Implemented by the Association of Journalism and funded by the European Union, Media for Democracy, Democracy for Media (M4D) continues its online events due to the recent Covid-19 outbreak. Data Journalist and Social Technologist Onur Mat conducted a discussion on “Digital Media and Data Journalism”.

The opening speech of the event was given by Association of Journalists Vice Chair and Project Director of M4D Yusuf Kanlı who underlined that data journalism in a field overlooked in Turkey but it is very important for the future of journalism. Kanlı also talked about various events of the M4D Project and how it had to transition to holding online events as of March 13 due to Covid-19. Kanlı thanked Onur Mat for participating in the discussion

Digital Journalist Onur Mat

Mat “We constantly generate and consume numerical data through our computers and phones”

Underlining how data journalism is an interdisciplinary field, Mat remarked that it is in constant evolution. Mat also mentioned that this evolution is due to the definition of data and our understanding of it constantly changing and said “If we were discussing data 20 years ago, we would probably be talking about a Microsoft Excel table filled with number. Yet, today data has a much wider definition, we generate data with every move. This is also true for social media platforms, or this online meeting we are conducting through Zoom. We constantly generate and consume numerical data through our computers and phones. We are living lives based on and deeply intwined with data, therefore our understanding of it can change every day. The main idea of data journalism is to tell a story based on data. In this regard, it isn’t that different from our conventional understanding of journalism.”

“Not being able to access data itself is newsworthy”

Mat pointed out there are CSOs focusing specifically on data, and to access data you need to have technical knowledge on the subject. He said “We are living in the information age. Another way of gathering data is through ‘Hackathons’. These are generally implemented to pinpoint issues in a short space of time. To access information, we need some technical knowledge. But in addition to that, the data needs to exist, or you need to be able to access the data. That is to say, those who have created the data need to share it with different parties. Not being able to access data itself is newsworthy.”

“Big Data”

Mat remarked that Big Data, comprised of data archives of social media platforms and search engines, are not incorporated in data journalism and said “Big Data, is the accumulation of data in a comprehensive manner, it’s not used in data journalism. We don’t have access to Big Data, anyway. I mean, we are a part of Big Data, but we don’t have access to it.”

For more information about our events please send e-mail [email protected]

“Digital Media and Data Journalism” Online Discussion yazısı ilk önce M4D Project üzerinde ortaya çıktı.

Media for Democracy, Democracy for Media (M4D) Project has conducted its first online National Committee meeting. The meeting was attended by Chair of the Association of Journalists and National Committee Nazmi Bilgin, members Prof. Korkmaz Alemdar, Lawyer Tuncay Alemdaroğlu, Yusuf kanlı, Sedat Bozkurt, Sefa Özdemir, Nursun Erel and M4D Project managers. Main topics of the meeting focused on measures taken by the institution about the COVID-19 outbreak, future plans, assessing the current situation, events that had to be cancelled and reformulated due to the epidemic.

The National Committee also brainstormed about how to effectively conduct future online of the M4D Project, which is implemented by the Association of Journalists and funded by the European Union. Members of the Committee discussed applications made to “Press House Support Mechanism”, which opened up for application for the second time on 14 February, and other issues surrounding the Communication Strategy, and the Freedom of the Press- Monitoring and Evaluation Report. Other topics discussed in the meeting were about the 101 news articles published in 24 Saat Newspaper through the “Facility for Strengthening Freelance Journalists” support mechanism, which has been digitalized as the “9.Köy” magazine.

M4D National Committee Members Meet Online yazısı ilk önce M4D Project üzerinde ortaya çıktı.

Implemented by the Association of Journalists and funded by the European Union, Media for Democracy/Democracy for Media Project (M4D) hosted Psychologist Merve Otçeken at its online discussion. Entitled “What Can I Do About Crisis Management? Dealing with Loss of Control”.

M4D Project Director and Association of Journalists Vice Chair Yusuf Kanlı gave the opening speech and stated that the activities of the Association of Journalists Press-House will now continue online, due to the recent COVID-19 outbreak. Psychologist Merve Otçeken talked about many topics on mental health, working from home and COVID-19. Emphasizing the importance of staying in touch with loved ones and eating healthy, Otçeken discussed about working from home and how a decrease in productivity is very understandable give the current circumstances. The online discussion was attended by many people, after Otçeken gave her speech she held a Q&A with the audience. Many of the questions focused on dealing with stress during COVID-19, family problems, and issues regarding working from home. People in the audience voiced their appreciation for Otçeken’s advice and setting their minds at ease during these trying times.

“What Can I Do About Crisis Management? Dealing with Loss of Control” Online Discussion yazısı ilk önce M4D Project üzerinde ortaya çıktı.

Implemented by the Association of Journalism and funded by the European Union, Media for Democracy, Democracy for Media (M4D) continues its online events due to the recent Covid-19 outbreak. Data Journalist and Social Technologist Onur Mat conducted a discussion on “Digital Media and Data Journalism”.

The opening speech of the event was given by Association of Journalists Vice Chair and Project Director of M4D Yusuf Kanlı who underlined that data journalism in a field overlooked in Turkey but it is very important for the future of journalism. Kanlı also talked about various events of the M4D Project and how it had to transition to holding online events as of March 13 due to Covid-19. Kanlı thanked Onur Mat for participating in the discussion

Mat “We constantly generate and consume numerical data through our computers and phones”

Underlining how data journalism is an interdisciplinary field, Mat remarked that it is in constant evolution. Mat also mentioned that this evolution is due to the definition of data and our understanding of it constantly changing and said “If we were discussing data 20 years ago, we would probably be talking about a Microsoft Excel table filled with number. Yet, today data has a much wider definition, we generate data with every move. This is also true for social media platforms, or this online meeting we are conducting through Zoom. We constantly generate and consume numerical data through our computers and phones. We are living lives based on and deeply intwined with data, therefore our understanding of it can change every day. The main idea of data journalism is to tell a story based on data. In this regard, it isn’t that different from our conventional understanding of journalism.”

 “Not being able to access data itself is newsworthy”

Mat pointed out there are CSOs focusing specifically on data, and to access data you need to have technical knowledge on the subject. He said “We are living in the information age. Another way of gathering data is through ‘Hackathons’. These are generally implemented to pinpoint issues in a short space of time. To access information, we need some technical knowledge. But in addition to that, the data needs to exist, or you need to be able to access the data. That is to say, those who have created the data need to share it with different parties. Not being able to access data itself is newsworthy.”

“Big Data”

Mat remarked that Big Data, comprised of data archives of social media platforms and search engines, are not incorporated in data journalism and said “Big Data, is the accumulation of data in a comprehensive manner, it’s not used in data journalism. We don’t have access to Big Data, anyway. I mean, we are a part of Big Data, but we don’t have access to it.”

Onur Mat – “Digital Media and Data Journalism” Online Discussion yazısı ilk önce M4D Project üzerinde ortaya çıktı.

Implemented by the Association of Journalists and funded by the European Union, Media for Democracy/Democracy for Media Project (M4D) hosted Psychologist Merve Otçeken at its online discussion. Entitled “What Can I Do About Crisis Management? Dealing with Loss of Control”.

M4D Project Director and Association of Journalists Vice Chair Yusuf Kanlı gave the opening speech and stated that the activities of the Association of Journalists Press-House will now continue online, due to the recent COVID-19 outbreak. Psychologist Merve Otçeken talked about many topics on mental health, working from home and COVID-19. Emphasizing the importance of staying in touch with loved ones and eating healthy, Otçeken discussed about working from home and how a decrease in productivity is very understandable give the current circumstances. The online discussion was attended by many people, after Otçeken gave her speech she held a Q&A with the audience. Many of the questions focused on dealing with stress during COVID-19, family problems, and issues regarding working from home. People in the audience voiced their appreciation for Otçeken’s advice and setting their minds at ease during these trying times.

Merve Otçeken “What Can I Do About Crisis Management? Dealing with Loss of Control” Online Discussion yazısı ilk önce M4D Project üzerinde ortaya çıktı.

Implemented by the Association of Journalists and funded by the European Union (EU) the Media for Democracy/Democracy for Media Programme (M4D) the events hosted by the project continue online due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The first of these online events started with the workshop “Introduction to Data Journalism and Online Tools”. The workshop was conducted by the Civil Society Development center (STGM) Digital Works Coordinator Mehmet Kütküt where he talked about topics such as “Advanced Google search methods, Google Alerts Tips, Tags, Key Word Analysis and Introduction to Data Journalism, Software that Does Not Require Coding to Use for Data Analysis, Downloading Data from Twitter and Content Analysis”.

Credibility of search engine statistics
Kütküt gave participants information about using open source data of Google and Twitter in writing news. Pointing out the credibility of search engines Kütküt said “People may lie during their everyday lives but they search for what they are really interested in, not what they seem to be interested in. Therefore, search engine statistics are credible.”
Please visit M4D’s YouTube channel to watch “Introduction to Data Journalism and Online Tools” workshop. Psychologist Merve Otçeken will be holding an online talk called “What do to in Crisis Management? Ways to Deal with Loss of Control” tomorrow at 16:00. To attend M4D Project’s online events, please fill out the attendance form at our website and download the application “Zoom” to access via mobile phone or computer. 

Özgür Mehmet Kütküt Online Workshop “Introduction to Data Journalism and Online Tools” yazısı ilk önce M4D Project üzerinde ortaya çıktı.

Implemented by the Association of Journalists and Financed by the European Union, Media for Democracy/Democracy for Media Project held and Online Info Day on 16 March 2020, at the Press House.

Due to preventative measures in face of the current COVID-19 outbreak, the Info Day envisaged to be held at Istanbul was conducted online instead. M4D Project team provided information and answered questions about the second term of BEDA applications; the online event was attended by more than 50 people.

For full the full recording of the event please visit youtube.com/media4democracy. For any further questions please visit our FAQ page at www.media4democracy.org/faq

BEDA Online Info Day yazısı ilk önce M4D Project üzerinde ortaya çıktı.

Implemented by the Association of Journalists and funded by the European Union (EU) the Media for Democracy/Democracy for Media Programme (M4D) hosted Diplomat Faruk Loğoğlu at the Press House this week. In his presentation titled “Turkish Foreign Policy: Past to Present” Loğoğlu emphasized “the importance of returning to a steady, regular, rational and consistent foreign policy approach”.

SULTAN YAVUZ- Implemented by the Association of Journalists and implemented by the European Union, the Media for Democracy/Democracy for Media Project (M4D) hosted Diplomat Faruk Loğoğlu at the Press House in Ankara. In his presentation titled “Turkish Foreign Policy: Past to Present” Loğoğlu said “Turkey must return to a steady, regular, rational and consistent foreign policy approach in the name of its reputation, national security and interests”.

M4D Project Director Yusuf Kanlı welcomed the guests to the Press House and gave a brief welcome speech. Kanlı said “We are amidst and interesting political situation; yesterday we signed an important cease fire with Russia. When we initially had decided to hold this event, neither Syria nor the cease fire was on the agenda. We wanted to discuss the political evolution and development of Turkish foreign policy, considering recent events I believe such a topic proves to be quite apt.”

M4D Project Assistant Director Seva Ulman gave the opening speech of the event. Remarking that Loğoğlu completed his last diplomatic mission as the Ambassador for Washington, Ülman said Loğoğlu also served for a term in parliament as a deputy for CHP.

Regarding Loğoğlu, Ülman said “He is uncompromising, is meticulous in applying protocol and also very polite. He was known among diplomacy correspondents as someone who would provide clear answers”.

Born in Ankara, Loğoğlu completed his primary, middle school and high school education in Tarsus American College; he later studied at Brandeis University in the USA and completed his doctoral studies in Political Science at Princeton University. Loğoğlu worked as a member of faculty at Middlebury University for about a year.

Returning to Turkey in 1971, Loğoğlu held positions respectively as head clerk at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, charge d’affaires, and consul general later to be appointed as Ambassador for Denmark and Azerbaijan. Ülman said “Loğoğlu returned from Washington as ambassador in 2005 and retired from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for whom he worked for 35 years. In 2011 he was elected as a deputy for CHP and entered parliament. Loğoğlu was also vice president for a period in the party.”

Loğlu “Being like a westerner and being a westerner are different things”

Pointing out the importance of addressing the difference between traditional Turkish foreign policy and what it has become today, Loğoğlu expressed that Turkish foreign policy is based on the concepts of geography, history and identity. Underlining the importance of the geographical location of Turkey, and it being a bridge between two continents, Loğoğlu said:

“The history of Turkey, especially during the migrations from Central Asia, has been full of wars and peace; many states were founded. This enable many different peoples together. This has been an element in determining foreign policy.

Turkey has a mixed society, there are all kinds of genetic lineages. Defining what it means to be “Turkish” is also difficult in legal terms, the definition embodies many different elements. I believe multiculturalism to be an advantage. It would be a mistake to be hung-up on one side. It could be said we were facing west in the first years of the republic, but being like a westerner and being a westerner are different things… Turkish foreign policy is a fragile, multi-layered structure. It is clearly defined in the Constitution.

The fundamental principles of the Republic of Turkey are democracy, laicity, and rule of law. Foreign policy must abide by these principles; in fact, it has ever since the republic was founded. The diplomacy of Turkish foreign policy was highly accredited throughout the world; I am afraid we cannot say the same today. The organizational structure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also changed, it has eroded. Ambassadors were appointed in the past too, but it was an exception. A district director of agriculture from Ağrı can be appointed as a general manager to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today, that’s how much the network has expanded. Each profession requires training specific to itself. You can only truly become a diplomat once you are in the profession.”

Today, Turkey is alone in both its region and internationally

Remarking that Turkish foreign policy must abide by the principles of democracy, laicity and rule of law Loğoğlu said “From the first years of the Republic until the 90s, foreign policy was not an issue incorporated into discussion of domestic politics, they were two separate things. Yet, today we see that foreign policy has been trapped into domestic political concerns; this has been the case for the last 10-15 years unfortunately…”

“Today, Turkey is alone in both its region and internationally. Today, the prevailing outlook is not “full independence” rather it is “maximum dependence.”

Loğoğlu continued “You cannot not completely fix mistakes made in foreign policy but you can stop doing that mistake. Stopping from committing the same mistake is also a virtue, and it is also in benefit of mankind. Our Russia and Syria policies have many mistakes, we continue our ties with China but cannot make a sound about the situation of Uyghur Turks there.

We must return to our previous understanding of foreign policy, even the EU cannot protect its own values; this is especially true regarding the refugee crisis. For the sake of Turkey international reputation, national security and interests we must revert to a rational, cohesive and consistent foreign policy approach. This might take some time, and in this context good relations must be established with the media. I have always said this: if the press cannot get enough information from us, they will use the information they acquire through their own means. Everyone must do what they can to improve Turkish foreign policy.”

Faruk Loğoğlu – “Turkish Foreign Policy: Past to Present” yazısı ilk önce M4D Project üzerinde ortaya çıktı.

SULTAN YAVUZ – Funded by the European Union and implemented by the Association of Journalists “Media for Democracy/Democracy for Media” project held a viewing of the film “the Band’s Visit” at the Press House. After the showing, journalist Haldun Armağan held a Q&A with the audience.
Prior to the showing, M4D Poject Director Yusuf Kanlı gave a brief speech talking about how the film depicts the intersecting lives of two peoples trying to live in the same region. Kanlı thanked the Embassy of Israel for giving them permission to show the film.

Guest journalist Armağan said “the main idea of the 2007 production is to depict friendships that flourish out of misunderstandings and confusion… The film is about a marching band from Egypt and how they interact with the people of a remote village in Israel”.
Remarking that such stories tend to be full of traps, Armağan added “what we expect to see is prejudice, discrimination and hate. But instead, the film shows us that the people have a lot in common and are not concerned with politics.  This film is full of humanity and sincerity…
The film has such a humane dimension to it that you wish it were true because what the director portrays on a micro scale is a world devoid of prejudice, discrimination, where everyone lives in harmony and peace.”

“The Band’s Visit”
Directed by Eran Kolirin, “the Band’s Visit” tells the story of a band comprised of members of the Egyptian police force head to Israel to play at the inaugural ceremony of an Arab arts center, only to find themselves lost in the wrong town.

“The Band’s Visit” Viewed at the Press House yazısı ilk önce M4D Project üzerinde ortaya çıktı.

Sultan YAVUZ – Funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by the Association of Journalists “Media for Democracy/Democracy for Media Programme” (M4D) hosted a talk on “Wildlife Documentary” by Ece Soydam. Soydam’s documentary “67 49 32 North” was viewed at the Press House and was followed by a Q&A.

Prior to the showing of the documentary, M4D Project Assistant Coordinator Seva Ülman gave brief biographical information about Soydam. Ülman remarked that Soydam has been given many awards for her documentaries.
Ülman added that in addition to filming documentaries Soydam is also the translator of two books about Native Americans and has lectured at Bilkent University on the subject. Ülman said:
“Born in Ankara, Ece Soydam attended TED Ankara College and then graduated from ODTÜ English Teaching Department. After working in the Directorate of Documentaries in Ankara Television, Soydam then worked for the Foreign Affairs Department of TRT and then became co-producer for CNN World Report. Soydam completed a master’s defree in socio-cultural anthropology at Toront University, Canada between 1996-1998. In 2000, she received training at the Santa Fe Anthropology Film Center. She is the recipient of İsmail Cem TV “Best Documentary Award”, Second Place in the French Ornithology Environment Awards, Finalist of Nature Film Festival in China, Viewer’s Choice Award at Film Animalier France and Best Documentary at the Radyo TV Journalists’ Association 29. TV Oscars.”
In her talk, Soydam said “We generally make documentaries about wildlife, wildlife in Turkey, but in this project, we made a documentary in the North Pole region of Canada. Our documentary focused on the people as well as the wildlife; we felt that it would be disrespectful to the people, culture and way-of-life if we only focused on the wildlife. We brought together the story of a man and nature.”
 

67 49 32 North
Produced by TRT and filmed in the northern regions of Canada, “67 49 32 North” is set in Kugluktuk whose majority is comprised of the Inuit people. Wild-life biologist and French national Mathieu Dumond has called the town “his home” for the last 17 years where he lives with his wife and 5-year-old son, and films wild-life. Mathieu’s story tells us about the threat the region’s natural life and culture faces. Directed by Ece Soydam and Mathieu Dumond, the documentary provides its audience with a 55-minute-long visual festival.

Ece Soydam on Wild-Life Documentary yazısı ilk önce M4D Project üzerinde ortaya çıktı.

SULTAN YAVUZ- Implemented by the Association of Journalists and funded by the European Union, “Media for Democracy/Democracy for Media” (M4D) Project hosted Tanter Dedoğlu at the Press House. In his presentation titled “Interview Techniques” Dedeoğlu talked about the intricacies of how to interview while citing his recently published book “Şimdi Onlar Manşet” (Now They’re Making Headlines). Before Dedeoğlu’s presentation, Association of Journalists Chairman Nazmi Bilgin remarked that this book is very important to him, and remarked:
“It was a difficult time for 24 Saat newspaper, we were struggling to publish announcements. They told [sic] we should publish special news, interviews etc, and we were told we didn’t have enough columnists. Those days, thankfully, we talked with Taner Dedeoğlı and wanted to create a book documenting interviews with leading figures in journalism. I believe Dedeoğlu was the best person for the job, as you all well know. He has done some exceptional work in the past, worked for big newspapers and is a respected name in journalistic circles… He can be a bit grumpy but I turst that’s due to his professional experience and integrity. We’ve come to accept him as such and love him for it.
Experience is very important, but it’s only valid if it’s shared. You need to share your experiences, no matter who you are, famous or not… It’s easy being famous but what’s important in journalism is being trustworthy. I’ve met quite a few famous people, some long forgotten. The late football player Metin Oktay was a good friend of mine, alongside football he was also a man of philosophy. One day we were chatting at the Ankara Hotel, he said ‘Nazmi, do you know what the three most difficult things to carry are? Fame, money and a gun. You could carry a gun for 20 years and nothing would happen but one day it could change everything. Money is the same, you work for it, end up swimming in it but you make one mistake and it’s all gone. Fame… everyone could love you but make one big mistake and it’s over. That’s why it’s difficult to carry fame’.
Taner Dedeoğlu, having worked for so many years preserves his fame through beautiful works such as his new book. I had the opportunity to read it both before and after it was printed. He not only shared his experience and successes in interviews with us, but he has left an important mark on our near political history. I’ve read the book many times and found something new in its each time. Dedeoğlu could have said ‘I’ve done my job, I’m retired and now I can enjoy myself’ but he worked on his book for years.
We sometimes do not appreciate these things enough. It is important to appreciate people while they’re alive, we need more appreciation. I hope Taner sees that I’m complimenting him, I’d like to thank him very much for what the interviews he has done in his field and for providing the Association of Journalists with such a wonderful book.”

Dedeoğlu “Then the 28 February incident happened”
Providing the audience with biographical information about Dedeoğlu, M4D Project Assistant Director Seva Ülman said “Our guest Taner Dedeoğlu has conducted hundreds of interviews, and believe me he has done a great job in doing so”. Ülman remarked that in addition to technical knowledge, being able to properly to get to know the person you are interviewing is very important in interviews and Dedeoğlu hask peaked in this skill over the years.
Starting his presentation by talking about his professional life Dedeoğlu said he was born in in Nevşehir in 1949, nine months prior to the transition to the multi-party system. When at primary school in Nevşehir, just before entering the end of school exams his teacher told him and his fellow students “Go home, do not leave your homes” -the date was 27 May 1960, a military coup had happened. Later, Dedeoğlu attended Ankara University where there were mass protests, the army had taken over by issuing a letter, Dedeoğlu said “the coup of 12 March 1971… That’s when I started the profession. I must commemorate the late Asaf Uçar… Orhan Tokatlı had told him there were high ranking military officials at TRT and told him to take pictures of them, but when Uçar arrived at the premises he was not allowed into the general manager’s office. Then, Uçar saw the military caps of the Black Sea Air-force  and Commandership of Gendarmerie sitting on the table of the private secretary; he took pictures of them and sent them in to the paper. When I first started working I asked Asaf ‘So how did you take the picture?’ he replied ‘I just did’.”
Dedeoğlu told the audience he worked for Milliyet newspaper, then Hey magazine, Hurriyet Newspaper, 7 Gün magazine; he also remarked that he experienced the 12 September 1980 coup as a journalist. Dedeoğlu later worked for Millyet newspaper’s supplement “Renk” where he started doing interviews, but when his contract had expired he decided to retire on the account of his wife’s foreign mission. Dedeoğlu said:
“I sent in my petition for retirement, they started the process and then suddenly 28 February incidents happened, the Turkish army sent its tanks through the streets of Sincan. So, looking back I can say that my career started with a coup and ended with one. When I returned from abroad I started a magazine for the Foreign Trade Foundation. I continued interviewing for the Ankara Chamber of Industry ASO Medya magazine. In 2009, with the kind invitation of Mr. Chairman and late Vice Chairman Kemal Karacehennem I found myself instated in this position.”

Interviews with Gazanfer Kunt and Cüneyt Arcayürek
Dedeoğlu drew attention to the Latin roots of the word “interview” and remarked that how its meaning encompasses many things such as things or someone that grabs our attention, a place, incident, or artwork; while news articles are short and objective, in interviews a subject is approached from many different perspectives giving place to the interviewer’s own interpretation and commentary. Explaining that interviews are generally held and the house of the person being interviewed, Dedeoğlu said “this is because the person may show you documents, or such things as photographs”. Underlining the importance of preparing for the interview, Dedeoğlu remarked that it is important to pay attention to dress appropriately and the rules of societal life are also important in interviews. Emphasizing the importance of arriving on time for the interview Dedeloğlu gave the example of his interview with Cüneyt Arcayürek. Dedeoğlu said:
“When we first started out this endeavour with the late Kemal Karacehennem, the first name they gave us was Gazanfer Kunt, whom I did not know at the time. Kunt, decided to move to Bodrum in 1960 from Ankara where he was the owner of a newspaper; after travelling around the coast he finally decided to settle down in Torba and built his first house there. He was 90 years old when I interviewed him, he showed me pictures of Cünyet Arcayürek from 1951. While I was scanning that photo in Ankara, I made an extra copy because I wanted to interview Cüneyt Arcayürek. Cünyet Arcayürek would speak in a loud voice, he was quite temperamental, we worked together in Hürriyet and Milliyet but you could expect anything from him at any time.
So, I took the photograph with me to Cumhuriyet newspaper’s Ankara bureau; the secretary told me I could leave the picture there but I waited for his in case he had any questions. Half an hour later the secretary came back with the picture and I heard a booming voice shout ‘Who?  What? What did they want?’ so I slid through the half-open door. I told him about everything, I had already left a note with the secretary and it had been quite some time. When Mr. Chairman bumped into Arcayürek on 29 October 2009 he told him ‘Let’s do an interview, we’re making book’. So, Mr. Chairman had decided upon the subject when I did my first interview. 

10 years went by, it became a book…
A while later I bumped into him with his wife at Panora. After saying hello, he said ‘call my secretary tomorrow’, I did and set off for his house. If I’m going somewhere, I don’t know, I arrive there 20 minutes before I need to be there, and 5 minutes before if I know where I’m going. Just as I pressed the doorbell, I got a call, it was the secretary saying that Mr. Arcayürek wanted to do the interview another time but through the intercom I said ‘Mr. Arcayürek, it’s me’ and he buzzed me in. So, you see it’s quite important to be there on time; if I had said ‘oh, I’m just on Turan Güneş boulevard’ the interview would never have happened.”
Politeness and the example of Mete Akyol
Dedeoğlu stated that interview questions must be short and precise, they should not be interrogative, but must be polite and seek out knowledge. Dedeoğlu shared a memory of Mete Akyol, a master of the art of the interview:
“The Özal family were in bit of a predicament. Their children seemed to have been involved in everything. When Özal died, a journalist uncovered Özal’s daughter Zeynep Özal’s bank statements in Switzerland, this caused havoc. Mete Akyol and Reha Muhtar were requested to interview the family. Mete Akyol said it would only be him conducting the interview, everybody was very excited but the public was furious with Mete Akyol afterwards. He regretted it, but he was polite as he ever was; just wanted to get more information. The public, though, really wanted to get at him. That is why there was a lot of criticism such as ‘you were too polite’. When you are conducting an interview, it is really unnecessary to be rude and impolite.”
Masters of the interview
Dedeoğlu said it is important to give a brief overview of the topic in the first person when writing the interview. Interviews that are supported with visual material can be considered in terms of a documentary according to Dedeoğlu:
“Interview techniques have changed in the last 30 years. Where are the introductions? What about telling the story? Ayşe Arman made it popular to just use quotations, we on the other hand actually turn it into a story.”
Remarking that interviews began in the 1950s and that there are many masters of the art, Dedeoğlu said: “Hikmet Feridun wrote about his experiences in Korea where he went with the Turkish army and turned his journals into a serial supported by photographs. Yaşar Kemal, Fikret Otyam, Mete Akyol and Eşref Kemal are other important names.”
White “doner”
In addition to telling the audience about his memories of the interviews he conducted Dedeoğlu also mentioned his experiences in the “Renk” supplement paper. He said:
“It was 1985, we were about to eat lunch at Sakarya. There were doner kebab shops with red meat on the skewers, but there was this one shop that had white meat on it. We asked ‘what’s this?’ and the chef said “chicken doner”. I told him I’d be back in a couple of hours, I grabbed my camera and came back. “Köşem Piknik” that was İrfan Usta… He had prepared some chicken doner since red meat had become expensive and chicken production began to increase. He first tried using the skin, then something else… When I did this interview Milliyet newspaper sold 230 thousand copies and nobody came out and said ‘I sell chicken doner too’.
I time a did a news piece about the former dean of Hacettepe University Faculty of Pharmacy; the dean had used the wooden furniture of a closed-down pharmacy shop and put it exactly in the entrence of the faculty. The news article was a hit, but then someone from Istanbul called and said ‘we’re here trying to save people, doing bone marrow transplants and instead of reporting about that you report about nonsense like this’. So I said ‘ok’ and went there. Really, I did a piece called ‘What’s happening in the health sector?’. This time Ege University called, they said they opened a new department in this field, a reporter friend from İzmir did that article. You see, it wasn’t like the chicken doner business…”

Taner Dedeoğlu- Interview Techniques Workshop yazısı ilk önce M4D Project üzerinde ortaya çıktı.

NAZ AKMAN- Implemented by the Association of Journalists and financed by the European Union “Media for Democracy, Democracy for Media” (M4D) Project visited Kayseri for the opening of Kayseri Metropolitan Journalists’ Association Press House.
Implemented by the Association of Journalists and financed by the European Union, “Media for Democracy, Democracy for Media” (M4D) Project visited Kayseri, for the opening of the Kayseri Metropolitan Journalists’ Association press house, within the scope of the “Press House Support” provided by the project. Prior to the opening ceremony, Association of Journalists Chairman Nazmi Bilgin, Association of Journalists Vice Chairman and M4D Project Coordinator Yusuf Kanlı, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Turkey Eleftheria Pertzinidou and Kayseri Journalists’ Association Chairman visited Govenor of Kayseri Şehmus Günaydın. During the visit Governor Günaydın said “The media is an indispensable part of a democracy. Journalists function as the eyes and ears of the public. We support this endeavour for strengthening our democracy, and in this context, we support EU projects as well. The fact that there arevprojects about the media is very important for us”.
Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Turkey Eleftheria Pertzinidou remarked that Kayseri receives the most EU support after Istanbul and Ankara, and it was her first time there. The committee also paid a courtesy visit to Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Dr. Memduh Büyükkılıç. Emphasizing that Kayseri is a city which has strived to preserve its cultural heritage and history by reaming open to the future he said “Kayseri is a metropolitan city, but it’s an organized city which doesn’t reflect the chaos of a big city. We don’t have any issues in terms of transport, our people are peaceful; we’re at the intersection of education and commerce. We have four universities, we’re also right next to Cappadocia, we’re a door opening to it. We’re also on the silk road, with its taverns, caravansary, and trade points”.

Press House Opens in Kayseri yazısı ilk önce M4D Project üzerinde ortaya çıktı.

SULTAN YAVUZ- Implemented by the Association of Journalists and financed by the European Union “Media for Democracy/Democracy for Media Project” hosted Haldun Armağan who held a talk on the film “Spotlight” which was later displayed for the audience.

M4D Project Assistant Coordinator Seva Ülman gave brief biographical information about Armağan, who was born in Eskişehir, graduated from Hacettepe University English Language and Literature. Armağan later worked for the Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor and the World Paper magazine.

Mentioning that Armağan has begun working in the foreign news department of the Anka Agency Ülman added that Armağan has acted as a foreign policy and diplomatic correspondent, as well. Armağan who has worked for the Anatolian Agency, Güneş and Milliyet newspapers came first place in the “Abdi İpekçi Film Criticism” competition in 1985; his writing has been published in Radikal, Cumhuriyet, Sabah and Hurriyet Gösteri magazines.
Armağan later worked as a Public Relations Advisor the US Embassy, and continues to write about cinema. Ülman added that Armağan publishes his content on “sanattanyansimalar.com” website.

Armağan “In every society we see belief systems abused by such perversions”
 

Following the film, a member of the audience asked Armağan “Are there similar taboos in the American press? We’ve seen so many similar things happen in Turkey. I can only imagine what would happen if people tried to make such a film in Turkey. What do you think?” Armağan responded:
“In its essence, it depends on whether real journalism can be practised or not. There, news reaches the owner of the newspaper who says ‘publish the piece’; in the US the respectability of a newspaper depends on publishing a news article if its true. The first thing we need to consider here is, for journalism to be free, journalists need to be independent and not required to deal with other things.
There are of course taboos there too, but when journalistic integrity prevails things can change. In the film there is a problem with the legal system, it says ‘wait your turn’. If we were to apply what happens in the film to Turkey, we’d witness a complete cover up; in every society we see belief systems abused by such perversions. The film emphasizes this happens on a global scale”.
Armağan told the audience that the film ‘Spotlight’ had received an Oscar for ‘Best Picture’, and while the plot of the film is a crime thriller, there is no single hero in the film. Haldun Armağan said “the film didn’t play on people’s emotions, other films took a more ‘tabloid paper’ approach in their depictions, the film was more like an informative documentary”.
Spotlight
Directed by Tom McCarthy and written by McCarthy and Josh Singer, the 2015 American production tells the story of a group of journalists working for the Boston Globe. The newspaper depicted in the film had received the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 2003.
The award-winning film is set in 2001, a newly employed news editor sees an article about a paedophile priest and archbishop, then the ‘Spotlight’ team sets out to research the topic. The Spotlight Team starts an investigation into widespread and systemic child sex abuse in the Boston area by numerous Roman Catholic priests. The team finds out from a former priest that there are around 90 abusive priests in Boston. The film surrounds the investigations conducted by the journalist team.

Haldun Armağan Talks about “Spotlight” yazısı ilk önce M4D Project üzerinde ortaya çıktı.

NAZ AKMAN- Implemented by the Association of Journalists and financed by the European Union, “Democracy for Media/Media for Democracy Project” continues to host its weekly journalists’ meetings. The Press House hosted Mehmet Çetingüleç this week to talk about late Bülent Ecevit and wife Rahşan Ecevit with reference to his book “Ecevitler” (the Ecevits).

Kanlı “We have been able to reach out to about 100 journalists”
Association of Journalists Vice Chairman and M4D Project Director Yusuf Kanlı gave the opening speech and provided information about the project. Kanlı said “the Press House is a safe-place for journalists we have established through EU funding. Through the Press House support mechanisms we’ve been able to reach out to about 100 journalists. I believe we’re providing a very important service. We’ve left behind our first year, on February 14 we will issue a call for proposals. We received 53 applications in the first period, we provided support to 31 of them. We have also provided support to seven young journalists and established 32 websites. In this difficult period we have strived to be a beacon of light through both our own means and through EU funding, we hope to increase the scope of our support. The Association of Journalists, ever since it was founded, has strived to overcome the problems journalists have faced through solidarity, unity and cooperation.
Bilgin “We preserved our friendship with Ecevit until his passing”
Chairman of the Association of Journalists Nazmi Bilgin took the stand and talked about his memories with the Ecevit family “the Ecevit family has a very special place for me. Ecevit having been a member of the Association of Journalists, and me having served as chairman during that period is a great honour”.
Bilgin continued “Those days were a beautiful dream. A dream I miss a lot. We preserved our friendship with Ecevit until his passing”.

Bilgin mentioned how the Ecevit family made a large donation after an earthquake in 1975 to the Gelibolu region. Bilgin shared a memory about Rahşan Ecevit “She would send cards during festivities, she would little stickers of Turkish flags on the cards. One day, I told her that I could get her some cards with little Turkish flags on them so she wouldn’t have to bother so much, but she said she wouldn’t want to waste any paper and thanked me. The Ecevits had the most beautiful love I’ve ever seen. Simply by reading Ecevit’s poems you can see how much in love he was. The Ecevits were like a beautiful poem, and they will remain so”.
Ülman “Ecevit was someone who was respected by all journalists, no matter what their political beliefs were”
Before welcoming Mehmet Çetingüleç to the floor, M4D Assistant Coordinator gave some biographical information about him: “Çetingüleç is someone who has 39 years of experience behind him, he has worked in almost every level of the profession. He has written two books over the years, ‘Ferman Padişahın Vurgun Bizimdir’ and ‘Rahşan’. Çetingüleç’s path crossed with Bülent Ecevit many years ago. This transformed into a very long friendship, something beyond being mere acquaintances as politician and journalists; they became family friends. Ecevit was someone who was respected by all journalists, no matter what their political beliefs were. Ecevit was always polite and respectful towards journalists. I believe this stems from Ecevit having worked as a journalist, himself.”
Çetingüleç started his speech with the following remarks “Ecevit’s political success stems from Rahşan Ecevit.
Perhaps how Rahşan and Ecevit met, and how they have stayed together was caused by how Ecevit was quite similar in personality to Rahşan Hanım’s father Prof. Namık Zeki Aral. They met in 1944, then got married two years later. They lived together for 60 years, and were involved in politics for 44 years. Rahşan Hanım saved Ecevit from prison, founded the Umut Newspaper, helped spread Ecevit’s message to the people but most of all established the village foundations which helped formed a direct chain between producers and consumers”.
Çetingüleç “Ecevit was the only leader to carry CHP to 42%”
Reminding that Ecevit served as prime minister five times between 1974 and 2002 Çetingüleç said:
“After getting married, Ecevit worked in the Press Attaché of the Turkish Embassy in London. After returning to Turkey in 1950, Ecevit worked for Ulus Newspaper and in 1955 through a scholarship he attended The Journal and Sentinel in America as visiting journalist. Ecevit displayed his solidarity with the people even in America, he wrote a piece called ‘Ayın karanlık yüzü’ (Dark side of the moon) criticizing racism against black people. In 1957 he returned to Turkey, that year he was elected as CHP deputy for Ankara. In 1961 he became Minister of Labour, and in 1965 he started writing daily columns for Milliyet newspaper. In 1966 he excelled until secretary general of CHP, in 1971 he quit from this position in protest of the coup. In 1972 Ecevit was elected as general president of CHP, two years later the party in power. Ecevit was the only leader to get CHP 42% after Turkey’s transition to the multi-party system. CHP forms the foundation of all political parties in Turkey. All political parties in Turkey stem from CHP. CHP existed before all other parties. Legendary right-wing leader Adnan Menderes was a deputy of CHP for 15 years, former President Celal Bayar was also a CHP deputy; he founded the Democrat Party after leaving CHP. It was thanks to Ismet Inönü that Turkey was able to transition to a different life. Having worked closely with Inönü Ecevit was able to climb the political ladder so quickly. Ecevit pulled CHP towards the left after starting the “leftist moderatism” movement. Ecevit restructured the party in alignment with the people, social democracy, social justice and people’s rights”.
“Ecevit’s political courtesy came from Ismet Inönü while his courage came from Atatürk”
Çetingüleç remarked that Ecevit always took pride in his journalism “Despite his political career, Ecevit would always take pride in his journalism, he was the owner of an honorary press card. He cared for journalists, throughout his 44 years in politics he never once sued a journalist. The Ecevits focused on commonalities, not polarization. The Ecevits symbolize courtesy in Turkey, they also symbolize courage. Ecevit’s political courtesy came from Ismet Inönü while his courage came from Atatürk. An example of Ecevit’s courage is how he uncovered the counter-guerrilla Ecevit was detained three times and ended in Ulucanlar Prison twice; he was subjected to countless assassination attempts. Rahşan Ecevit founded DSP in 1985. This political party strived to support the rights of workers and the oppressed. After the removal of his political ban, Ecevit then led this party. Rahşan Hanım’s support plays a big role in Ecevit’s success. Rahşan Hanım had a big impact on Ecevit’s political success. It would be impossible to erase the effect the Ecevits had on Turkey, it was Ecevit who introduced the right to strike, and the right to collective labour agreement. Again, it was thanks to Ecevit that distance education began. It was Ecevit who legislated the work security act. He truly was a revolutionary. That’s why it would be impossible to erase the effect the Ecevits had on this country”.

Mehmet Çetingüleç Reflects on the Ecevit Family yazısı ilk önce M4D Project üzerinde ortaya çıktı.

NAZ AKMAN / (ANKARA) – Implemented by the Association of Journalists and funded by the European Union, the Media for Democracy/Democracy for Media Project presented its yearly activities and supports it provides. M4D Media Conference was held at Ankara Büyükhanlı Hotel and hosted numerous journalists, diplomats, academicians and union representatives.
Association of Journalists Chairman Nazmi Bilgin and Head of the EU Delegation to Turkey Christian Berger made the opening speeches which was followed by various panels and discussion boards focusing on the current situation of the media in Turkey, public broadcasting and the Press Advertising Authority.
As part of the conference, a book signing was held for the book titled “Şimdi Onlar Manşet” (Now They’re the Headline) compiling interviews with 69 prominent journalists which was prepared by Taner Dedeoğlu for the Association of Journalists.

Bilgin, “I fully believe our supports will continue to increase in the following years”
In his opening speech Association of Journalists Chairman Nazmi Bilgin said: “There is a lot to say at the end of our first year. Christian Berger has supported us by attending our events. I fully believe our supports will continue to increase in the following years. I would like to thank Project Director Yusuf Kanlı and the whole project team for their hard work throughout the year”.
Bilgin discussed the financial problems local media faces, and how the project has been supporting unemployed journalists through its support mechanisms. Emphasizing the importance of the project for journalists to be able to sustain their profession Bilgin said the following about the current situation of the media in Turkey “I will not go into detail about the current situation the media in Turkey, but it gives me a lot of pain. When we look at newspaper sales, we see that money cannot buy everything. Many television stations had to shut down due to low ratings. Just days ago, two newspapers closed their doors due to not being able to find financial resources. These developments do not paint a pretty picture for Turkey. While we should be struggling together, we end up waiting in long queues at the notary. Editors-in-chief, executive producers rather than stand with us strived to leave their unions. This isn’t a professional issue, it’s a moral issue. Despite all of this, I have not lost my hope. Pessimism is something a journalist should not feel. We are trying to provide unemployed journalists with a little hope through the support mechanisms provided by the project. One day, the path with clear up.  Never lose hope in this. Belief in this is believing in patriotism, the republic, democracy and the principles of Atatürk. From time to time we hear comments about how Turkey is not going to be accepted to the EU. To be honest, we’ve been waiting at the door of the EU without earning the right to become a member. We may have our faults, but the EU is overlooking something important. More than 50% of Turkey believe the EU to be a door opening up to civilization. Governments are temporary, but making the people of Turkey wait has broken our hearts. As a people we decided to face west, rather than east.  We wish to overcome certain issues and step by step become a member of the EU and open up to democracy and freedom”.

Berger “The Association of Journalists must be supported”
Head of the EU Delegation to Turkey Christian Berger emphasized that the Association of Journalists must be supported and said “Media for Democracy, Democracy for Media. The project’s name says it all. I would like to thank everyone for coming here today, those who have strived to improve the situation of the journalism in Turkey, for freedom of expression and the press. Freedom of the press and expression are two important issues for EU enlargement and accession processes. Supporting freedom of the press is a basic principle of the EU both within and outside the union. The European Union pays great attention to freedom of the press and journalism indicators. These indicators are: political power and intervention, economic concerns, concentration in the media and monopolization, oppression and violence targeting journalists. It is very important to support qualified investigative journalism. Journalists are being targeted around the world; therefore the European Union strives to protect and support investigative journalism. In addition to supporting different professional organizations in different countries, the Association of Journalists must be supported as well. Through support mechanisms, it is aimed to increase the capacities of these organizations and increase the support they provide for their members. We are trying to increase solidarity with journalists who have been rendered unable to practise their profession”.

“Press Honour Award” given to Öymen
Following the opening speeches, senior journalist and author Altan Öymen was awarded the “Press Honour Award” given by the Association of Journalists. Chairman Bilgin told the audience the meaning behind the symbolism of the award, the bird in the statuette symbolizing peace, while the pen symbolizing journalism breaking free from its chains. Bilgin also thanked the creator of the statuette Şerif Akşit.
Öymen “The press in Turkey will be free once again”
Receiving the award from Bilgin and Berger, Öymen remarked this was his 70th year in the profession and added that developments in the Turkish media is not akin to that of a democratic country. Stating that the press in Turkey will be free once again Öymen said “Metin Toker, a previous chairman of the Association of Journalists, once said ‘Journalism is the greatest profession in the world if it is done properly”. Journalism is a wonderful profession. Press freedom has quite a long history in Turkey, we’ve been through freer times. It is impossible to speak of democracy where there is no freedom of the press. The Turkish public has internalized democracy. Having overcome certain difficulties Turkey was no different than European countries at the beginning of the millennium.  Up until this point, journalists have been murdered. Turkey has strayed away from being a country where there is freedom of the press. It has increasingly become difficult to call Turkey a democratic state. Of course, this will not go on forever. The system that has allowed this to happen with change. The press will be free once again in Turkey. Conferences such as this, will no doubt contribute to this”.

Beşikçioğlu, “You cannot separate art, teaching and journalism”
Following the opening speeches, actress and artist Elvin Beşikçioğlu made a speech titled “Art and Freedom”. Beşikçioğlu underlined the importance of art in developed countries “We cannot separate art from thinking, especially theatre combines many different disciplines. When practising music, or painting you can do them alone but theatre is not like that. You realize theatre by combining different elements. One of these elements is literature, an art form that uses both written and spoken words. The same is true for journalists. It becomes art when you say it in a universal way. Art’s meaning here is very important. By opening up the lives of other cultures, and adding art to it do you get a piece of art. Unfortunately, we do not come across art like this anymore. These things require financing. Institutions may suffer from internal strife; this may require certain measures to be taken but we cannot accept these being done through destructiveness.  We’ve seen the power of art not only in Ankara and Istanbul, but in places like Diyarbakır and Gaziantep. We’ve seen the impact of art on children, some of them have become our colleagues over the years. You cannot separate art, teaching and journalism, or any other profession for that matter.

Media Monitoring Report 2019
After the speeches, M4D Project Director Yusuf Kanlı talked about the 2019 Media Monitoring Report. The report documents developments regarding imprisoned journalists, freedom of expression violations, newspaper sales and media ownership in 2019. Kanlı said “Turkey has painted a picture akin to authoritarian regimes regarding freedom of the press in 2019. The situation of imprisoned journalists has proven to be a chronic issue. Cases of ‘insulting the president’ have reached unprecedented levels, unseen in democratic countries. These trials hang over freedom of the press and expression like the sword of Damocles. The President is also the head of a political party in the new government system. This dual occupation has demonstrated that defamation cases have been mostly interpreted quite liberally at the cost of the defendant. Prolonged prison sentences have become the bleeding wound of freedom of expression and the press. The Legal Reform Package gives us hope in the possibility of reducing these long prison sentences to human levels”.
Referring to the importance of unionization Kanlı said: “We need to ensure unionization in Turkey. As the Association of Journalists we are the second biggest press organization in Turkey. Despite this, our membership is around the 10% mark, it’s fair to say there aren’t any journalists in associations. In addition to imprisoned journalists is the problem of media ownership. We used to know who newspaper owners were, but now this is not the case. Our third problem is censorship, or self-censorship”.

Support mechanisms provided to journalists by M4D
Following Kanlı, M4D Project Officer Igor Chelov talked about various support mechanisms provided by the project: “This project is implemented by the Association of Journalists and financed directly by the European Commission. The project started in January 2019, it will end in April 2022; so it’s a 40 months project. The main goal of the project is to strengthen media pluralism and press freedom in Turkey. While doing so we designated three target groups. The first group are freelance journalists, the second group are civil society organizations working in the media field and the third are media outlets. We consider these groups in a holistic manner, and through the support mechanisms we provide we aim to achieve two goals. The first goal is to establish a foundation where media pluralism and freedom of the press is supported and awareness surrounding these issues increase. The second aim is to establish and a safe-place where journalists can connect and increase solidarity. In addition to the support mechanisms we’ve also established a Press House at the Association of Journalists. The Press House functions both as a bridge between journalists and national/international actors while also providing them with a safe-place”.
M4D Support Programme Expert Merve Kartal shared yearly data regarding support mechanisms provided by the project. Kartal gave information about the four support mechanisms and said:
“As part of the project we provide support to freelance journalists, media organizations and institutions. Our Website Technical Support mechanism is still in effect, we received applications from 62 different cities, and 33 were approved.  Out of the 33 applications many were put into practise. We aim to provide support to 50 applications throughout the project. One of the aims of this project is to help journalists establish digital media channels. Our other support “Facility for Strengthening Freelance Journalists” aims to provide support freelance journalists by publishing 315 news articles, 105 research articles and serials in exchange for royalties. We provide support for an approximate of nine news articles, three research articles or serials per month. These articles are published on “24 Saat Newspaper” in exchange for royalty fees. The support mechanism we opened for application in April received 195 applications, out of these 103 were published in 24 Saat Newspaper. 116 are among approved news articles, applications are still open. Until now, 72 news articles and 24 research articles have been published. The other support mechanism we provide is aimed at young journalists. Again, 31 young journalists from across Turkey applied for this support mechanism. Out of these 31 applications, seven of them were accepted. Again, as part of this support mechanism we provide young journalists with equipment, training and visibility in communication support. Our final support is the “Press House Support” which has the highest amount of funding which means it can reach the highest number of people. In September we received a total of 53 applications which were put into practise. As of February we will be entering our new period. We believe we will receive more applications in comparison to last year”.

Model Applications
Journalists Tülin Daloğlu, Ünsal Ünlü and İrfan Uçar talked about the websites they established through support they received in the “Model Applications” panel, moderated by Kartal.
Tülin Daloğlu of “Halimiz.com” said: “I broadcast a discussion every month on my website; my guests and I talk about the situation of the media. As ‘Halimiz.com’ we discuss with out guests a main theme and how it may affect our lives”. Irfan Uçar talked about a network he has established with unemployed through his website “yeni1mecra”. Uçar said “We established a website and YouTube channel called ‘yeni1mecra’. We were able to establish a network between unemployed journalists and writers. We have three main targets: journalists who want to sustain their jobs, people who are subjects of the news but fall outside the scope of mainstream media, and news itself.  Our main topics of interest are labour, precarity, refugees, unemployment, economic crisis, rights violations. We currently have a three person administrative team, one volunteer and 15 writers. As ‘yeni1mecra’ we publish the content of journalists in exchange for royalties. Those who have benefited from this support have not been limited to Ankara, we’ve had people write from Istanbul, Şanlıurfa, Hatay, Elazığ and many other cities. In 60 days we’ve published 9 pieces of content. 15 minutes of video content is created daily. In the second and third periods of the support mechanisms, I believe that projects which show institutional promise should be focused on.
Ünsal Ünlü from Patronsuz said “I currently broadcast to 100 thousand people each day. My only criteria is objective journalism, so I appeal to a wide array of people. The name of my broadcast is called ‘patronsuz’ (without a boss). We show everyone that journalism can be practised without blaming and judging others. When I was applying to the project, I thought to myself how I could contribute to the Association of Journalists. I attended a digital broadcasting fair in Amsterdam, it really broadened my horizons. I discovered many interfaces used in digital broadcasting; my views increased by 9,5 percent after using what they call ‘multicasting’”.

Public Broadcasting
Following these speeches, Prof. Korkmaz Alemdar moderated the “Public Broadcasting” panel which was attended by Spanish State Television RTVE International Relations Director Asuncion Gomez Bueno, former Anatolian Agency General Manager Ceyhan Baytur and former TRT producer Hadi Şenol. In his speech, Şenol commented that a union of broadcasters must be established to improve public broadcasting. Baytur also mentioned the importance of public broadcasting in terms of informing the public and that the Association of Journalists should act as a pioneer in this regard. In the panel, journalist Bueno shared her experience in channel RTVE and how journalists across the world should strive together to solve the problems of public broadcasting.

Local Media and the Press Advertisement Authority
Another panel titled “Local Media and the Press Advertisement Authority” was held which was moderated by former Press Advertisement Authority General Council member Mustafa Arslan, and attended by Gaziantep Journalists’ Association Chairman Arif Kurt and former Press Advertisement Authority where the structure of the Press Advertisement Authorty, its function and duties were discussed, alongside its current issues. The panellists touched upon the importance of the Press Advertisement Authority’s role for the press sector to sustain itself, while discussing the decline in official announcements/advertisements and how measures must be taken to protect local media.
The conference ended with Chairman of the Association of Journalists Nazmi Bilgin thanking everyone for their attendance and participation.

M4D Holds Annual Media Conference yazısı ilk önce M4D Project üzerinde ortaya çıktı.

SULTAN YAVUZ- Implemented by the Association of Journalists and implemented by the European Union, the Media for Democracy/Democracy for Media Project (M4D) hosted Gülsün Bilgehan at the Press House in Ankara. In her presentation titled “İnönü” Bilgehan talked about her late grandfather İsmet İnönü, second president of Turkey, and his approach to democracy and the media.
Association of Journalists Chairman Nazmi Bilgin remarked that it was the anniversary of İnönü’s death in his opening speech and shared this memory: “I couldn’t ask İnönü a question because in the first few years of the profession we were taught to first listen and then ask questions.  Yet I remember holding the microphone to him, it was a very happy moment for me…
My father had many memories of İsmet Pasha, and despite being members of different political parties my father had a lot of respect for him. I’d like to tell you about a memory; I was quite young and new in the profession. My father and I were quite distant but despite that I once said ‘Father, your opposition to İsmet Pasha is not sufficient”. He turned to me and said ‘sit down’ and took off his overcoat as he was just about to leave. I recall his last sentence ‘Son, one does not simply oppose İsmet Pasha, he has too many medals’. I’m very fond of this memory, the more I live the more I realize how much my father valued İsmet İnönü”.

Ülman “Bilgehan: someone right in the middle of politics and journalism”
Following Chairman Bilgin, M4D Assistant Project Director Seva Ülman gave brief biographical information about Bilgehan: “The grandchild of İsmet İnönü and the daugther Metin Toker, Bilgehan is someone who is right in the middle of journalism and politics”. Reminding the audience that Bilgehan’s husband Mustafa Bilgehan is also a press member Ülman remarked that Bilgehan’s daughter Zeynep is still a correspondent in a famous newspaper. Born in Ankara, Bilgehan is a graduate of the Paris Institute of Political Science, Department of International Relations and was elected as a member of parliament for CHP in 2002. Bilgehan also worked at the Council of Europe in which she served as the chair of the Gender Opportunities Equality Commission.
Bilgehan was awarded the “Abdi İpekçi Award” for her two-volume book “Mevhibe” and “Female Writer of the Year” too. Bilgehan was elected as general vice president for CHP in 2010 and remained in this position until 2011 during which she was elected as an MP for CHP. Ülman stated that Bilgehan was elected as an MP for CHP once again in 2015 and served as chairperson for the İsmet İnönü Foundation for one term.
Bilgehan “I was born into politics”
Stating that the universal problems of journalism still continue, Gülsün Bilgehan started her speech by quoting her father Metin Toker who said “Provided that it is done humanely, journalism is the greatest profession in the world”. Remarking that she grew up among politicians and journalists, Bilgehan’s father Metin Toke (founder of Akis magazine) was arrested 15 days before she was born. Many intellectuals like her father Metin Toker spent time in Ulucanlar Prison, therefore her grandfather İsmet İnönü wanted to name her “Gülsün” because it means “one that always smiles” in Turkish.
Stating that her father Metin Toker had many important resources regarding the history of the Republic and the press, Bilgehan said she did her first internship in Akis magazine. While in primary school Bilgehan mentioned she would make corrections on the magazines and couldn’t forget the distinctive smell of printing houses in the 1960s. When Bilgehan was 13 she also wrote a travel piece titiled “Beş Çocuk, Beş Gün Karadeniz” for Milliyet newspaper. Following graduating from university Bilgehan returned to Turkey where she worked for Hurriyet newspaper under Erol Simavi and on Rüzgarlı Street for two years. Mentioning she met her husband during this period Bilgehan said “He was the son of opposition Justice Party member Cihat Bilgehan, but we fell in love and gote married in the chaotic atmosphere following the 1980 coup. There were people from CHP and True Path Party, people from all walks of life at the wedding”.
Describing the times she took care of her children the past years of her life Bilgehan was elected as a deputy for CHP in 2002. Reminding the audience her uncle Erdal inönü and father had worked for the European Council too, Bilgehan remarked that she not only worked in the Anti-Discrimination and Equality Commission but also in the Culture and Media department.
Bilgehan stated her father’s magazine Akis would give place to all kinds of opinions and belifes and said “One day my father met İnönü at the Pink Villa, his reason was to ask for his daughter’s hand in marriage. He was about 30 years old… My grandfather İnönü gives his blessing but says ‘They’re are going to bad things to you because of this. Indeed, my father spent two years in prison. 

Gülsün Bilgehan on “İnönü” yazısı ilk önce M4D Project üzerinde ortaya çıktı.

NEWS CENTRE- Implemented by the Association of Journalists and funded by the European Union, the Media for Democracy/Democracy for Media Project held its situation assessment meeting in Aksaray.

Lead by Association of Journalists Chairman Nazmi Bilgin, the M4D project team, Vice Chairman and M4D Project Coordinator Yusuf Kanlı and Honorary Board member Mehpare Çelik were welcomed to Aksaray University by rectorate Prof. Yusuf Şahin. Rector Şahin provided Chairman Bilgin and the project team with information regarding developments in the education system.
The team then attended the fifth “Communication Meeting” held at Aksaray University where they had the opportunity to interact with students. Association of Journalists Honorary Board Member Mehpare Çelik made the following remarks in her presentation titled “Usage of the Turkish Language in the Media”: “Language cannot be politicized; it is a living phenomenon. In order to protect your homeland, you need to protect your language. People must educate their children about their mother tongue from an early age to increase awareness”.
An internet law must be issued
In the situation assessment meeting held at the Aksaray Teacher’s Lodge, many journalists expressed that although there is a significant number of local journalists most of them lack sufficient qualification. Students on the other hand, complained about how most young people are not interested in journalism as a profession anymore. Association of Journalists Chairman Nazmi Bilgin pointed out that an internet law must be issued, the legalization of publication sources would be a positive development. Bilgin said “There has never been a time where the press was in such a state. The same is true for the local press, as well. Newspaper sales have dropped significantly, too. People say this has been due to the internet, but that’s not true. Online journalism has affected sales by 24% in the US, 21% in Europe and these figures drop even lower in Japan. In this context, newspaper sales have declined by 80% in Turkey, according to the Press Advertising Authority Turkey’s largest newspaper Hürriyet’s sales are around 90 thousand  Therefore, it is of great importance to take necessary precaution against the distrust journalism now faces, rather than online journalism”.
If official advertisements are removed half of the newspapers in Anatolia will have to shut down
Claiming that the problems of the Anatolian press are not discussed Bilgin said “If official advertisements are removed, half of the newspapers in Anatolia will have to shut down.  The paper crisis in local media and the issue of official announcements are headed by illegal online publications. It is very important that laws regulating online publication are put in place. One should not forget that where there is pluralism there is democracy; journalists and professional organizations must come together and unite”. Association of Journalists Vice Chairman and M4D Project Director Yusuf Kanlı gave information about the current and future supports of the project.

Aksaray Situation Assessment Meeting yazısı ilk önce M4D Project üzerinde ortaya çıktı.