Three losses that saddened the media world

The media world began the week with losses. First, Cemile Garan, an important figure of the Karacan family—which began with Ali Naci Karacan and has served the Turkish media for exactly 100 years—passed away. A media patroness during the founding years of Milliyet newspaper, who contributed to the newspaper's success today alongside her husband Ercüment Karacan, Cemile Garan was the mother of Ali Karacan and Ömer Karacan, who currently manage the Number One Media Group. Cemile Garan was also the mother-in-law of Cemre Birand, the wife of the late Mehmet Ali Birand. Cemile Hanım was 99 years old and one of the last generation of people to have seen Atatürk; she stood out for her contributions to archaeology and had served as a representative for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). She was a special person, and her funeral was equally special.

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Then, yesterday, we received the news of the death of journalist Hasan Kılıç at the age of 76.

The best definition for Hasan Kılıç would be “a good person.”

He was a journalist for 53 years; he was there during the most influential years of Günaydın newspaper, was among the founders of Sabah newspaper, and had been working at Hürriyet for 34 years.

But those who followed the media never knew him, because he was one of the heroes behind the scenes. He worked in the kitchen of the newspaper, specifically at night, and shouldered every kind of burden; he was a true goalkeeper. He was proficient in every aspect of the profession from A to Z and had the talent to hold any rank in journalism, but in his eyes, there was no position higher than the work he was doing. He carried everyone on his shoulders while he stayed in the background.

So much so that one day, when Editor-in-Chief Rahmi Turan was going on leave, he assigned him by saying, “You take my place,” but he didn't even do that; despite the instruction, he came back to work at night two days later, leaving the acting position to those more ambitious and curious.

Once he got to know someone, he would never let them go; he would show interest at every opportunity, provide all kinds of help, and strive to solve any problem they had. Because of this, those who knew him would not let him go either.

Whoever had a sick relative, he would definitely find a suitable doctor for them and ensure they were treated.

He was not a friend for good days, but for bad days; you would encounter him more at accident scenes, hospital visits, and funerals than at weddings, parties, or celebrations.

He lived in Istanbul, but he also struggled for the publication of local newspapers in his hometown of Bafra, Samsun.

He was the ‘Hasan Abi’ (Big Brother Hasan) not just of his own newspaper, but of all newspapers. During night shifts, he would help employees of other newspapers as well, gathering them all and taking them either to Hacıbozanoğlu Kebab or the Bafra Pide shop; he was friends with the owners of both places.

In the newspaper building, everyone from the reception staff to the executive floor was his friend, and the female employees were his ‘Roses.’

Unfortunately, we lost Hasan Abi yesterday; the Babıali (the historic press district) has suffered an irreplaceable loss.

About 10 years ago, an editorial accident occurred at Hürriyet that caused significant problems at the level of the chief editor. When I heard that this accident was caused by the night staff, I thought, “How did it escape Hasan Abi’s notice?” and I couldn't help myself, so I called and asked him, and his answer did not surprise me at all:

“Manager, I wasn't there, I was on leave.”

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Yesterday, another death notice arrived; our journalist friend Bilal Çetin (65) also unfortunately lost his life. After the well-known sale of the Doğan Media Group where he worked, Bilal Çetin moved away from the profession with his wife Semra Çetin and tried farming in his hometown of Kozak Plateau in Bergama. During a summer vacation, while he was telling us about the Kozak Plateau and his new endeavor during a coffee chat on the balcony of his house in Cunda overlooking the sea, we also fondly remembered his neighbor on Cunda Island, Bekir Coşkun. However, the relentless disease took first Bekir Coşkun, and now Bilal Çetin, from among us.

The media restructuring in recent years has severed many journalists from their profession. There are thousands of unemployed journalists. Unpaid severance pay, lawsuits filed, arrests, closed media outlets, unemployment, low wages, and the inability to practice the profession freely create stress and related illnesses in those who work in this field.

Whether this unpleasant state of the media triggers fatal diseases is perhaps a subject for research.