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Turkish Think Tank Under Fire for 'Journalist Profiling'

Begum Ersoz

   A Turkish pro-government think tank, the Foundation for Political,
   Economic and Social Research or SETA, came under fire over the weekend
   after publishing a report profiling journalists working for foreign
   media organizations including Voice of America. Journalists
   associations and unions in Turkey have condemned the report.

   The 202-page report, titled "The Off-shoots of International Media
   Organizations in Turkey," purports to analyze the political and
   economic coverage by the Turkish services of international news
   organizations including VOA, BBC, Deutsche Welle and the Russian media
   agency Sputnik. The report authors allege that their coverage is
   one-sided and unfair to the Turkish government.

   SETA says the report drafted by a team of three researchers "aims to
   understand how Turkey is depicted in global arena as well as to
   identify the political circumstances around which the perception of
   those international media organizations is shaped."

   The report has several sections, each dedicated to the targeted media
   organizations. At the outset of each section, the report provides some
   general information on the history of those media organizations and
   then dives into the specifics of their coverage regarding major
   breaking news such as the coup attempt in 2016 in Turkey, operations
   against PKK, Turkey's military incursion in Syria and the economic
   downturn in Turkey.

   The report lists several journalists working for those media
   organizations based in Turkey as well as in their respective home
   countries. Their social media postings, the content of their stories
   and the level of their engagement on social media platforms are also
   included in the report.

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