In collaboration with Üsküdar University Faculty of Communication, Department of Journalism, New Media and Journalism Division, and the Journalism Club, a panel titled “Rights-Based Journalism in Turkey: Problems and Responsibilities” was held as part of December 10 World Human Rights Day. The panel addressed the structural problems, ethical responsibilities, and proposed solutions faced by rights-oriented journalism in Turkey.
The panel, held at Üsküdar University South Campus Fuat Sezgin Conference Hall, was moderated by Assist. Prof. Dr. Ceren Saran Doğan, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Communication.
Prof. Dr. Süleyman İrvan, Head of the Department of Journalism at Üsküdar University Faculty of Communication, Freelance Journalist Eda Narin, and BİANET reporter Hikmet Adal attended the panel as speakers.
Prof. Dr. Süleyman İrvan: “Making rights violations visible is one of the fundamental responsibilities of journalism”
Prof. Dr. Süleyman İrvan, Head of the Department of Journalism at the Faculty of Communication, stated in his speech that rights-based journalism is not sufficiently widespread in Turkey, both in practice and in academic fields. Evaluating rights-based journalism through three fundamental principles, İrvan emphasized that this approach is based on making rights violations visible, developing a rights-based perspective in news production, and avoiding the creation of new rights violations while reporting.
Referring to the statistics of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), Prof. Dr. İrvan stated that the high number of applications from Turkey indicates the extent of rights violations in the country, emphasizing the great importance of conveying these violations to the public with a correct and responsible journalistic approach. İrvan also expressed that journalism departments should train students with high awareness and ethical responsibility in this field.
Eda Narin: “The language of news should not create new victimizations”
In her speech, freelance journalist Eda Narin stated that the lack of sustainability and security, particularly in freelance journalism, is one of the fundamental problems making the profession difficult. Narin noted that the concern for clicks in the media leads to a deviation from rights-oriented journalism, adding that the daily news quota imposed by the Press Advertisement Agency on online news sites negatively affects content quality.
Narin, drawing attention to the decisive role of language in rights-based journalism, emphasized the necessity of avoiding details that suggest methods in news related to femicides and sexual violence. Stating that such details could lead to new victimizations, Narin said; “In rights-oriented journalism, the language of the news should not reproduce victimization and should not cause further harm to the subject.” Narin also touched upon the importance of gender-sensitive language, stating that the expressions used in news texts have a direct impact on survivors.
Hikmet Adal: “Self-censorship pushes journalists to write incompletely”
BİANET reporter Hikmet Adal also addressed the structural and legal problems encountered while practicing rights-oriented journalism. Adal stated that the risk of self-censorship frequently arises in news covering rights violations, and this situation pushes journalists not to write or to write incompletely.
BİANET, as an institution practicing rights-based journalism, faces difficulties in terms of economic sustainability, yet this journalism continues thanks to idealism, Adal expressed. Adal also touched upon the meticulous discussions on news language, conveying that word choices, in particular, can have legal consequences, and therefore they work with great sensitivity in news production processes. He added that investigations opened against journalists due to news about the earthquake region and rights violations, and the manner in which the disinformation law is applied, pose a serious threat to journalism.
At the end of the panel, Prof. Dr. Süleyman İrvan and Kevser Yılmaz, Vice President of the Journalism Club, presented certificates of appreciation to the speakers.
The program concluded with a group photo session.