The first outcome of Google's embargo: Gazete Duvar is shutting down

The online news platform Gazete Duvar, which has been in publication for nearly nine years, is shutting down. Founded in Turkey in 2016 by Vedat Zencir, Gazete Duvar is set to cease operations due to economic difficulties. It has been stated that employees entitled to severance pay will receive their due compensation.

EMPLOYEES ANNOUNCED THE CLOSURE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Journalists working at Gazete Duvar shared statements on their social media accounts regarding the decision to shut down. Journalist Bahadır Özgür, who contributed to Duvar with programs and columns, commented on the closure via his social media account, saying, "Conditions have become excessively difficult for independent journalism."

TGS HAD BEEN ORGANIZED FOR SIX YEARS

The Turkish Journalists' Union (Türkiye Gazeteciler Sendikası - TGS), which had been organized within Gazete Duvar for six years and had signed a Collective Bargaining Agreement (Toplu İş Sözleşmesi - TİS), issued a statement on social media following the shutdown decision.

Responding to claims that no agreement was reached during the collective bargaining process, the statement clarified the reasons for the closure: "The reason is the financial deadlock affecting all independent/alternative media outlets."

Highlighting Google's algorithm changes, the statement continued: "Due to consecutive algorithm changes made by Google, the resulting drop in visitor numbers and consequently in ad revenues made Gazete Duvar unsustainable for its owner. Claims circulating on some social media accounts that ‘the newspaper shut down due to failed collective bargaining negotiations’ are false. Portraying the union as the entity responsible for closing the workplace and leaving its members unemployed is an attack on journalists’ right to organize. We will continue to fight for the rights of all journalists, especially our members at Gazete Duvar."

FIRST STATEMENT FROM VEDAT ZENCİR

Following the closure decision, Gazete Duvar's owner, Vedat Zencir, spoke to T24, emphasizing that the reason behind the shutdown was financial difficulties. Stating that the newspaper had suffered financial losses in the past year, Zencir pointed to Google's algorithm changes as a major factor in their inability to recover: "We don't know the exact calculations behind it, but one thing is certain: the world is rapidly turning into a media desert, and Google is at the center of it. In short, the dramatic decline in Google-driven traffic impacted our advertising revenues while also jeopardizing our future position within the Press Advertising Agency (Basın İlan Kurumu - BİK), which we had built with great effort and hardship."

INFLATION AND RISING STAFF COSTS

In addition to the impact of Google and the Press Advertising Agency (BİK), Zencir also highlighted the broader economic crisis driven by inflation. He pointed out that economic policies keeping the exchange rate under pressure, along with rising personnel costs, also played a role in their decision to shut down the newspaper.

"A REFLECTION OF DISORGANIZATION"

Tolga Balcı, General Secretary of DİSK Basın-İş, commented on the shutdown of Gazete Duvar, describing it as "a reflection of disorganization."

Balcı stated: "The crisis in the media continues. Gazete Duvar has decided to shut down. Above all, the fact that the owner can make such a decision based on economic reasons at any moment is also a reflection of disorganization. Journalism has always been tested by job insecurity, but whether it has experienced something like this before, I do not know," he shared in a post.

Source: Google ambargosunun ilk sonucu: Gazete Duvar kapanıyor