Alternative Online Media in Turkey

Copenhagen.
The third speaker in this session at COST298 is Funda Başaran Özdemir. Her interest is in the use of alternative news Websites in Turkey - in particular, of the labour movement site Sendika.org. Traditionally, monopolies of knowledge have determined what qualifies as knowledge and how it it disseminated; they derive their power from mastery of complexity, the control of raw media materials, and their performativity, speed, and the ability to afford high costs. Opposed to such strategic interests are tactical initiatives which insert themselves into the cracks and exploit temporary opportunities.

Such alternatives may be connected to progressive social movements, interested in disseminating excluded nowledge, opposed to professional hierarchies, operating from non-commercial backgrounds, and opposed to media commercialisation. Sendika is an example for this - it operates in essence as an alternative news organisation aligned with Turkey's labour unions. The site was founded by members of the People's Houses movement - an independent democratic association founded by Atatürk with 73 branches around the country.

Sites such as this shift knowledge production away from mainstream journalism; contributors to the site include union activists, unemployed journalists, labourers, academics, and a wide range of other participants. The site makes no difference between readers and writers, in fact - readers are contributors, too. This openness to participation also places it as an important space for local news. Founded in 2001, the site now publishes some 6500 articles per year, with around 10,000 unique users per day. However, the potential of the site is still limited by constraints such as Internet access and censorship.

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