The name of my column has never changed; in my column called ”Free Spirit” we have been scribbling something to the addressee for years. In this process, over the years, we have also had those who loved us, and those who disliked us for putting a wedge in their business... Even those who disliked us said, ”I heard it many times”; ”The woman is an honest real journalist.” Those who expressed these statements also insulted me. What a strange balance, isn't it? Wrestling in the mud while at the same time giving the right to someone you believe to be right!
First of all, what is local media? ”Local media is a medium that is published/broadcasts in settlements other than large cities in a country, provides news of the region, voices the problems of the region, and aims to convey the wishes of the people to those concerned.”
At the same time, local media is a mass communication tool that informs, educates and entertains the people of the region and thus contributes to the free formation of public opinion.
I think that almost a certain majority, whether they have knowledge about journalism or not, know what I have written. So why do I feel the need to inform; because I am aware of what my duty is, I am aware and I am in favor of being known.
The local dynamic is unfortunately; municipality bulletin news, writing paid bulletins, shining some business people who have no qualifications, making their advertisements, which we will see as political figures in the future, friends who will grab a council member, even if they are unable to speak from the rostrum, they will be step by step on their way to their political goals away from the public. Then they will look down on those journalists they use as pawns. This has always been the case.
At the end of the day, the journalist will receive the reward for his labor as ingratitude. I have heard from many journalists; “We polished the man and now he doesn't look at us“...
I know how precious labor is and I see that my colleagues are doomed to disappear in the system. I have a fight with the system. I rebel against everything that condemns journalists to this bad system.
We are talking about the local media, I know very well that their conditions are not equal to the national media and it is a fact that we cannot talk about freedom of the press. The biggest obstacle to freedom of the press stems from its capital structure. The media has moved far away from its mission of serving the public, and the principles of journalism have gradually lost their effectiveness with the capital owners of industrialists, bankers, driving schools and construction sectors becoming bosses in media organizations.
Journalists have no bosses! Those bosses are bosses because of the labor of the journalist. A journalist's boss is his labor.
The media's credibility and reputation have been considerably damaged by the fact that the owners manage the media outlets they own not with the aim of informing the public, monitoring and supervising them on behalf of the public, but with a focus on their own commercial interests and the expansion of their sphere of social power.
Journalism needs to be reborn from its ashes! In the past, news used to have honor, expressing the truth was considered a stance beyond the profession. But what about now?
They stigmatize those who speak the truth!
Let me open a short parenthesis here by mentioning Erving Goffman's theory of ‘STIGMA”; ”It talks about the exclusion and removal of the individual from social life. The society wants to avoid the people it is uncomfortable with, it wants to favor itself, so it pushes people away from that environment.” What happens to those who write the truth ...
I have been insulted and ostracized for expressing the truth, and I have struggled with the embargo and psychological violence I have faced by not being allowed to meet with me, not being allowed to cooperate with me, and even being given warnings to those who liked me on social media, as well as having my articles and interviews destroyed.
I know that I looked very strong but I cried every night with the crisis of that period. At the point I have reached today, I feel very, very good spiritually. Because I am aware of the value of my peace of conscience because I did not walk that path because of the crowd behind the wrong and I followed my own right path, and this is priceless.
I enjoy the unpretentious assertion of my path by keeping a silent and effective distance from those who call me and say, "Dilek, you are very brave, your journalism is so good/so good, but sorry, we can't like you on social media; no, this politician or that person calls and warns me.
The strength of our sphere of influence is because of our integrity.
If we go back to the local media again; ” local media is in a big predicament. Newspapers, whose number of employees does not exceed the fingers of one hand, forget their own value with copy and paste news and pretend to be ”national press“. Printed newspapers are almost non-existent. Most of them print few copies in order to say that they are printing. Why? The reason is that submitting newspapers to the Press Advertisement Agency or to the institutions from which they receive advertisements has not yet ceased to be a source of income!
So, can we say that these newspapers put pressure on behalf of the people? We can't! And when we say that, there's another stigma!
Newspapers printed for bureaucratic reporting don't like us, they pretend to be ”the most journalistic” and slander real journalists... Because they are powerless and helpless in the face of a clear stance. Reality is perceived as a danger to them and the brain is immediately signaled to destroy it, denigrate it, prevent it from working, end it!
There is also this issue, unfortunately, it is difficult for citizens to distinguish between those who are intertwined with politicians 24/7 and those who have become the PR team of politicians and act as their pawns and those who speak the truth! There is a mass that thinks that the one who gives more images with politicians is better. It is these so-called journalists who know this very well. What is this if not manipulating the public? This is a stance that targets the right of citizens to make the right decision. And let alone a violation of ethics, it constitutes a crime against society.
To summarize, let's not confuse the wheat with the chaff. As someone who loves his job and carries it out under difficult conditions, I ask you to read the article without bias. Please remember that ”without due attention to impartiality, the principle of accuracy is doomed to be undermined. ”
With love