The Right to Access Information on the Coronavirus Crisis with Emphasis on the Role of National Public Broadcast

The occurrence of crises and disasters, such as the coronavirus, puts special responsibilities on governments to maintain public safety. In this situation, governments have a duty to take effective decisions and measures to deal with the crisis. It is acceptable that due to the state of emergency, some government decisions impose duties and restrictions on the freedoms of the people. But the least rights that could be considered for people in this situation is the right to access information related to Coronavirus. People also have the right to be informed about the policies and decisions taken by the relevant government institutions to deal with the crisis. If such a right is proven to the people, in the implementation of this right, the transfer of the information related to the Coronavirus crisis may become an important matter. Because most media outlets do not require their power, motivation, or economic interests to collect and transmit information related to the coronavirus, nor do they have effective legal duties. For this reason, the national public media, as a media outlet with constitutional and statuary law responsibilities to inform the public, is responsible for enforcing the right of access to information on the Coronavirus crisis. This descriptive-analytical study, while examining the specific task of disseminating public health crisis information, examines the tasks of the national media in disseminating coronavirus crisis information.