The ‘News Workshop Days’ event was organized by Üsküdar University Faculty of Communication. During the two-day workshop, expert journalists in their fields met with students. Communication students showed great interest in the workshop days, where eight topics were discussed in eight sessions.
The workshop, held at Üsküdar University South Campus Fuat Sezgin conference hall, was moderated by Freelance Journalist Burak Altınok. Dean of Üsküdar University Faculty of Communication Prof. Dr. Süleyman İrvan also attended the event.
On the first day of the two-day event, NewsLabTurkey Managing Director Dr. Sarphan Uzunoğlu, Anka News Agency Courthouse Reporter Gaye Şeyma Can, Çağla Üren from Independent Türkçe, Tv24 Night News Editor Ceren Bala Teke, and Freelance Journalist Burak Altınok participated.
Dr. Sarphan Uzunoğlu: “Generation Z will become the main consumer”
NewsLabTurkey Managing Director Dr. Sarphan Uzunoğlu addressed many issues concerning the sector in the opening session. Sarphan said, “A Gen Z dystopia has been created. Gen Z will become the main consumer. Our journalists look at Gen Z saying, ‘Gen Z doesn’t read us anyway.’ I see it this way, ‘Yes, they don’t read us because there is no product.’ Another issue is sectoral frauds committed under the guise of innovation. When we provide a definition of what an entrepreneur is, it doesn't fit most journalists. Because no journalist has established their newspaper, YouTube channel, podcast, etc., by taking risks other than moral risks for the work they produce. Most of today's newspapers are run by individuals who are not senior journalism executives from the pre-digital era. A significant portion of them are untrained in management and even lack foundational grounding in journalism.”
Gaye Şeyma Can: “Challenging communication is a very important problem for us”
Anka News Agency Police and Courthouse Reporter Gaye Şeyma Can, who met with students under the title of ‘Courthouse Journalism Workshop’, spoke about her experiences in the profession and in the field. Can said, “Challenging communication is a very important problem for us because lawyers can sometimes react very negatively and are very wary of the press. The same goes for judges and prosecutors. For example, if you enter a courtroom and the judge doesn't want the press inside, they can say, ‘Let's remove the press.’ In this situation, there is not much you can do. Also, after a hearing, everything is written down in a record, and we must access this record. Unfortunately, it is not given to us. It is only given to lawyers and proxies. To get this, you need to communicate with lawyers again. When writing a news report, we never create any perception. We don't write opinion pieces or a report based solely on one side's comments in an event. We must write exactly what happened, in a way that can be proven with documents.”
Çağla Üren: “It turned into a frenzy with the idea that this could be an investment”
Çağla Üren from Independent Türkçe delivered her speech under the title of ‘Technology Journalism Workshop’. Üren, who drew attention to the impact created by the digital world in her speech, said; “After the Coronavirus pandemic, as we all confined ourselves to our homes and began to live a digital world, various things started to emerge one after another. Blockchain already existed but became popular, and people asked, ‘What is this?’ Afterwards, something called the metaverse emerged; no one understood these things because no one explained them simply and properly. We plunged into such a frenzy, and unfortunately, some scandals occurred here. People didn't even understand what the metaverse was. On televisions, in newspapers, at the Ministry of IT, everyone was talking about the metaverse. What is this metaverse? No one seemed able to answer. It turned into a hype, but an empty hype. We misunderstood this greatly and advised people to invest. One of them was this virtual land frenzy. Unfortunately, on a gaming site, we all had great difficulty grasping this concept. Unfortunately, it turned into a frenzy with the idea that this could be an investment.”
Ceren Bala Teke: “You need to announce the correct information to the public in a short time”
Tv24 Night News Editor Ceren Bala Teke addressed verification journalism in the session where the topic ‘Verification News Workshop’ was discussed. Teke, who highlighted the differences between journalism and verification, said; “A verifier does not just verify news. They can also verify a video circulating on social media. In verification, you produce articles or writings. In terms of timing, while there is a tremendous race in journalism, you need to be very fast. In verification, there isn't a timing constraint like in journalism. However, in some situations, you start racing against time. Because information spreads incredibly fast. You need to announce the correct information to the public in a short time. In critical moments like earthquakes, coronavirus, or elections, information can spread incredibly fast.”
Burak Altınok: “I choose the work I will do myself”
Freelance Journalist Burak Altınok took part in the ‘Freelance Journalism Workshop’ session. Altınok, who touched upon the advantages and disadvantages of freelance journalism, said; “Its advantages include the concept of time being dependent on me. I can work and quit at any time I want. I can produce a lot of news today and less on another day. I choose the work I will do myself. As for its disadvantages, in terms of money, I can earn much more than the fees given by agencies this month, while earning less next month. I don't have a fixed income. If something bad happens to me while reporting, there's no institution to stand behind me; I don't even have a press card. The Directorate of Communications does not issue press cards unless we work for an agency or institution,” he said.
After the sessions concluded on the first day, TRT Editor Galip Eraydın, Economy Journalist Gökçen Tuncer, and Yeşil Gazete Editor-in-Chief Alev Karakartal participated as guests on the second day.
Galip Eraydın: “If you have even an ounce of doubt, you will not write that news”
TRT Foreign News Editor Galip Eraydın emphasized the importance of foreign news and verification in news reporting. In his session on ‘Translation News Workshop’, Eraydın said; “The news verification period is very important. As a foreign news reporter, you don't just rely on news sources. You interview people in English, and the person you interview might be biased, or there might be a breaking development. You get this from social media. There can be incomplete, misleading elements. That's why we must produce our news with extreme care. If you have even an ounce of doubt in your mind, you will not write that news, you will not delve into that topic. Because correcting and retracting something after you've written and published it is much harder than not publishing it. You undermine the trust of both the viewer and the reader, and individually, you harm the news report you signed and the institution you work for. The way people at your workplace look at you and how they perceive the institution you work for through you creates a negative perception. Therefore, it's much better not to provide any news at all than to provide false or incomplete news,” he said.
Gökçen Tuncer: “We experience a language problem in economy journalism”
Economy Journalist Gökçen Tuncer, who met with students under the title of ‘Economy Journalism Workshop’, spoke about economy journalism. Tuncer said; “Generally, we experience a language problem in economy journalism. The main reason for this is, in particular, the mindset of journalists who are extremely proficient in the profession, thinking, ‘The person opposite me understands everything I say.’ This, of course, leads to some problems. In my own news reports, I try to use economic language as simply and plainly as possible. In fact, I once had a manager who said, ‘First, have your mother read a news report you've written. If your mother understands it, you're very close to explaining it to the public.’ If you think economy journalism is boring, you need to make the news more attractive with a plain language. For example, you can use your creativity to come up with interesting headlines, without resorting to sensationalism. For good investments to come to the country, some economic problems need to be explained, and we need to start the path to correction in that way,” he said.
Alev Karakartal: “Meteorology and climate are not the same thing”
Yeşil Gazete Editor-in-Chief Alev Karakartal addressed climate issues in the final session held under the title ‘Climate Journalism Workshop’. Karakartal said; “Climate does not change due to extreme heat. Global warming is the increase in the Earth's surface temperature caused by the increase in greenhouse gases. The biggest cause is carbon dioxide. Meteorology and climate are not the same thing; meteorology measures and announces short-term weather events, while climate is a long-term process.”
The news workshop days concluded after a Q&A session and the presentation of participation certificates.