Local Izmir journalists meet to discuss ethical journalism
The Building Trust in Media project, supported by the Fritt Ord Foundation, includes a regional pilot in Izmir to strengthen the Coalition for Ethical Journalism in Turkey (CEJT) by building relationships with local partners.
EJN Honorary President Aidan White and Turkey Representative Mustafa Kuleli have met with local journalists in Izmir, Turkey’s third-largest city, voicing support for hope in the embattled profession.
The meeting, which was supported by The Journalists’ Association of Izmir and the Izmir branch of The Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS), focused on ethical journalism issues in the city. It also proposed inspiring solutions and cooperation between the media and NGOs.
Dilek Gappi, the head of the Journalists’ Association of Izmir, stressed that almost all newspapers in the city are dependent on the official advertisement distributed by The Directorate General of Press Advertisement (BİK).
According to Halil İbrahim Huner, the head of TGS’ Izmir branch, official advertisement revenues are still the only source for local newspapers to survive.
On the other side, the newspapers’ owners stated that another reason for the declining incomes is an advertising shift towards digital and nobody suggests any solution regarding the shrinking advertising cake.
National media use the local ones as a news source
Izmir’s local media employs about 200 reporters. The national press closed most of their regional offices to cut costs, reducing the number of local representatives. But this situation ended up with an increase in plagiarism.
An exclusive story of a local media outlet can instantly be copied and used without giving a link or reference. Although “copy-paste journalism” is widespread at the local level, the national outlets were more cautious as they are in the spotlight. The main grievance remains impunity for plagiarism and other unethical practices.
The “do not disturb the owner” mantra of most national outlets also haunts local journalism. Negative stories about the mayors or other public institutions often result in cancelling advertisements. Fearing such financial repercussions, many local journalists self-censor themselves to protect their publishers.
In addition, bureaucracy, local government units, and investors underestimate Izmir’s local media. They try to access and become popular on the pages of national newspapers.
The lack of a financial model remains a problem
The local press in İzmir foregrounds the solution to economic problems for ethical journalism since it provides editorial independence. The main suggestion is to work in cooperation to develop new business models.
A unique and enviable model based on print and digital subscriptions adopted in Izmir by a local trade newspaper, Ticaret Daily. The other ones try to improve new cooperation or sharing models based on advertising revenues.