Turkish Public Broadcasting Chief Urges European Broadcasters To Cooperate Against Terrorism

The head of Turkiye's public broadcaster on Monday called on European broadcasters to cooperate in the fight against terrorism.

Speaking at the 2022 European Broadcasting Union (EBU) Media Summit in Istanbul, Mehmet Zahid Sobaci, director general of TRT, said public broadcasters are important organizations that will strongly fight against information pollution and disinformation but their responsibility is not only limited to these.

"We should raise public awareness of radicalization, income inequality, global terrorism, cyber-security, and ecological problems. As the public broadcaster of Turkiye, fighting the strongest battle against global terrorism, we call for solid cooperation to stand together against it no matter what the source or target of the terrorism," he stressed.

'Turkiye is 2nd-biggest exporter of TV series after US'

Pointing to the success and global interest in TRT drama series, Sobaci said: "Turkiye is the (world's) second-biggest exporter of TV series after the US."

He said TRT's series, co-produced movies, and cartoons are in high demand and that they are working to launch the TRT international digital video platform in the coming months.

"This digital platform and the new content to be produced will also enable potential co-production with EBU members and also allow us to benefit from the opportunities and cooperation possibilities of the EBU pre-buy network," he added.

Saying that TRT is also making a name for itself in the field of cinema with international cooperation, he added that over the last three years, TRT co-produced films and won nearly 275 awards at over 300 national and international festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, and Locarno.

Also speaking at the event, Noel Curren, the head of EBU, thanked TRT for the event and its hospitality, adding: "We would like to increase our cooperation with TRT."

The two-day summit, hosted by Turkiye's public broadcaster, kicked off on Monday.

Nearly 200 senior media executives from 41 countries of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) assembled at the summit, hosted by Turkish Radio Television (TRT).

Due to COVID-19, it was the union's first in-person summit in two years.

The EBU, founded to bring together public service broadcasters in Europe, is seen as one of the world's most important public service broadcaster unions. -