After having commented two times on an article
http://www.journalistinturkey.com/blogs/arabesk-the-blues-of-istanbul_1982/comment-page-1/#comment-12041
Fréderike Geerdink wrote about a Q n´A at the Istanbul Film Festival, in which director Cem Kaya states, that he is not quoted accurately, she deleted first all comments on the article arguing after having made all the changes he requested (which she did not!) the discussion is not interesting anymore for the readers. After he wrote her in an e-mail, that for a sincere journalist this is not ethical, she first wrote something like "he could go fuck himself", then shortly after that she wrote again, saying she regretted what she did and re-posted the comments. Congratulations Mrs. Geerdink! We are sure you just by accident forgot to re-post this last one:
Dear Fréderike,
http://www.journalistinturkey.com/blogs/arabesk-the-blues-of-istanbul_1982/comment-page-1/#comment-12041
Fréderike Geerdink wrote about a Q n´A at the Istanbul Film Festival, in which director Cem Kaya states, that he is not quoted accurately, she deleted first all comments on the article arguing after having made all the changes he requested (which she did not!) the discussion is not interesting anymore for the readers. After he wrote her in an e-mail, that for a sincere journalist this is not ethical, she first wrote something like "he could go fuck himself", then shortly after that she wrote again, saying she regretted what she did and re-posted the comments. Congratulations Mrs. Geerdink! We are sure you just by accident forgot to re-post this last one:
Dear Fréderike,
you again are missing the point by writing:
"the blog post does reflect in general what was discussed that evening, and I still think it’s interesting for people to read that and to learn from it."
I never requested to change your post completely or delete it. I´m just commenting on it. I would have appreciated, if you corrected the little things I was asking for, because they affect me, if they stay the way they are now. So why do you come up with a sentence like this? This is exactly what I´m talking about
In my second comment I proved you wrong with your assumption, that I would now go on making independent films with the money earned from this film. Still you do not intend to make any corrections. If you put a "perhaps" or a "apparently" inbetween your own assumptions to make clear, that it´s not said by me, then everything is fine. But you stay stubborn and still try to justify yourself for nothing.
As for the quotations, thanks again for the lecture!!! But you again miss the point. Let me try to explain it this way:
If you at that time did not intend to write an article, how could you probably remember later on what were approximately my words? You did not take notes as I assume (you weren´t there as a journalist, right?) If you had taken notes, you at least would have been able to quote the essential words in the discussion correctly, which was the title, the editors suggested and which is the headline of your article. "Arabesk, The Istanbul Blues" are the words I used. "Arabesk, the blues of Istanbul" is what you made out of it. Nothing important one might think.
Journalists who quote, take notes! The translator next to me took notes and it was hard for her remembering my words after two minutes. So how dare you quoting me without having taken notes and not being in your role as a journalist? And don´t tell me that sometimes the distinction between journalist and private person can´t be made. If so, why can´t you just deliver the same content without quotation marks? It would give you also more freedom to make mistakes. Think it this way. My point is, do not quote, if you are not really sure.
The last quotation for example, I have nothing against it. These were approximately my words. You remembered them very well. You asked, I answered. Apparently there you were in your role as a journalist:
‘On film festivals like this, you can discuss the process of film making, and of how it sometimes works. A product like this is a good start for a discussion. That’s an important function of a film festival.’
This here for example you did not remember so well, were you a private person there? It´s not a quote you might say, but still it reads as if somebody asked me and I answered this way:
"And the Turkish-German younger singer at the end? Request from France and Germany. They wanted the East and the West to meet. So Kaya made the East and West meet."
I did not say that the Turkish-German singer at the end is the way how the East and the West met in the film. And I did not say that this special motive of the Turkish-German singer was requested either. I said throughout the entire filmmaking process they were after the motive of the East and the West to meet. This is much stronger. But you again twisted it for some reason.
You say in the evening you did not intent to write an article, so you did not introduce yourself as a journalist, but then you write an article and claim for yourself, that it has all the qualities a journalistic article should have in terms of content, quotations, names. Here I proved you wrong in many aspects. You had my name wrong, you invented something about commercials and 58 minutes, you are citing out of your memory, you think I´m going to make independent films with the money I earned but worst, you put all this in my mouth. I just requested that you put them out of my mouth.
In your first comment you were citing this American online medium, that wrote: ‘We are never wrong for long’. In this case, I would say you are wrong for too long even though I, the main protagonist of your article, offered you honest assistance.
I don´t want to discuss this further. Whatever answer you come up with, I´m fine with it. I´m really tired of it.
Sincerely
Cem Kaya
