The first event of workshop series on discriminatory discourse in the media and rights-based approach to journalism, entitled ‘Discriminatory Discourse against Women and Alternative Media Platforms’ was organized in Havak Hall, Anarad Hığutyun Building on October 7, 2015 by Hrant Dink Foundation. The workshop was held under the moderation of Sevda Alankuş from Kadir Has University and Independent Communication Network (Bianet). The speakers of the workshop who shared their experiences on behalf of their alternative media platforms, were Elçin Poyraz from Cinsomedya-Media Monitoring of Sexism, Suna Kafadar from 5Harfliler and Rümeysa Çamdereli from Reçel blog.

As the moderator, Sevda Alankuş analyzed the way sexist news appear on media. She also discussed how women are excluded from news outlets as a sphere dominated by masculine discourse. Additionally, she explored the ways in which discourse of women is excluded from the content of news. Alankuş showed several sexist news articles and challenge them from a feminist ethical standpoint. Following Alankuş’s speech, Elçin Poyraz talked about Cinsomedya- Media Monitoring of Sexism, which is a platform to expose sexism in the media. She showed several examples of news to discuss the problem of women representation in the media, normalization of news about violence and rape, and intersectionality of racism and misogyny. Finally, Poyraz demonstrated how clickbait journalism reproduces sexism as a means of increasing advertising revenue.

Suna Kafadar from 5Harfliler website, gave several examples from alternative news and visuals produced by 5Harfliler. She mentioned how the daily and sarcastic discourse was produced by 5Harfliler which challenges the idea that women cannot have a good sense of humour. She shared the experiences they had at 5Harfliler while combatting sexism in the media and revealing women’s unheard voice by making news and designing alternative visuals. Following Kafadar’s speech, lastly, Rümeysa Çamdereli talked about their blog named Reçel and the way it functions. They established the blog to create an alternative area for Muslim women where they can discuss daily life practices of Muslim women, their perception on social issues, their hopes as well as struggles. She stated that the content of articles which are produced in this platform vary in a way showing that opinions of Muslim women are not homogeneous. She declared that Reçel has been initiated with the aim of opening up a space for women to express themselves whiling they give instant responses against sexist writings and practices.

During the workshop, the discussion was held about the problematic representation of the women in the media where women can be the subject of only sexist news. It was followed by a further discussion about the ways in which, alternative and anti-sexist media platforms can work to render women’s experience more visible. The significance of sharing experience and deconstructing sexist discourse in struggling for visibility of women were emphasized. The possible ways to increase alternative media platforms and news, which challenge the sexist discourse in the news, were also discussed.