Journalists Candan Yıldız, Gülfem Karataş and Çağrı Sarı discussed the rights of journalists that have mostly remained on paper and the challenges faced by the profession in a changing media environment

Each year on 10 January, Turkey marks the Working Journalists’ Day on the anniversary of the enactment of Law No. 212, which recognized the rights of journalists and media workers in 1961. However, most of these rights have now remained only on paper. According to Expression Interrupted data, as of mid-January at least 36 journalists and media workers are still behind prison bars in Turkey while many others continue facing lawsuits, criminal cases and investigations over their work, or for simply defending press freedom or their right to unionization.

On this year’s Working Journalists Day, Expression Interrupted platform organized a panel talk to discuss the challenges journalism is facing in Turkey and possible solutions to these problems.

DİSK Basın-İş trade union general council member and Gazete Pencere Managing Editor Candan Yıldız, Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS) Women and LGBTI Commission member Gülfem Karataş and Kısa Dalga news portal Managing Editor Çağrı Sarı were the speakers in the panel, moderated by journalist Canan Coşkun and hosted at P24’s Kıraathane Istanbul Literature House in Beyoğlu district.

The obstacles to unionization, the cancellation of press cards, judicial harassment faced by journalists were among topics discussed by the panelists as well as approaches to address these problems in the face of intense political pressure and a changing media landscape. All three speakers stressed that 10 January Working Journalists’ Day should be observed as a day of struggle, not a day of celebration.

“Social media is journalism’s strength and weakness”

Yıldız stated that the day’s title had become debatable considering journalists’ present-day working conditions. Yıldız said: “When we say journalism we are now talking about a sector where the number of journalists who are unable to work, or who are working as freelancers is more than the number of ‘working’ -- or ‘privileged’ journalists. Perhaps we can start by changing this conceptualization or this definition. There are many fellow journalists who do not have a corporate contract but are still practicing their profession. It is out of the question to celebrate a day that disregards journalists whose rights are not acknowledged.”

Yıldız pointed out that freelance journalists or those working for online media outlets do not have the right to unionize: “Until the latest regulation and the inclusion of online media in the Press Labor Law, journalists working in online media were considered ‘office workers.’ This is one of the obstacles to unionization in the media industry. On the other hand, journalists are not a professional group that is very good at unionizing. … I am not of the opinion that journalists should organize only in trade unions. Yes, unions are very important, but I believe that different organizational models should be implemented and the understanding of trade unions should change.”

Yıldız stated that journalists who became unemployed and pushed out of the media sector due to changes in media ownership in Turkey have turned to social media as a point of resistance: “As an alternative channel for journalism, social media is both the strength and the weakness of journalism today. Journalists who were pushed out of the industry established their own YouTube channels, or continued to do some level of journalism on Twitter. This is one of its strengths. However, while the displacement or transformation of the mainstream media as we know it gave birth to a dilemma: the disappearance of newsrooms. The changing capital structure is destroying the newsroom. We have gone through a period where reporters have become worthless. The strife for financial survival in online journalism has fed copy-paste journalism.”

“Not a day of celebration but a day of struggle”

Karataş summarized the history of 10 January Working Journalists’ Day and commented that the Press Labor Law has now become almost the same as the regular Labor Law.

Karataş added: “Journalists carry out public service; they defend the people’s right to information. However, at this point today, we see that the Press Labor Law is no different from the normal Labor Law. Moreover, new legislation such as the  ‘disinformation’ law is destroying journalism. We are at a point where journalists cannot protect their personal, social and economic rights, let alone the public’s right to information. We mark today not as a holiday but as a day of struggle.”

Journalist Çağrı Sarı also pointed out that particularly in the last two decades journalism in Turkey has been going through a period of decline in media professionals’ rights and working conditions: “This is not just about journalists being detained, being subject to political pressure or becoming targets of physical violence. At a time when the profession is actually dying, from editorial pressure to censorship within the newspaper to self-censorship, we should consider this day as a day of struggle rather than celebration.”