Implemented by the Association of Journalists and funded by the European Union (EU) the Media for Democracy/Democracy for Media Programme (M4D) hosted journalist Yılmaz Özdil at the Press House this week. Özdil talked with young journalists about journalism and what’s going on in the world today.

Speaking at the event, President of the Association of Journalists Nazmi Bilgin said, “We are going through a dark time in terms of freedom of the press and expression but we have people that continue to show courage despite everything.”

SULTAN YAVUZ – Sözcü Newspaper columnist, journalist Yılmaz Özdil talked with and answered the questions of young professionals working in the media sector. Implemented by the Association of Journalists and financed by the EU, “Media for Democracy/Democracy for Media” hosted Yılmaz Özdil at the Press House. Özdil stated that he gets his motivation from Atatürk’s “Address to the Youth” and remarked “Turkey’s only way out is for it to return to its factory settings”.

Chairman of the Association of Journalists Nazmi Bilgin welcomed Özdil by remarking that not everybody who writes a column is an actual columnist but Özdil is one of the names that does their job properly with integrity. Bilgin added:
“We attended a panel in Prague last week where somebody asked for the definition of journalism. One of the panellists answered ‘A journalist is someone who gets payed for what they write and not for what they don’t write.’ The number of people who shouldn’t be writing in Turkey has reached such a point that we are in search of people who write the truth. We are going through a dark time in terms of freedom of the press and expression but we have people that continue to show courage despite everything.
As an Association we have certain red lines, our members must believe in the republic and be the protectors of Atatürk’s principles…We are open to different ideas but not to hopelessness. We have to believe that the future will be better and we need to struggle for it. Previous chairmen of the Association Beyhan Cenkçi, Metin Toker, Cünyet Arcayürek and Atilla Bartınoğlu have all been arrested, I have not; this is my greatest achievement. We aim to keep the struggle alive no matter what. Today we are hosting an important journalist who believes in commemorating Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his principles. I would like to thank him for coming here today and to salute the enlightened future days to come.”

M4D Project Coordinator Seva Ülman made the opening speech of the event following Chairman Nazmi Bilgin. Ülman remarked that Özdil has been practising this profession as a true journalist, he has always stuck to facts and refrained from embellishing the truth. Giving biographical information about Özdil, Ülman said:
“The child of immigrants from Crete, Yılmaz Özdil attended İzmir Atatürk Highschool and then studied journalism at Ege University. He started his career at Yeni Asır Newspaper in 1982 and after becoming promoted to editor-in-chief, he worked as a senior executive in various newspapers and televisions in Istanbul. Milliyet, Sabah, Hürriyet and Star are some of them… Özdil started to write as a columnist for Sabah newspaper in 2005 and has been a columnist for Sözcü since 2014. Özdil has nine published books. In 2018, Özdil’s book “Mustafa Kemal Atatürk” became a best seller with one and a half million copies sold; some of his books have become plays as well. Özdil was awarded over 600 awards from various NGOs and universities. ”
 

Özdil, “As the press we need to give more importance to dialogue rather than mologue”
Özdil began his presentation by joking about how he was never a good student and he should be considered a graduate of “Kızlar Kahvesi” because he hung out there all the time. While at university Özdil had to take a course called “Fundamentals of Journalism” and one day journalist Mehmet Ali Birand was invited to the lecture. Özdil was told that he would fail the class if he didn’t ask a question so he asked Birand “May I be excused?”, nevertheless Özdil did pass his course. Remarking that the press should give more importance to dialogue rather than monologue Özdil proceeded to incorporate the audience in the event by receiving and answering questions.
Özdil said that even though he has been painting a bleak portrait in what he writes there is always hope and that his young colleagues should “be positive about life”.
Özdil stated that certain religious officials found a lot of political power after 2002 with the AKP government and these people could not represent the Turkish people as the Directorate of Religious Affairs. In the years of the National Struggle, mufti Mehmet Rıfat Börekçi donated all his money to Mustafa Kemal and the soldiers, he later became the first President of Religious Affairs. Özdil remarked that it was religious men like Mehmet Rıfat Börekçi who were true patriots.

President Erdoğan's visit to America
Answering a question from the audience about how he views Hilal Kaplan being asked if she was a “real journalist” in the White House by foreign correspondents during Erdoğan’s visit, Özdil said:
“I’m very happy the pro-government media was disgraced in the White House. Even Trump knows they're not journalists. In fact, before this visit, he said at the G20 Summit in Japan, 'There’s no Hollywood set where you could produce people that look like them.” The same thing happened again. We’ll find out about the details later but we all know Trump’s point of view.”
When asked how he saw the AKP, Özdil responded by saying the party has run its course:
“In 2002, the AKP had a political base in Turkey. Besides the economic crisis, there was controversy surrounding the headscarf, and media bosses were able to appoint any minister they wanted, some high-ranking officials in the military acted as though they owned the country. But in 17 years the AKP did worse than what they initially had opposed. The election results of the 31 March Mayoral Elections show us that the AKP won’t be able to win another election. We have been experiencing a very severe lack of opposition in the last 10 years and those in power will not change without the opposition changing itself.”
 

“Trump's rhetoric of admiration should be regarded as an insult”
Answering a question from a member of the audience about President Trump admiring President Erdoğan, Özdil remarked that Trump follows the media in Turkey closely, has made racist remarks about immigrants and loves dictators; “these are all things we should take into account.” said Özdil and added “Coming from someone who called Sisi his favourite dictator, this should be considered an insult”.
Responding to the question about writers Ahmet Altan and Nazlı Ilıcak's detention, Özdil argued that both Ilıcak and the Altan brothers were taken away from their homes as children for political reasons and that they could have been traumatized. Özdil added, “This trauma perhaps manifested to such a degree that they became anti-military and anti-state. This hatred almost made them cooperate with FETÖ (Fethullahist Terrorist Organization). Today, I see dozens of girls and boys experiencing the same trauma. If the necessary measures are not taken, we might see thousands of Ilıcaks and Altans in the future.”
Özdil stated that Turkey’s only way out is to turn its face westwards “France and Norway are good examples. Turkey's mission should be to be fully independent. Leaving NATO isn’t like walking out of a film you don’t like. It would have serious strategic consequences.”

Stating that the moral problems of journalists is not solely a problem of this generation but has been an ongoing problem ever since the beginning of the Republic Özdil said: “Until the 1980 coup there were relatively respectable journalists. These were predominantly Ankara journalists. After the coup, those who claimed to have been Ataturkists formed the media capital. After September 12 the number of respectable journalists didn’t decrease but due to many new papers being established people who called themselves journalists were able to find employment. Journalism was no longer a profession; it was merely a job. Suddenly everybody was able to become a politician, contractor or journalist in Turkey. September 12 ended the need for qualification to practise journalism.

 

“Thanks to the achievements of the Republic, Erdoğan is sitting in that seat as President today”
Özdil expressed his views on criticism surrounding the alphabet reform by mentioning only ten percent of the population knew how to read and write during the Ottoman Empire and they mainly consisted of soldiers and non-Muslims. Özdil emphasized that the public quickly benefited from the alphabet reform and said:
“Peoples from other countries were thus able to learn Turkish much easier, too. The Latin alphabet brought people together, this wouldn’t have been possible through Ottoman Turkish. We see today that the Ottoman Empire is being glorified and the republic is being scorned. When we look at it, we see that all leaders have been children of the public, and its thanks to the achievements of the Republic Erdoğan is sitting in that seat as President today. When I was at the ATV, I hosted Ertuğrul Osman, the last person born in the palace, and Erdoğan gave him a Turkish passport, as well. Ertuğrul said on live TV, that despite it being upsetting personally for him, he owes his existence to Atatürk and he was quite happy that the republic was founded. I’d urge those who are being nostalgic about the Ottoman Empire to watch that episode.”

“Journalism is a matter of luck and talent”

Yılmaz Özdil gave the following answer to a student who asked what he thinks about the future of the profession in face of so many communication faculties opening around the country:
“Journalism is a matter of luck and talent. If you're lucky you might catch a break but if you’re talented you’ll always have the opportunity excel. Journalists are like a cormorant (a bird that dives to catch fish), you think they have drowned but out they pop with a fish in their mouths. Suddenly something big happens and you make news out of it and you become the best journalist in the world. Being ethical, not lying; these have to be your most fundamental principles. As it is in the USA, Europe or Japan, media owners can have mining companies or petrol companies. The main concern is that the paper is profitable, if it doesn’t turn a profit then it’ll have to shut down; if the paper continues to publish despite losing money, there’s something fishy going on.
Turkish politics is at the crossroads of a new 30-year process and I believe the media will change hands. A new era and a political process is starting, and if we all try to establish this ethically, respectable journalists such as Cüneyt Arcayürek and Uğur Mumcu could once again influence the media. We must be hopeful. ”