I would like to take a quick look at Turkish media’s way of posting news. A timely example would be the news of the earthquake in Van.
A shocking and powerful earthquake happened in Van, on the 23rd of October. Many mud houses fell down in Ercis village, which caused the death of hundreds of people. But, did the people there die because of their irresponsible way of building or because of other reasons?
Van, is not a very wealthy town of Turkey. People living there are not as educated and not as in good financial situation as the people in Istanbul. Their economic situation effects their lives just like the mud houses. Mud houses are inexpensive and they keep the heat inside in winter. They are easy to make and that’s why many people are choosing to build them. The obvious disadvantage of mud houses is that they can collapse easily; which after this earthquake, they did!.
The Turkish media reflected this tragedy as if it was the fault of those people, as if they were not responsible enough to make their houses strong. But if they had just continued to research just a bit more, they would have found out that the average income in Van did not have another choice! The government doesn’t give them money to fix their buildings, although the state knows perfectly well that Van is on a seismic line and people in Van are too poor to do it on their own.
A responsible journalist should have researched this, and not just look at it from a shallow point of view. The media has the responsibility of showing the truth and report it not only for the sake of the reader but also for the purpose of crying out to the statesmen to fulfill their responsibilities. One responsibility not fulfilled does not mean others don’t fulfill either.
