MEDIA AND SOCIETY
Always a complaint, always a criticism.
Can the TRNC media really address and/or reflect society’s feelings and thoughts?
Or does the media have such a responsibility?
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Today I was wondering whether to comment to you, dear readers, on “Papadopoulos’s statements regarding Blair’s visit to Turkey,” or to talk about “the new leader of the main opposition party, UBP” (in the meantime, I wish Mr. Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu success. I hope his appointment will be beneficial for our country).
But today, I thought it would be better to raise the subject of “the media and society,” which I have been hearing about for a long time and which we discuss at length in conversations with friends.
Yes, perhaps it is not my place, but I thought it might be a good idea to write, from my own perspective and based on my observations, a critique of the media and, in connection with it, society’s view of the media.
First, let’s take stock of the situation...
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According to my observations, in a large part of society, discussions, panel programs, opinion columns, radio programs, and so on about the “Cyprus Problem” featured in the media have become boring and even overwhelming!
Could this be because the people of the TRNC have had to go to the polls many times in a very short period?
Or because the promises made by the parties in domestic politics, as well as by the EU, have not been fulfilled?
Or does the media still think that the people of the TRNC are interested in the “Cyprus Problem”—which, by all appearances, is what it thinks?
So, with all these questions unanswered, why insist on covering the same subject?
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My journalist friends will know: going out into the street to interview the public about a particular topic means returning empty-handed for the evening news. The people of the TRNC are not very fond of microphones, so our reporter friends have a hard time!
Especially during the “Annan Plan” period, many reporters who went out into the streets to interview people came back empty-handed. Our people, reluctant to express their opinions, believed what the leaders said and acted accordingly, then shouted out their feelings and thoughts at the large “yes” or “no” rallies.
During this period, the media split into two camps, the “yes” camp and the “no” camp, and covered those rallies in line with their own beliefs.
Did the media do the right thing?
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These days, the subject that the TRNC media continually covers and brings to the fore can be summed up as “the effects of the Cyprus Problem on the difficulties arising in Turkey-EU relations.”
Unlike in the past, there is no division into two camps on this issue.
The media is responding as needed, and the issue is being discussed in depth on panel programs, in opinion columns, on the internet, and so on.
However, the continuous discussion of the same subjects in these programs, articles, and so on is once again bringing about weariness and frustration in society—and this has not gone unnoticed.
So, should these subjects not be discussed at all?
Or does the TRNC media think that by discussing them, it is taking the pulse of society?
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At this point, with these observations and questions—which I have kept limited—the “unknowns” are making it quite difficult for us to answer the questions already before us and to assess the problems identified.
The reason: the absence of public opinion surveys that measure the TRNC media’s viewership and determine society’s interest in existing media outlets is leading to constant repetition in the media.
The lack of research that uses scientific data to show which issues attract society’s interest is having other effects, too.
At this point, blinded to the situation, the TRNC media cannot see that by constantly discussing political events, it is driving society away from politics.
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You may think it is pointless to raise these criticisms when it is clear for all to see that the TRNC media works under very difficult conditions and faces challenges in terms of both finances and technology, as well as trained personnel.
But if we look at the issue from another angle, doesn’t the fact that the media, already struggling to keep broadcasting under very difficult conditions, is unable to take the pulse of society lead to a waste of the effort being expended?
Ultimately, it has become inevitable that institutions whose impartiality is accepted by all sides use scientific data to guide the media, by identifying society’s habits of consuming mass media such as television, radio, and newspapers, as well as the areas in which people are interested.
Until Wednesday; be respectful in traffic...