The 7th News Workshop for Journalists, organized by the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) for the past four years, took place in Kilyos, Istanbul, from December 13-15.
Designed to offer young journalists an experience of working in a newsroom alongside seasoned professionals, the program has seen many of its past participants go on to work at various media outlets. The workshop was coordinated by Gökçer Tahincioğlu, Ankara Representative of T24, and Banu Tuna, General Secretary of the Journalists' Union of Turkey (TGS). During the workshop, preparations were made for the 7th issue of GazeteMLSA.
In addition to the news writing techniques taught by Tuna and Tahincioğlu, sessions were conducted by Şebnem Turhan on economic journalism, Emine Özhasar on media law, and Özgür Korkmaz on editorial practices.
The workshop brought together 18 participants, including communication faculty students and freelance journalists from platforms such as Karar.com, T24, Bianet, Gazete Duvar, and Milliyet Kitap.
Day 1: News Writing and Economic Journalism
The workshop’s first day began with a “Newsroom Management” session facilitated by Gökçer Tahincioğlu. In this session, the 18 participants shared their story pitches and exchanged ideas.
This was followed by a session on “Economic Journalism” led by Şebnem Turhan. The session focused on sources for economic news, analyzing and reporting data effectively. Participants were asked to write an economic news story based on a sample dataset, and their work was later reviewed by Turhan.
The final session of the day, again facilitated by Tahincioğlu, was on “News Gathering.” In the first half, participants practiced writing incremental news stories based on the data at hand. In the second half, they were tasked with going out into the field in Kilyos to gather stories, which would be reviewed the following day.
Day 2: News Writing, Media Law, and Editorial Processes
The second day began with a “News Writing” session moderated by Banu Tuna. Participants engaged in practical exercises on interview techniques, including how to prepare questions and manage the interview process. Tuna provided feedback on their performance during the exercises.
In the second session, lawyer Emine Özhasar from MLSA held a session on “Media Law.” She covered journalists’ legal rights, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rulings on press freedom, and current issues surrounding press freedom in Turkey. Discussions also delved into the impacts of Turkey’s disinformation law and its potential to foster self-censorship.
The day concluded with a session led by Özgür Korkmaz on “Editorial Practices – Practical Work Based on Story Examples.” Participants reviewed and refined their story proposals gathered from the field, focusing on elements like headlines, subheadings, and content. The session simulated an editorial meeting.
Day 3: Initial Steps in Producing Content for GazeteMLSA
On the final day, Banu Tuna and Gökçer Tahincioğlu worked with participants to map out a roadmap for producing content for GazeteMLSA. Participants received detailed feedback on their story ideas and had the opportunity to discuss their questions with the mentors.
The workshop provided participants with both theoretical knowledge and practical experience in journalism while laying the groundwork for the next issue of GazeteMLSA.
