Turkey’s TRT World published a job advertisement on LinkedIn for a correspondent allegedly to be recruited in London, in retaliation for a previous advertisement shared by Reuters on the same platform.
“We are looking for a dynamic and experienced journalist to help lead an agenda-setting news file from Turkey, a NATO member and a pivotal regional power with outsized influence in European and Middle Eastern security,” Reuters said in its post for a deputy bureau chief to work in İstanbul.
“President Tayyip Erdoğan has transformed Turkey in his two decades in power, shifting it away from modern secular traditions and turning it into an assertive diplomatic and military presence in regions stretching from the South Caucasus to North Africa. We need someone with strong writing and reporting skills who can deliver deep-dive enterprise stories at the same time as supporting our high-performing team covering a critical juncture in Erdogan’s rule – with runaway inflation and a battered lira combining to threaten his bid for re-election in the months ahead,” it added, fuelling claims in Turkey’s pro-government media that the London-based news agency, which was acquired by the Thomson Corporation in 2008, was looking for an anti-Erdoğan journalist.
In response to Reuters, TRT World, which operates under the umbrella of Turkey’s state television, immediately put a job advertisement using almost the same format and wording.
“We are looking for a dynamic and experienced journalist to help lead an agenda-setting news file from United Kingdom, a NATO member and a pivotal regional power with outsized influence in European and Middle Eastern security,” TRT World said in its advertisement for a London-based correspondent.
“Failure of consecutive governments to respond to challenges like Covid 19, Brexit and global economic crises left Britain in political turmoil. Short lived governments put the UK’s future in uncertainty, shifting it away from Europe. The death of Queen Elizabeth II reignited the debate about the future of the monarchy, as many people questioned it as a way of rule from the Middle Ages in a modern World,” the international news broadcaster said.
“We are seeking an individual with strong writing and reporting skills with the ability to deliver deep-dive enterprise stories. At the same time provide support to our high-performing team as they embark on the coverage of major issues such as the Scottish Government’s pursuit of independence and the threat it poses to the unity of the UK, runaway inflation and a battered pound combining to further endanger Britain’s unstable political situation,” it added.
