The guest of this week’s Turks in America program was Remzi Gökdağ, the Editor-in-Chief of the California Turkish Times Newspaper, which will be published in the state of California on June 25th.
The guest of this week’s Turks in America program was Remzi Gökdağ, the Editor-in-Chief of the California Turkish Times Newspaper, which will start to be published in the state of California on June 25th. A journalist for 16 years, Remzi Gökdağ was once the Moscow representative of Kanal D and Radikal. He has been in the United States for seven years and writes weekly articles for Cumhuriyet newspaper. Remzi Gökdağ first told us how they decided to start a new Turkish newspaper in America.
I had the opportunity to meet this newspaper about a month ago. It is an initiative of my friend Mr. Yunus Aksoy, who has lived in California for many years. He has been active in various activities of the Turkish community here. He thought that this newspaper could be the voice of about 30 thousand Turks living in California and started such an initiative. We talked, we discussed what we could do and in the end, I personally believed that such an initiative would be of great support to the Turks in this region and I decided to be involved in this endeavor.
So how often will the newspaper be published?
We publish the newspaper weekly. We aim to deliver it to the homes and workplaces of every Turk in California. It will be published in tabloid size. In other words, we will have special news about California. We will follow the news on the agenda concerning America in general. But there will be news that mainly concerns the Turks living in this region. The news that the American press does not want to see or that the American press decides is not newsworthy will be prioritized in our newspaper.
In which city in California is this newspaper published?
The newspaper is based in Long Beach. It is a coastal city south of Los Angeles. But the paper also has offices in San Diego and San Francisco. These are not active at the moment. We are planning to open these offices in the coming days. We will provide the news flow from them personally.
Will the distribution be only within the state of California or is it possible to reach the neighboring states as well?
We are thinking primarily about California. But we also aim to reach other states. It is the wish of all of us that it is not limited to California. We will push our technical possibilities. At the moment, we are addressing California in the first place. But our representatives in Washington and New York will be able to read the newspaper. We will send them every issue. By the way, there is a great interest in our newspaper from Turkey. Many people are trying to reach us and want to subscribe to our newspaper. At the moment, our facilities are not suitable for this. In other words, we do not have the opportunity to send the newspaper to Turkey. But they will be able to follow the newspaper from Turkey via the internet.
What will be the price of the newspaper?
The newspaper is free. We have not set any price. We aim to reach everyone. The only source of income for the newspaper will be the advertisements we will receive from Turks or other ethnic groups living in the region. So I would like to announce this sensitive issue to everyone who is listening to us right now. We are publishing our newspaper with great sacrifice. We are all professionals in our own fields. But we came here leaving our own jobs, we got involved in this project and we want to continue this project, we want to keep it alive. For such a project to survive, financial support must also be provided. We are not affiliated to any institution, organization, person or political view. We receive no support from anyone. We want to live our lives impartially and independently.
How many people will work for the newspaper? In other words, how many people will work in your current office and in our other branches?
We currently have a core staff. Of course, new friends are being added to this staff every day. Our current staff is about 8 people. From graphic design to the front accounting department, from our friends working in other technical infrastructure to the general manager, a total of 8 people. But this core staff should not be seen only as the team that publishes the newspaper. Our writers will support the newspaper with their articles. If we include people in this staff, of course this number grows.
As someone who has worked as a journalist in Turkey, can you compare the understanding of journalism in the US with that in Turkey?
I had worked on a book about the American media’s view of events after September 11th. During the days I was working on this book, I had the opportunity to get to know the American media closely. Now, when I compare the two media groups, of course my heart always favors the Turkish media. I grew up there, I took the culture and ethics of that country and I am trying to do something in the U.S. The American media has great technical means and power. In other words, when we compare it to the Turkish media, I can say that the infrastructure of the American media is very advanced. The working system is completely different from the Turkish media. But if we compare, I believe that the Turkish media is in a good place as I see our friends in the Turkish media who are still achieving incredible success today.
When you were in Turkey, were you directly involved in publishing newspapers or did you contribute as a writer or reporter?
I started journalism from the lowest rungs, so to speak, as a reporter. I started working at Cumhuriyet in 1989. In those days, the newspaper, Cumhuriyet, was like a school of journalism. Apart from reporters, I contributed to magazine publications in Moscow. But the California Turkish Times is something completely different. Here I am involved in the preparation of the newspaper from A to Z. That is, from the layout of the pages to the placement of the photographs on the page. I am actively involved in everything from contacting the writers to getting information about their articles. I have never had such an experience before, but this is a very nice experience. It is the dream of every journalist.
How many pages will the newspaper be?
We are still designing the content and areas of the newspaper. But I can say that it can be between sixteen and twenty-four pages. In other words, in the first stage, we are planning to present a newspaper between 16 and 24 pages.
Do you plan to return to Turkey in the future and continue your journalism career in Turkey?
Actually, when I came to the U.S., I thought I was going to give up Turkish journalism myself. It was enough for me to watch from afar, to contribute something to the Turkish press from afar. But this profession of journalism is a feeling that once it gets into your blood, you can’t get rid of it. I feel that excitement and that pleasure. Of course I am thinking of returning to Turkey, I cannot say when. But when I do, I would definitely like to re-enter the press sector and find myself again in the indescribable, indescribable pace of journalism.
Remzi Gökdağ Your newspaper will be published on June 25th. I wish you good luck.
Thanks to you, I think we had the opportunity to make our voices heard by those we could not reach. You have given us this opportunity. My sincerest greetings to all my colleagues on the other side of the continent, to everyone who listens to us in California.
Çağla Develioğlu
