Even in military courts, journalists were ahead

The television news industry's obsession with "having footage on screen at all costs," regardless of relevance, has resurfaced in the Ekrem İmamoğlu/IMM case.

Channels like NOW TV, Habertürk, and NTV once again broadcast footage of detained CHP members being led in a single file by police in their reports on the start of the trial. I have written before about the meaning and impropriety of being a tool for this "police show." The impact of those images on the subjects themselves was evident in Aykut Erdoğdu's defense statement during the hearing:

"I have one son; for six months, they showed me next to the police on all television channels. Does this befit the Republic of Turkey, Mr. President? I am being treated as if I have already been convicted. Search your conscience."

Aykut Erdoğdu is absolutely right. Opposition media may be using these images that portray them as convicts out of carelessness, but the pro-government media must be aware of their function.

Indeed, as the trial began, pro-government media ran headlines such as "Time for accountability for the criminal organization" (Akşam), "He will account for the missing 53 billion" (Sabah), "Time for accountability for 'İmamoğlu and his gang'" (Türkiye), "Ekrem and his gang before the judge" (Yeni Akit), and "Time for accountability for the corruption of the century" (Yeni Şafak). These headlines, which contain verdicts and act as judges, are consistent with the "police show" footage.

Journalists have no right to label anyone a "criminal" before they have even been tried. Of course, it is not the duty of journalists to defend those on trial either. What matters is to inform the public by reflecting both the accusations and the defenses in a balanced and fair manner.

Undoubtedly, to fulfill the function of informing the public, one must be able to access documents and information regarding the case and follow the hearings properly. However, it seems that the working conditions for our journalist colleagues in the IMM case are very unfavorable. On the first day, they were pushed to the back rows; later, they moved to the front, where there was a desk arrangement for taking notes. However, on the last day, the judge wanted to send the journalists to the back again, and they rightly objected to this attitude.

Moving to the back means journalists accepting being relegated to the category of "spectators." Yet, a journalist is not just any spectator; they are the person observing and reporting on behalf of the public. Hindering journalists harms the public's right to information and the "principle of public trial."

Hearing about what happened in the IMM case reminded me of the military courts during the September 12 coup era. It was the early years of my journalism career. In cases with many defendants, such as MHP, MSP, and Dev-Yol, a high platform was prepared for the press next to the panel. We also had special places in small courtrooms. We would watch the hearings in a way that allowed us to see the movements of the judges and defendants and hear the speeches clearly.

Of course, there were rules, but military judges did not interfere much with our work. Just think, in 1984, during the THKP/C Third Way Case, Deniz Teztel from Cumhuriyet was able to take photos when the defendants stripped down to their underwear to protest the imposition of uniforms.

I hope the IMM case court panel does not persist in an attitude that is even more regressive than the law of September 12...

THE STAGGERING INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF PRESS CARDS!

The press card has ceased to be a professional identity card for journalists. It has no validity in public institutions, especially the Presidency, and additional accreditation is required.

Press cards are also issued to "public personnel who are not journalists but work in information services in public institutions and organizations serving in the media field, such as RTÜK and the Directorate of Communications," and even to "executives of unions operating in the media field and associations and foundations operating for the public benefit." The number of civil servants with press cards is also increasing rapidly.

I applied to the Directorate of Communications via CİMER. I asked for "the number of press card holders, the change in this number over the last 10 years, the number of press card holders working in public institutions such as the Directorate of Communications, TRT, and RTÜK, and the distribution of these individuals among institutions."

It is not exactly classified information, but the only response from the Directorate of Communications was, "As of February 13, the number of press members holding a press card is 25,384. Of these, 8,408 are permanent press card holders." They left my question about press card holders in institutions like TRT, RTÜK, and the Directorate of Communications unanswered, citing that it "requires a special study or analysis."

Similar questions were asked in 2023 by Atila Sertel, who was a member of parliament at the time, and just like the response they gave me, they did not provide him with the number of press card holders in public institutions. They only replied that the number of press card holders as of January 2023 was 17,618!

A staggering increase indeed. The number of press card holders has increased by 7,766 in three years, which is 44 percent! Yet, employment in the media sector is not growing that fast; on the contrary, it is decreasing. The fact that cards are also given to journalists on news websites after the change in the Press Card Regulation in 2023 may have played a role in the increase. However, the effect of distributing press cards to civil servants liberally must also be significant. Otherwise, why would they keep the number of civil servants with press cards secret?

This rapid increase and the fact that civil servants also hold press cards devalue the press card as a professional identity card on one hand, and on the other, it leads to journalism professional organizations opening up to non-journalists. Journalists' associations are also accepting civil servants who carry press cards as members. Yet, almost none of those people have anything to do with journalism.

Accepting non-journalist civil servants with press cards as members is a mistake by journalism professional organizations... It cannot have a professional function other than inflating the number of members.

THE IMAGES OF KHAMENEI ON TV

News television channels broadcast the election of Mojtaba Khamenei as the new religious leader in Iran with footage of public celebrations. Mojtaba Khamenei was also seen walking among the people and waving at them!

However, three days after the broadcast of this news and footage on March 9, reports emerged that Mojtaba Khamenei had actually been injured during the bombing on the first day of the US-Israel attack, when his father died. It turns out he hadn't been going out on the streets at all, but had been hiding in a safe place!

Yet, the footage from the first day showing Mojtaba Khamenei walking on the streets did not have the word "ARCHIVE" written under it. It was inevitable that viewers would perceive it as current footage. Unfortunately, no channel apologized for misleading viewers with that footage.

DO NOT USE DISEASE NAMES IN POLITICS

CHP Amasya MP Reşat Karagöz was explaining that the statements of Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek and the AKP Group Deputy Chairman were contradictory:

"May God grant healing; there is a cure for every disease. The government has also fallen ill, and the name of the disease is bipolar disorder. Two different Turkeys are being described on the same day."

These words of Karagöz in the Turkish Grand National Assembly were published on the "Behind the Scenes" page of Gazete Pencere with the headline "'Bipolar' diagnosis from CHP to AK Party." This news was not anywhere else.

Whether it is a correct comparison to link "bipolar disorder," which is a disease, to government officials making inconsistent statements about the economy is a matter of politics. But reporting on a speech where a disease is stigmatized in this way is a matter of journalistic ethics.

When using disease names in news outside of medical topics, we must consider people suffering from that disease. Using a disease name by loading it with negative attributes, as in the "Bipolar Diagnosis" news, can affect the psychology of patients. It can lead to a deterioration in the public's view of these patients and cause patients to experience difficulties in the social sphere. Furthermore, a "diagnosis" can only be made by a doctor; a politician cannot diagnose a disease.

The right thing to do is not to use disease names in news like this. Especially if they are psychiatric cases...

DO NOT MISTAKE EVERYONE HOLDING A MICROPHONE FOR A JOURNALIST

Since everyone who picks up a microphone and camera has started to be considered a broadcaster and even a journalist, a "Football Television" version of "Street Interviews" has emerged.

A "reporter" for one of these "TVs" had his microphone snatched while talking to fans after the Galatasaray-Beşiktaş match. The Beşiktaş fan who took the microphone started berating the Galatasaray community. And how! Insults, profanity, accusations, humiliation, you name it. He talked and talked, and after he finished, he gave the microphone back to the "reporter."

Since he was not a journalist, he continued the interview without even uttering a single word of objection. Worse, this footage was broadcast exactly as it was, without editing, from the "LÜE TV ONLINE" account with the caption "Beşiktaş fan addressed Galatasaray President Dursun Özbek and coach Okan Buruk."

Naturally, the GS community rose up against such a broadcast. Following the growing reactions, that fan was detained. LÜE TV apologized and removed the footage from the broadcast; the owner of the TV, football commentator Levent Ümit Erol, also tried to explain the situation and calm the reactions.

This incident is a new example of the dangerous consequences that can arise from everyone who picks up a microphone and camera trying to do journalism and parading around as a television broadcaster. It is certain that it will not be the last. Because dozens of "street interviewers" and "Football TVs" are on the air...

Journalism is a profession that requires education and experience, and has rules and ethical principles. If this background is missing, what is done with a microphone and camera is neither journalism nor an interview. We must distinguish...

In a single sentence:

Sözcü TV did not remove the Mojtaba Khamenei mannequin footage from its social media account, even though it was revealed that the mannequin image in its "Cardboard mannequin era in Iran" news was produced by artificial intelligence, and it even broadcast it again on TV.

In the pro-government media, only Milliyet used President Erdoğan's announcement that retirees' holiday bonuses would be paid before the holiday with the headline "Salary good news."

In the news "Famous chef experienced a nightmare at the first bite" on .com, the person called "famous" was a person named Batuhan Ergül who participated in the Masterchef competition.

Hürriyet's website wrote "begging artist" instead of "listened-to artist" in the headline of its "Most listened-to artist" news, and this error remained uncorrected for days.

In DHA's news "Insect from the meal bit her lip," there was no name of the restaurant in Taksim where the incident allegedly took place, the person whose lip was bitten, or the business owner.

Karar wrote, "Eylem Tok and Bülent Cihantimur, who are alleged to have taken their son Timur Cihantimur abroad after the accident," but it was not an allegation; Eylem Tok had already fled to the USA with her son.

The pro-government media did not report on health workers taking to the streets on March 14 Medicine Day and holding a protest in front of the Ministry of Health.

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