The International Local Media Summit has completed its two-day marathon. Journalists from Turkey and abroad drew the sustainable roadmap of the local press at the summit.
International Local Media Summit, which was held for the first time in Turkey's largest International Press Center; It was organized by the Izmir Journalists' Association (IGC) and the Journalists' Union of Turkey (TGS).
On the second day of the summit, experts and media representatives from İzmir shared their views on the future at the conference titled 'İzmir Press Speaks: Sustainable Journalism and New Income Models'. The opening speech of the conference was made by İzmir Journalists Association President Dilek Gappi.
“We must create our own models”
IGC President Dilek Gappi said, “As technology develops, it offers new opportunities. But with the opportunities came many question marks. One of the biggest dilemmas has arisen. In the past, accurate, quality and good reporting could generate income. But now we are stuck financially. A multi-part free and autonomous media structure emerges. Local media organizations need solidarity more than ever. We need to go beyond diversity and continuity and create our own models.”
“Income can be obtained from online platforms”
NewsLabTurkey Representative and Yaşar University Faculty Member Dr. Anıl Aba gave information about NewsLabTurkey's incubation program that started in 2020. Drawing attention to the changing income models of the media with the digitalization, Aba said that despite the decreasing circulation numbers of the printed newspapers, they started to generate income from the publications in the digital environment. “By adapting to digital, you can generate income from online platforms,” Aba said.
“Know your audience well”
Digital Marketing Specialist Gökhan Çakır, on the other hand, drew the roadmap that the press, which is integrated into the digital world, should follow in order to generate sustainable income. Stating that the target audience should be determined correctly and original news should be produced according to the audience, Çakır stated that with these contents, income can be obtained from both social media and the website. Çakır said, “When local journalism is used correctly, good traffic can be obtained. When you are unique, search engines give you the value you need," he said.
At the meeting, where local media representatives also conveyed their views and produced solutions, the solidarity network that would act together came to the fore.
“Local Journalism comes to the fore”
The second session of the International Local Media Summit was held by Jacqui Park with the title 'A Positive Space to Take Action'. Stating that more time is spent on news in the local media, Park said, “Instead of covering everything in local news, you can spend more time because you know the expectations of those who watch the news. Can obtain local information from other sources as compared to local to national. Local journalism, not national, now comes to the fore. "While there used to be a correspondent from outside to inside, now it's the other way around," he said. Expressing that the local media has been damaged, Park said, “The center of successful media is the listener and the audience. It gives confidence that successful local media are aware of their mission, are aware of their responsibilities as editors, and know who and how they are addressing the audience. What you do is to meet the needs of society. You have to be in tune with your audience,” he said. Noting that the word 'trust' is important in the local media, Park said, “It is trust that makes a difference and is important in successful journalism. "It means we represent independent journalism in divided communities."
They produced Turkey's first local media profile
The first event of the second day of the International Local Media Summit started with the presentation titled 'Demographical Profile of Turkish Local Media'. In the presentation made by Yunus Erduran and Dilek İçten from MEDAR, the results of the research that started during the pandemic were shared with graphics and tables. Information was given about the prominent details of the study, which was carried out on a total of 3 thousand 200 institutions. On the other hand, it was stated that a website named 'yerelmedyavt.com' was established for the results of the study.
Be the first to comment