Showing no signs of slowing down after 45 years
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Yasemin Sim Esmen
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 14, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - In 45 years on the job, veteran Turkish journalist, TV producer, columnist and writer Mehmet Ali Birand has interviewed some of the world’s leading personalities. In person, he is a calm gentleman, who loves writing books and being a news reporter
The corner office on the third floor of Doğan TV Center is abuzz with activity. But for the office’s occupant, veteran Turkish journalist Mehmet Ali Birand, it is just another business day.
Reporters, editors and presenters who work at CNNTürk or Kanal D News Ğ the two newsrooms that have been merged under his helm Ğ pour in and out of Birand’s room. But who exactly is this man, who in the 45 years he has been working as a journalist has come to interview some of the most powerful men and women in the world?
A search on the Internet yields very little about Birand’s personal life. He was born on Dec. 9, 1941 in Istanbul. He attended Galatasaray High School, which offers education in French. He started working as a journalist at the daily Milliyet in 1964, became the newspaper’s European editor in Brussels in 1972, and founded the newspaper’s Moscow bureau in 1984. Upon returning to Turkey in 1985, he started producing and presenting the news program "32. Gün," which has been on the air since then. He has written numerous books, most of which have been translated into other languages. He is married with one child and is fluent in English and French.
45-year-old love story
To understand the man, one needs to understand Birand’s relationship with his profession, because for Birand, this relationship is a 45-year-old love story that still has the excitement of the very first day. "It seems like yesterday [that I started working as a journalist.] Time has passed by very quickly. I walked through the doors of Milliyet on a Monday in 1964 with only a copy of my birth certificate in my hand and here I am today," he said.
He considers his involvement in the "Galatasaray Newspaper" team at his alma mater Galatasaray High School as a decisive time that acquainted him with journalism and paved the way for him to choose it as a career. He had later realized that his chosen career was in line with many of his interests and talents. "I like people. I like talking to them. I am curious, a good listener, have good interpersonal skills, and I have the ability to put it on paper and make a news story out of it. I also know languages," said Birand.
"I am a lucky man because I have a job I love," Birand said. He added that because of this, working has never tired him. "Whenever I wrote a successful headline story, whenever I got a sound news story, whenever I completed a great book or a fine TV program, this gave me great pleasure and made me question how I could do even better," he said.
Working in different fields
Throughout the years, Birand has tried different mediums. "I tried to ensure I was not doing the same thing constantly. I worked as a reporter, then took it to another medium and wrote books. Afterwards, I decided to also produce for television. I wanted permanence so I produced documentaries," he said. He admitted that currently it is managing the merged newsrooms of CNNTürk and Kanal D primetime news program that consumes most of his time.
"I love being a reporter. I have been a reporter all my life. That is to say, it is news that concerns me." In fact, two reporters who have been working with Birand since he took the helm of Kanal D primetime news in 2005, Ekrem Açıkel and Ziver Sargınalp, believe Birand still is a reporter at heart, even though he is an established anchorman and producer. "He never quits being a reporter. If there are important interviews, he works around his schedule and makes sure he goes to those interviews," said Açıkel, citing International Federation of Association Football, or FIFA, President Joseph S. Blatter, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, former Chief of Staff Gen. Yaşar Büyükanıt, and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani as some of the big names Birand has interviewed.
"Reporters are at the core of the work. It is reporters that make the headline stories. If not for the reporter and the photographer, a newspaper cannot be made. The same goes for television," he said. Birand has worked with many young reporters at 32. Gün during the 24 years the program has been broadcast. Most of these reporters have later gone on to become leading television producers or editors themselves. This has caused the program to be dubbed "the 32. Gün school of journalism" by some.
"When you examine the top-level people in the field, you will realize they have worked at 32. Gün," he said. He believes this is for two reasons. "I did two things: first, I chose the best to work with. Second, I did not obstruct their way to success. I was not afraid that the competent people I was working with would replace me the way most people are," said Birand. "This is why I worked with Rıdvan Akar, Cüneyt Özdemir, Can Dündar," quoting well-known TV news program producers who once worked with Birand.
Bringing change to journalism
Açıkel believes Birand has done more for Turkish broadcast journalism then act as a guide for young and upcoming journalists. "He changed the mentality of how news was made," Açıkel said. He said that before Birand, journalists based in Istanbul would only cover from the scene those stories within close range and that they would not be appointed to faraway destinations. "Birand changed that. He made us go to wherever the story was. And other news programs followed suit," Açıkel said.
Birand is a tireless news machine. He runs the newsrooms of Kanal D and CNNTürk, is a columnist for the daily Posta and Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review, is a political commentator for the privately owned national radio channel Number 1 FM, writes for the monthly Kriter Magazine, produces and presents both Kanal D’s primetime news show and the news program 32. Gün. Yet, this hectic schedule does not seem to affect the 68-year-old journalist. Both his eyes gleaming with excitement and his quick manner exuberate energy. He is known in the newsroom for his polite manner and his calm tone of speech, even in the face of great stress or mistakes. "I do not feel stressed. Yes, sometimes, something or other does not meet a deadline. When such a thing happens, instead of feeling stressed, I consider whether there is anything I can do. If there is nothing that can be done, then I realize that there is no need to cause a ruckus," he said. Açıkel stands witness to Birand’s calmness. "In the four years I have been working for him, I have never heard him shout at anyone," he said.
It is a disciplined lifestyle and taking good care of oneself that Birand believes are the essentials of success. "I do sports for an hour everyday, every morning. I take care in what I eat. I drink alcohol only on weekends. I do not eat fatty food and watch my weight. You need to do these things if you want to be successful. You cannot party and wake up at 10 in the morning and then go to work. Our job does not support that [kind of lifestyle]," said Birand.
Meeting world leaders
Birand has made a name for himself as the one Turkish journalist who has been able to interview the world’s leading political figures, including former French presidents, François Mitterand and Jacques Chirac, Saddam Hussein, former Russian presidents, Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the late leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization, or PLO, Yasser Arafat, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and former chancellors of Germany, Helmut Kohl and Gerhard Schröder. "I have been by the river for a long time; all of them passed through [the river] at one time," he said.
Birand does not believe that his life has been substantially changed as the result of one interview. "They are people just like us. At the end of the day, you are doing your job and they are doing theirs. Some are insipid such as Yeltsin, some are very pleasant to interview such as Gorbachev, some prompt you to think ’Wow, is he short!’ just like Saddam. Some, you may find arrogant, such as Thatcher, or some very congenial such as [former] German Chancellor Schröder," he said.
Birand is happy with the way the Turkish media is headed in general. He believes the field will improve further. "The media is one of the best functioning mechanisms in Turkey, despite all the criticism," he said.
Birand said the Internet is the medium of the future. "I do not think television channels or newspapers as we know them will exist 15 to 20 years from now. Everything will be broadcast over mobile phones or the Internet. We are now living through the final years of televisions and newspapers," he said. He said that he frequently gets asked what he suggests for the younger generation of journalists. "I tell them to get into Internet journalism," he said.
When asked which of his many crafts, in a wide range from writing commentaries to producing television programming, he enjoys the most, Birand, without a moment of hesitation or thought, answered it was writing books. "The pleasure of writing a book is great. It is almost like giving birth to a child. It is when you understand the importance of women. As a man it is when I wrote books that I understood the feeling that a woman has when she gives birth. The adventure of the book from the start to end, its development É it is fantastic feeling," he said.
Reporters, editors and presenters who work at CNNTürk or Kanal D News Ğ the two newsrooms that have been merged under his helm Ğ pour in and out of Birand’s room. But who exactly is this man, who in the 45 years he has been working as a journalist has come to interview some of the most powerful men and women in the world?
A search on the Internet yields very little about Birand’s personal life. He was born on Dec. 9, 1941 in Istanbul. He attended Galatasaray High School, which offers education in French. He started working as a journalist at the daily Milliyet in 1964, became the newspaper’s European editor in Brussels in 1972, and founded the newspaper’s Moscow bureau in 1984. Upon returning to Turkey in 1985, he started producing and presenting the news program "32. Gün," which has been on the air since then. He has written numerous books, most of which have been translated into other languages. He is married with one child and is fluent in English and French.
45-year-old love story
To understand the man, one needs to understand Birand’s relationship with his profession, because for Birand, this relationship is a 45-year-old love story that still has the excitement of the very first day. "It seems like yesterday [that I started working as a journalist.] Time has passed by very quickly. I walked through the doors of Milliyet on a Monday in 1964 with only a copy of my birth certificate in my hand and here I am today," he said.
He considers his involvement in the "Galatasaray Newspaper" team at his alma mater Galatasaray High School as a decisive time that acquainted him with journalism and paved the way for him to choose it as a career. He had later realized that his chosen career was in line with many of his interests and talents. "I like people. I like talking to them. I am curious, a good listener, have good interpersonal skills, and I have the ability to put it on paper and make a news story out of it. I also know languages," said Birand.
"I am a lucky man because I have a job I love," Birand said. He added that because of this, working has never tired him. "Whenever I wrote a successful headline story, whenever I got a sound news story, whenever I completed a great book or a fine TV program, this gave me great pleasure and made me question how I could do even better," he said.
Working in different fields
Throughout the years, Birand has tried different mediums. "I tried to ensure I was not doing the same thing constantly. I worked as a reporter, then took it to another medium and wrote books. Afterwards, I decided to also produce for television. I wanted permanence so I produced documentaries," he said. He admitted that currently it is managing the merged newsrooms of CNNTürk and Kanal D primetime news program that consumes most of his time.
"I love being a reporter. I have been a reporter all my life. That is to say, it is news that concerns me." In fact, two reporters who have been working with Birand since he took the helm of Kanal D primetime news in 2005, Ekrem Açıkel and Ziver Sargınalp, believe Birand still is a reporter at heart, even though he is an established anchorman and producer. "He never quits being a reporter. If there are important interviews, he works around his schedule and makes sure he goes to those interviews," said Açıkel, citing International Federation of Association Football, or FIFA, President Joseph S. Blatter, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, former Chief of Staff Gen. Yaşar Büyükanıt, and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani as some of the big names Birand has interviewed.
"Reporters are at the core of the work. It is reporters that make the headline stories. If not for the reporter and the photographer, a newspaper cannot be made. The same goes for television," he said. Birand has worked with many young reporters at 32. Gün during the 24 years the program has been broadcast. Most of these reporters have later gone on to become leading television producers or editors themselves. This has caused the program to be dubbed "the 32. Gün school of journalism" by some.
"When you examine the top-level people in the field, you will realize they have worked at 32. Gün," he said. He believes this is for two reasons. "I did two things: first, I chose the best to work with. Second, I did not obstruct their way to success. I was not afraid that the competent people I was working with would replace me the way most people are," said Birand. "This is why I worked with Rıdvan Akar, Cüneyt Özdemir, Can Dündar," quoting well-known TV news program producers who once worked with Birand.
Bringing change to journalism
Açıkel believes Birand has done more for Turkish broadcast journalism then act as a guide for young and upcoming journalists. "He changed the mentality of how news was made," Açıkel said. He said that before Birand, journalists based in Istanbul would only cover from the scene those stories within close range and that they would not be appointed to faraway destinations. "Birand changed that. He made us go to wherever the story was. And other news programs followed suit," Açıkel said.
Birand is a tireless news machine. He runs the newsrooms of Kanal D and CNNTürk, is a columnist for the daily Posta and Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review, is a political commentator for the privately owned national radio channel Number 1 FM, writes for the monthly Kriter Magazine, produces and presents both Kanal D’s primetime news show and the news program 32. Gün. Yet, this hectic schedule does not seem to affect the 68-year-old journalist. Both his eyes gleaming with excitement and his quick manner exuberate energy. He is known in the newsroom for his polite manner and his calm tone of speech, even in the face of great stress or mistakes. "I do not feel stressed. Yes, sometimes, something or other does not meet a deadline. When such a thing happens, instead of feeling stressed, I consider whether there is anything I can do. If there is nothing that can be done, then I realize that there is no need to cause a ruckus," he said. Açıkel stands witness to Birand’s calmness. "In the four years I have been working for him, I have never heard him shout at anyone," he said.
It is a disciplined lifestyle and taking good care of oneself that Birand believes are the essentials of success. "I do sports for an hour everyday, every morning. I take care in what I eat. I drink alcohol only on weekends. I do not eat fatty food and watch my weight. You need to do these things if you want to be successful. You cannot party and wake up at 10 in the morning and then go to work. Our job does not support that [kind of lifestyle]," said Birand.
Meeting world leaders
Birand has made a name for himself as the one Turkish journalist who has been able to interview the world’s leading political figures, including former French presidents, François Mitterand and Jacques Chirac, Saddam Hussein, former Russian presidents, Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the late leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization, or PLO, Yasser Arafat, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and former chancellors of Germany, Helmut Kohl and Gerhard Schröder. "I have been by the river for a long time; all of them passed through [the river] at one time," he said.
Birand does not believe that his life has been substantially changed as the result of one interview. "They are people just like us. At the end of the day, you are doing your job and they are doing theirs. Some are insipid such as Yeltsin, some are very pleasant to interview such as Gorbachev, some prompt you to think ’Wow, is he short!’ just like Saddam. Some, you may find arrogant, such as Thatcher, or some very congenial such as [former] German Chancellor Schröder," he said.
Birand is happy with the way the Turkish media is headed in general. He believes the field will improve further. "The media is one of the best functioning mechanisms in Turkey, despite all the criticism," he said.
Birand said the Internet is the medium of the future. "I do not think television channels or newspapers as we know them will exist 15 to 20 years from now. Everything will be broadcast over mobile phones or the Internet. We are now living through the final years of televisions and newspapers," he said. He said that he frequently gets asked what he suggests for the younger generation of journalists. "I tell them to get into Internet journalism," he said.
When asked which of his many crafts, in a wide range from writing commentaries to producing television programming, he enjoys the most, Birand, without a moment of hesitation or thought, answered it was writing books. "The pleasure of writing a book is great. It is almost like giving birth to a child. It is when you understand the importance of women. As a man it is when I wrote books that I understood the feeling that a woman has when she gives birth. The adventure of the book from the start to end, its development É it is fantastic feeling," he said.