How did 2013 go for bianet? We have covered the whole year through photos.
We extensively covered March 8
bianet covered the feminist night rally of 2013 in Istiklal Avenue, Istanbul.
“Our body, life and decisions are only ours! Let your family be yours!” hundreds of shouted.
Note from Çiçek Tahaoğlu: “2013 marked the last year where female journalists covered the March 8 demonstrations for bianet. Next year female reporters will be marching and male reporters will cover the story."
Reporters Without Borders awarded bianet
Reporters Without Borders Austria awarded bianet with its annual Freedom of Expression Award. The award was received by Nadire Mater, bianet’s Project Advisor. In the award ceremony, RSF Austria President Dr. Rubina Moehring said that bianet received the award for being the voice of jailed journalists.
We covered several panels, sometimes we spoke there
In March, bianet organized “Children rights oriented journalism round table meeting” with the participation of NGO representatives. bianet’s children rights editor Yüce Yöney briefed about how bianet covered these articles.
Other times we were happy to observe young people taking initiatives and speaking up in panels. We could hear the upcoming steps of Gezi Resistance back then. For instance, on February 26, students occupied the podium during a conference on freedom of expression in Istanbul University, saying that they wanted to use their freedom of expression.
PM spoke the most, we often got bored
Throughout 2013 PM Erdoğan performed a remarkable success in shifting the public attention and rising tensions. His remarks “They were staying in mix-gender apartments”, “A handful of looters”, “We will erect a mosque in Taksim Square”, “They drank alcohol in the mosque” gave significant insights on what Turkey discussed whole year. In the picture, journalists Ayça Söylemez and Ekin Karaca are fully concentrated (!) on PM’s speech…
We got in the mood for elections…slowly
KA.DER (Association to Support Female Candidates) launched a campaign aimed to increase the number of female candidates in the upcoming municipal elections. We loved their portraits of political leaders as lollypops. bianet journalists Çiçek Tahaoğlu, Nilay Vardar and Elif Akgül supported the campaign.
We searched news sources everywhere
There were times that we were unable to find our news notes. It became one of casual moments to search for notes in the trash bin.
We asked our youngest journalist to report us
bianet asked its youngest reporter Ekin Önderoğlu to photograph various moods of the office throughout the year. Ekin’s turn-out was as follows:
Our young reported showed us how much everybody put a lot of effort in their work...
We chased news in China!
Nilay Vardar tumbled down the deep tunnels of nuclear plants in Germany to find out how Germany deals with its nuclear waste. Note to those who wonder why said China: If we started digging the earth from here, we will reach out China!
bianet reporters didn’t only travel to the earth’s core but also its various mountains. Çiçek Tahaoğlu reported from North Iraq the withdrawal of first PKK group. “Even though some joked that this photo was “photoshopped”, I was indeed there!” she wrote.
Just before reporting the fire!
bianet loved the Gezi Resistance most in 2013, making the most intensive coverage on the issue. bianet journalists were on the scene despite tear gas and water cannons.
As Çiçek Tahaoğlu and Nilay Vardar were having this photo taken, a fire just broke out in Taksim Square. While they weren’t aware of the fire in the photo, they ran to the scene seconds after the photo shoot.
Fed up with tear gas, we purchased gas masks and helmets
Police intervention with gas bombs skyrocketed through May 1, skyrocketing in Gezi Resistance. It became obligatory for journalists to use helmets and gas masks along with cameras and voice recorders while reporting.
We didn’t leave behind our gas masks after Gezi Resistance. We used them in protests against corruption probe as well. Because police attitude never changed, which didn’t surprise anybody.
This is how we tried to cover 2013
2013 was a tough year. Tensions almost never calmed down. At the end of the year, bianet held a 2-day recap meeting for 2013 and discussed the goals for 2014.
As we are entering 2014, it seems like it won’t be different as Turkey is preparing for two elections and last year’s corruption probe, AKP-Gulenism feud and Gezi Resistance’ democratic right demands are still existent. Briefly, bianet staff will continue to work hard in 2014, chasing news with cameras and voice recorders. (HK/BM)