Media and Access to Information Conference was held at CIU
On the occasion of the 59th Library Week, Department of Journalism of the Faculty of Communication organized "Access to Information" panel where President of Cyprus Turkish Journalists Union Emin Akkor and Supervisory Member of the Journalists Association Serkan Güler discussed media in Cyprus and Turkey.
In his speech, Akkor stated that access to information can be discussed in three contexts; these are from the perspective of constitution and laws, media, and finally citizens.
Reminding that access to information is provided by the constitution and laws in the country, and that TRNC citizens can easily access the information they want according to the information law enacted in the 2000s, Akkor said, “Despite the fact that laws give certain rights, we experience obstacles in accessing information due to bureaucracy, cumbersome attitude of the public and political reluctance.”
Pointing out that the issue of access to information in the media can be discussed together with its ownership structure, Akkor pointed out that the opportunities for objective broadcasting in the country are limited. Saying that it is necessary to look at the issue in terms of income as well as ownership, Akkor said, “It was possible for an objective publishing to operate in times when the newspaper could self-sustain with its sales and advertisements. However, since publishing is based on advertising today, you have to publish without affecting the interests of the advertisers.”
Noting that citizens resorted to social media at the point of access to information, Akkor said, “Social media has brought some disadvantages as well as the advantages it has brought to our lives. As a personal observation, I want to point out that hate speech is very widely used.”
Journalist Güler, on the other hand, discussed the history of the press in Turkey along with censorship laws, and noted that the laws that emerged as internet laws were actually censorship laws.
Noting that since it is not only journalists but also the public that use the social media, they are also punished, Güler added, "The censorship law has been a problem in Turkey since the Ottoman Era and is still unresolved." He stated that nowadays it is very easy for anyone to own a mobile phone and in that respect, everyone can also be a reporter, and hence the laws in question apply not only to journalists but also to all users.
Speaking about the mission of journalism, Güler pointed out that one should not directly take for granted what is written on social media and that it is important to conduct a comprehensive research on the subject-matter.
In his speech, Güler also addressed the students of the Faculty of Communication and stated that the youth have a lot of work to do and that they should definitely create their own blogs. Drawing attention to the fact that there will be no written media in the future, Güler said, “There will be no written media. Visual media will broadcast over the internet and not via satellite channels. In short, everyone will create their own media.”