Implemented by the Association of Journalists and financed by the European Union the Media for Democracy\/Democracy for Media Programme\u2019s weekly journalist meetings hosted Semra Top\u00e7u at the Press House this week. Top\u00e7u, whose speech was titled \u201cBeing Unemployed as a Journalist in Turkey\u201d, touched upon reasons for unemployment of journalists in Turkey, the similarity of headlines between pro-government papers, the development of digital media in Turkey and the oppression the State of Emergency has caused. Top\u00e7u began her speech by referring to the five journalists attacked in May and made the following remarks \u201cU\u011fur Mumcu once famously said \u201cWe have been shot my dear people, do not forget us!\u201d We, as journalists, continue to be shot, we have been made redundant, removed from television screens, the pen we hold dearly has been taken away from us. It doesn\u2019t stop there, people have recently resorted to attacking journalists they don\u2019t like. We are living in dark times. I wanted to start my speech by referring to these facts, because we are practising journalism in a country that denies journalists the right to live.\u201d<\/p>\n
The current situation is closely linked to the level of democracy in Turkey said Top\u00e7u and reminded that Turkey placed 157th<\/sup> out of 180 countries in the World Freedom of the Press Index prepared by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Investigative journalism has also been punished remarked Top\u00e7u and recalled the 13-month prison sentence handed to Pelin \u00dcnker for her articles on the \u201cParadise Papers\u201d. Top\u00e7u said \u201cThis whole problem is closely linked to the level of democracy in our country. We are confronted with the problem of people not demanding their right to free access to news but also the relation between politics and the media. The media is an institution where people are employed to inform the public on behalf of the public. Information and the dissemination of information are democratic rights, members of the media provide this service through organizations they are tied to on behalf of the public. An important piece of information the RSF report provides us is that investigative journalism is being punished. \u00dcnker receiving a prison sentence for her journalism is just one example among many.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Top\u00e7u, Vice-President of Turkey Fuat Oktay has cancelled 2 thousand 397 press cards in the last three years \u201cThe number of press cards in on 29 November 2018 was 15 thousand 202, in April 2019 this number dropped to 14 thousand 759. Since everything is being run a by a single man, we are awaiting the approval of our press-cards issued by the Presidential Palace. According to the latest figures of Bar\u0131\u015f Yarkada\u015f 173 media organizations were shut-down, three thousand people were left unemployed, 141 journalists were in prison and 800 journalists\u2019 press-cards were cancelled and 800 journalists\u2019 passports were confiscated during the State of Emergency.\u201d<\/p>\n Unemployment among journalists is caused by monopolization of capital in the media sector, media organizations having been shut-down after the 15 July coup attempt, increased oppression by the government and reduction in unions recorded Top\u00e7u and added \u201cWhile talking about de-unionization I\u2019d like you draw your attention to the general situation in this context. The Journalists\u2019 Union of Turkey (TGS) has stated it has 1.260 members, there are more than 10 thousand media workers in Turkey. We need to specifically examine the last 17 years.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cWe need to differentiate between being pro-government and being a journalist\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Top\u00e7u made the following comments on how pro-government papers have been giving the same headlines:<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to realize that these problems go back to before the AKP. There was a significant shift in media ownership in 2002 just before the AKP took power. The law regarding radio and television broadcast was amended. AKP found itself in this system, the power of media bosses continued during their first term but in its second term the AKP provided us with the term \u201cpool media\u201d which consisted of pro-government media outlets. In 2004, Star Newspaper of Uzan was sold to TMSF, and then later to Ethem Sancak. Then came the others, and in 2007 the AKP was able to establish the \u201cpool media\u201d. In that period, many media organizations and large tenders were handed over. What happened between Turgay Ciner and Din\u00e7 Bilgin, how the Sabah ATV group changed hands and was given to \u00c7al\u0131k Group are important things we should not forget. Individuals close to the AKP started to become media bosses in this period, whereas large media organizations like Do\u011fan Group were put under pressure and journalists were being made redundant. One of those to first lose their jobs was Emin \u00c7\u00f6la\u015fan from H\u00fcrriyet. Following the 15 July Coup attempt the FET\u00d6 media was purged.<\/p>\n Today, 90% of the media is under the influence of President Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan and pro-government media. It has been reported that the Demir\u00f6ren Group owns 76% of the media. This monopolization has caused the same headlines to being published, the same columns being written, the same lies such as the Kabata\u015f incident being published and distributed. This of course is not journalism. We need to differentiate between being pro-government and being a journalist so we can tell the public about it. Otherwise people would be right when they say the trust in journalism has declined. But we have also observed that the people are aware of everything, the slanted system the AKP established has shot itself in the foot.\u201d<\/p>\n Top\u00e7u, who was made redundant following the 31 March Local Elections made these comments about the importance of digital media for unemployed journalists: \u201cWhen I was made redundant, I thought to myself could there be such a thing as an unemployed journalist? There simply couldn\u2019t be, we create our own channels. The old saying \u201cA good scare is worth more than good advice\u201d rings true. AKP created a system where journalists are unemployed because of their journalistic activities but of course this void has been filled. Journalists have established their own channels through social media, blogs, YouTube channels, online journals etc. digital media has become a hope for us all. In recent years online media has been a safe haven for journalists fired from mainstream media outlets. Important outlets are news sites such as T24, Duvar, Diken and Bianet. These portals provide people with alternative view-points and high-quality journalism but they do not have the necessary finances to practise investigative journalism. There is a cost to produce news, in the past media bosses compensated for this. In other words, the situation could be summed up like this \u201che who pays the piper calls the tune\u201d. Digital media gives us hope, despite membership and donations not being widespread in Turkey they are rapidly increasing in the world.<\/p>\n Unemployment in the journalism sector is at a historical high<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Top\u00e7u remarked that Turkey has not been able to solve its unemployment problem \u201cAccording to TU\u0130K (Turkish Statistical Institute) employment numbers of 2018, journalism ranks second in unemployment rates. Official figures state that one in four journalists are unemployed. Unemployment has been increasing at a rate of 4.7% annually and is currently at 23.8%. It has been recorded that following the financial crisis of 2001, around 5 thousand journalists were left redundant. It would be safe to say that unemployment in Turkey is at a record high; unemployment in the journalism sector is at a historical high, too. The opportunities digital media presents for journalists and being able to access these opportunities are very important. I hope to see similar endeavours such as the Association of Journalists\u2019 Press House. I would also like to see stronger unionization in journalism because it is very difficult to continue the struggle by yourself. Developments in digital media can help establish free and independent channels for journalists. This has especially been a topic of discussion in Europe, thanks to subscriptions you can circumvent pressures from media bosses. Therefore, it is important to be active in professional organizations to develop this field. Maybe not today, but I do hope free and independent journalism will be practised in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Implemented by the Association of Journalists and financed by the European Union the Media for Democracy\/Democracy for Media Programme’s weekly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4636,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4635","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-events","9":"post-with-thumbnail","10":"post-with-thumbnail-large"},"yoast_head":"\n