Social our responsibility on our shoulders

İsrafil Avcı – GJC President of Local Media Assembly

January 10 Working Journalists’ Day has a special significance for press employees.

Journalists have a separate feature. There is no concept of overtime for a press employee. They work altruistically, work hard and fulfill the needs of the profession with love. Because, journalists get their power from the public.

Despite all the difficult working conditions, they carry out their duties selflessly.  For a real journalist, the interests of the country, the interests of society are always above their own interests.

They have taken on an important task, such as delivering accurate news to The Citizen.

As Gazi Mustafa Kemal Ataturk said, “Journalists should write sincerely what they see, think, and know.”

One of the sine qua non of a democratic and transparent society is multilingualism.

Rapid development in communication technologies is taking place. Both written, visual and next-generation internet media have adapted to this rapid development. In this area, our country is among the few countries in the world.

In order to inform society correctly in almost every period, the neutrality of press employees is also of particular importance in terms of correct information and professional ethics.

The press, with its ability to be the eyes, ears and voices of the public, is in a very important position in communicating and solving the problems of the public to the competent ones.  For this reason, legal arrangements that will give journalists more rights should be made.

Journalism is one of the most dynamic professions in the era of communication we are in.  Press employees satisfy an important need for our citizens to be aware of the country and world agenda.

An impartial and transparent Press, which adopts the principle of accurate and complete public information, is one of the important forces of societies that ensure human rights and freedoms. In this sense, our members of the press have important contributions in strengthening our country, its progress, and the protection of our unity and solidarity.

Members of the press, in a sense of responsibility, illuminate our society in the face of developing events on the one hand, and on the other hand, reflect the demands and expectations of our people, and perform an important public duty.

Contribution should be made to the solution of the problems of intellectual workers who have acquired a profession in journalism in all areas.

The necessary steps must be taken to ensure that press employees working in widespread, regional or local mass media achieve a level of life, economic and social conditions worthy of the heavy responsibility they undertake.

The press also has a responsibility, taking into account social sensitivities, to try to prevent dark focuses from achieving their goals.

I congratulate the Working Journalists Day of the press workers, I wish Allah’s mercy to the members of the press who died while doing their duties, and I salute all the press employees with my heartfelt feelings on this occasion.