Melike Aydın-Gülistan Azak

 

IZMIR-Press workers, who were affected by the earthquake like everyone else, continued to do their jobs. Expressing that journalists were prevented from accessing accurate information after the earthquake, press workers continue their job in solidarity with both citizens and colleagues.

 

In the 6.8 magnitude earthquake that took place in Izmir on October 30, nine buildings were destroyed, and severe, moderate and little damage occurred in many buildings. While the searches continued in the wreckage of nine buildings, the number of those who lost their lives in the earthquake increased to 76 and the number of injured to 962. Press workers also spend an intensive work in Izmir, where search efforts are still continuing under the rubble.  Eda Ertek, the Tele1 Channel İzmir correspondent who first arrived at the scene after the earthquake, and Eda Aktaş, the correspondents of Evrensel Newspaper, talked about what their experiences during this process.

 

Delivering the first reflex news

 

Eda Ertek, a Tele1 journalist who was caught earthquake in their office on the 8th floor of a plaza and had to walk down the stairs, stated that her first reflex as a journalist was to take the phone and call the center in Istanbul to reflect what happened. Explaining that one of her colleague entered the building at risk and took down equipment such as cameras and microphones, Eda explained her first experiences as follows: “There were those who were injured, people were looking for their loved ones. When we learned that a building was demolished in Bayraklı Manavkuyu, we came to the area that was connected to live broadcasts frequently and continued to reflect the moment. It was important to have the phone charged at that moment. After that, electricity was cut in Bayraklı for a while. Our relatives called. Maybe I refused more than a hundred phones. Because I needed a charged phone. "

 

'Continuing duty despite the sad news'

 

Eda stated that she witnessed the shouting and the rush of helping people because the aid teams did not come yet when she arrived at the area and it was difficult to make an effort to reach the right information in this rush. Eda shared that she continued her duty despite the sadness of the feedback she received regarding the information of those who were under the wreckage and her relatives and said, “Then we try to get information from the police. After a while, they didn't informe us anough. There was a mess for a long time. The security forces are trying to follow their instructions, but there is a reality of the press that must be free. I once again experienced that the press should be considered in every disaster in every field. There, people are in pain. We live at least as much as them. "A space could be created for us by respecting our profession, an officer could be assigned to give clearer information."

 

'There were people who wanted to reach their relatives by going with the search teams'

 

Mentioning that those whose relatives are under the wreckage or who cannot enter their homes have a difficult time, Eda conveyed these impressions as follows: “Sometimes I asked questions, sometimes I just extended a microphone. Those who were close to the wreckage cried even if the tears stopped at that moment. These situation is also challenging for us. Especially in the park behind the wreckage there were an old woman and her husband. She had a daughter and grandchild under the wreckage. ‘Normally I was looking after my grandchild. At that time my daughter was there, not me. I wish that I was  there at that moment, I wish it was me or if she had gone with my daughter' they had feelings like that. There were those who tried to go with the search team."

 

'Conditions that put health at risk have occurred'

 

Stating that empathy with those who experience difficult moments causes secondary trauma without realizing it, the effects of this can only occur later, Eda stated that in the ongoing pandemic, hygiene conditions are ignored, especially in the first moments of the earthquake, unhealthy conditions occured. Stating that they will especially observe the situation in hospitals, Eda said, “Many patients were taken after the earthquake. They did not take patients for treating , now I hope they can be treated. People don't know what to do. There were people who did not want to enter their damaged houses, children in front of Rıza Bey Apartment, food was distributed, the atmosphere was sad. I was caught off guard for the night, I was cold after dark. I needed a shawl or jacket and we broadcast cold for an hour or two. "We looked for a place where there electric is and we can sit."

 

'Politics is involved'

 

Pointing out the relationship between press members in the disaster area, Eda noted that while there should be solidarity, there may be “those who approach each other selfishly”. Eda said, “Politics is still involved. It was so with the virus too. It's a process where we need to put everything aside and focus on human health, but it doesn't quite happen like this. I wish it was like that, ”she said.

 

'A tiring night'

 

Saying that her first reflex as a journalist during an earthquake is to search for her colleagues, to go to the wreckage area and to try to reach the true news against information pollution, Evrensel newspaper's İzmir reporter Eda Aktaş stated that they witnessed both the sadness and the hopes of the people at the wreckage. Eda said that clear information could not be obtained before the event was "official" and that they could not meet the requests of citizens to receive news, and said, "It was very tiring, we were on the streets from 15.00 to 05.00 at night, but we have to experience this tiring to convey more accurate news. The apartments next to the wreckage were pulling cables to help the press. Trouble occurred because many people were trying to access electricity. In the first hours of the internet, it was difficult to convey information coming from the intensity to the newspaper center. "It became easier when the intensity decreased and the crowd dispersed at night."

 

'Difficulty to confirm'

 

Eda, who got the news that a friend's son was under the wreckage but had to focus on her job, stated that she was experiencing confusion of emotions and that she had a dilemma while waiting for 3 hours to hear from her friend. Eda, who has lived in Izmir for about 20 years, stated that she had never experienced a destructive earthquake before and said, “For the first time, I tried to report on the debris. Later, in such an event, the difficulty in confirming the correct information during a crisis is perhaps make me to be calmer and have a better observation experience ”.

 

Citizens react to the approach of mainstream media

 

Eda said that while information exchange takes place among free press workers, but the mainstream media is acting with the "popular news" approach, many citizens react to these journalists.