When we talk, sometimes because of our excitement, our high feelings about the subject we set fire to a gigantic fire with our words. Sometimes we become silent, very much like mulberry-eaten nightingales. Don’t ask why "why doesn't a mulberry-eating nightingale sing", it's such a complicated subject that it's almost impossible to find the answer. The explanation that lies in my mind is that during the mulberry season, the nightingales whose offspring hatched make such an effort to feed their chicklet that they deprive the world of their beautiful voices for a while.
It's not the berry season, and most Anatolian journalists often don't look like nightingales, but they are fighting for existence in great economic hardship due to falling circulations, declining advertising revenues and costs that compete with dollar value in newspaper printing costs. Unfortunately, when they speak out, they are treated as "rebels" or "outcasts" and risk being punished by central and local authorities. Thus, for a long time they have been silent like mulberry eaten nightingales. That’s apparently changing nowadays.
At the 23rd Chairpersons Meeting of the Turkish Journalists' Confederation (TGK), hosted by the Trabzon Journalists' Association for two days, I found the opportunity to discuss the problems of the sector and the country with the chairpersons and executives of the journalists' associations from 81 provinces, heads of the federations established by associations of journalists.
Naturally, both at the plenary as well as in bilateral and trilateral talks on the sideline we discussed the latest developments, problems and solutions in the media sector as well as the general situation in the country.
One of the most fundamental problems is the practices of the Press Advertising Agency (BİK), which unfortunately is not discussed much in the mainstream media, though they receive the biggest share from the public adds. The problems of the local media are heartbreaking because of the BİK general assembly, which unlawfully has not been convened for months due to the fact that the absolute authority in the country, the president’s office, has not appointed the public representatives to the board. Thus, for months a rearrangement of advertising tariffs could not be made, revenues of newspapers from public adds decreased because of a drastic fall in the amount of overall adds due to the economic slide in the country. This issue, unfortunately is an existentially important one for local media, which since the outbreak of pandemic suffered an over 80 percent decrease in their circulation revenues. Mergers did not help either. Hundreds of local newspapers have been closed down over the past two years.
The damage done to the profession by people who are not at all related to journalism, but pose as if they are journalists on grounds they have been doing "citizen journalism". What’s that? As the current outdated media law in the country does not define who is a journalist, this issue remains to be one of the biggest problems of the media sector. How can someone writing for his private blog without at all considering an editorial process, not bothering at all the ethics of the profession and the fundamental verification rules, be considered a journalist?
Journalism profession law is an urgent need As a matter of fact, in the final declaration of the meeting, this issue was addressed in detail. In accordance with today's conditions, taking into account technological developments, the “Media Law”, which regulates the profession of journalism and who can do I must be reconsidered. The law on the internet, which has been expected for years is apparently being reconsidered by the government again, though details have not been so far disclosed, should not be overshadowed by the recently raised “social media” regulation, and the problems of media organizations operating on the internet and journalists working in these institutions should be resolved without delay. The law says: it should be updated to include electronic media, covering electronic media, covering a wide range oftopics from the right to wear to annual leave, the right to compensation to overtime."
Of course, one of the main problems of today's journalism is that the sector is tried to be subdued with a contemporary Goebelsian mentality. Of course, it will not be possible to solve the problems of the sector with the understanding that a board of appointees mostly unrelated to journalism and all appointed singlehandedly by the Head of Communications Department of the Presidency, decides who should and should not be given the press card. Strange enough that appointed board has been rather stingy in issuing press cards to journalism, but apparently is determined to issue a press card for each and every civil servant.
As a matter of fact, the final declaration emphasized that the profession of journalism should be considered "a heavy and dangerous job done without the condition of being a press cardholder" and that "the increase in actual service time as a result of the constitutional social security right of journalists should be reinstated,and the press cards, which are proof of journalism, should not be given by an appointed board but by the professional local media organizations.
RTUK, of course, should have been addressed in such a meeting. "Television channels, especially local and regional broadcasting, have been burdened with a great debt. The RTUK Law must be re-examined according to today's conditions, and a portion of RTUK revenues should be given in support of local radios and televisions. The 10-year broadcast license fee paid by local broadcasters should also be reduced urgently and brought into line with the revenues of local and regional publishers.”
Outbreak hits media
The declaration stated that the advertising and circulation revenues of media organizations, especially the local press, literally stopped with the coronavirus pandemic: "During the pandemic period, circulation revenues of printed newspapers decreased by 60 percent to 80 percent, and the advertising revenues of local televisions were almost nullified. In this process, while the companies stopped advertising completely or sharply taken down, the official advertisements received through the Press Advertising Authority decreased by up to 90 percent as a result of the failure to publish the court orders regarding overdue debts or bankruptcy cases public and local tender announcements. Media organizations that are deprived of advertising and circulation revenues have become unable to pay their mandatory expenses, including the wages of the journalists being employed. The 'short work allowance' implemented at this stage has been a lifeline in the first stage for the organizations that have the opportunity to benefit from this allowance. We want to bring our solution proposals, which we have raised for media organizations to emerge from the Coronavirus crisis, once again on the agenda of Turkey. For newspapers, television, radio and corporate internet news sites operating in the media sector, 'loans and grants' should be provided. Media organizations should be funded, 50 percent of which will be determined according to their broadcast capacity, regardless of bank registration status, and 50 percent of which are interest-free loans. With the accumulated social security depts of media organizations as well as other cost-related taxes should be reduced and the debt to be calculated after the discount should be paid in installments. Press employees and other press card holders working on newspapers, television, radio and internet news sites should be given interest-free loans. Satellite fees received from television companies should be discounted and installments should be made, and RTUK shares should not be taken for a while. It should be supported by advertisements by local media organizations, municipalities and public institutions. Advertisements of public institutions and affiliates such as THY, Vakıfbank and Ziraat Bank should also be directed to the local media and ministries should provide paid “public awareness adds” and “Compulsory Publication” support.
What do you say the nightingale stopped eating mulberries and started singing? It was really nice to hear those voices.
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