Independent Media Forum Starts

The Istanbul "International Independent Media Forum", bringing together activists, specialists, workers, students, analysts and initiatives striving for an independent and democratic communication environment from across the world and Turkey, has been introduced to participants and observers on Friday in a press conference and meeting held at the city's Taksim Hill hotel.

Making the opening speech of the 3-day event held under the framework of the "Establishing a Countrywide Network for Monitoring and Covering for Media Freedom and Independent Journalism"-BİA² project, bianet Project Coordinator Ertugrul Kurkcu said the goal of the forum was to debate how media workers could guard the interests of the society while conducting their work.

Kurkcu said the forum taking place at the Bilgi University Dolapdere Campus between November 4-5 had been organized jointly by the IPS Communication Foundation and the Inter Press Service.

The central theme of the forum is "Another world is possible" with participants discussing a variety of media related issues with special emphasis on alternative media.

Kurkcu told Friday's introduction meeting that among the forum discussions, social gender and media would be looking at the wide-spread discrimination against women in media while a debate on peace and independent media would hear experiences of news coverage discouraging conflicts. Developments in Iraq and Beirut are among the issues to be looked into, alongside the role of the local media in Turkey which is expected to increase in the coming years, Kurkcu explained.

The forum will look into many issues concerning the media from examples of efforts to create an independent, alternative, media to creating a more open, democratic, transparent and accessible media through civic journalism. Ways to create global, regional and local alternative networks is also among the discussion topics.

A total of 90 participants from various countries and Turkey are attending the event. Organizers have said 58 of the participants are men, 32 women. 71 come from Turkey while 19 are from other countries. Participants are made up of 16 academics, 49 journalists from the Turkish local media, 15 professional journalists, 2 NGO representatives and 5 students.

World issues to be discussed

Speaking at Friday's meeting that was held before a scheduled evening reception that formally launches the forum, a number of participants addressed current issues facing the media.

Savio: Lack of explicating journalism

Internationally renowned expert in communications issues and IPS Executive Board Chair Dr. Roberto Savio told the audience that there were two reasons that influenced the independence of the media. The first, he explained, was the threat from economic circles while the second was the gap between the mainstream and local media.

Savio, who founded numerous news and information projects, always with an emphasis on the developing world: Inter Press Service (IPS) news agency, the Latin American features service ALASEI and the Women's Feature Service, also referred to the world-wide increase in intern users while newspaper sales figures declined. He stressed that there was a changing readership.

Savio said that at current reporting was primarily limited to observing incidents without explicating them, adding that what journalists needed to ask themselves was "can the journalism we are doing now last for a long time?"

Sinar: War shouldn't be reduced to figures

Dov Sinar of the Netanya Academic College said for his part that 20 to 25 yers ago it was believed that alternative media was required only for totalitarian regimes but that over time democratic regimes had also started to need an alternative media.

Underlining that the media had to be extremely careful in relaying events, Sinar said the question of "what happens in war or peace conditions" should never be forgotten.

Sinar said that in the occupations of Iraq and Gazza, humans were being reduced to being figures only and that this situation further emphasized the importance of the alternative media.

Ferguson: Biggest enemy is money

Robert Ferguson of London University told the meetings that after the collapse of the Soviet Repubic it could be observed that the problem previously described as being totalitarian regimes was in fact a problem of money for the media.

"When the big enemy went" he explained, "the economic relations of the media surfaced." Furguson said there were still newspapers in Britain that were distributed for free and noted that it had to be understood under which conditions these newspapers served.

Alankus: Alternative media debate world-wide

East Mediterranean University lecturer Dr. Sevda Alankus, told the meeting that next week they would be holding a peace journalism meeting in North Cyprus were participants from both sides of the divided island would be discussing peace.

Alankus noted that alternative media was now being debated throughout the world and described alternative media as a necessity.

Rights Reporting Awards to be Granted

Following the opening ceremony of the forum, "BIA2 Rights Reporting Awards" dedicated to a journalist from the mainstream media and local media will be granted alongside an award to communication students.

The awards will go to Yuksekova Haber newspaper reporter Necip Capraz from the local media; Radikal newspaper reporter Timur Soykan from the mainstream media and students Aycin Gelir and Eylem Tuna from the Anadolu Universty Communication Facility.

About the forum

The Forum is to be launched by speeches delivered by Le Monde Diplomatique newspaper editor-in-chief Ignacio Ramonet'nin and IPS General Director Mario Lubetkin'in .

The first day, Saturday, sees two panels taking place in the Forum: "New Global Mainstream Media Environment Limits and Challenges" and "Independent Media Environment and Prospects for non-Mainstream".

A panel on the second day, meanwhile, focuses on communication education: "Education for Communication: Critical or Mainstream?".

Two important group discussions will take part on the second day of the forum. "Social Gender and Independent Media" moderated by journalist and writer Ipek Calislar is to bring together women rights activist and journalist Angella Castellanos from Colombia, bianet's Nadire Mater, Kaos GL's Ugur Yuksel, Media Monitoring Group's Dr. Hulya Ugur Tanriover, Pazartesi magazine's Beyhan Demir and Ucan Supurge's Oya Ozden Saner.

Later, the "Independent Media for Peace" discussion moderated by Birgun newspaper editor-in-chief Murat Celikkkan is to bring together Alexander Iskendaryan from the Armenian Caucasus Media Institute, Acik Radio's Avi Haligua, bianet's Erol Onderoglu, Yucel Gokturk, Merve Erol, Erdir Zat and Siren Idemen from Express, Cyprus Turkish Union of Press Workers' Huseyin Yalyali, Georgia Social Researches Center's Marina Muskhelishvili, Azerbaijan Zerkalo newspaper's Murad Huseynov, Agos's Nuran Agan, Israel Peace Journalism Center's Prof. Dr. Dov Sinar, Rustem Batum, Sevgul Uludag and Cyprus East Mediterranean University's Tony Angastiniotis.

Local, independent media and civic journalism in Turkey

One of the important events on November 5 is the "Civic, Local and Alternative Media in Turkey" forum which will bring together academics and local journalists.

Moderated by journalist Ragip Duran, the forum will start with Dr. Sevda Alankus's question "Do the local media and civic media give opportunities for a pluralism and independence?"

While Dr. Incilay Cangoz discussed local and independent media in the context of "civic journalism" Coskun Efendioglu from the Milas Onder newspaper will raise questions on how the media could be local and independent.

Manavgat Venus Radio's Dogan Sonmez will look at the issue approaching journalists as the "human capitals of independence" while Diyarbakir Gun TV's Cemal Dogan will share his experiences on news reporting and broadcasting in a mother-tongue. Mehmet Can Toprak from the Mersin Radio Ses and Izmir Demokrat Radio's Nadiye Gurbuz will explain "local radio broadcasting in metropolitan cities".

The goals

The International Independent Media Forum which is open to everyone has set the following goals:

· Bring together activists, specialists, workers and analysts from across the globe, who strives for "another media".

· Share experiences in bringing out independent media and analyze significant practices.

· Help develop more open, democratic, transparent and accessible media environments.

· Provide and contribute in cooperation among global, regional and local alternative media networks.

· Encourage individuals and institutions to support independent media initiatives

· Increase the quality and quantity of independent media practices in Turkey (AO/EO/II/YE)