“We Should Listen to Young People More”

“Then journalism of young people is dynamic,” says Hatice Kahraman, editorial director of Salon5. In her work for Correctiv’s youth editorial team, she focuses on journalism “with” rather than “for” young people. In this interview, she talks about the challenges of working as a journalist with young people of school age. And why a good network is just as important as professional expertise.

Werksgelände: What do you actually do as editorial director at Salon5?

Hatice Kahraman: I lead a young team and enable them to produce journalism that treats young people as equals. I take the journalistic content on our channel and develop the content and formats further and constantly adapt the editorial processes. I also scale the project and build it up across Germany. I take care of the finances and the staff.

What experience or talents should you have for the job?

You definitely have to be keen to try new things and always be very reflective. If you want to do young journalism, it means questioning everything, creating something new and then realizing that there is still a lot of room for improvement. The journalism of young people is dynamic. And you should definitely bring that with you: An appetite for new digital journalism and an openness to new communication channels.

In journalism in particular, there are often young formats that are produced 'for' young people. Very few are produced 'with' them.

- Hatice Kahraman

What appeals to you about your job?

I love working with young people. Talking to them and working with them gives me hope and constant inspiration. I think we should listen to young people much more.

What are the biggest challenges in your job?

In journalism in particular, there are often still young formats that are produced “for” young people. Very few are produced “with” them. Working with young people of school age is also a challenge because the editorial processes have to be constantly adapted and developed to suit the young people’s world. If the reporters can only come to the editorial office after school, this means being flexible and listening to the needs of young people.

What has been your biggest flop on the job so far, and what have you learned from it?

In the past, I didn’t interact much with people in similar positions and always thought that professional expertise was more important than networking and exchanging ideas. Today I know that’s not true. The two go hand in hand and a good network of people who support you and are there to answer questions is extremely important.

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