Under the main sponsorship of Üsküdar University, the final of the “Sports Journalists Compete” program was held. Students who qualified for the final appeared before the jury. Elif Aksu, a first-year student in the Radio, Television, and Cinema Department of Üsküdar University, won first place in the “Sports Journalists Compete” program. Enjoyable moments were experienced during the ceremony held in the Senate Hall.
Students from different universities who qualified for the competition appeared before the jury. The winner of the project, which aims to contribute to the development of young people in journalism, has been announced.
Üsküdar University Rector Prof. Dr. Nazife Güngör, Fotospor General Coordinator Cahit Yavuz, Üsküdar University Rector's Advisor Prof. Dr. Süleyman İrvan, Head of Journalism Department of the Faculty of Communication Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gül Esra Atalay, Head of Radio, Television and Cinema Department Assoc. Prof. Dr. Esennur Sirer, and Sports Announcer Derya Oruçoğlu attended the ceremony program held in Üsküdar University Senate Hall.
Elif Aksu, a first-year student from Üsküdar University's Radio, Television, and Cinema Department, became the winner of the competition, which was hosted by Sports Announcer Derya Oruçoğlu and featured Fotospor Editor-in-Chief Şevket Arslan, Fotospor General Coordinator Cahit Yavuz, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gül Esra Atalay, and Üsküdar Municipality Sports Club President, Technical Director Giray Bulak on its jury.
Prof. Dr. Nazife Güngör: “In such endeavors, one can only succeed together”
Emphasizing the importance of teamwork alongside the program being experienced for the first time, Prof. Dr. Nazife Güngör said; “You have become a very strong team with the faculty of communication. These kinds of processes are challenging. You experienced it for the first time, but I truly congratulate all of you. It turned out very nicely, and the result is magnificent. In such endeavors, work can only be done together, and progress can only be achieved together.”
Cahit Yavuz: “We know it's the first time in Turkey, and we believe it's the first in the world”
Fotospor General Coordinator Cahit Yavuz, speaking about the “Sports Journalists Compete” program being held for the first time in Turkey, stated; “When we first came here, many things were uncertain, including our champion. It was clear that we would experience many things during this process. Your school's conduct, the educators' approach to us, everything was very exciting for us, and we truly received much more than that during this process. As FotoSpor, we received very close attention and guidance from all our educators. All material and moral support was available to us. We, as a team, tried to provide support as much as we could. It was indeed a very beautiful process for us. We know it's the first time in Turkey, and we believe it's the first in the world. From start to finish, we first made a ranking in the newspapers. After the newspapers, we gave points to the children. Then, points were given to the news reports of our friends who made these newspapers, and after all these were collected, there were opinion points before the final. After these opinion points, their colleagues with whom they worked also participated in the scoring, and it was a very broad scoring, including our presenter and driver. We specifically implemented this scoring system. Let me give an example from the volleyball world championship. The scoring systems changed in the volleyball world championship. There is a similar point within this. We reach the championship by considering different evaluations from multiple points. We did the same, and finally, dear Elif became the champion. Now we congratulate her.”
Prof. Dr. Süleyman İrvan: “We gained Elif as a sports journalist”
Üsküdar University Rector's Advisor Prof. Dr. Süleyman İrvan, stating that the competition was an interesting experience, said; “Indeed, it was an interesting experience for us too. When we looked at it from the perspective of self-criticism or self-assessment, we hadn't actually given that much weight to sports journalism. When this suggestion came from you, we wondered a bit, could it be possible? We even saw this in the applications. Because very few students applied for sports journalism. We also didn't know how this competition would unfold. We thought, a competition will be held, but how will it work? It was really well managed, and we thank FotoSpor very much. Although I couldn't be on the juries throughout, I was able to join the final jury for the competition. Our colleagues made very nice contributions. It was also an experience for our students. But most importantly, we gained Elif, as a sports journalist. I hope she distinguishes herself in this field.”
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Esennur Sirer: “She truly learned and experienced journalism”
Head of Radio, Television, and Cinema Department Assoc. Prof. Dr. Esennur Sirer, stating that the students participating in the competition truly learned and experienced journalism, said; “It was a journalism department project. We are very grateful to our instructors, Esra Hoca, in this regard. Elif, as a television professional, actually knew the behind-the-scenes. She truly learned and experienced journalism. Of course, thanks to you and the instructors, we are also very grateful in this sense.”
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gül Esra Atalay: “What they learned here will carry them into the future”
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gül Esra Atalay, stating that there were no winners or losers in this program and that the participating students would owe something to this competition in their future careers, said; “When we first learned about this project, we thought it would be something good, but we couldn't have predicted how it would develop or where it would lead. It truly turned out to be an educational process that taught students something with well-thought-out details and every step, beyond what we had imagined. And, as you said, if we consider it from the audience's perspective, this project also became an educational pillar for the community. Therefore, from every aspect, it transformed into a project that made us, as an educational institution, quite happy. We thank the entire FotoSpor team very much. Elif won, but all the competing students were very valuable. They all have very good images in my eyes. I think they will all owe something to this experience in their careers. I believe what they learned here will carry them into the future. In this respect, it is important; rather than just thinking of it as winning or losing, if we consider it as an experience, an educational process, they all gained something.”
Sports Announcer Derya Oruçoğlu: “It was actually an apprenticeship process for all of us”
Sports Announcer Derya Oruçoğlu, mentioning that the program was an apprenticeship period for everyone and that this novitiate was an enjoyable process, said; “This was actually an apprenticeship process for all of us. Although we had done a lot of broadcasting, none of us had produced a competition program. At least, I hadn't on my own behalf. That's why the team was really very enjoyable. Very supportive. I would also like to thank Esra Hoca, Süleyman Hoca, Esennur Hoca, and all of you. The student friends who participated from the school were also very sweet. They gave me morale every day. It was truly an enjoyable process for us. We're glad we came. We also formed beautiful friendships. I think we not only did work but also built beautiful friendships. Thank you.”
Elif Aksu: “I couldn't even imagine winning first place”
Elif Aksu, a first-year student in Radio, Television, and Cinema at Üsküdar University Faculty of Communication, expressing her happiness and joy for winning the competition, said; “I have been working very hard since day one. I put in a lot of effort, and I couldn't even imagine winning first place because I am a first-year student. Of course, I am very happy to have received the reward for my efforts. I also thank everyone who stood by me during this process. I don't have much else to say. I learned a lot. I hope it gets even better. My instructors were also very supportive in every aspect. Our jury members were also very supportive. They helped me in every way. I didn't expect this much. I didn't think I would advance this far. That's why I am joyful and happy.”
Students showcased their journalism skills
The project competition team included:
-Kadir Ayhan and Ahmet Can Aras, students from Üsküdar University's Journalism Department, Taha Eren Başlar and Elif Aksu, students from the Radio, Television, and Cinema Department,
-Ata Günaydın and Efe Can Öztaş, students from Maltepe University's Journalism Department, Umut Bilgen, a student from the Radio, Television, and Cinema Department,
-Talha Gündoğmuş, a graduate of Istanbul Gelişim University's Public Relations and Publicity Department, participated and showcased their journalism skills within the scope of the competition.
Received the first-place certificate from Prof. Dr. Nazife Güngör
Elif Aksu, the winner of the sports journalists competition, received her first-place certificate from Üsküdar University Rector Prof. Dr. Nazife Güngör.
The meeting concluded with a group photo session.