Trial begins in Turkey for two Bloomberg journalists

A Turkish court held its first hearing on Friday of a case against two Bloomberg reporters accused of trying to undermine the country’s economic stability.

A Bloomberg News story states, “The action stems from a 2018 story about how authorities and banks were responding to the biggest currency shock in the country since 2001.

“An indictment from a prosecutor was accepted earlier this year requesting a jail term of between two and five years for Kerim Karakaya and Fercan Yalinkilic, the reporters, and 36 other people upon a request from the nation’s banking regulator.

“The other defendants listed in the indictment were charged for social media comments deemed critical of Turkey’s economy and banks.

“Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait said ‘we continue to fully support our two journalists, at today’s hearing and in any future proceedings.’”

Read more here.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.