Politician Aylin Kotil: 'There are not many people left in our country who can work as journalists'

Politician and educator Aylin Kotil made statements on the occasion of 'January 10 Working Journalists Day'. Kotil said, "Unfortunately, there are not many people left in our country who can work as journalists. Some real journalists are in prison, some are in exile, and some are unemployed."

Don't leave your news choices to an algorithm - decide for yourself what you read. Add 12punto to your preferred sources!

Politician Aylin Kotil: 'There are not many people left in our country who can work as journalists'

12punto.com.tr

Aylin Kotil, who was a candidate for the CHP nomination for the Mayor of Şişli in the local elections to be held on March 31, 2024, released a written statement on 'January 10 Working Journalists Day'.

'SOME REAL JOURNALISTS ARE IN PRISON'

"Unfortunately, there are not many people left in our country who can work as journalists. Some real journalists are in prison, some are in exile, and some are unemployed," said Kotil, continuing her remarks as follows:

"Where there is no freedom, there is no questioning. I salute all my journalist friends who are 'trying to do journalism' in our remaining opposition publications, news sites, TV channels, or on social media, primarily BirGün, Evrensel, and Cumhuriyet..."

HOW DID JANUARY 10 WORKING JOURNALISTS DAY EMERGE?

The foundation of Working Journalists Day was laid with "Law No. 212," which was adopted on January 4, 1961, and provided certain rights and legal guarantees to press workers. This regulation was published in the Official Gazette, making January 10 a special day of celebration.

The "Nine Bosses Incident," which marks an important period in the defense of journalists' rights, has left its mark on the history of the press.

During this period, journalists decided to publish a newspaper called "Basın" (Press) and carried out a three-day boycott.

The Basın newspaper began publication on January 11 and continued its publication regularly throughout the boycott. Working Journalists Day emerged as a result of this event, and January 10 began to be celebrated as "Working Journalists' Day."

Today, it has become "Working Journalists Day" as of 1971.

WHAT IS THE NINE BOSSES INCIDENT?

The owners of 9 newspapers, who did not want to accept the responsibilities imposed on them by Law No. 212, signed a joint declaration claiming that Law No. 212 and Law No. 195 regarding the formation of the Press Advertisement Agency would create professional drawbacks, and announced that they were closing their newspapers for 3 days.

Following this development, which went down in press history as the "Nine Bosses Incident," journalists carried out various protest actions and published a newspaper called "Basın" throughout the boycott so as not to leave the public without a newspaper.

The Basın newspaper began publication on January 11 with the headline "We Are Always at the Service of the Public" and continued its publication regularly during the three-day boycott. The editorial of the first issue of the newspaper included the following statements:

"Even in days when our fundamental rights and freedoms are truly restricted, and not only the press but the entire country is put into a truly unprecedented danger, the move made by newspaper owners who did not close their newspapers and did not resort to protests, now for an advertisement agency, will surely not occupy an honorable place in our press history.

Publishing a newspaper is not like running a sock factory. The press is a public service."

News Source: 12punto