How will the Coronavirus Pandemic Affect News Media in Turkey?

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As the coronavirus pandemic affects the whole world there are disruptions in all sectors from agriculture to industry, from agriculture to transportation. Although journalists continue to report despite a looming global economic crisis, several outlets are facing difficulties.

Yeni Yaşam newspaper announced on March 24 that it suspended publishing its print edition "until healthy conditions occur." The weekly Agos newspaper, which has been published in Armenian and Turkish since 1996, followed it a day later. "Today is Thursday. Normally, we should have announced that 'Agos is on the newsstands. However, Agos will be published online this week, as part of coronavirus measures," it said in a statement.

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Daily Sözcü's first and last four pages did not include news, but a notice that says, "We put a distance between you and the virus." It advised the readers to throw away those pages before reading the newspaper.

Newspapers with free online versions may face closure

Esra Arsan, an associate professor of journalism, says that digital newspapers may replace print newspapers, but this may cause a digital divide: "What will those who don't have access to online newspapers, the elderly, those who don't have electricity or internet in their homes do? You may say that almost everyone has smartphones. I think the news will be accessed mostly by mobile phones."

"However, it should not be forgotten that the commercial decline of the newspapers printed on paper will affect the alternative press the most. The alternative press, which already survives with small budgets and low advertising revenues, will likely come to the point of going bankrupt.

"Because, in the current situation, conveying true and essential news to the people, is not a matter of choice but the responsibility of journalists, just like healthcare services.

"In this extraordinary situation, where people have difficulty paying even house rents or credit debts, it is hard to persuade them to purchase online news content. Therefore, online content will probably be free. Since all the produced content has a cost, there will be a commercial loss.

"If we lived in a normal country, we could expect the state to provide financial support to independent media outlets, but instead of supporting the independent press in our country, the state even cuts the Press Advertisement Institution ads.

"In short, newspapers that have online subscriptions such as New York Times and the Washington Post in the US will live in this crisis period, but unfortunately, newspapers with free online versions are in danger of shutting down or closing temporarily. They need to prepare for such a situation."

"Media will be negatively affected"

Prof. Süleyman İrvan, the head of the New Media and Journalism Department at Üsküdar University, says that the importance of journalism has increased because of the coronavirus pandemic.

"It has become more important than ever to inform society and provide it with the right information. But journalism, like other lines of business, has been negatively affected economically in this period.

"Media in Turkey maintain their lives directly with ads. In these days of a global economic crisis, firms have started to cut ads. While internet media survives with Google ads, the situation is worse for printed newspapers.

"In the long term, the media sector will be negatively affected by this situation. Organizations will shrink, newspapers will start recruiting staff. This will cause more journalists to become unemployed. Because both the internet media and print newspapers maintain their lives directly with advertisements.

"However, I think the media gained importance in this period in terms of collecting and conveying the correct information. Because people are panicked. They need accurate information about what will happen and only a well-functioning media can provide it.

"Under these conditions, the better the media can operate, the better it will inform. In fact, it is an important but difficult process for newspapers." (HA/VK)