Training in Rights Journalism Starts for Young Graduates

Supported by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and run by the IPS Communication Foundation, the third training programme entitled "From the Classroom to the Newsroom" began on Sunday, 12 July.

A focus on rights

Thirty graduates from communication faculties in Turkey and Northern Cyprus were welcomed by bianet's project advisor Nadire Mater.

Mater told them that it all started ten years ago, with the wish to create an alternative to the mainstream media model.

"The aim was to look at life from the perspective of rights, to work together with those who support women and children, and to set an example."

In her work on rights journalism with local and national media, as well as freshly graduated students, Mater says that the same question always arose: "What can we do?" The "From the Classroom to the Newsroom" programme, now in its third year,  has provided a kind of bridge between independent and mainstream media.

Journalism entails responsibility

Then Prof. Dr. Sevda Alankuş, dean of the Izmir Economy University's communication faculty, warned the young journalists about how traditional journalism principles could lead to rights violations. She spoke about ethically and politically responsible journalism:

"Professional journalism espouses the principle of equal distance to everyone; however, being ethically and politically responsible means making the voices of the powerless, oppressed and suffering heard in unequal power relations, to be on the side of those experiencing rights violations."

She used examples of news items that violated women's rights, saying that they violated a woman's right to communication and advice by either not representing women or by using problematic representations.

A synthesis of old and new

Mete Çubukçu, NTV news editor, spoke about changes in journalism. Pointing out that traditional journalism was based on reporting, where there was a direct relationship to the source. However, there was an increasing influence of "plaza journalism", which, so Çubukçu, paralysed the profession:

"Journalism is public work; when the reporters move away from the street and from people, then reporting dies. Of course, we are discussing new technology and new understandings of news; for instance, events in Iran and China showed us that traditional methods cannot always be used. We need to make use of new opportunities and developments, while creating a synthesis of the old and the new." (CU/EZÖ/AG)