Rotation Continues at bianet: Gökçe Gündüç is New Editor-in-Chief

The beginning of March brought a new change of duties for our bianet staff. Following on from Tolga Korkut, our editor-in-chief for the last three months, Gökçe Gündüç has taken over. Although she has been with us for less than a year, she has had no problems in getting used to our mad working pace and is now even our “boss”!

Our friend and supporter journalist Murat Çelikkan is going to be at the bianet office on certain days and will contribute to the website.  Çelikkan is an experienced journalist, as well as a human rights activist.

All except Erol and Emine are rotating 

The rotation means that our women’s rights editor Erhan Üstündağ will become human rights editor, and I will move from editing human rights news to women’s issues. Our editor-in-chief for the last three months, Tolga Korkut, will become children’s rights editor.

Erol Önderoğlu, our freedom of expression editor, is not taking part in the rotation because he has a small child, but we have not given up on our persuasion efforts.

Our reporter Emine Özcan will remain in her position for htis period, but she is looking forward to joining the rotation system soon – she will probably be our editor-in-chief for the summer, and we will take it in turns to try to emulate her expert street reporting.

Zengin: In-depth knowledge of human rights issues 

I want to thank Tolga Korkut for his support during my time as human rights editor. He supported me with his three years of experience in that area. Had it not been for the rotation, then my knowledge about torture, Guantanamo Bay, mines, and individual disarmament would have been limited to a few clichés. And I would not have found out about the many struggles for human rights taking place in the world, the knowledge of which has given me some hope.

Üstündağ: "Something great" 

Erhan Üstündağ says that the experience of rotation has been “exciting and tiring” at the same time. For Üstündağ, women’s rights was an area which he had not explored very closely before: “I met new people, saw new problems and learned about suggestions for solutions.”

“Letting everyone work in different areas has advantages and disadvantages for bianet and its employees. If we can perfect the system and continue it, we will have succeeded in something great.”

Gündüç: "Media ignores children" 

Our new editor-in-chief Gökçe Gündüç has enjoyed her three-month stint as children’s rights editor:

“It meant becoming more curious about children and interpreting social events from that viewpoint. It also meant becoming angry every morning when I saw how the mainstream media ignores children on a daily basis.”

“Reading children’s articles and interviewing them made me realise how aware they are of everything that is happening around them. Given the opportunity, they talk; if they are not being heard, it is not because they have nothing to say.”

For Gündüç, the greatest effect of the rotation has been that editors are able to empathise with each other and that everyone can contribute ideas.

Korkut: "Increased creativity" 

Tolga Korkut added that the rotation has allowed each editor to see things from different perspectives. This has made editing decisions easier and has increased creativity.

He emphasised that the position of editor-in-chief did not imply any superior status in a hierarchy. Rather, he sees the position as one of coordination.
Korkut is pleased that there has been an increase in contributions to bianet by its readers.

Özcan: Changes bring "colour" to the website 

Finally, our reporter Emine Özcan emphasised that bianet was always trying to adopt a perspective different from the mainstream, and that this was reflected in the non-hierarchic structure of the organisation. A regular change in editors-in-chief added “colour” to the website, so Özcan. (NZ/TK/AG)