The two major earthquakes centered on the Pazarcık and Elbistan districts of Kahramanmaraş, which occurred on February 6, 2023, are recognized as constituting two of Turkey’s most devastating natural disasters. These earthquakes impacted a total of 11 provinces, leading to the death and injury of tens of thousands of people and the destruction of innumerable buildings. One of the most critical needs in the chaotic environment that emerged in the hours and days following the earthquake was establishing healthy and continuous communication with the public. At this point, the media strove to assume a critical role in informing the public, coordinating aid efforts, and managing the crisis. The extent to which local media bodies in the affected regions could fulfill this role, alongside the logistical and psychological challenges journalists face, became a contested topic of discussion.
This report aims to examine the role of local media outlets in disaster management, address the challenges faced by journalists following the February 6 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes and continue to face them at present, and offer policy recommendations. This report assesses factors such as the communication difficulties encountered by local media representatives during and after the disaster in informing the public, equipment deficiencies, and working conditions in the context of interviews conducted with local journalists. This report additionally makes policy recommendations concerning the financial and psychological struggles experienced by the local media, the post-disaster recovery process, and the measures that must be undertaken to mitigate the consequences of future natural disasters.
Local media plays a critical role in providing information in disaster-stricken regions beyond the reach of the national media. Following the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes, however, local media representatives faced great difficulties while fulfilling this important duty. Interruptions in communication, loss of offices and equipment, inadequate energy resources, and psychological traumas significantly hindered local journalists from performing their jobs in the earthquake zones. Alongside these challenges, efforts to relay information to national media outlets often proved insufficient. Resultingly, the full magnitude of the disaster could not be adequately conveyed to the public. Moreover, as frequently mentioned in interviews with local media representatives, the lack of sufficient collaboration between disaster coordination centers and the media and a lack of transparency regarding information sharing led to the deepening of chaos and disinformation.
Another significant issue faced by local media outlooks was the disruptions in ensuring the flow of information after the earthquake. Journalists experienced great difficulties obtaining information from local officials and were often subjected to pressure and censorship by authorities. As frequently voiced in interviews with local journalists, officials did not act transparently in providing information to journalists. On the contrary, officials often sought to censor the press. This state of affairs prevented local media from relaying the actual dimensions of the disaster to the public and further complicated the endeavors undertaken by local journalists in performing their duties. Particularly in regions such as Hatay, among the worst affected by the earthquake, journalists were pressured and censored during the reporting process.
In conclusion, the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes severely tested the capacity of local media to communicate with society as a whole and the role local media plays in disaster management. Local media workers in the regions affected by the earthquake had to cope with physical and material difficulties, psychological traumas, and communication restrictions.
Despite these challenges, local media representatives assumed an important responsibility to inform the public and ensure that disaster management was conducted efficiently. However, the shortcomings faced by local media workers during this process contributed to failures in disaster management and disruptions in the flow of information. This report closely examines the difficulties faced by the local media during this period. It offers suggestions as to how local media outlets may assume a more efficient role in the face of future natural disasters.
You can access the full report below.
