A Haber Anchor Gökhan Kurt: “We Are Human Beings First, and Only Then Journalists”

Gökhan Kurt is the anchor of the morning news program “Sabah Ajansı” on the Turkish TV channel A Haber and one of Turkey’s highest-rated TV presenters. The Russian-language outlet RusTurkey spoke with him about working on camera, the limits of journalistic impartiality, and how dialogue with viewers is built.

Question: According to polls, you are one of the most popular news anchors among the Russian-speaking audience living in Turkey. How do you feel about this popularity? Does being recognizable on screen affect your everyday life off camera?

Answer: First of all, I want to thank all our viewers. Becoming a guest in people’s homes every morning — sometimes sharing breakfast with them, sometimes accompanying them as they get ready for a new day — is a huge responsibility for me and for the colleagues with whom we prepare the program. The main topic on our agenda is, first and foremost, events in Russia and in this region as a whole. As for everyday life — it goes on as usual. And of course, meeting viewers outside work, talking with them, being recognized — that is a very pleasant feeling.

Question: Please tell us briefly how you came into the profession. Was becoming a news anchor your childhood dream, or did chance bring you to this profession?

Answer: Yes, since childhood my dream was to become a television news journalist. Thank God, that dream came true. I have been working in the media field for about 15 years, 11 of them at the A Haber TV channel. I have had the chance to work in many different roles — from editor to correspondent, from news reader to program host. There were difficulties and there was fatigue, but I always tried to do my work with love. With September, we are starting the third season of the program “Sabah Ajansı”. For three years now, with the support of our viewers, we have been starting the day together every morning — on air from 06:00 to 09:00.

Question: Do you remember your first live broadcast? What did you feel that day? Were you very nervous?

Answer: My first live broadcast was in 2011 — it was live reports from the hospital after the armed attack on the famous artist İbrahim Tatlıses. The day was nerve-wracking for two reasons at once: it was my first live broadcast, and on top of that, a many-hour marathon. But I managed. And since that day we have kept going the same way — telling and writing about what is happening.

Question: A news anchor has to constantly follow the agenda and stay on top of events happening in the world. Is it hard for you to live in this constant state of being “plugged into” the agenda? Do you manage to completely switch off from the news after work?

Answer: There are professions where the workday begins and ends: you leave work — and the work stays there. But for us journalists, the workday never ends. News is like a living organism. Every day, at any minute, something can happen — not only in Turkey, but anywhere in the world. Yes, it is not easy, but if you love your work, this pace, on the contrary, keeps you in shape and gives you the opportunity to constantly renew yourself.

Question: One of the basic principles of journalism is impartiality. Is it hard for you — especially when covering acute topics that provoke a strong public reaction — to set aside your own opinion and remain neutral?

Answer: There are cases when remaining neutral means, in effect, staying silent in the face of cruelty and thereby supporting what is happening. This could be violence against a woman, a child, or an animal. In such situations I always try to openly express my attitude to what is happening on air. If you do not do that, first of all you lose the human being in yourself. And we are human beings first, and only then journalists.

Question: Do you communicate with your viewers? Do you follow comments and messages on social media? Have viewer criticism or suggestions ever influenced your work?

Answer: Of course. I always follow the comments and criticism from our viewers. Because a viewer at the screen sometimes notices a mistake or a detail that I may not see in the moment. Every opinion that comes from them is very valuable to me. We do not do this work alone — we prepare our program with the viewers’ expectations in mind, moving together with them.

Question: And finally: what would you like to say or wish to your Russian-speaking viewers who follow you from Turkey?

Answer: I want to wholeheartedly thank all our viewers. With their love and support we will, God willing, do our work even better.

Background note. Gökhan Kurt graduated from the Faculty of International Relations at Istanbul University, where he also earned a master’s degree — his thesis focused on the change in strategic relations between the countries of Central Asia and the United States after the collapse of the USSR. He began his career as a reporter at Show TV, then worked for five years as a correspondent at SkyTürk360. Since 2014 he has been on staff at A Haber, where he has worked as a correspondent, news reader, and program host; he previously anchored the evening edition “Ajans” and now hosts the morning program “Sabah Ajansı”.