We finally see the other side of Western media

Last night, one of my friends who was watching a BBC report on demonstrations in Caracas, Venezuela said, "I used to believe what they say before, now it is over. They have lost their credibility." My friend was right. We have learned much from the news on demonstrations in Egypt, Syria and Kiev along with the Gezi protests and Dec. 17 operation broadcast by Western media including the Financial Times, Times, CNN International, The Economist and BBC. Western media is no longer a reliable source. It is a fact that cannot be underestimated.

Further, seeing "an activist couple kissing" during the street demonstrations in Venezuela excites us no more. This is because we remember the Gezi protests and how the incidents were misrepresented in the Western world. We also remember the show performed by the young Australian woman in Taksim Square. She stirred international media with photos of her standing in front of a police water cannon and returned to her country afterward.

We also remember the shocking implication of Turkey-based Times reporter Alex Christie Miller. He reported how a grocery store customer exclaimed, "Erdoğan will be executed," yet he completely disregarded what the grocer's thoughts were. Also, we remember the international channels which broadcast the demonstrators assisting the pro-coup groups during the second phase of Tahrir protests.Yet, they remained indifferent to the supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood at Rabaa al-AdawiyaSquare.

Here is the underlying reason: Western media is unable to hide its implicit colonialist nature. We are in a learning process which enables Turkey to finally face the other side of Western media. I do remember the time of my generation. Any comment about Turkey in The New York Times (NYT) used to be considered "real facts." In particular, BBC news reports were discussed from the point of "absolute objectivity."

When I started my journalism career almost 25 years ago, I used to get excited when I spoke with a Western journalist in the Middle East. We thought that they knew better than us! We were naive, but were honestly right. This is because the reporters at Le Monde and the NYT were used to first learning the political history and sociological aspects of the country they were visiting.

They were also used to establishing strong relationships not only in Ankara, but also with other cultural groups just like a social anthropology expert. They never used to sit with bohemian people speaking like an Otpor supporter at cafes around the Galata Tower, but unaware of Turkey's real problems.

Can you imagine? Were there any Western journalists expecting the Republican's People Party (CHP) to emerge victorious from the March 30 local elections? In the past, BBC would presumably break ties with this journalist following the election results. However, everything has changed significantly both in Turkey and West. I remember that any negative comment by the NYT became the nightmare of the former elite political class of Turkey. They were so desperate that they recognized the NYT as a mirror and took actions in accordance with their comments every single day.

Those days are now over. Day by day we are better understanding Western media.

They too need to understand that we have now changed.