At Least 319 Journalists Left Jobless in 2014

BIA Media Monitoring Reports and Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK) linked Basın-İş syndicate (Media Industry Workers Syndicate of Turkey) data, at least 319 journalists have been left jobless since the beginning of 2014.

Most of the dismissals happened in April according to the data. The main reason for this is the closing of Karşı Newspaper and Yeni Asır TV, the group dismissal in Dünya Newspaper, and the consolidation of Vatan and Milliyet newspaper facilities. The situation is such that at least 210 journalists were left jobless in April. 

The number of journalists who lost their jobs in 2013 was 131. After the increase in oppression that followed the Gezi Resistance, 94 journalists had been dismissed and 37 journalists forced to resign. 

Latest we had seen Radikal newspaper’s declare yesterday (June 12) that they were abandoning written press, and found out that in the digitalizing newspaper, at least 4 journalists had been left unemployed. It is uncertain how many journalists will be left unemployed at Radikal.

Tan: I did journalism until the end

Skytürk360 website former editor Ersoy Tan, dismissed two weeks ago, is one of the 319 journalists. Tan recounted what happened to him to bianet as follows:

“We weren’t in any serious concern before the executive editor changed. There was no problem about my news items. After the new executive editor came, my news items started to encounter obstruction. The executive editor called me to his office and told me to send my news items to him first. And later on I saw that my archived pieces on the protest in Soma, Berkin Elvan, and Ali İsmail Korkmaz had been deleted. Two weeks ago I argued with my executive editor and the next day Human Resources told me I had been dismissed.”

Tan, asserting, “I did journalism until the end,” says he’s looking for work, but is not so hopeful. Tan expresses that, “Most of mainstream media has been taken hold of,” and saying that he’ll try to find employment in alternative or oppositional media, states, “Wherever I go, I’m going to continue to make news pieces.”

Skytürk360 executive editor Samed Karagöz, on the other hand, told bianet that Tan had been dismissed for defying their “editorial policy.” 

Obstacle in front of legal solutions: The Blacklist

Journalists’ Syndicate of Turkey (TGS) Chairman Uğur Güç interpreted the increasing trend of dismissals in the media as follows:
“Oppositional journalists are slowly being discharged. The reason for this increase is the dismissals of those wanting to do journalism.”

Güç stated that government and media heads do not want feature pieces or reporter journalism and are centralizing news.

“Most of the media publishes news from agencies, transforming them through editorial tricks. This is a method the government uses to cover up their corruption and unlawful acts. Those who resist are forced to resign, and those who insist on journalism get discharged by their managers.”

Expressing that journalists do not fully know their legal rights and that some shy away from exercising these rights, Güç pointed to “the Blacklist” as the reason:

“It is known that the mainstream media engaged in a lawsuit communicates among itself. The journalist claiming legal remedies is put on this list. For instance, I was laid off in 2009 and I haven’t been able to find employment in any newspaper. Journalists do not want to stick out due to this blacklist when they resign.”

January

* Türkiye newspaper fired Ankara Office News Director Akif Bülbül and Gökhan Özdağ, a special news reporter who was transferred from Bugün newspaper one month ago.

* 12 executives were removed in TRT (Turkish Radio and Television Corporation), subsequent to removal of News Department Head Ahmet Böken and designation of Nasuhi Güngör. 

* NTV content editor Sinan Demir and reporter Gözde Kuyumcu were fired.

* Holding down a corner and making weekly interviews in Yeni Şafak newspaper, Murat Aksoy was dismissed. 

* Discharged from Sabah newspaper, the author Nur Batur posted a farewell letter on her personal Facebook account. 

* Fox TV expelled Lütfiye Pekcan, press worker who had carried out the coordination of broadcasting for 4 years in Newsroom.

* Upon transfer of the ownership of ATV and Takvim from Çalık Group to Kalyon Group, closure of seven magazines and Takvim’s Ankara Office, and dismissal of three employees; seven more journalist were fired.

* Yeni Asır, the most well-known newspaper of Aegean district, was acquired by Kalyon Construction Group that built Marmaray tunnel, subsequent to the acquisition of Sabah and ATV, and dismissed 13 employees.  

February

* Remzi Meziroğlu, the news director of Kanal Avrupa and the presenter of TV program ‘Ateş Çemberi’ on the same channel, announced that he quitted his job due to oppressions.  March

* Star newspaper editor Doğan Ertuğrul quitted the job by declaring that he couldn't stand the 'hate' speech recently used by the newspaper (March 26).

* 18-years employee of CHA Agency Köksal Akpınar, 18-years page editor of Zaman newspaper Foreign Press Şemsettin Özkan, 6-years newsreader, editor and dubbing specialist at CHA Network Salim Gören, the reporter of Cihan Agency Kübra Kara, the economics reporter of Bugün newspaper Zeynep Ceylan, the author of Zaman newspaper Leyla İpekçi and H. Salih Zengin, and the illustrator Osman Turhan quitted their jobs due to mobbing.

* The author of Türkiye newspaper Balçiçek İlter quitted her job, as a response to the news related with Berkin Elvan, a child who lost his life due to a gas bomb canister thrown by police, on her newspaper. 

March

* Star newspaper’s senior editor Doğan Ertuğrul declared his resignation, saying that he “couldn’t bear the hate speech” that his newspaper was recently producing. (March 26)

* Cihan News Agency’s (CHA) 18 year long employee Köksal Akpınar, Zaman newspaper’s 18 year long page editor Şemsettin Özkan, CHA Network’s senior presenter and editör Salim Gören, CİHAN reporter Kübra Kara, Bugün newspaper economy reporter Zeynep Ceylan, Zaman newspaper writers Leyla İpekçi and H. Salih Zengin along with illustrator Osman Turhan have resigned from their posts, saying that they were subjected to mobbing. 

* Türkiye newspaper writer Balçiçek İlter have resigned from her post in order to protest her newspaper’s editorial policies after Berkin Elvan’s death.

* Best FM presenter Arzu Çağlan has been fired for crying after the death of Berkin Elvan, a 14 year old boy who was died of comatose due to police canister. Fotomaç newspaper reporter Çağdaş Doğan, on the other hand, has been laid off for his opinions on Berkin Elvan. 

* Türkiye newspaper editor-in-chief Nuh Albayrak resigned from his post.

* Hürriyet Web TV’s founding supervisor  and sports writer Orhan Can has been dismissed by his newspaper.

* Akşam newspaper laid Sibel Oral off because of her anti-government tweet message. “I thank everyone who complaint about my tweet and led to my layoff. I am honored,” she said. 

April

* 7/24, a TV channel, has been purchased by Yavuz Semerci. The new owner laid off 9 employers from the newsroom and 4 from technical support. 

* Karşı newspaper has been shot down. With newspaper owner’s statement overnight, 95 staff went unemployed.

* As Dünya newspaper fired 50 staff for “immoral attitudes” with no damages, the administration was compelled to pay some of the damages after severe reactions.  

* Akşam newspaper dismissed its writer Fikret Aydemir. 

* Seyhan Kalkan, an affiliated reporter at Vayiç Ataşehir Municipality for 1.5 years, has been laid off. 

* Sabah newspaper laid off its economy columnist  Süleyman Yaşar.

* Kanal A administration decided to fire its news editor in Ankara and Istanbul (Selahattin Serçe, Hüdaverdi Yıldırım) and Istanbul correspondent (Bedrettin Uğur).

* Yeni Asır TV has been closed, leaving 40 media workers unemployed. 

* Milliyet newspaper vice editor-in-chief has been uncontracted. 

May

* Following the unification of Vatan and Milliyet newspapers, 36 employees were laid off. 

* Doğuş Group has uncontracted a group of employees in NTV and Kral TV within its diminishing policies. The aforementioned employees included Gece-Gündüz show’s senior reporters Yavuz Harani, Emrah Kolukısa, show cameramen  Haluk Asar, Hakan Öcal, Gökhan Kalan, reporter Nuh Köklü, producers Mehveş Hıncal, Serkan Ünver, and Trabzon province correspondent cameraman Abidin Kama.

* Skytürk360 laid off its internet editor Ersoy Tan.  (May 31) 

June

* Akşam newspaper fired 9 of its employees and columnist Elif Aktuğ.

* Saying that it ended its print version, Radikal newspaper laid off 4 journalists. (EA/CB/PU/BM)

* Click here to read the article in Turkish. 

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