Eastern Mediterranean University Health Sciences Faculty, Sports Sciences Department organized a panel entitled “Sports News in Media” on 6 January 2015.
The panel hosted Cyprus Newspaper Sports Director Songuç Kürşad, Havadis Newspaper Sports Director Mustafa Özsoy, Diyalog Newspaper Sports Director Çelen Oben and Yenidüzen Newspaper Sports Director Burhan Gürkan. Songuç Kürşad, who delivered the opening speech, talked about the “Process of Setting an Agenda in Media” and stated that news appearing in media should be freed from bias. Stating that providing comments on a news item is completely different from writing news with bias, Kürşad put forth that one should consult both parties before producing a news item. Kürşad also stated that sports is one of the factors keeping the society together.
Çelen Oben talked about “The Historical Process of Media” and put forth that previously the area allocated for sports news in newspapers was quite limited but due to an increase of interest in sports, more sports news started to appear in the newspapers. Stating that the appearance of sports news increases a newspaper’s circulation, Oben stated that currently all 16 local newspapers allocate space for sports news.
Following Oben, Mustafa Özsoy talked about “Media and Sports Incidents” and the difficulties of being a journalist in the TRNC. The last speaker Burhan Gürkan provided information on “New Media” and stated that the most important quality of the new media is the speed. Talking about the limited opportunities the sports players have, Gürkan congratulated them for their determination in continuing with sports in the current difficult environment. The panel which received considerable interest from students ended with a question-answer session.