The third news discussion workshop was held on 30 September 2017 within the scope of the Media Watch on Hate Speech Project with the contribution of Friedrich Naumann Foundation. The focus was on the role of the media in the production of discriminatory discourse concerning refugees and how to create an alternative language in order to counter this discourse. The workshop was held under the facilitation of Ülkü Doğanay in Hrant Dink Foundation’s Anarad Hığutyun building.

Workshop participants were selected among those who replied to the public call. Sixteen people including the project team and Ülkü Doğanay as well as students of journalism, law, public relations and civil society professionals, teachers and journalists participated in the workshop.

In the first session of the workshop, Ülkü Doğanay made an introduction to discriminatory discourse and hate speech, and then, the ways in which the news produce, legitimize and re-circulate discriminatory discourse were discussed. Doğanay mentioned how media reduces refugees into numbers and associates them with crime, violence and safety problems along with an aestheticization of violence. She emphasized the significance of right-based journalism in the combat against discrimination. Then, news stories reinforcing discrimination against refugees and news stories with an alternative language were discussed and analysed.

In the last session, a role play activity was performed by the participants. This activity was based on a event involving a refugee family, neighborhood residents, journalists and the police. Finally, alternative news stories and opinion collumns written by the participants based on this event were read out and discussed.