Journalists in the earthquake zone recounted those moments…

Earthquake journalism was discussed at an event jointly organized by the Faculty of Communication, Department of Journalism, İLİMER, and the Media Academy Association (MAKDER). The event, held as part of May 3 World Press Freedom Day, was moderated by Prof. Dr. Süleyman İrvan, Dean of the Faculty of Communication. Guests at the panel included; Selçuk Taşdemir, President of MAKDER; Hakan Akgün, Milliyet Photojournalist; Bünyamin Aygün, Demirören Media Visual Media Director; and Merve Tokaz, CNN Türk Reporter. 

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gül Esra Atalay: “Journalists were among the first groups to arrive in the earthquake zone”

In the event that started with the opening speech of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gül Esra Atalay, Head of the Journalism Department, Atalay stated that they organized this panel to discuss earthquake journalism, a sub-branch of disaster journalism. Atalay said; “Journalists were among the first working groups to arrive in the earthquake zone along with aid efforts. Therefore, they witnessed the entire process very closely, and at the same time, they had a challenging experience in terms of journalism.” 

Prof. Dr. Süleyman İrvan, Dean of the Faculty of Communication, who moderated the online panel, mentioned that May 3 has been celebrated as World Press Freedom Day since 1994. İrvan stated; “May 3 World Press Freedom Day is transforming into a day that emphasizes the importance of press freedom, assesses the state of press freedom in the world, strives to build solidarity against attacks on the media, and particularly commemorates journalists who have been killed. It is very important from our perspective as well. The special importance of this panel is that it focuses on earthquake journalism.”

Selçuk Taşdemir: “Journalists are the silent heroes of these endeavors”

Selçuk Taşdemir, President of MAKDER, drew attention to earthquake journalism as an important phenomenon. Reminding of the performance journalists displayed during the pandemic, Taşdemir said; “Earthquake journalism is an important phenomenon; if you recall, journalists were also the silent heroes of these efforts during the pandemic. In addition to their reporting, they observed from their own perspectives, thinking about how they could help, and what could be done about the problems. It is an issue we value for the accurate dissemination of earthquake news and the establishment of awareness regarding earthquakes.”

Journalist Hakan Akgün: “The media performed well during the earthquake”

Hakan Akgün, Photojournalist for Milliyet Newspaper, stated that he had been in the earthquake zone since day one. Akgün said; “It was a difficult process both for us and for the earthquake victims. I stayed in the region for 53 days. We experienced the same communication problems everyone else did. There were times when I didn't know what was happening on the next street because we were focused on one area where there was rubble and we were working.” Akgün, stating that the media performed well in this earthquake, added; “The media performed well in this earthquake. Our relationships with our colleagues were very good. There was mutual help in every aspect. The media performed well both internally and towards the outside world. There were also lessons learned in terms of professional solidarity. The media may have internal conflicts, but when we were on the field in the earthquake zone, there was no such thing.”

Bünyamin Aygün: “Journalists integrated with the local community…” 

Bünyamin Aygün, Visual Media Director at Demirören Media, stated that they had been on the field with a very serious team of journalists since the first day of the earthquake. Aygün said; “We still haven’t pulled some of our teams from the region. We told them, ‘Send whatever you see.’ The team virtually integrated with the local community. For the first time, our teams set aside their journalistic identities and presented themselves on the field saying, ‘We are human first.’ It felt as if I was talking not to a reporter, but to an earthquake survivor. This is what it made me feel. Our team absorbed the events so deeply that we did our journalism, we reflected whatever happened, but beyond that, our teams first tried to solve whatever problem someone had. As Demirören Media, we tried to convey this: we are human first; we also spoke of this earthquake with as much pain as the earthquake victims, and we set out with this pain, focusing on how we, as a society, could overcome this suffering. We completely told the teams, ‘Write what you see, photograph what you see, and interpret it.’”

Journalist Merve Tokaz: “For them, I was ‘our Merve’…”

CNN Türk Reporter Merve Tokaz shared her experiences during the 64 days she spent in the earthquake zone with communication students. Tokaz said; “Journalism is essentially being awake 24 hours a day. Even in our sleep, one eye and one ear are always open. The earthquake disaster demonstrated this. As reporters and cameramen working in the field, from the moment we set foot on the ground, we were both earthquake victims and reporters or cameramen. There was no sharp distinction between these roles. You spend 24 hours a day with the people there, you eat in those tents, sometimes you rest, and by staying with those people, you can both internalize the disaster they experienced and more easily convey what you’ve internalized to the audience. In such a process, you have to act with your conscience. When you go to the region as a reporter, your needs are the same as the needs of the people there. We were fed by whatever cauldrons were boiling for the earthquake victims there. After a certain point, in addition to your journalistic capacity, a natural bond forms between you and the people there. The people there also greatly needed psychological support. Even after the camera was off, we didn’t leave their side, we tried to heal their wounds, we tried to give them morale. I worked in the İslahiye district of Gaziantep. After a certain period, when I walked those streets, for them I was 'our Merve'. First and foremost, when you become one of them, when you bring something to the screen, the audience's response is very different.”

The event concluded with participants' questions being answered.