Little Black Fish Call Out: “I am a Journalist!”

Turkey greeted 3 May World Press Freedom Day with a constantly increasing number of arrested journalists. However, there is a growing web of solidarity behind the scenes: “I am a Journalist!”

According to Reporters without Borders (RSF), Turkey is one of the biggest prisons for journalists. Turkey ranks 157 in out of 180 countries in the 2018 World Press Freedom Index.

While the numbers and reports are very scary, journalists in Turkey make effort to stay in solidarity. One of the best examples of it is “I am a Journalist Initiative”. Journalists from the Journalists Union of Turkey founded the initiative in recent years.

I am a Journalist Initiative defends the right to receive information; aims to uncover oppressions on the media and expand the web of solidarity.

I am a Journalist is a creative, inclusive, trust-worthy organization to gather individuals and institutions -who are not always willing to be together- together in critical moments. It was born after the campaign called “News Watch”. As a protest against censored or sided news, 70 journalists from different organizations in Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir became news-watches for 8 weeks in February, 2016. 350 contents were produced, shared as widely as possible and archived in https://habernobetim. wordpress.com/ News were also shared day by day in social media pages. Those experiences from News Watch paved the way for I am a Journalist.