Incubator for independent media

After taking part in The Guardian Foundation's knowledge exchange week in 2024 Turkish journalist and psychologist Hatice Nur Derya wrote about her experience and how its helped her and her organisation report on the climate crisis.

Every year we hear, write, and even experience news about the warming of the world, and we often say, "This year is much hotter." As journalists, we write about rising temperatures, forest fires, polluted water supplies, and document the deteriorating state of the world. Maybe we should rethink what we write to change the course of the world.

But first, I would like to write about the change that The Guardian Foundation has brought to me and my institution. It was exciting for both me and our newspaper, Bursa Muhalif, to be among the journalists from Turkey who participated in The Guardian Foundation's Information Exchange Week in London. As the Bursa Muhalif Newspaper team, we have been trying to maintain rights-oriented and independent local journalism in Bursa, Turkey's 4th largest city, for 11 years. Journalism at The Guardian progresses quite slowly and with rich content compared to us trying to keep up with the rapidly changing agenda in Turkey. The news produced is prepared in a way that will create a long-term impact. However, the lifespan of news in Turkey is as short as the flutter of a bird's wings. It happened, it was written and it's done! However, for radical change, a perspective that reveals what may happen after the developments is needed. Especially for Türkiye, which feels the climate crisis deeply.

Bursa, the city I live in, was known for its fertile agricultural lands, clean water resources, Uludağ National Park and the title of 'green Bursa' until the last 50 years. However, with the increasing population, this city is losing its fertile agricultural lands. Bursa, which was described as a 'water city' 2000 years ago, now faces pollution of water resources due to the negative effects of industry. Wrong policies cause Bursa to lose its natural features that have existed for thousands of years. And we are increasingly feeling the impact of the climate crisis, our new global reality. Our clean water is decreasing, journalists in Bursa write about dam levels at least once every year and ask "Will we experience drought this summer?" they ask. "Which sunscreen is effective against increasing temperatures, which air conditioner is more economical?" News like these turn into daily weather news in newspaper headlines. So, with this news, can we stop global warming and protect the liveable environment?

The Guardian Foundation's Knowledge Exchange Week showed me that this can be changed. We can do more than ask readers to save themselves and the present with the news we report. Bursa hosts many environmental struggles against polluting mining activities, industries that leave waste in water resources, and policies that destroy Uludağ National Park. The efforts of those who have been struggling to harm the environment step by step to prevent the climate crisis from deepening for years are also making news. But in the long run, each is independent news. Can a more common goal be created for the climate crisis? The Guardian's climate journalism has been a guide to this very goal for me.

The drying up of a stream doesn't just affect those living nearby. Over the years, life disappears along with the rivers, causing climate changes today. As a local journalist, I believe that drawing attention to the effects of small changes will raise significant awareness. We need journalism that can tell about the impact of that small stream not only on dying fish and extinct plant species, but also on Bursa, the country and the world. We write about floods caused by heavy rainfall around the world and forest fires that grow due to increasing temperatures, but we need to show the changes it causes in the long term. Because the major disasters we experience today are the result of small disasters that occurred over time. As local journalists, we must focus on these small but critical issues. We need to write about the impact of the negative events experienced here on the future. We should not limit the impact of small destructions to the region we live in, but should see and convey them as the basis of big problems in the future.

The Guardian is at a very important point in terms of climate journalism, both in terms of its content and reader awareness. As Bursa Muhalif Newspaper, I think we can create such awareness in Bursa. There were three major forest fires in Bursa last month alone. Currently, everyone's goal in Bursa is to prevent forest fires, but the main goal is to combat the conditions that cause fires. A perspective that reveals the causes and consequences will make a difference for both Bursa and the world. As Bursa Muhalif Newspaper, our first step towards this change will be to address the long-term effects of environmental destruction in our news and to write about the impact of examples of protecting natural life. Because we, who are afraid of these hot days increasing, should explain the possible consequences in more detail and instil hope by writing more examples of struggle to stop climate change, even though we are used to giving sad news.

Hatice is a journalist and psychologist. She has been working as a local journalist in Turkey's 4th largest city since 2012. She co-founded of Bursa Muhalif Newspaper 11 years ago.  She usually writes about women's, LGBTQ+ and children's rights, climate crisis and environmental issues, but is also interested in additional issues.