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Yayın Tarihi : 03/12/2025

Dr. Özkan Avcı, a faculty member at Bartın Vocational School, delivered a presentation at the “Disaster Journalism Training Panel” organized by the Presidency of Communications (Türkiye), where he discussed the changing role of journalism in a digitalizing world and the future of communication education.

Held within the scope of the Erasmus+ supported project titled “Disaster Journalism: Preventing the News from Turning into a Disaster,” the panel addressed the importance of accurate information flow during disasters and the role of technology. As a researcher in the project, Dr. Avcı spoke in the session titled “The Use of Technology in Disaster Journalism,” where he approached the topic from an academic perspective and evaluated the evolving role of journalists within the digital ecosystem.

Emphasizing that technology is not merely a tool during disasters but also the very ground on which truth is constructed, Dr. Avcı noted that classical communication theories are undergoing transformation. He highlighted that the concept of “Gatekeeping” in communication literature has been replaced by Axel Bruns’ concept of “Gatewatching,” stating: “In modern disasters, we have seen that the gatekeepers are gone; the gates have completely collapsed. Journalists are no longer those who control the flow of information but those who monitor and verify the ongoing stream of data.”

Dr. Avcı further explained that citizen-generated data flows much faster than traditional media during disasters; however, this also introduces risks such as the “Speed Paradox” and “Infodemic” (information disorder). In such a chaotic environment, he emphasized that the need for professional journalists has not diminished but rather evolved in nature, adding: “Journalists are no longer mere messengers transferring news from one place to another; they are architects of truth who transform chaotic data into meaningful and functional information.”

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