Not a university selection program, but a university advertisement

The university selection period has arrived once again, and "selection" programs have begun on news channels.

    I am not sure if they are on other channels as well, but I have come across the programs "Education Atlas" on Akit TV, "Selection Time" on CNN Türk, "At the Beginning of the Road" on Habertürk, "The Right Choice" on NTV, "Selection 2026" on Sözcü TV, and "Youth Vision" on Ülke TV.

    Interestingly, all of these programs feature only administrators and academics from private universities. These universities are being openly advertised. The host does not ask a single critical question or mention any negatives; on the contrary, they assist in promoting the private university throughout the program.

     It is also unclear why that specific university was chosen and included in the program out of so many private universities. There is no concrete criterion. However, the perception is created among the young viewers that that university or faculty is the best in its field.

     Yet, these are sponsored programs. Just as with health programs for private hospitals, the "advertising budget" determines which private university will be promoted in selection programs. That is why some news channels see selection periods as a source of income. It is the young people who suffer; they are misled by television programs that present advertisements as information...

 Davutoğlu and the journalists' race for engagement

   On the evening when Ahmet Davutoğlu decided to leave politics and dissolve the Future Party (Gelecek Partisi), there was a race for engagement among journalists. Journalists shared the news that "the Future Party will close" on their personal social media accounts before their respective media organizations did.

   As far as I can determine, the first post on the evening of July 29 came from Sözcü TV reporter Balâ Ateş. At 17:48, she wrote, "Is the Future Party closing?" and added to her post the information that Davutoğlu was in a meeting with founders and provincial chairs.

The news was shared on the Sözcü newspaper's X account at 17:54. Immediately after that, at 18:01, Mahir Kılıç from Habertürk shared more clearly that the GP had decided to dissolve itself and that an announcement would be made in the evening hours. Then the news and posts accelerated. GP Spokesperson Ufuk Karcı confirmed these reports at 18:30 by writing that Davutoğlu would "make the necessary statements in the coming hours."

    Sözcü TV was only able to notice the event after this development. At 18:40, Ekrem Açıkel reported the news as "Is Davutoğlu withdrawing from politics?" That is 52 minutes after their reporter Balâ Ateş's post on X.

     Since the situation had become clear, Evrensel published the closure news at 18:35, Gazete Pano at 18:37, and Halk TV at 18:40. ANKA published the closure news at 18:36 and then shared it on X. At 18:48, İsmail Saymaz's post came: "The Future Party is closing. Ahmet Davutoğlu will announce that they have dissolved the GP in the statement he will make this evening."

     Among the posts on X, İsmail Saymaz's post—after his own institution—received the most engagement. While Balâ Ateş, who first shared the news on social media, received 18 thousand views, İsmail Saymaz's post was viewed more than 1 million times.

   It is not just Davutoğlu and the Future Party; most political developments circulate on social media first. Finally, the news that Sakarya MP Ümit Dikbayır would switch from CHP to AKP was learned not from Sözcü TV's report, but from a post on X by one of that channel's hosts, Serap Belovacıklı.

What is wrong is that journalists enter a race to share the information they receive on social media. I know these types of posts have become commonplace and are very widespread. However, journalists should provide information and news to the media organizations they work for first. This is necessary both to avoid getting ahead of the media organization and to ensure the information goes through an editorial process.

As long as journalists continue the race for engagement, the institutions they work for fall behind in journalism; journalism suffers.

A new invention of crime by RTÜK

    In the media, the announcement that RTÜK had launched an investigation into Sözcü TV was not dwelled upon at all. The real scandal in that statement was not the investigation, but the justification for the investigation:

   "It has been determined that expressions were used on a television channel that could harm good neighborly relations, and which are incompatible with the Republic of Turkey's foreign policy vision, fundamental principles, and diplomatic doctrine, through baseless accusations against the legitimate President of our neighbor Syria, and an investigation has been launched regarding the broadcast in question."

   Serap Belovacıklı saying on Sözcü TV regarding Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, "This place is not made up of a nation that will applaud a murderer when you put a tie on an Al-Nusra member and make him president," is supposedly against state policy! That is the justification.

      You can criticize or oppose these words, but it shows that RTÜK has invented a new crime to see it as a crime and launch an investigation. From now on, it is forbidden to use "expressions incompatible with the Republic of Turkey's foreign policy vision and diplomatic doctrine" on television! All reporters and commentators will voice whatever the state policy is!

     Of course, there is no such crime in the law. If the existence of democracy is being discussed, there cannot be an obligation such as "being compatible with foreign policy vision." If RTÜK penalizes Sözcü TV with this justification, it will have committed a much greater wrong than anything it has done to date, and will have betrayed democracy and the constitution. This is an attitude identical to wanting all TV channels to fall in line with the policies of the political power.

Why are program sponsors hidden?

   The news titled "Not a Guest, Paid Broadcast: 400 Thousand TL from MBB to Halk TV" was about the "Glorious Memories with Serhan Asker" program on Halk TV.

   According to this news published on a Bodrum news site, the Muğla Metropolitan Municipality paid 400 thousand TL to Halk TV and 705 thousand TL to artist Hüseyin Turan's company for the program broadcast from Dalyan on July 11. The news included information that the payment of this money for the program was also confirmed by EKAP (Electronic Public Procurement Platform) records.

     The news was cited on dozens of local and national news sites, but no objection came from the relevant parties. The Medyaradar site recalled that similar allegations regarding this program had been brought up before.

So, "Glorious Memories" is a "sponsored" program. It cannot be said that a culture and arts program choosing locations and guests according to the preferences of those who pay is in accordance with broadcasting principles. But since it is done this way, it should at least not be hidden.

  Just think, viewers think that Serhan Asker and Halk TV determine where the "Glorious Memories" program will be held, who will be invited as a guest, and its content. Whereas it is understood that the municipalities or other organizations that pay the fee determine the location and guests of the program.

Furthermore, calling Muğla Metropolitan Mayor Ahmet Aras and Ortaca Mayor Evren Tezcan "guests" was wrong. Because since they paid a fee to promote the city and its activities, those people are not guests but sponsors. Transparency is a must...

   Journalists' Uyghur trip

 In Yeni Şafak, Taha Kılınç, in his article "Are you ashamed?", criticized the journalists whom the Turkey-China Friendship Foundation took on a tour of China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (East Turkestan).

    A group of Uyghurs also held a demonstration in front of the building and protested the foundation and the journalists who participated in the trip. Like Kılınç, they accused the journalists of being tools for China's propaganda.

   In principle, the expenses of journalists' reporting activities are covered by their own institutions; no financial relationship is entered into with news sources. Because a financial relationship is established with the institution or organization that takes you; more importantly, you can only see what is shown to you, and you become a tool for promotion and propaganda.

     The only exception is cases where "journalists cannot go with their own means." Journalists accept going as invitees to places they cannot go otherwise. In this case, they convey to their readers and viewers in their news and evaluations regarding the trip that they went as invitees and that the trip expenses were covered by that organization.

Xinjiang is also a place where journalists cannot travel on their own. Therefore, it is an understandable situation for journalists to go as invitees. However, Xinjiang is a region where allegations of human rights violations, forced labor, and oppression against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities have even made it into United Nations and Human Rights Organization reports.

     I could not see any investigation or evaluation regarding these violations in the writings and accounts of most of the journalists who participated in the trip organized by the foundation. The economic and social development in the region is predominantly described with "admiration," and ethnic issues are not mentioned.

It was noteworthy that during the same days, news was published in Karar about a Chinese police officer named Zhang Yabo, who took refuge in Germany, describing that systematic oppression was being applied to Uyghur Turks.

In a single sentence:

• Türkiye newspaper and TGRT Haber did not announce to their readers and viewers that they had ended Cem Küçük's articles and programs, nor did they report on his detention and arrest.

• Local journalist Sema Örs, to whom Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin gifted a tablet worth 20-45 thousand liras in Erzurum, wrote, "We felt the honor of our profession."

• İskenderun Mayor Mehmet Dönmez responded to journalist Akın Bodur's question, "Why does the public enter the beach for a fee?" in summary by saying, "Let those who want to file a lawsuit," and insulted the journalist by saying he "feeds on dissatisfaction" and has a "mentality."

• It was a contradictory stance that Sabah's news titled "Deceptive advertisements will not be allowed" was followed by a covert advertisement for a doner chain under the headline "A globalizing success story."

• Yeni Akit did not report that the A National Women's Volleyball Team defeated Brazil in the FIVB Volleyball Nations League final match to become champions for the second time in their history.

• Sabah reported Hollywood star Ben Affleck's memory of buying a carpet from the Grand Bazaar, which he told in a program, by deleting the part where he said "he used it as a bath mat" and adding, "The employees are so good that they sold a similar carpet to my wife."

• Rock musician Hayko Cepkin, who was called to testify for the Ahbap Association investigation, insulted journalists by saying, "Blow everything out of proportion, for God's sake, with your nonsensical news. You don't know anything other than polluting the environment."

• On TV100, Ali Haydar Fırat was introduced as a "Communication scientist" without mentioning that he holds the position of CHP Communication Coordinator.

• Milliyet, Türkiye, and Yeni Şafak published the AKP-run Konya Metropolitan Municipality's promotion titled "Great move in Heavy Maintenance" as if it were news without adding a "This is an advertisement" warning.

• In the pro-government media's news that "Turkey has become a partner in Kirkuk oil," the information on what TPAO paid in exchange for the 15 percent share was missing.

FOR YOUR CRITICISMS, COMPLAINTS, AND SUGGESTIONS: [email protected]