Gezi dominates panel on French, Turkish media

ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

Turkish and French academics attended the two-day conference, which aimed to explore media dynamics in both countries. DAILY NEWS photo, Emrah GÜREL

The Turkish media’s much criticized stance during the Gezi protests dominated speeches delivered at a conference on French and Turkish media in Istanbul.

The two-day conference was collectively organized by the French Consulate and the French Anatolian Research Institute in Istanbul, and came to a close on Dec. 3.

French Consul General Muriel Domenach, who delivered the opening speech at the “Understanding Turkish broadcasting through its history, development, and the future,” conference, said the Turkish media’s stance led to Internet broadcasting becoming an important information channel.

Bilgi University scholar Prof. Aslı Tunç also criticized the local media for being "negligent" during the events, in contrast with the international media, which showed great attention.

“Turkish TV channels were broadcasting penguin documentaries during the event, while CNN International was airing live from Taksim Square,” Tunç said at the conference.