Uncovering the quake
By Sami Kohen Posted Wed, Dec 1 1999
The day after the Aug. 17 earthquake, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, a former journalist, visited Turkey’s stricken northwest. In an interview from Izmit with NTV, he admitted he could not send instructions to government departments in the capital, Ankara, because the phone lines were severed. He ordered government officials to take measures to restore communications and clear the region’s highways and roads.
Though it might appear strange for the prime minister to be obliged to the television to communicate with his government, this chaotic situation prevailed the first few days after the disaster. Similarly, search-and-rescue teams used TV crews’ facilities, especially their powerful kleig lights.
Although the violent earthquake struck Turkey’s northwestern region at 3:02 a.m. while millions of people slept, the media were quick to report the 45-second, 7.4 magnitude quake. A national TV network, TGRT, announced the disaster. Within a few minutes, the news channel NTV broadcast its first report, and that was followed by other TV channels and radio stations.
Reporters, in addition to performing journalistic duties under painful conditions, volunteered to assist in the rescue work. By publicizing victims’ names, TV stations and newspapers tried to help families and relatives learn whether their dear ones were rescued or dead.
The extensive coverage in the electronic and print media ranged from on-the-spot live news reports to interviews with survivors, from analyses of the inefficiency of the authorities to comments about why the devastation and casualties were so high in certain areas.
Power outages in the affected area, which included Istanbul, prevented millions from following the news on television. In Ankara, and elsewhere across the country, the TV networks kept the nation informed about the disaster.
The epicenter of the earthquake was in the Kocaeli region, Turkey’s industrial heartland. Buildings collapsed and at least 17,000 people died. An estimated 200,000 were made homeless. The outskirts of Istanbul also suffered casualties and severe material damage. The 10 million inhabitants of the metropolis also felt the strong and long jolt. Television and radio stations were quick to report the disaster as it is the media capital of Turkey.
None of the media offices in Istanbul were affected by the tremors. Night editors quickly mobilized their staffs to give extensive coverage to the tragedy.
In the devastated town of Adapazari, the editor of a small local paper, Necdet Gungorsun, was killed during the quake. His body was later pulled from the rubble. In Istanbul, Rahmi Akman, a reporter for the private Cihan News Agency, died when his house in a suburb of the city collapsed.
The major TV networks immediately sent crews to the areas hit by the earthquake. They used modern communication systems and helicopters to report the news. Media persons were in the disaster areas by dawn, arriving even before rescue teams. Local communications lines were severed. While local people were unable to communicate, TV crews were reporting and transmitting via satellite.
The media prominently reported public anger over the delays in sending rescue teams. Editorially, the newspapers strongly criticized the government for its inability to cope with the situation. “Where is the State?” was the banner headline in the daily Radikal, which expressed the widespread feeling of resentment against the authorities felt both in Ankara and at the local level. During the first few days, the media attacks against the government focused on the delays and inefficiency in the rescue work. Those attacks were followed by strong criticism of the failure to supply adequate shelter, tents, blankets, water and medical services.
Minister of Health Osman Durmui became a target for violent attacks from the media for his statements that there was no need for foreign doctors and medical personnel. Medical services were being provided locally, he said.
Other major targets were the contractors and construction firms. The mass-circulation daily Hurriyet carried a bold banner headline shouting “Murderers!” The paper reported that most of the houses destroyed by the quake did not comply with construction codes. “Those responsible for the large devastation are the stealthy and unscrupulous constructors,” the paper claimed.
The media extensively exposed the people thought to be responsible for the construction of the housing complexes that collapsed in the devastated towns. This led to the arrest and legal action against some of those responsible. Many newspapers have carried investigative reports about how construction codes were violated. They named those responsible, including municipal officials and politicians involved in corruption.
The attacks during the first days of the disaster were directed against the government, and in some cases even against the military. That angered the authorities.
The Supreme Board of Television and Radio, RTUK, decided to ban a private TV station, Channel 6, for a week. The action provoked public outrage. RTUK responded by saying, “the law on the radio and television makes it clear that broadcasts going beyond the limits of criticism by discrediting and slandering individuals or institutions are subject to legal proceedings.”
Turkish press and journalists’ organizations strongly protested the decision. “Channel 6 forced to pay the price of the earthquake,” reported Milliyet. Nail Gureli, president of the Turkish Journalists Association stated that the decision was political punishment.
“This is the reaction of a political authority which failed to meet the needs of the earthquake victims,” Gureli said.
The ban was temporarily suspended. The Turkish general staff also reacted to the criticism that the military was slow in helping the victims. The chief of staff, General Huseyin Kivrikoglu, denied these allegations.
The Turkish press played a major role by both providing information about the scale of the disaster and human suffering and by revealing irregularities. Dr. Haluk Sahin, who teaches mass media and communications at the Bilgi University in Istanbul, says, “The Turkish media has mirrored reality in this case. TV screens reflected the truth in an undeniable way.”