Last week saw two visiting speakers from Reuters International join students and faculty in the Department of English Language and Literature. On Wednesday, Ümit Bektaş, a leading news photographer with over twenty years’ international experience, and Hümeyra Pamuk, a journalist who has worked in London, Cairo and the Middle East, talked on the topic of “Text, Image / Image, Text: Issues in Contemporary Journalism.” They explained the creative and editorial processes by which photographs and news stories are put together, and discussed the fertile yet sometimes problematic relationship between image and text in the news. The two speakers also answered questions from an enthusiastic audience on practical and ethical issues in contemporary journalism.
On Thursday, Mr. Bektaş and Ms. Pamuk ran a special workshop for ELIT students on image and text in the news. Students discussed the implications of using different photographs with a given story, and heard about the criteria professional photographers, journalists and editors have to take into consideration. They also had the opportunity to hear about how to take the first steps toward a career in journalism.