Examinining media through eyes of cartoonists

The Aydin Dogan International Cartoon Competition’s exhibition, titled "World Cartoonists’ Look at Media," opened recently at the Press Museum in Istanbul within the scope of the fifth Babiali Days. Displaying cartoons by 66 cartoonists, the opening of the exhibition hosted many guests as well as a concert by the Istanbul Municipality Orchestra. Aydın Dogan Foundation Executive Board Director Candan Fetvaci said the foundation partnered with Babiali Days every year to host cartoon exhibitions and the Aydin Dogan International Cartoon Competition. "We have chosen a unique topic this year: The look of cartoonists at media. This time the media criticizes itself. This is a very good collection because it dates back to the 1980s. There is a selection here spanning 30 years. We can see how the media’s look at itself has changed in 30 years. We also see that some things have never changed," Fetvaci said. The exhibition illustrates the power of the media, Fetvaci said. "We have cartoons particularly about the Internet that have been drawn in recent years. They show the position of the Internet in the media. You can see what happens in the world in these cartoons. There are also works that place in the competition. In our archive, we have 70,000 cartoons from 7,000 cartoonists. We did not open a real cartoon museum but we have a virtual one. People can search them on our website," Fetvaci said. The Turkish Journalists Association organized the events for the fifth Babıali Days this year. Babiali has a history of 181 years, according to Turkish Journalists Association Chairman Orhan Erinc. "Babiali is the capital of Turkish press history. We organized such an event in order to bring together press organs and readers, and strengthen the relation among journalists. We also have various events and one of them is this cartoon exhibition," Erinc said. The exhibition at the Press Museum in the Cemberlitas neighborhood will continue through Oct. 11.