Tweet Censor in FoE Panel

Izmir Economy University’s Media and Law Clubs organized a media law panel with keynote speakers bianet project advisor Nadire Mater, bianet law advisor Fikret İlkiz and journalist Nedim Şener. The sessions were facilitated by Prof. Dr. Meltem Dikmen Caniklioğlu. 

In the opening speech, Media Club President Çağrı Öner reminded the contributions of their professor Alankuş to the faculty and students. 

“We will continue our way with all the information and experiences on rights, ethics and freedom of expression we learned from Prof. Sevda. We always kept away from differentiation and discrimination. During this panel, we will cover issues like media law, rights-focused journalism, internet journalism and freedom of expression.” 

During the panel, salon administration has allegedly censord tweets with the hashtag #medialaw2013 where various students sent solidarity messages for Sevda Alankuş, a recently laid off faculty member. 

Mater: Media has violation-focused approach 

“We are beginning with someone missing here,” Nadire Mater said when she began her speech. 

‘’The communications faculty, as for me and for you as well, meant  Prof. Dr. Sevda Alankuş. I am hailing her from here.”

“Media law, media ethics, internet journalism, rights-focused journalism are topics that we became exhausted to discuss over the years. Sometimes I feel like I am repeating myself. It is not a feeling indeed, it is a fact.''

Referring to PM Erdoğan’s remarks on student’s mixed gender living styles, Mater underlined that it was related to the recent human rights violations especially in the area of free speech. She also shared striking anectodes from bianet’s May 31 - September 30, 2013 report on Gezi Resistance. 

“How possible is it to do rights based journalism departing from putting rights based journalism in the middle?” she asked the audience. 

“The general attitude of media is not rights-based but violation-based.”

"How far will you block our Sevda?''

Some students informed the audience that the projection of their tweets related to Prof. Dr. Alankuş were censord by salon administration. 

“Just because we mentioned Sevda, you censord twitter. How far will you block our Sevda?'' Ilkiz said. 

“The censor-makers have yet to understand about freedoms,” journalist Şener said. (ÇÖ/HK/BM)