I had my first PhD student graduate last week…

Last week we had many thesis defenses in our PhD program in Communication Sciences and MA program in Media and Communication Systems. Some of my students whom I was the adviser, successfully defended their theses. Sedef Erdoğan Giovanelli is special for me because she was my very first PhD student and she successfully defended her … Read more

Istanbul news roundup: “Not your mother’s Islam: the stylish women of Istanbul

Shoppers in the Fatih distict of Istanbul, Turkey. Fatih is known as one of the most conservative districts in the city. Not your mother’s Islam: the stylish women of Istanbul British Journal of Photography At a fashion shoot for ALA Magazine, the first magazine in Turkey for conservative women. The shoot is at Bretz Home … Read more

As Turkey continues to arrest Kurdish politicians, new Freedom of Expression Violation Verdicts by ECHR…

Two Freedom of Expression Violation Verdicts by ECHR  Bianet :: English The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that charges pressed against Günlük Evrensel newspaper writers Ahmet Sami Belek and Savaş Velioğlu, and Müdür Duman from HADEP are violation of freedom of expression and condemned Turkey to indemnity. ECHR fines Turkey over conviction of journalists … Read more

Cuma (9 Ekim) Bilgi’de: Siyasi karikatürist Kevin (Kal) Kallaugher konuğumuz

  Etkinlik İngilizce ama simültane çeviri olacak. Tarih: 9 Ekim 2015 Saat: 14.00-16.00 Yer: santralistanbul Kampüsü, ÇSM 404 İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi, The Economist Dergisi ve The Baltimore Sun Gazetesi’nin siyasi karikatüristi Kevin (Kal) Kallaugher’i ağırlayacak. İletişim Fakültesi’nin davetiyle “Mürekkep ve Pixel: Kevin (Kal) Kallaugher ile 21. Yüzyılda Siyasi Karikatürist Olmak” başlıklı söyleşide konuşma yapacak Kallaugher’in … Read more

Wrong title. It is not “at stake”, it is already gone: “Media freedom at stake as Turkey fights rebels

Media freedom at stake as Turkey fights rebels GlobalPost “This is not the first and will not be the last,” said Asli Tunc, professor at Istanbul’s Bilgi University. “This is unfortunately a cleansing operation — a result of a government agreement with media bosses ahead of the election.” At least 140 .. Turkey targets news ‘terror … Read more

Another trace of Turkey’s pretensions in Europe gone: “Spain to suspend ‘Alliance of Civilizations’ activity

Spain to suspend ‘Alliance of Civilizations’ activity: Report Spain will reportedly suspend its activities in the ‘Alliance of Civilizations,’ jointly launched by Turkey and Spain in 2005 Spanish ambassador refutes reports that Spain suspended ‘Alliance of Civilizations’ activities Spain’s ambassador to Turkey has refuted media reports suggesting that his country has suspended its activities in the “Alliance … Read more

Despite more transparency claims “Turkey falls behind in global corruption index…

Turkey falls behind in global corruption index Turkey slumps alarmingly in Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index Turkey’s Growing Corruption Problem Is Getting Harder to Hide  Global Voices Online by Ece Basay Money in a shoebox. Viral image. In the last twelve months, the Turkish state has appeared significantly more corrupt. That is the underlying message of … Read more

11 places for Turkish coffee in İstanbul and an İstanbul news roundup…

İstanbul’da 40 Yıllık Hatıraya Patlayacak Türk Kahvesi için 11 Adres  ListeList by Çağla Gillis Mandabatmaz   Being an Armenian today in Istanbul Hurriyet Daily News I had an Armenian intern at that time and I mentioned casually to the bunch I was eating with that it must be hard to be an Armenian in Istanbul during … Read more

15 Aralık’ta Bilgi’de: Eğitimde Dijitalleşme Konferansı #EğitimdeDijital

Bu etkinlik organizasyonu tamamen Bilgi Halkla İlişkiler son sınıf öğrencileri tarafından gerçekleştiriliyor. Etkinlik ücretsiz ama katılım için Konferans websitesinden kayıt yaptırmak gerekiyor:  http://egitimdedijital.com/ Konferans takibi için #EğitimdeDijital etiketi Twitter ve Instagram’da kullanılacak. Konferansta konuşacak isimlere gelince… Bizim talebeler İsmail Hocayı profesörlüğe layık görmüşler ki gönlümüzde öyle zaten, onun dışında ünvanlarda bir yanlışlık yok sanırım;)    

EFD Rights Watch: “reasonable doubt” reason to be briefly detained for a journalist or free hugging is sth to be fined…

 Judicial bill aims at silencing social media, daily says Today’s Zaman Erkan Saka, a professor of communications at Bilgi University, believes the package may well lead to the violation of democratic rights. “The package clearly favors law and order at the expense of freedoms,” he told Today’s Zaman. The draft bill, while Turkish journalist briefly detained … Read more

My Cyber-Anthropology Course readings for 2014 Fall Semester

Just revised my stuff and decided to assign readings below. I hope we will have a productive semester.  I will need to polish it up a bit but this will give you a sense of what we are up to this semester;)  MED 521 Cyber Anthropology for Media Studies is a course designed for Media … Read more

As Dortmund fans give support to Beşiktaş group, Çarşı, Turkish judiciary makes history by claiming a fan group being coup plotter…

Never give up, Dortmund fans tell Beşiktaş group under fire Fans of Germany’s Borussia Dortmund football team lend support to Çarşı, the fan group of Beşiktaş whose pioneer figures are now facing ‘coup attempt’ claims çArşı to Stand Trial on December 16 Bianet :: English Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court ordered members of soccer fan group … Read more

#IGF2014 notes- Meeting with the head of EU Delegation #FHDel

A high level EU Commission official led a meeting with Freedom House delegates, whom I belong to at IGF2014. In principle the EU may be one of the most committed political establishment for digital privacy and they plan to do more on the digital field as they are well aware of growing importance. Our, in … Read more

2 Eylül’de. Açık Oturum: İnternet Çağında Medya Özgürlüğü

Açık Oturum: İnternet Çağında Medya Özgürlüğü Tarih: 2 Eylül 2014, Salı Saat: 10:30-11:30 Yer: santralistanbul Kampüsü Katılımcılar:  Neelie Kroes (Avrupa Komisyonu Başkan Yardımcısı) Prof. Dr. Yaman Akdeniz (İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi)  Melih Kırlıdoğ (Alternatif Bilişim Derneği) Dr. Agnes Callamard (Küresel İfade ve Bilgi Özgürlüğü Platformu Müdürü /Kolombiya Üniversitesi, Başkan Özel Danışmanı) Tartışılacak temalar arasında; basın ve medya özgürlüğü, internete ve sosyal medyaya … Read more

A day before the Presidential Election. #TurkeyVotes

#BBCtrending in Istanbul BBC News #BBC Trending is in Istanbul to talk trends and online battles in a country where social media has in the past been blocked. Presenter Mukul Devichand is joined at Bilgi University in Istanbul to discuss the trends and memes of the elections and the Şero the Cat called to duty for elections Turkey’s … Read more