TRT World: "We Do Not Want To Be A Breaking News Channel"

By Shakir Husain ISTANBUL, Sept 12 (Bernama) -- If people in Turkey view Western media outlets as hostile, they have strong arguments to support their case. During the presidential election campaign in June, leading European and North American news organisations were accused of adopting a strident editorial line against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Hundreds of foreign journalists covered the Turkish presidential election and many of them only published anti-Erdogan news. Fatih Er, director of news and programmes at Turkish public broadcaster TRT World, is critical of such journalists who present their prejudiced views as facts in news reporting. "Some tried to show only one face of Turkey, which did not want this government. They are not hesitant to give their opinions but when you give your opinions, they call you biased," Fatih told Bernama in an interview at the TRT World office in Istanbul. To present an accurate picture of Turkey and the wider region to an international audience is one of TRT World's main responsibilities. But the new television station's role is getting larger as Turkey plays an increasingly important role in its neighbourhood and beyond. There is an awareness at TRT World that it not only has to correct disinformation about Turkey but also has to be a voice of the marginalised people and of those who are victims of unchallenged Western media power. "We are here for all those who need help. We do not look at ethnicity, language and religion in reporting the stories that must be told," Fatih said. The TRT Network has been in existence for decades, but the English language international channel was launched in 2014 and started broadcasting about two and a half years ago. "The main aim of launching this channel was to give the story of this region with the outlook of this region. Others come from thousands of miles away and cover news without knowing the region, its history and culture," Fatih said. The channel seeks to make a difference by reporting relevant stories and presenting the right information to the world. With many conflicts and power struggles in the Middle East, reporting the region is full of challenges. The job is made trickier by competing propaganda efforts by regional actors as well as outsiders. Fatih said TRT World doesn't believe in giving news in a hurry for the sake of competing with others. "Today media outlets are only busy breaking news. We do not want to be a breaking news television station, we want to be much more informative," he said. "TRT World is not imitating other channels. We have our own rules, our own understanding, our own journalism, and we are doing that with high quality standards,” he added. Expanding news gathering capacity to more countries remains a key priority for the channel that employs 200 journalists representing 51 nationalities. Boosting digital presence also is central to TRT World's ambitions to reach out to new audiences in different parts of the world. "TV is old school now. We must develop content for the digital age. We are working with a team with expertise in these areas. On Twitter and Facebook, we are reaching millions of people," Fatih said. With big ambitions come formidable challenges. "Running an international channel is not easy. You have to have your eyes everywhere. We decided to focus on the region first and grow slowly," Fatih said. Reporting conflicts is also fraught with risks of displeasing the powers that be. A TRT World team was arrested for three months in Myanmar and Fatih himself got detained in Egypt at the time of the 2013 military coup. Another major challenge, Fatih said, is to tackle the prejudiced minds that find it hard to accept a Turkish or Middle Eastern perspective on world affairs. -- BERNAMA