As part of January 10 Working Journalists’ Day, a panel titled “Current Problems of Women Journalists” was organized by Üsküdar University Faculty of Communication Departments of Journalism, Radio Television and Cinema, New Media and Communication, in collaboration with the Media Academy Association (MAKDER) and the Journalism Club operating under the Department of Health, Culture and Sports (HCS). The panel addressed structural problems faced by women journalists in the media sector, sexist language in news reporting, job insecurity, and mobbing.
Held at the Fuat Sezgin Conference Hall of Üsküdar University South Campus, the panel hosted TV100 News Anchor Nilüfer Kutlu, Medyascope News Editor and Coordinator of the Turkish Journalists Association Women’s Commission Göksel Göksu, and BIANET Editor Evrim Kepenek.
The panel was moderated by Faculty of Communication Dean Prof. Gül Esra Atalay, while the opening speech was delivered by Head of the Journalism Department Prof. Süleyman İrvan.
Prof. Süleyman İrvan: “January 10 is a day that reminds us of the core purpose of journalism”
Prof. Süleyman İrvan drew attention to the historical significance of January 10. İrvan said, “January 10 is a very important day in Turkish press history. On January 10, 1961, the Press Labor Law No. 212 was published in the Official Gazette and entered into force. This law provided journalists with significant rights and job security. Newspaper owners who believed the law would bring difficulties for them came together when their interests were at stake and opposed it. They even announced that they would not publish newspapers for three days as a form of protest. However, on the same day, journalist organizations immediately took action and decided to publish a newspaper called ‘Basın’. In short, January 10 is a day that reminds us of journalists standing up for their profession and rights, and of the fundamental purpose of journalism.”
İrvan also emphasized that pressure on women journalists has become more visible in recent years, stating, “Due to the accusations directed at women journalists in recent months, we chose the problems of women journalists as the topic of this year’s panel.”
Esra Çınar: “We attach great importance to building a strong bridge between the media sector and academia”
MAKDER Vice President Esra Çınar spoke at the opening of the panel. She emphasized that MAKDER approaches independent journalism as an ethical stance. Çınar said, “The main aim of our association is to build a strong bridge between the media sector and academia, to support young communicators, and to contribute to communication education. MAKDER is a non governmental organization founded in 2022. Since our establishment, we have organized many events especially at faculties that train journalists. Through these events, we value coming together with students and sharing our professional experiences.”
Meryem Aydın: “Journalism requires pursuing the truth”
Journalism Club President Meryem Aydın highlighted the social responsibility of journalism in her opening speech. Aydın said, “Journalism is a very important profession that requires pursuing the truth and informing the public accurately. However, for women, this profession often becomes even more challenging due to inequality, job insecurity, and invisible labor.”
Following the opening speeches, the panel discussions began.
Göksel Göksu: “Women journalists had to make their existence accepted”
Medyascope News Editor and Coordinator of the Turkish Journalists Association Women’s Commission Göksel Göksu addressed the structural problems faced by women journalists based on her 30 years of professional experience. Göksu said, “Women journalists first had to make their existence accepted in this sector. Being sent to the field and covering risky news stories were often left to men.”
Emphasizing the importance of news language, Göksu stated, “Expressions like ‘a jealous husband killed his wife’ create a language that legitimizes violence. Language shapes social consciousness.”
Göksu highlighted the importance of the Gender Policy Document
Göksu also addressed issues of harassment and mobbing frequently faced by women in the media sector, highlighting the importance of the Gender Policy Document prepared by the Turkish Journalists Association Women’s Commission. She stated that independent and impartial commissions should be established in workplaces.
She noted that these commissions should be able to handle complaints safely, have predetermined sanctions, and provide legal and psychological support to employees.
Nilüfer Kutlu: “Hard work and courage have no gender”
Another panelist, TV100 News Anchor Nilüfer Kutlu, shared the challenges she experienced both within her family and throughout her professional life as a woman journalist. Kutlu said, “Journalism is already a difficult profession, but there are additional burdens that come with being a woman. For me, these challenges started within the family.”
Emphasizing that anchoring is not as easy as it may appear from the outside, Kutlu said, “Hard work and courage have no gender, but women have to struggle much more to reach this point.”
“Anchoring without field experience is not realistic”
Kutlu noted that women in television organizations are often expected only to be visible, while their commentary is restricted. Addressing students who aim to become news anchors, she said, “Being beautiful or reading well is not enough to appear on screen. You cannot succeed in this profession without working behind the scenes. Anchoring without doing reporting and seeing the field is not realistic.”
Emphasizing that women anchors are scrutinized more closely than their male colleagues, Kutlu stated that many aspects, from social media posts to on screen performance, are evaluated much more harshly for women.
The panel, which attracted strong interest from students, concluded with a group photo after the question-and-answer session.