Turkey: The 2020 Sedat Simavi Literature Award Was Given To Two Women Journalists And Two Women Radio Presenters
Location: Turkey
Date: Demecber 18, 2020Available in: 🇹🇷 Türkçe
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is thrilled that the Sedat Simavi Literature Award, organized by the Turkish Journalists' Association each year, was awarded to two women journalists and two women radio presenters. Journalists Hazal Ocak and Beril Ötkan, and Radio program producers Çiğdem Işık and Sevilay Tunalı are among the award winners of 2020.
Due to COVID-19, this year’s winners were announced during an online event. The Turkey Journalists Association Chairman, Turgay Olcayto, stated that the works of the participants were evaluated by the selection committee through an online platform due to the pandemic. This year, two female journalists and two female radio program producers were awarded for their work in the respective fields. The awards were later delivered to the homes of the journalists.
Journalist Hazal Ocak received an award for her piece titled “Son-in-law Knows His Way” and "Here Is Important!", which were published in Cumhuriyet Newspaper on January 20, 2020, and July 14, 2020. Upon receiving her award, Hazal expressed how important journalism is to her.
“First, thank you very much to the jury of the Journalists Association of Turkey for seeing me worthy of this award. Being a journalist and winning this award were my childhood dreams. Coming to my award-winning news, my news published in the headline of Cumhuriyet Newspaper with the titles ‘Son-in-law Knows His Way’ and ‘Here Is Important!’ were about the fact that the Minister of Finance and Treasury of the period Berat Albayrak bought land on the route before the Channel Istanbul Project route was announced. While covering this story, I carried out the whole process very meticulously. I met with all parties, went to the region, met with the people in the region, confirmed the news and finally sent my questions to him. Likewise, I included the responses from them without comment. What happened to me after this news? First of all, a decision to block access to my news was taken, and then a lawsuit was filed against me on charges of defamation. In this case, a prison sentence has been sought, and there is also a case for damages. So what happened in these cases? I was acquitted at the first hearing. The prosecutor said that my report is within the scope of the freedom of the press. In my defence, I explained that I did this news to inform the public and that I am a journalist. This process would be very difficult if our newspaper, the Cumhuriyet Newspaper, were not supportive of me. Finally, I would like to thank my news manager, Murat Hantaş, and our Editor-in-Chief, Aykut Küçükkaya, who always support me. I always say that journalism will win.”
A claim for damages was filed against her over her article “Son-in-law Knows His Way”, published in the Cumhuriyet Daily on March 6, 2020. The article detailed Berat Albayrak’s purchase of land on the route of the Kanal Istanbul project. She was accused of publicly insulting a public figure due to the performance of Albayrak's duty through audio, text or visual message. The journalist was acquitted at the second hearing of the case.
Beril Ötkan was awarded together with Berkcan Tuğu for their joint news titled "No Bread at Home", broadcasted on FOX TV on May 4, 2020. Describing the process of their news coverage, Beril said:
“I have been a news reporter for about 10 years. That period was a very difficult time for the journalism industry in Turkey. I witnessed many political and social events, but of course, this pandemic is unlike any other. It was at the beginning of the pandemic, it had been around two and a half months, when I went to İŞKUR with my cameraman friend Berkcan Tuğu. At a time when we were at home because of health concerns, some people were looking for a job in front of İŞKUR. One of them was Yusuf Derin. While I was interviewing him, a thermos on the backbench caught my attention. Because he didn't have it during the interview, I asked if it belonged to him. He said ‘Yes it belongs to me. For a while, I've been coming to İŞKUR every morning to look for a job. While I was coming this morning, when I left the house, my daughter said ‘Dad, there is no bread at home’. I looked at the money in my pocket; there was enough money to come here, but it was not enough to buy bread. In that desperation, I rummaged through the kitchen cabinets, only finding tea. I brewed it, put it in a thermos and brought it with me so that I could sell it.’ Yusuf Derin also told us that he had to come to İŞKUR to look for a job because he had no means of livelihood for the next day, that everywhere was closed at that time and he had no place to look for another job. This news really made a splash after it was published. Many people tried to reach out to Yusuf Derin to help. You also gave me a very meaningful award. Unfortunately, we do know that Yusuf is only one example of millions of people in Turkey. This award will become more meaningful when the voices of Yusuf Derin, and the millions he represents, are heard by state officials. Thank you again to everyone.”
Radio program producers Çiğdem Işık and Sevilay Tunalı won the Sedat Simavi radio award for their joint radio show called "Musical Sarrafları" broadcast on TRT Radio 1 on February 12 and 19, 2020 (7th and 8th episodes).
In her speech, Çiğdem Işık talked about how much she has devoted herself to the job: “Since 1992, I have been preparing a radio show for TRT Istanbul Radio. As a child of journalist parents, I grew up in Bab-ı Ali and it has always been my dream to enter this profession. I would like to thank the selection committee for acknowledging and awarding the program we prepared very fondly, such as Music Sarrafları. It is a special pleasure for me to receive the Sedat Simavi Award, which gave its name to the primary school I graduated from. Thank you." she said.
Sevilay Tunalı shared that she has been practicing this profession for many years and how she is happy for being deemed worthy of this award. “I have been working as a radio show producer for TRT Istanbul Radio for 25 years. With the show named Music Sarrafları, we dreamed of creating a new time today from past days that radio was so popular. I thank the jury and the Journalists Association of Turkey for seeing our efforts on our radio show. I am so happy. "
The Coalition For Women In Journalism wholeheartedly congratulates Hazal Ocak, Beril Ötkan, Çiğdem Işık and Sevilay Tunalı. Women’s involvement in the industry is essential to building a more democratic country where freedom of speech is respected.
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The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world, and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.
Follow us on Instagram @womeninjournalism and Twitter @CFWIJ. Our website is WomenInJournalism.org and we can be reached at press@womeninjournalism.org
The Coalition For Women In Journalism closely monitors the incidents in Turkey with great concern. Since March 8, Women's Day, police violence against women journalists increasingly continues in the country. As the coalition, we urge the Turkish state to provide a free environment for journalists. Following the news is our most fundamental democratic right to report. We demand the immediate release of our detained colleagues. Journalism is not a crime. Journalism cannot be prevented.
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