The journalist's duty and corporate interests

The reports by Hürriyet, "Bvlgari will step into the Mediterranean from Bodrum," Milliyet, "Italian luxury icon is coming to Bodrum," and Ekonomi, "Bulgari entered Turkey from Bodrum, the jewel of the Mediterranean," were all based on an interview with company executive Silvio Ursini.

However, it is a bit unclear whether the interview, published in all three on the same day, was conducted in Dubai or Istanbul. I suspect it was discussed first in Dubai and then in Istanbul, and published after the press release arrived from the company.

Ursini states that the hotel in Bodrum will open in 2026, saying, "We imagined a paradise extending into the quiet Cennet Koyu (Paradise Bay) within the historic Hattat Koyu," and showered praise on the hotel's investor, Cengiz Holding. Yet, none of the three newspapers mentioned the lawsuits filed to protect nature or the struggle of environmentalists. The interview was a full-blown promotional text.

However, there is a years-long struggle by the local people regarding the construction project in the protected Cennet Koyu. Following the backlash, the Bodrum Municipality canceled the building permit in January 2023, and Cengiz Holding applied to the Administrative Court.

The Muğla 1st Administrative Court ruled that the permit cancellation was incorrect. However—as Barış Terkoğlu wrote in Cumhuriyet—the Administrative Court's decision acknowledged that "the Council of State had canceled the privatization of Cennet Koyu, but because the Treasury had not transferred the title deed to itself, Cennet Koyu still appeared to be under Cengiz Holding." Of course, no one paid attention to this decision, and construction continued. The Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change also paved the way for increasing the facility's capacity by deciding that an "EIA report was not required."

Not only did the reports in Hürriyet, Ekonomi, and Milliyet fail to mention that the ownership is disputed, but they also quoted Holding owner Mehmet Cengiz's remarks about "protecting the natural beauty of the region." It is like a joke, as if the trees and greenery in that beautiful bay were not being destroyed...

Journalism should not be about protecting the interests of companies and taking on the task of promoting their projects without listening to those who stand up for the environment and nature, or to court decisions.

CALL FOR INVOICES FROM JOURNALISTS ON THE PLANE

During the discussions regarding Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu taking journalists to Rome, the expenses of the journalists who board President Erdoğan's plane also came to the agenda; it was argued that their accommodation expenses were paid by their institutions.

Now is the time to prove this. Journalists who flew to Spain and then Italy with Erdoğan should disclose their hotel invoices. If they covered their own hotel and other daily expenses, there should be no harm in disclosing this. After all, journalism is a transparent profession; there should be no secret dealings.

Furthermore, paying for the hotel is not enough; they should also contribute to the costs of the plane they flew on. Journalists should not be hosted by the state budget. In any case, the pro-government journalists invited to those trips, from which not a single person from the critical and opposition media is taken, cannot show journalistic reflexes on that plane. They rarely go beyond publishing the question-and-answer text that has passed through the Directorate of Communications' audit, and a critical approach is never encountered.

For example, we learned from the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, not from the journalists on that plane, that President Erdoğan's team wanted to change the extremely luxurious hotel during the Italy trip. The article, published on May 14 and containing notes about the leaders' attitudes at the G7 summit, was titled "G7, the whims of world leaders: Erdoğan changes his vacation spot because it is not luxurious enough."

But how Erdoğan's team, who wanted to change the hotel, was persuaded and what happened is unknown. Because Erdoğan and his delegation stayed at the Borgo Egnazia Hotel, which is also the choice of the elite like other leaders and where the summit was held. We do not know if what La Repubblica wrote is true. We did not even hear from the journalists on the plane that such a problem had occurred.

THEY DID NOT DISCLOSE THE JOURNALISTS WITH SIRENS

I asked CİMER about journalists traveling with protection police and vehicles with sirens; "Are the reports that some journalists have been granted the right to use protection police and vehicles with sirens true? If true, how many journalists have been granted the right to travel with protection police or vehicles with sirens?"

The response I received from the General Directorate of Security's Protection Department was, in summary, that "individuals are protected in accordance with the regulation and transactions regarding vehicles with right-of-way are carried out within the framework of the legislation." As you can see, they gave an answer, but they did not provide information.

We are facing a closed state that does not/cannot give a clear and net answer even to such a simple question. This government is supposedly complaining about disinformation. Yet, the safest and fastest way to eliminate disinformation, lies, and falsehoods is transparency.

ADVERTISEMENTS AGAIN

I have criticized journalists doing advertisements on social media many times before. Journalists should not act like influencers who do secret advertising or advertising under the name of "collaboration" on social media, and they should not appear in advertisements.

However, a few days ago, I came across an advertisement by Mirgün Cabas for a clothing brand on social media. There was no "collaboration" warning, but an image of Mirgün Cabas wearing that brand's dress was taken, and a short promotional text was placed underneath it.

Mirgün Cabas is also one of our colleagues who has been pushed out of the mainstream media. He cannot do journalism like he used to, but he continues journalism with interviews on his YouTube channel. Most recently, he talked to Vuslat Doğan Sabancı about her exhibition and the boat accident she had a while ago. On the "Mirgün Cabas TV" account on Instagram, it says "Interviews and files. For news, information, entertainment"; and he is labeled as a "journalist" on his personal account on X.

Therefore, Mirgün Cabas is still within the scope of the journalism profession. As such, he is expected to comply with basic journalistic principles. Everything aside, this is also fitting for the image he has created on screens for years.

THE BEŞİKTAŞ PRESIDENT'S ATTITUDE

Beşiktaş President Hasan Arat lashed out at journalist Sercan Dikme at a press conference last week; I only just found the opportunity to write about it.

Hasan Arat, while answering a question from Sercan Dikme, ended his words by saying, "Know that in the news you have made, especially (in transfers), publications with figures harm the club. Know that it also harms Turkey. Therefore, carry a responsibility."

Apparently, Arat expects the journalist to act like a member of Beşiktaş, imposing "responsibility" on him. This is a wrong approach. A journalist is not a club executive or a fan; they are a person who watches the club as an outside observer. A journalist is obliged to remain committed to the truth and to act critically; they cannot act with the concern of whether their news will harm the club they are following.

Sercan Dikme, while evaluating President Arat's words on YouTube, said, "I can never have a situation aimed at intentionally harming Beşiktaş. I am a Beşiktaş fan. If the President has given a warning, we need to listen to that warning. I think I have complied with these until today. But I am also a journalist at the same time."

Dikme may have said "We need to listen to the warning" so as not to spoil his relationship with the Beşiktaş management, but a journalist cannot have an obligation to comply with the warnings of a club president.

In one sentence:

The MHP's newspaper Türkgün expressed its discomfort with journalists Timur Soykan, Barış Pehlivan, Barış Terkoğlu, and Murat Ağırel trying to shed light on the Sinan Ateş murder by presenting documents in broadcasts on Halk TV with the headline "Halk TV's amateur detective work."

The reports by Hürriyet, "Bvlgari will step into the Mediterranean from Bodrum," Milliyet, "Italian luxury icon is coming to Bodrum," and Ekonomi, "Bulgari entered Turkey from Bodrum, the jewel of the Mediterranean," were all based on an interview with company executive Silvio Ursini.

However, it is a bit unclear whether the interview, published in all three on the same day, was conducted in Dubai or Istanbul. I suspect it was discussed first in Dubai and then in Istanbul, and published after the press release arrived from the company.

Ursini states that the hotel in Bodrum will open in 2026, saying, "We imagined a paradise extending into the quiet Cennet Koyu within the historic Hattat Koyu," and showered praise on the hotel's investor, Cengiz Holding. Yet, none of the three newspapers mentioned the lawsuits filed to protect nature or the struggle of environmentalists. The interview was a full-blown promotional text.

However, there is a years-long struggle by the local people regarding the construction project in the protected Cennet Koyu. Following the backlash, the Bodrum Municipality canceled the building permit in January 2023, and Cengiz Holding applied to the Administrative Court.

The Muğla 1st Administrative Court ruled that the permit cancellation was incorrect. However—as Barış Terkoğlu wrote in Cumhuriyet—the Administrative Court's decision acknowledged that "the Council of State had canceled the privatization of Cennet Koyu, but because the Treasury had not transferred the title deed to itself, Cennet Koyu still appeared to be under Cengiz Holding." Of course, no one paid attention to this decision, and construction continued. The Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change also paved the way for increasing the facility's capacity by deciding that an "EIA report was not required."

Not only did the reports in Hürriyet, Ekonomi, and Milliyet fail to mention that the ownership is disputed, but they also quoted Holding owner Mehmet Cengiz's remarks about "protecting the natural beauty of the region." It is like a joke, as if the trees and greenery in that beautiful bay were not being destroyed...

Journalism should not be about protecting the interests of companies and taking on the task of promoting their projects without listening to those who stand up for the environment and nature, or to court decisions.