Abdulhamit Bilici poses a “serious question for” the New York Times and Herald Tribune

Abdulhamit Bilici

In an article that appeared in the Sunday’s Zaman on April 29th, 2012, Abdulhamit Bilici questions the reporting of the New York Times and the International Herald Tribune in regards to a recent story about the Gulen Movement.

Bilici writes:

Something strange has been happening for awhile now to serious newspapers. On April 18 in the Herald Tribune, a piece of news was published reminiscent of the sort of stories we have been accustomed to seeing in newspapers like Aydınlık on the topic of the Gülen movement. Despite denials from source Ayşe Böhürler, who was used as a source for the story, the same piece of news was published in The New York Times. Critical journalism is one of the most important aspects of a true democracy, but only when it is fair and balanced, as well as objective and true. Setting aside for a moment the fact that the aforementioned article was in complete conflict with a story published on the same topic two years prior in the same newspaper, the article was filled with unproven allegations used to condemn, with no mention of things like Gülen’s support for the EU accession process, no mention of his meetings with important religious leaders like the pope, and nothing about his condemnation of al-Qaeda actions or support for Turkey’s Sept. 12, 2010 referendum.

Posted in: Abdulhamit Bilici, Fethullah Gulen, Journalism, New York Times