Our team
We are an experienced and dedicated team committed to advancing the goals of the people we work with, in line with our objectives and values. We understand the needs of our field and constantly update our skills accordingly.
About us
NewsLab Turkey aims to provide training on journalistic practices and keep up-to-date with developments in the field to corporate and individual actors in the Turkish journalism industry, as well as to aspiring journalists.
It operates under the umbrella of the Digital Media Research Association.
Our vision
In Türkiye and the surrounding region, we envision a society where an independent, pluralistic, inclusive, and sustainable media ecosystem exists, and everyone has equal access to reliable information.
Our mission
To equip journalists, media entrepreneurs, educators, and innovators with the tools, knowledge, networks, and courage they need to continue telling stories in challenging circumstances. nltr functions not as a newsroom, but as a unifying fabric and community. Through our training, mentoring, incubation, research, and digital content programs, we enhance the capacity of independent media to survive.
Our goal
In Türkiye, where the problematic state of media freedom is becoming chronic, economic conditions are challenging for independent media, disinformation is widespread, and digital transformation is redefining the journalism profession, our goal is to protect and strengthen the democratic function of journalism. To this end, we work at every scale, from local to national, from individual journalists to institutional newsrooms.
Our theory of change
Our theory of change begins with the conditions that cause unhealthiness in Türkiye’s knowledge ecosystem, determines how we will produce change through our interventions, and defines the ultimate impact.
Problem statement
In an unhealthy information ecosystem, people cannot make informed decisions; misinformation and hate speech divide communities; citizen participation in public life decreases; and structures that hold those in power accountable weaken. In the Turkish context, this problem is further exacerbated by centralized media ownership, journalists under pressure, and structural inequalities.
Difficulties
- Good Information: The accuracy of news content is questioned, communities lack access to reliable information.
- Strong Business Model: Independent media lacks a business strategy; the advertising market has shrunk; audiences and advertisers do not support local media.
- Safe, Inclusive Access: Ethnic, religious, and sexual minorities are vulnerable to digital harassment, surveillance, and violence; infrastructure is inadequate in some areas.
- Critical Assessment: Consumers have a low ability to distinguish truth from falsehood; disinformation spreads rapidly.
- Accountable Institutions: Governments suppress freedom of speech; platforms operate without transparency.
Activities
- Information producers (journalists and media enterprises) consistently produce high-quality, evidence-based, and inclusive content.
- Media enterprises develop and implement effective business strategies; they diversify their revenue streams.
- Information consumers access content safely, in a language they understand, and that is locally relevant; producers fill the gaps.
- Information consumers recognize misinformation and are motivated to reduce its spread.
- Civil society gains the capacity to hold governments accountable, defend freedom of expression, and protect human rights.
Primary outputs
Our programs are organized into five activity families:
- Individual capacity building: Incubation, Local Program, Mentoring, Podcast, Solution, Trainer Training.
- Corporate empowerment: MediaEdge, nCorporate.
- Knowledge production: Research, sectoral reports, case studies.
- Digital content production and distribution: newslabturkey.org, ‘n okuyoruz’ newsletter, AI Nuntium, Digital Academy.
- International connections: Visitorship, podcast collaborations, joint projects.
Intermediate outputs
- Communities gain increasing access to reliable information that responds to their needs and fosters transparency, accountability, and participation.
- Reliable and valuable content creators increase their reach, audience engagement, brand loyalty, financial sustainability, and operational security.
- Marginalized groups gain secure access to quality content that meets their needs and find themselves fairly and accurately represented in society.
People engage with information critically, reject misinformation and harmful information, and seek quality and accurate information. - Governments, institutions, and platforms are held accountable for protecting human rights; the legal and regulatory environment supports independent media.
Impact
A healthy information ecosystem in Türkiye enables everyone to make more informed decisions, bridges divisions, allows for greater community participation, and holds those in power accountable.
Assumptions
- Our theory of change can produce the expected impact as long as the following assumptions hold. We review these assumptions annually and redesign our strategy as the environment changes.
nltr has access to the financial, technical, and human resources to run its programs at any scale needed. - Media and information producers share our commitment to high-quality, accurate, evidence-based, and inclusive information and are open to collaboration.
- Shared global norms that value freedom of expression and independent media persist; the international donor ecosystem continues to support independent media in Türkiye.
- High-quality information continues to be a driving force for democratic participation, public trust, and accountability.
- The regulatory environment in Türkiye continues to allow civil society organizations and association-based structures to operate.
Contact us
NewsLabTurkey continues its activities at Caferağa Mahallesi, General Asım Gündüz Caddesi, No:55, Başoğlu İş Merkezi, Büro:19, Kadıköy/İstanbul. Our e-mail address is contact@newslabturkey.org. Due to our hybrid working regime, we prefer communication via e-mail.
For questions about our digital operations, you can contact Duygu Uzunoğlu (duygu@newslabturkey.org).
For questions about our research operations, you can contact Sarphan Uzunoğlu (sarphan@newslabturkey.org).
NewsLabTurkey is a project by Digital Media Research Association.
NewsLabTurkey is a member of Global Forum for Media Development.