the biggest achievement of my life.”

Bilgin, “Journalism is not a profession of partisanship or supporting certain ideals”

Bilgin stated that he gives great importance to the training programs organized for journalists from different provinces of Anatolia with the support of the Irish Embassy and said: “We would like to thank the Irish Embassy. In previous years, we also brought young journalists together in Ankara thanks to the embassy. Our insistence on organizing these trainings every year, perhaps above all, may also ease my agony. I long for the journalism of my time, the journalism of the past. We will be very happy if we can show new generations that what is being done now is not real journalism. Journalism is not a profession of partisanship or supporting certain ideals. We all have two eyes and two ears as human beings, we use thee senses as human beings but this is not the case in journalism. After starting the profession, our eyes or ears are no longer ours. We become people who hear and see for others. As a virtuous people, we have to accurately convey what we have seen. We are the eyes, ears and voices of others, so we are blessed people. As our association’s vice president and project coordinator Yusuf Kanli said, 'see us as a lighthouse'. We will continue to spread light and keep this lighthouse functioning.”

Quinn, “We are aware of the problems the independent press and journalists face in Turkey”
 

Jenny Quinn, Consul of the Irish Embassy, emphasized the importance of training for young journalists in maintaining free and impartial journalism and quoted President of Ireland Michael D Higgins who stated “journalism plays a central role in the quest for a full and accountable democratic republic”. Quinn continued “Indeed, a free and impartial press is critical to sustaining the rule of law. The media can be used to foster capacity for conflict prevention and resolution. It is the unfortunate reality however that in many parts of the world being a journalist is an extremely dangerous profession. We are all aware of the difficult challenges faced by independent media or journalists here in Turkey. Along with free speech, a free press is indispensable for people to be informed and to participate in a democracy. The number of imprisoned and exiled journalists in Turkey is disturbing – according to the World Press Freedom Index 2019 report Turkey is the biggest jailer of professional journalists in the world. Ireland, along with the European Union, continues to call for the release of imprisoned journalists in Turkey.”

 

Kanlı, “An organized voice is a powerful one”
 

Yusuf Kanli, Vice President of the Association of Journalists and Program Coordinator for Media for Democracy (M4D), gave information about the Press for Freedom (PfF) Project. Kanlı mentioned that unemployment has been increasing in the media sector while de-unionization continues to be its biggest problem.
Kanlı said, “Unfortunately, there is hostility towards free and powerful journalism in our country. The media is an indicator on whether the democratic structure of a country works or not. If there is a healthy and strong media in a country, there is a healthy and strong democracy. Both national and international measures protecting the media are actually measures protecting democracy. Therefore, the media is a very important field. After the coup in 2016, almost five thousand journalists were left unemployed. Some of this was caused by economic shrinking, changes in media ownership and downsizing of news bureaus. With the closure of Vatan, Habertürk and other media organizations, more than 700 experienced journalists became unemployed. One of the biggest positive developments in this period was the resumption of ANKA News Agency. According to the data of the 2018 Press for Freedom report, in addition to unemployment, one of the most important problems Turkish media faces is inorganization. Trade unionization was 50.66 in 1984, 66.38 in 1995, 35 percent in 2002, five percent in 2013, seven percent in 2016 and 7.5 percent in 2019. This is a very serious problem. An organized voice is a powerful one. In addition, cumulative access bans increased from 15.092 in 2012 to 201.089 at the end of 2018. These figures are in a sense, a freedom index of Turkey. Arrested and convicted journalists were 76 in 2012, 68 in 2013, 43 in 2014, 32 in 2015, and on average 158 in 2016 and 2018. The number of journalists in prison fell to 149, as of this month.”

Yazıcıoğlu, “Journalism is a professional field”
 

Yildiz Yazicioglu, who also works for “24 Saat” Newspaper, provided information on Journalism Ethics on the first day of the training, and suggested books about ethics to the participants. Yazıcıoğlu drew attention to the fact that journalism is a professional matter and touched upon discussions about the concept of “Citizen journalism” which emerged in recent years with new media. Yazıcıoğlu said, “There is no such thing as citizen journalism because journalism is a professional field. A journalist is a person who earns money by practising journalism. They are also the people who take responsibility for the news they produce. The citizen may be the source of news, the subject of news, may be witnesses or may even cause news, but a citizen is not a journalist. If we look at the way citizen journalism is practised, we are talking about a structure that is produced or put forward by a non-professional, whose authenticity is not confirmed and who is not subject to any sanction or legal process due to the news they produce. That is why I am against the concept of citizen journalism. We need journalists. There is also a red line between journalists and citizens in terms of verification or confirmation. What is this red line? It is journalistic skills, knowledge and experience. We are in need of actual journalists, not citizen journalists.”
Underlining the concepts of accountable journalism and ethical journalism, Yazıcıoğlu shared the following information about accurate and unbiased news production:
“Morality is a matter of conscience. As a journalist, what is important is whether you can sleep with a clear conscience that night or not. If there is any incorrect or missing information in what you have written, you have to publish a refutation and make corrections to be able to reach readers transparently and honestly. Your first mistake does not make you an unethical or immoral journalist. It's a process, a marathon. This is shaped by experience and the path you follow; it happens over time. Ethics is the journey itself for journalists. These issues are also written in Professional Journalistic Standards and Code of Ethics of UNESCO. The issue of ethics in journalism is a controversial debate, nobody agrees one hundred percent on these issues. The world is still discussing about how journalism should be practised. I believe journalists should adjust themselves in terms of journalism ethics. Adherence to ethical rules is a principle that we must fulfil, not because it is written in the law, but out of our respect for the profession. Verification is our first step in building the story. Journalists must reach primary sources and confirm the news. You need to diversify your news sources. You cannot base your news on a single source. If we want to practise this profession ethically, there are some principles we need to follow. At this point, we are confronted with a dilemma; do you publish the news quickly or correctly? In this dilemma, the journalist must prioritize producing the news correctly. Here, the reporter will be able to communicate the news quickly thanks to their journalistic reflexes. You need to use your own words in the news, this will contribute to emphasizing the authenticity of the news you are writing.”

Esq. Tuncay Alemdaroğlu shared information on “The Scope and Limits of Freedom of the Press and Expression in Turkey” with the participants and commented that democracy and rule of law in a country is measured by freedom of the press and expression.
Alemdaroğlu mentioned the advocacy work conducted by the Association of Journalists on freedom of the press and expression and how these two concepts complete each other. Talking about the scope and limits of freedom of the press and expression, Alemdaroğlu said the following about the press labour law in this regard:
“Freedom of the press is based on the individual’s right to know what is happening in their surroundings; therefore the press is obliged to provide the public with what is happening in the world, especially in one’s country, objectively.
Freedom of expression is the right to express one’s thoughts. Being unable to express a thought is like winking at someone in the dark. We consider all tools used in expressing an idea to be the press. The individual’s freedom to access news is only meaningful through freedom of the press. Freedom of the press is, therefore, complementary to freedom of expression and thought. Freedom of expression and press are two areas of freedom that complement each other; one cannot exist without the other. In a system where the press is not free, the individual's freedom to access news and express ideas would be meaningless. Freedom of the press is therefore a right of the individual and also a duty and responsibility of press organizations and its members. Therefore, the press serves the public. The criterion of democracy and law in a country is freedom of the press and expression. The limits of freedom of expression and press are again the other rights and freedoms of individuals guaranteed by international and national laws. The law restricts freedom of expression and the press without touching the essence of the right. The scope of freedom of the press is not limited to freedom of thought and expression. The law does not define public interest, public order or public security. However, public interest and security are the most important applications for limiting fundamental rights and freedoms. This is due to judicial decisions. The Constitutional Court considers public interest as one of the elements of the rule of law and expresses it as the purpose of the legislative process. These are all basic principles of a state of law.
When we talk about the press labour law, law number 212 comes to mind. This law is very important for journalists. Press employees’ contracts must be in written form; their salaries must be specified, too. A journalist working for two consecutive years for a newspaper has the right for promotion and wage increase. There is no severance pay cap. Seniority is calculated from the date of entry into the profession. And a journalist, who has a seniority of five years, is entitled to severance pay regardless of how long that person has worked. A journalist is also entitled to additional pay for content produced that is not specified in the provisions of the contract. A journalist imprisoned for content published in a newspaper is entitled to receive their salary from their employer.”
 

What has online journalism changed?

On the second day of the training, Sözcü Newspaper web-site’s Ankara representative Zeynep Gürcanlı talked shared her experiences in her speech “What Does the Usage of the Internet and Social Media in Turkey and the World Mean for Journalism?”. Gürcanlı remarked that online journalism has narrowed the field of press freedom, media organizations have been shut down, and unemployment in the media sector is three-fold compared to other sectors. Gürcanlı said “Working conditions have worsened. There is no union organization. More work and more shifts with fewer people. Media ownership and the production model has changed. News writing has also changed. The main messages of articles are being obscured. Short articles without causal relations draw more attention.”
M4D Programme Officer Igor Chelov and Financial Support Specialist Merve Kambur gave information about supports provided by M4D Programme focusing on backing unemployed journalists, and also about new support tools focusing on young journalists.

Gülin Çavuş from teyid.org talked to the participants about “Digital Tracking for Journalists, Online Investigation Tips, Verification and Search Methods for Journalists”. Çavuş, gave examples of the most common seven types of false information; distortion, manipulation, false association, parody, imitation, fabrication, detachment from context, and how these spread through social media quickly. The training program ended with the presentation of Expert Faruk Saygılı on “Social Media Planing for Journalists and New Tools for Digital Media”.
Association of Journalists Chairman Nazmi Bilgin, Vice President Yusuf Kanli, Financial Secretary Mustafa Yoldaş and Professor. Korkmaz Alemdar presented participants their certificates at the end of the training.