An academic thesis: The current situation of Kurdish magazines

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Kurdish digital magazines in Turkey are similar in their way of existence and functionality.

Leyla Ozkaplan

Academician Leyla Ozkaplan briefly talked about digital magazines with these words.

She answered the questions of Botan Times about her thesis entitled “The publication of Kurdish digital culture and art magazines through an alternative media approach“.

Is Kurdish media an alternative media?

Ozkaplan stated that alternative media gives a place to people and subjects that “mainstream media” does not give them a place.

In this sense, the Kurdish media is not the media that “broadcasts for the general public”. When we checked digital magazines of culture and art, the common thing is that they are created through volunteering. When talking about the reason for their existence, each of them mentions that there are no works in the Kurdish language in that field or there are few. Namely, they wanted to fill this gap.

Because the Kurdish media in Turkey works as an alternative media to the public media, we cannot talk about the fact that they are “broadcasting for mainstream”. And the readers of the Kurdish media also follow it in Kurdish, they aren’t the majority.

The management of magazines is not hierarchical. It is volunteer work. The work is done together and equally. This is a positive situation, but if look for “sustainability”, it is not. Most digital arts and culture magazines run quarterly or semi-annually.

This news was translated by Yonca Sarsilmaz

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