Anadolu Agency, TIKA launch defense journalism training

ANKARA

An online training course for defense correspondents organized by Anadolu Agency and the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) kicked off on Thursday.

The course ultimately aims to help correspondents improve their knowledge of the defense industry and defense strategies.

Cihangir Isbilir, the manager of Anadolu Agency's News Academy, said they attached great importance to defense reporting training as part of "peace journalism."

Noting that national defense spending was on the rise across the globe, Isbilir said: "Journalists analyzing conflict and following countries' defense policies should be specialized in both the defense industry and defense strategies."

He added that this was a basic first-phase training course for defense journalists and that plans are in place for its further development.

Ugur Tanyeli, a senior TIKA official, said the training of defense journalists is very important because the media also had to follow new developments and inventions in the military field.