#dokuz8/Gürkan Özturan

THREE JOURNALISM WORKSHOPS

In the conclusion chapter of the research study, the participants' comments have also been included, "students stressed the need to have new, digitally focused courses in their curriculum, supported by required equipment and apps." Moreover, students who participated in the study have reiterated their complaints regarding 'censorship' as they stated "even school paper applies censorship as the faculty dean turns the paper into a public relations outlet." Young journalist candidates also complain due to lack of places that they can apply to, for innovative opportunities, instead of outdated models based on curriculum that has been used for a long time and not having any digital focus. For the regional media and publishers, the plummeting of Turkish Lira and lack of revenues from public body 'Press Advertisement Agency' is presenting a serious economic threat, causing many media institutions to remain on the brink of bankruptcy in 2019. Local ownership relations and nationally operating media's downsizing of regional bureaus is creating deserts of 'newsless zones' especially in the rural heartland of the country, including Kurdish-majority towns and cities.

SIX PROPOSALS AS SOLUTIONS

The report states that 'citizen journalism' efforts continue across the country at the local levels but this would be far from presenting an ideal scenario for development of media in Turkey when the pressure could be lifted, for generating quality journalism. The report thus presents six potential solutions for media atmosphere in Turkey: 1- The platform will be the main go-to place for anyone, including citizen journalists, from any province in Turkey, to get equipped with the information, mindset and skills to produce quality journalism. Kurdish and Arabic-language content can also be added. The platform will be organized as a massive open online course (MOOC) and would also function as a forum for volunteer journalism educators – who can be selected from among respected journalists and academics – and students. 2- Journalism is more than commodity news and the audience should also learn more about it. Meanwhile, reporters, especially in local communities across Turkey, need places and events to sharpen their creativity and engage with their communities while doing so. Opening a community-driven creative cafe in Antalya or Trabzon, for instance, can foster collaboration and boost creative thinking in these provinces. 3- Mapping trusted news organizations and local reporters to assess trustworthiness and credibility. A “Web of Trust” for journalism in Turkey, particularly at the local level in which news providers are largely unknown to outsiders, can make the work of manipulators harder while supporting the “idealist” journalists there. 4- Incubator and accelerator programmes to disrupt Turkey’s dysfunctional media. With a larger programme of incubation, co-working spaces like creative cafes can be expanded to provide journalism start-ups access to a network of similar companies, mentors, research, events and other valuable resources for learning how to build and grow a media business from scratch. 5- International internship programme for journalism students in Turkey. A sponsored internship programme, in which students can experience journalism at the world’s leading media outlets, may bring enormous benefits to the development of quality journalism in Turkey. It will not only widen the horizons of the participating students, but also contribute to improving their foreign language skills. 6- A new award to incentivize quality journalism in Turkey.The new award should be designed as a prestigious, professional acknowledgement of journalistic talent to incentivize production of original content for the public interest. Most journalism awards in Turkey either lack relevant categories, including digital ones, or fail to provide any meaningful financial benefit to applicants. READ FULL REPORT