20-somethings Undertaking Journalism – Redefining A New Form of Citizenship Through New Media

Founded in 2012, 140journos is a collaborative information-gathering and dissemination project that has responded to the self-censorship of the mainstream media in Turkey by taking matters into its own hands as ordinary citizens. After huge success as a Twitter-based livefeed that helped document the lawsuits in 2012, the Gezi Park protests 2013, the project has transformed itself with a new approach that embraces in-depth stories, interactive mapping, data visualization, and long-form reportage across multiple social media platforms. This session will show-and-tell of the cutting edge of modern day activism in Turkey. Co-founder Önder will describe how the innovative media project is filling a news gap left by politically compromised mainstream outlets and how the new 140journos is using new media tools to restore the meaning of citizenship in Turkey.