A panel discussion entitled ‘Science Communication and Science Publishing’, organised by the Department of Radio, Television and Cinema at our University’s Faculty of Communication, took place on 5 November 2026 in Hall K at the Beytepe Campus. Held as part of the Faculty’s 20th-anniversary celebrations, the panel addressed the theoretical and practical dimensions of science communication, the current state of academic publishing in Türkiye, and recent debates concerning the circulation of scientific knowledge.
Moderated by Dr Ozan Çavdar, the panel featured Prof. Dr Onur Dursun from Ankara University, who assessed different approaches to science communication and the challenges encountered in this field. Prof. Dr. Günseli Bayraktutan from Başkent University shared her assessments of academic book publishing in Türkiye, drawing on a field study. Dr Emre Canpolat from Hacettepe University examined the history of the relationship between popular science and academia in Türkiye, whilst Dr Gökçe Baydar Çavdar brought discussions regarding academic periodical publishing and the cost of scientific knowledge to the fore.
Approaches and Challenges in Science Communication
In his presentation entitled ‘Science Communication: Approaches and Challenges’, Prof. Dr Onur Dursun assessed the historical development and fundamental approaches of science communication. Addressing the transformation from the one-way transmission of scientific knowledge to society to mutual interaction and the participation of citizens in scientific production, Dursun criticised the trend in Türkiye towards reducing science communication to mere technology promotion, entertainment and spectacle.
The effects of metric culture on academic book publishing
In her presentation titled “The Field of Academic Book Publishing in Türkiye: Actors, Capital, and Relationships”, Prof. Dr. Günseli Bayraktutan shared the initial field findings of the TÜBİTAK 1001 project, led by Hacettepe University. Bayraktutan highlighted the effects of quantitative performance metrics becoming dominant in academic publishing on the quality of scientific output, whilst also drawing attention to the differing definitions of scientific publications held by the publishing sector and academia. Bayraktutan emphasised the challenges facing academic publishing, stating: “There is a dominance of this metric culture over academia and epistemic knowledge production processes, as well as its repercussions and the various forms of erosion it causes.”
The 160-year journey of popular science publishing in Türkiye
In his presentation entitled ‘Popular Science and Academia in Türkiye’, Dr Emre Canpolat examined the development of popular science publishing from the Ottoman era to the present day within the framework of production relations. Discussing the transition of magazine publishing from artisanal production to institutional publishing, as well as the divergence of commercial and political publishing traditions after 1980, Canpolat outlined the economic and structural difficulties faced by science magazines. Canpolat drew attention to the limited readership of science magazines, stating: “Despite immense dedication and very significant publishing practices, popular science in Türkiye has, unfortunately, never become popular – including in the present day.”
The cost of knowledge and invisible labour in academic publishing
In her presentation titled ‘Academic Periodical Publishing, Open Access and Debates on the Cost of Knowledge’, Dr Gökçe Baydar Çavdar addressed the commercialisation of academic publishing, open access policies and the invisible labour involved in scientific production. Pointing out that, whilst international publishers enjoy high profit margins, researchers, peer reviewers and editors mostly contribute their labour without remuneration, Baydar Çavdar stated: “There is invisible labour at play here. There are those who conduct the research, those who strive to get it published; ultimately, the peer reviewer receives no financial compensation, nor does the author receive a share; instead, they are forced to pay extra.”
Baydar Çavdar also assessed the possibilities of free open-access publishing through "Moment", the Hacettepe Journal of Communication and Cultural Studies.
