Daily News CEO lands major honor
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hurriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Haziran 11, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Chief executive officer of Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review, Vuslat Doğan Sabancı, was honored by the International Press Institute, or IPI, for her work on press freedom and was made a "lifetime honorary executive board member" of the institute.
The presentation of the award certificate at the annual congress of the institute held in Helsinki, Finland, followed IPI Director David Dadge’s speech, in which he described Sabancı as a leading defender of freedom of the press and a strong supporter of the IPI.
The IPI is an international press body that campaigns to defend and develop press freedom. It brings together journalists, editors and media executives from 120 countries.
Speaking at the IPI congress after the presentation, Sabancı said pressure on the media was increasing around the world and in Turkey, noting that this made IPI crucial in defending freedoms. "I have been a defender of press freedom all my life. I worked as the IPI’s executive board member for eight years. Between 2006 and 2008, I was the deputy chairman of IPI’s executive board. In this term, as we were thinking we made significant progress on press freedom, we have come face to face with the fact that pressure on the media is increasing in both Turkey and around the world. IPI’s role in not decreasing, just the opposite, it is more important than ever," she said.
She noted that until a few years ago, the IPI mainly focused on problems created by coup leaders and dictators, but now had been forced to turn its attention to pressure exerted on the free media by governments elected by the people. She also noted her fear over the possibility that the economic crisis could increase the pressure on a weakened media. Sabancı compared press freedom to health, saying, "People see its value only when they lose it."
She said the award by IPI had boosted her courage in fighting for press freedom. "I will continue to work on this matter both in Turkey and around the world," she said.
The IPI is an international press body that campaigns to defend and develop press freedom. It brings together journalists, editors and media executives from 120 countries.
Speaking at the IPI congress after the presentation, Sabancı said pressure on the media was increasing around the world and in Turkey, noting that this made IPI crucial in defending freedoms. "I have been a defender of press freedom all my life. I worked as the IPI’s executive board member for eight years. Between 2006 and 2008, I was the deputy chairman of IPI’s executive board. In this term, as we were thinking we made significant progress on press freedom, we have come face to face with the fact that pressure on the media is increasing in both Turkey and around the world. IPI’s role in not decreasing, just the opposite, it is more important than ever," she said.
She noted that until a few years ago, the IPI mainly focused on problems created by coup leaders and dictators, but now had been forced to turn its attention to pressure exerted on the free media by governments elected by the people. She also noted her fear over the possibility that the economic crisis could increase the pressure on a weakened media. Sabancı compared press freedom to health, saying, "People see its value only when they lose it."
She said the award by IPI had boosted her courage in fighting for press freedom. "I will continue to work on this matter both in Turkey and around the world," she said.