3rd International Turaz Academy Congress
RTUK President Mr. Ebubekir Şahin said: "Violence is not only our issue, nor is it the issue of broadcasters. This issue concerns all segments of society. Public administrations, academicians and non-governmental organizations should work together to address the phenomenon of violence and remove violence from being a social problem."
Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTUK) President Ebubekir Şahin stated that programme broadcasts containing violence concern all segments of the society, and that public administrations, academicians and non-governmental organizations should work together to remove the phenomenon of violence from being a social problem.
The 3rd International TURAZ ACADEMY Congress with the theme of "Violence and Media" was held in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan.
RTUK President Mr. Ebubekir Şahin by attending the opening ceremony of the congress organized by TURAZ Science Association jointly with RTÜK, İnönü University, Amasya University and Azerbaijan Medical University, gave information about RTUK activities.
He stated that the main theme of our congress, "Violence and the Media" is one of the topics on which the Supreme Council works most.”
Emphasizing that broadcast content that might negatively affect the mental and physical development of children and young people is one of the red lines of RTUK, RTUK President Mr. Ebubekir Şahin said, “We never make any concessions when it comes to women, the elderly and the disabled. We know that broadcasters are primarily responsible for the domestic violence, abuse against women and children. The media, which have serious effects on society, should approach to the issue of violence with social sensitivity and show maximum attention to the way violence is handled in programme broadcasts.”
He noted that as RTÜK, they inspect the programs in terms of compliance with the provisions of the relevant law after they are broadcast, and if necessary, sanctions such as warnings, administrative fines, removal from the catalogue, program suspension, and temporary suspension of broadcasting and cancellation of broadcast licenses are imposed on broadcasters.
RTUK President Mr. Ebubekir Şahin reported that a total of 1849 sanctions were imposed because of the programme broadcasts that encouraged violence, contradicted with gender equality and encouraged violence against women, praised crime, abused children, the weak and the disabled, and degraded individuals by discriminating against race, colour, language, religion and gender.
Stating that they are aware that broadcasts cannot be purified from violence only with administrative measures or sanctions, RTUK President Mr. Ebubekir Şahin said, "We warn our broadcasters as much as we can. Violence is not only our issue, nor is it the issue of broadcasters. This issue concerns all segments of society. Public administrations, academicians and non-governmental organizations should work altogether to address the phenomenon of violence and remove violence from being a social problem. Of course, families have important duties and responsibilities at this point. Because family is the base of the society. With this awareness, we carry out policies which encourage and support the programmers prioritizing the family issue."