Saliha Sultan, an experienced name in the world of culture and arts, made important statements on the 100th episode special program of Eylül Aşkın. While sharing the experiences she gained throughout her 30-year career, Sultan made striking observations regarding the culture and arts scene in Turkey.
“I Cannot Say ‘I Have Sifted My Flour’”
Stating that she entered the world of culture and arts in 1994, Sultan said, “I cannot switch to ‘I have sifted my flour, I have hung my sieve’ mode in general. Because in our newspapers, the culture and arts page is the first to be sacrificed to advertising.” Sultan stated that the management approach at Karar Newspaper is an exception to this general rule and said this situation motivates her.
“The Artist is an Activist by Birth”
Evaluating the culture and arts environment in Turkey, Sultan emphasized that the biggest problem is polarization. Saying, “Art is, to some extent, resistance itself. I mean, I think the artist is also an activist automatically,” Sultan drew attention to the lack of communication in the art world with the words, “What can a person who is blind and deaf to their own contemporaries give to the reader?”
KEMAL TAHIR SCANDAL: “Writers are Ownerless, The Reader is Not Taken Seriously”
One of the most striking parts of the program was the distortion scandal that Sultan uncovered regarding Kemal Tahir’s novel “Kurt Kanunu”.
Saying, “This was the best news we made recently at this newspaper,” Sultan explained the details with these words: “Kemal Tahir’s novel Kurt Kanunu… It turns out that the reader is not receiving the last edition published during the author’s lifetime. I was shocked too. Because we trust publishing houses. Especially we trust the established, core publishing houses a lot.”
Stating that the process was instructive for her, Sultan said her biggest disappointment was the silence of those responsible. Sultan said, “I saw once again during this process that apologizing is a very difficult thing in Turkey,” and continued her words as follows:
“For example, there is a foundation called the Kemal Tahir Foundation in this country… It did not make a statement. The publishing house that continues to print the book today did not make a statement to its readers. I did my duty as a journalist. I reached out to all of them. I asked for a statement. I received no response.”
Stating that this scandal is an indication of how little the literary reader in Turkey is taken seriously, Sultan said, “And there is no one in this country to defend the rights of deceased authors. It’s actually a very sad picture.”
Cautious Approach to Artificial Intelligence
Sharing her views on technology and journalism, Saliha Sultan stated that she approaches the use of artificial intelligence in news reporting cautiously. Saying, “I am someone who learned to type with 10 fingers on a typewriter. Well, I don’t trust any text that I didn’t write with my own 10 fingers,” Sultan expressed that the excitement and personal development that the process of research and reaching the truth adds to her cannot be provided by artificial intelligence.
Addressing her fans and readers, Saliha Sultan said, “I think I will continue to be in the newspaper. I mean, those who are curious will buy the newspaper,” and asked them to follow Karar Newspaper, which hosts the only culture-arts page published 7 days a week in Turkey.
