writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...
for the newspaper ''
Sözcü
''Sözcü'' (English: ''Spokesperson'') is a popular Turkish daily newspaper. ''Sözcü'' was first published on 27 June 2007 by Burak Akbay and is distributed nationwide. As of June 2018, it was one of the top-selling newspapers in Turkey, with ...
''. He has published articles and books on the Turkish
deep state
Deep state is a term used for (real or imagined) potential, unauthorized and often secret networks of power operating independently of a State (polity), state's political leadership in pursuit of their own agendas and goals.
Although the term ori ...
At the age of 15, Saymaz hosted literature programs on local radios. Later, he participated in discussion programs on local television channels. He first started his journalism career in Rize. He then worked for local newspapers in cities such as
İstanbul
Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With a population over , it is home to 18% of the population of Turkey. Istanbul is among the largest cities in Europe and in th ...
and
Konya
Konya is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium. In 19th-century accounts of the city in En ...
. Saymaz began working at ''
Radikal
''Radikal'' () was a daily liberal Turkish language newspaper, published in Istanbul. From 1996 it was published by Aydın Doğan's Doğan Media Group. Although Radikal did not endorse a particular political alignment, it was generally consider ...
'' in 2002, working there until its shut down on 25 March 2016.
Saymaz has reported and published books on issues such as
human rights violations
Human rights are universally recognized moral principles or norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both national and international laws. These rights are considered inherent and inalienable, meaning t ...
and
freedom
Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws".
In one definition, something is "free" i ...
. He was prosecuted in nearly twenty cases with a prison sentence of more than a hundred years for various news reports, main one being the Erzincan case. He uncovered the footage of the beating of Ali İsmail Korkmaz, who lost his life during the
Gezi Park protests
A wave of demonstrations and civil unrest in Turkey began on 28 May 2013, initially to contest the urban development plan for Istanbul's Gezi Park. The protests were sparked by outrage at the violent eviction of a sit-in at the park protesting ...
, and shared it with the public. In 2014, he was included in the list of "100 Press Heroes" of the year by
Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders (RWB; ; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organisation, non-governmental organization headquartered in Paris, which focuses on safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its a ...
. On October 24, 2016, while he was a reporter for
Hürriyet
''Hürriyet'' (, ''Liberty'') is a major List of newspapers in Turkey, Turkish newspaper, founded in 1948. it had the highest circulation of any newspaper in Turkey at around 319,000. ''Hürriyet'' combines entertainment with news coverage and ...
newspaper, he conducted an interview with David Keynes, who holds the patent of ''ByLock'', the communication application used by FETÖ/PDY members. After this interview, an investigation was opened against the newspaper and Saymaz was interrogated. In addition, this interview was considered as "evidence" in FETÖ/PDY investigations. Saymaz was awarded by the
Turkish Journalists' Association The Turkish Journalists' Association (, TGC) is an association for journalists in Turkey.
It was founded on 10 June 1946, shortly after the abolition of the Turkish Press Union (Türk Basın Birliği), membership of which had been required by law f ...
for this interview.
On 17 March 2020, Saymaz announced that he quit his job at ''
Hürriyet
''Hürriyet'' (, ''Liberty'') is a major List of newspapers in Turkey, Turkish newspaper, founded in 1948. it had the highest circulation of any newspaper in Turkey at around 319,000. ''Hürriyet'' combines entertainment with news coverage and ...
''. On May 1, 2020, he announced that he left ''Best FM'', where he hosted the program ''Bunu Ben de Söylerim''. In May 2020, he joined '' Halk TV'' and began appearing on the channel with the program ''Neyse O''. In September 2020, he signed an agreement with ''Sözcü'' and started working as a reporter and commentator for the newspaper. In August 2021, he left Sözcü and moved to Halk TV. On April 10, 2023, he left Halk TV and returned to
Sözcü
''Sözcü'' (English: ''Spokesperson'') is a popular Turkish daily newspaper. ''Sözcü'' was first published on 27 June 2007 by Burak Akbay and is distributed nationwide. As of June 2018, it was one of the top-selling newspapers in Turkey, with ...
.
Political views
Saymaz's political and social views have changed throughout his career; while his high school years were dominated by mostly
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
and
patriotic
Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to one's country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one's homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, politic ...
ideologies, his views drastically changed during his university life, in which he adopted a leftist mindset in which he criticized
Kemalism
Kemalism (, also archaically ''Kamâlizm'') or Atatürkism () is a political ideology based on the ideas of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey.Eric J. Zurcher, Turkey: A Modern History. New York, ...
. While working at ''
Radikal
''Radikal'' () was a daily liberal Turkish language newspaper, published in Istanbul. From 1996 it was published by Aydın Doğan's Doğan Media Group. Although Radikal did not endorse a particular political alignment, it was generally consider ...
'', Saymaz became famous for his Ergenekon news, increasing his fame by the following years, Saymaz came to popularity once again especially during the 15 July process with his criticism of the trials and his leave of his former leftist identity for more republican,
Kemalist
Kemalism (, also archaically ''Kamâlizm'') or Atatürkism () is a political ideology based on the ideas of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first president of the Turkey, Republic of Turkey.Eric J. Zurcher, Turkey: A Modern History. Ne ...
and
anti-immigrant
Opposition to immigration, also known as anti-immigration, is a political position that seeks to restrict immigration. In the modern sense, immigration refers to the entry of people from one state or territory into another state or territory in ...
views.
He criticized Turkish immigration measures, stating that the country's borders had turned into a roadblock due to the Syria policy and that some immigrants had become suicide bombers. After accusing his colleagues of being
pro-Western
The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and state (polity), states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also const ...
and not feeling any sense of belonging to their people, he was accused of being a member of pro-AKP policy
think-tank
A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...
SETA
In biology, setae (; seta ; ) are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms.
Animal setae
Protostomes
Depending partly on their form and function, protostome setae may be called macrotrichia, chaetae, ...
.
Personal life
Saymaz, whose family is originally from Pazaryolu,
Erzurum
Erzurum (; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. It is the site of an ...
, was born in
Rize
Rize (; ; ; ka, რიზე}; ) is a coastal city in the eastern part of the Black Sea Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Rize Province and Rize District.İspir
İspir (, Sper; ka, სპერი, Speri) is a municipality and district of Erzurum Province, Turkey. Its area is 2,129 km2, and its population is 14,607 (2022). It is on the Çoruh River. The mayor is Ahmet Coşkun ( MHP).
History
İs ...
in the summer and fishing in Rize in the winter. During his high school years, he adopted an idealist mindset and then became interested in the leftist movement with the books recommended by his literature teacher. He graduated from Marmara University Faculty of Communication.
Saymaz married Şeyda Sayar on 16 August, 2020. The couple have one child named Boran.
Books
* ''Postmodern Cihat'' ("Postmodern Jihad"), Kalkedon Yayıncılık, 2010.''Hurriyet Daily News, 15 November 2010 Turkish journalist charged with insulting prosecutor by calling him 'postmodern' /ref>''
* ''Nefret - Malatya: Bir Milli Mutabakat Cinayeti'' ("Hate - Malatya: A Murder of National Consensus"), Kalkedon Yayıncılık, 2011.
* ''Hanefi Yoldaş: Gizli Örgüt Nasıl Çökertilir?'', Kalkedon Yayıncılık, 2011.
* ''Oğlumu Öldürdünüz Arz Ederim - 12 Eylül'ün Beş Öyküsü: İnciraltı Katliamı, Cemil Kırbayır, Cengiz Aksakal, Nurettin Yedigöl, Maraş'ta Dört Yürek'', Postacı Yayınevi, 2012
* ''Sıfır Tolerans: Polisin Eline Düşünce'',
İletişim Yayınları
İletişim Yayınları ( English: ''Contact Publications'') is an independent publishing company based in Istanbul, Turkey. It has published authors including Orhan Pamuk
Ferit Orhan Pamuk (born 7 June 1952; ) is a Turkish novelist, screenwr ...
Turkish Journalists' Association The Turkish Journalists' Association (, TGC) is an association for journalists in Turkey.
It was founded on 10 June 1946, shortly after the abolition of the Turkish Press Union (Türk Basın Birliği), membership of which had been required by law f ...
Halkevleri
Halkevleri (Turkish: ''Halkevi'' literally meaning "people's houses", also translatable as "community centres") is a Turkish community enlightenment project. They were founded in 1932 and entirely abolished in 1951.
Background
The Turkish Repub ...
"Rights of the People" Press Award'' (2013)
* '' Chamber of Electrical Engineers “Hasan Balıkçı” Honorary Award'' (2014)
* ''Abdi İpekçi Journalism of the Year Award'' (2014)
* '' Peoples' Democratic Congress Labor Assembly Award (''2015)
* ''56.
Turkish Journalists' Association The Turkish Journalists' Association (, TGC) is an association for journalists in Turkey.
It was founded on 10 June 1946, shortly after the abolition of the Turkish Press Union (Türk Basın Birliği), membership of which had been required by law f ...
Turkey Journalism Achievement Award Political Branch'' (2015)
* ''Necip Hablemitoğlu Social Awareness Award'' (2016)
* ''
Turkish Journalists' Association The Turkish Journalists' Association (, TGC) is an association for journalists in Turkey.
It was founded on 10 June 1946, shortly after the abolition of the Turkish Press Union (Türk Basın Birliği), membership of which had been required by law f ...