Turkish media and travel to Ukraine

Femen, a group made up of women activists, staged a demonstration about eight years ago in front of the Turkish Embassy in Kiev, carrying posters that said, "Ukraine is not a brothel." They claimed Turkish men came to Ukraine in groups to be with prostitutes and were making inappropriate offers to women on the streets of the city. The group accused Turkey and Turkish men as well as their own government for not taking adequate measures. 

The Kiev demonstration could have been focused on by the media, the claims could have been followed up, and the media could have made the issue visible in Turkey. But mainstream media has not even covered the story properly.  

A piece that appeared recently on Hürriyet Seyahat, the newspaper's weekly travel edition, titled "Capital of night life/Kiev, Ukraine" was criticized on social media because of its sexist attitude. It was true. The whole piece was constructed for male visitors, with half-naked women in all of the photographs. It did provide a guide for men who would want to go to Ukraine only to be with women, it had an attitude that fed the negative perception that Femen was protesting against. If Hürriyet is able to publish such a piece, then Femen is extremely right. 

Journalism during referendum 

The "Analysis of the New Constitution" that was printed on Hürriyet after the amendments were voted in the parliament had a different approach from all other papers. As a matter of fact, it was welcomed by the readers. One of the readers, Muhammed Dudak, said about the two-day serial, "Your newspaper's analysis is very successful: It is simple and understandable."  

Accurately, parliament reporter Bülent Sarıoğlu wrote in simple language what each article meant and the...