Publishing principles refresh Doğan Group

ISTANBUL – Doğan News Agency

Aydın Doğan (R) addresses the members of the Doğan Publishing Principles Council, group executives, and editors-in-chief of group newspapers and televisions. DHA photo

Doğan Group has renewed its publishing principles in a bid to harmonize with developing global media, Doğan Group Honorary Chairman Aydın Doğan said yesterday at a meeting with the members of the Doğan Publishing Principles Council, Doğan Gazetecilik Chairwoman Hanzade Doğan Boyner and the editors-in-chief of newspapers and televisions within the body.

The group first made its principles public in 1999, Doğan said in his opening speech.

“While doing this we considered and were inspired by the principles of internationally known newspapers with prestige in Western democracies such as The Washington Post, The New York Times and Le Monde,” he said.

This was a great experience, Doğan said. “Since then there has been a great revolution in media. Electronic media have developed rapidly and social media have emerged. At that point we observed some of our mistakes. To correct these mistakes and be a part of the developing media we renewed our principles, and new people joined the council.”

Independent journalism is a hard task, Doğan said. “As we spoke of independent and objective journalism, some thought this was a visa for ‘militant journalism,’” he said, criticizing some journalist for seeing themselves above the corporations they work for. “Our principle is independent journalism with principles. Some colleagues could not keep in pace with this.”

Doğan does not compromise these principles for ratings or circulation numbers, he said.

Publishers without economic independence cannot be independent at all, he added.

Still the group takes a side on some particular issues, Doğan said.

“The benefit of the country, the unity of the country,” he listed. “We are a party when the issue is the benefit of Turkey. And we will keep being a party on this issue.”