Commenting on current affairs requires a fair amount of “being there,” or at least having extensive knowledge about a particular region or country. While it is, of course, not impossible to write about Turkey from afar, in an ideal scenario journalists should spend as much time as possible on location.
According to the Prime Ministry, the Directorate General of Press and Information (March 2010) says nearly 170 foreign media organizations (television stations, newspapers, other publications, radio) and their correspondents are officially accredited to cover affairs about Turkey and the region whilst maintaining an office in the country.
With regards to the number of foreign colleagues actually being employed or freelancing for a Turkish media outlet in Turkey, no official statistics seem to exist, but having scanned Turkey’s leading broadsheets and many regional newspapers, I would put the figure at 30 at most, with Today’s Zaman as the trendsetter. During my research I came across only three non-Turkish colleagues who either work as editors or regional bureau managers for a Turkish media outlet being employed in Turkey (one of them is married to a Turkish citizen). I happily admit I know all of them in person, too.
The reason I wrote this column is that I would like to see many more international contributors find their way into Turkish media.
First, this subject is two-dimensional. Whereas the European public, for example, does not receive enough information about how fast Turkey is developing, many readers in Turkey itself are only able to read short pieces about “world news,” often copied from Reuters et al. This is of course what leading news agencies are made for, but no piece of news is complete without a personal comment attached to it, as this is what journalism is all about.
Second, reporting about Turkey was until very recently all black and white. Dirty side-streets, dark alleyways, in general a picture of “the bazaar atmosphere,” discreetly or voluntarily overlooking what really happens in this country, often referred to a new European economic tiger. At the same time, reporting about foreign countries and, if not copied from leading news agencies, was not put into perspective; hence, many of Turkey’s leading dailies portray the “outer world” as hostile, anti-Turkey and clichéd.
Third, there are no legal obstacles to foreign journalists beginning to work for a Turkish media outlet. It is actually one of the easiest ways to enter the Turkish labor force, similar to working as a consultant or an international (business) advisor. Language -- no problem! Write in French or English, have it translated. Leading media outlets can afford it.
Imagine every Turkish broadsheet having one or two non-Turkish staff who write about what happens in Turkey by means of evaluating events in their own words. Then picture this: Turkish readers can engage in a conversation with international journalists not by writing in to The Times or Le Monde, but by sending an e-mail not only to a foreign writer working in Turkey but to a person being fully aware about what is happening in the country.
The result: Turkish readers will learn more about non-Turkish perspectives while at the same time understanding that every issue and every subject may be seen from at least two different perspectives. Democracy means diversity, and which part of civil society and the business community is better equipped to put this motto into practice than our very own media?
Misunderstandings often stem from a misrepresentation of facts. Paraphrased, the time has now come for Turkish media outlets to face the music and hire -- hire at least one or two international journalists, columnists and commentators that is. At the same time, all of us should proactively lobby our international colleagues to consider continuing their careers over here, at least for an extended period of time of, let us say, two to three years. If both sides do their part, Turkish media will become a role model for how to work in a globally interconnected world. The Turkish public has been asking for more news, more comments, more free speech and more diversity for far too long -- and in the Turkish-language press in particular.
