Category: ENGLISH
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Turkey’s daily Hurriyet fires 45 employees in latest crackdown on journalism
Turkey’s Hurriyet newspaper has fired 45 of its employees, including several senior journalists, in an unprecedented move that triggered an outrage among press freedom advocates. Most of the managing editors, reporters and other personnel who were laid off received the notice on Oct. 31, which was delivered to their homes while they were still working
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Journalists’ Union of Turkey elects new board, vowing to keep defending press freedom
The Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS) has elected the members of its new board with a vow to keep defending the freedom of the press. The union’s 22nd Congress was held at its headquarters in Istanbul on Oct. 5-6. 82 delegates that represent 1,450 members voted in the election for the new board, which will
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Two rappers bash Turkish gov’t, YouTube mutes one of them
YouTube has suppressed the latest video of Turkish rapper Ezhel, hours after it went viral with a strong audiovisual message criticizing the government. The quite censorship could be interpreted as proof that digital platforms, as new gatekeepers, have the potential to become a fatal threat to free speech, especially in populous, lucrative markets with authoritarian
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EFJ elects Kuleli with highest vote for Steering Committee
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), which is the largest organization of journalists in Europe, representing over 320,000 journalists in 72 journalists’ organizations across 45 countries, has elected Turkish delegate Mustafa Kuleli to its Steering Committee with the highest number of votes. Journo editor-in-chief and Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS) executive Kuleli received 113 votes
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TGS inaugurates EU-funded Journalism Academy in Istanbul
The Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS) has inaugurated TGS Academy’s new building in Istanbul with the support of the European Union. The TGS Academy on May 2 hosted a reception attended by journalists and diplomats, including EU Ambassador Christian Berger, to mark the inauguration of its new home in Istanbul’s Sisli district. In his welcome
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Young Laborers of the Media: A Reporter Has No Off Time!
How are the working conditions for the young members of the media corps? We talked with Ece, Gökhan, Şükran and Fırat, who work in national or independent media outlets, about their experiences and feelings regarding their work in the media: “A reporter has no off-time, for the news are simply everywhere, at every moment of
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Internet censorship in Turkey
When two members of the banned communist group DHKP-C kidnapped a district attorney from his office in İstanbul in 2015, they posted photos of their hostage held at gunpoint on popular image-sharing website imgur.com. The kidnappers and their victim, Mehmet Selim Kiraz, were all killed in the subsequent rescue attempt. Later that year, in what
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LGBT Muslims struggle to find their place in Turkey
Deniz, a 20-year-old observant Muslim who lives in Istanbul, works as a sign language translator and is studying gastronomy in his spare time. But Deniz, who prefers to use the pronoun “they”, also identifies as genderless and pansexual. This means that gender and sex are not determining factors in romantic or sexual attraction. Although Deniz
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Controversies surround Istanbul’s new airport
Istanbul’s new airport, expected to be the world’s largest when complete, was officially opened by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on October 29, the 95th anniversary of Turkey’s establishment as a republic. The auspicious date emphasized Erdogan’s message that the 10 billion euro project north of Istanbul was a symbol of Turkish resurgence, a colossal achievement
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Syrians in Turkey search for home
When Adnan Hacadnan and his family fled Aleppo four years ago and arrived in Turkey, their first challenge was to find accommodation. As refugees, this was not an easy task. “The first question everyone asked was, ‘Where are you from?’” the 48-year-old said, adding that the response was not always friendly. As soon as potential