Nilgün Balkaç, is a Turkish journalist and television presenter. She has worked as a correspondent, representative, and presenter for national channels including TRT, NTV, Habertürk TV, and ATV. As one of Türkiye’s first female weather presenters, she served on TRT screens. She has covered critical developments in various regions of Türkiye and the world, conducting interviews with numerous prominent figures. She currently presents the Noon Main News bulletin on TRT Haber.

Nilgün Balkaç completed her education in Ankara. After graduating from TED Ankara College, she studied Italian Language and Literature at Ankara University. Trilingual, Balkaç began her journalism career during her university years.

Balkaç began her journalism career at TRT during university, where she took on numerous roles including correspondent, children’s program presenter, and weather presenter. She also worked for a time as a foreign film translator. During her tenure at TRT, she became one of Türkiye’s first female weather presenters.

After private channels launched their broadcasts, Balkaç left TRT and held various roles as a correspondent and executive at ATV, Star TV, NTV, and Habertürk.

She first moved to ATV with Ali Kırca, serving in the Ankara Bureau. During this period, she received training at CNN International. At ATV, she worked for over ten years as prime minister’s correspondent. She also briefly worked at Star TV.

^{Interview Outside the White House (From Nilgün Balkaç Archive)}

In September 2003, she worked at NTV’s Ankara Bureau as parliamentary and prime minister’s correspondent. During her ten-year tenure at NTV, she also served as the station’s Ankara representative.

In July 2013, she became Habertürk TV’s Ankara Representative.

In February 2017, she rejoined the TRT Haber team. She presented news segments, produced special reports, and conducted numerous interviews with political leaders. She reported from the border regions, and authored special feature reports. She currently presents the Noon Main News bulletin on TRT Haber.

^{Covering Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s First Visit to the White House as AK Party Leader (Nilgün Balkaç Archive)}

She has covered numerous critical political and social events in various regions of Türkiye and the world. Some of these include:

• Attended United Nations General Assembly sessions, including Yaser Arafat’s 1974 address to the UN General Assembly.
• Covered high-level meetings at the White House.
• Reported on NATO and European Union meetings.
• Was in the United States following the September 11 attacks in New York.
• Attended the 2009 Davos Summit, where she reported live on then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s “one minute” speech.
• Broadcasted from the U.S. military base in Qatar during the Gulf War.
• Covered post-tsunami developments in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

^{At the Strategic Communication Trends Panel Organized by the Presidency of Communications (Nilgün Balkaç Archive)}

• Monitored post-Bosnian War developments regarding crimes against humanity, witnessing mass funerals, testimonies of rape victims, and evidence of atrocities in factories, closely following events in the region.
• Covered developments during the Muammer Gaddafi era in Libya.
• Reported on political developments under Hüsnü Mübarek and the transformation process in the Middle East.
• Covered President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s “The world is bigger than five” speech at the UN General Assembly and its domestic and international repercussions.

^{Covering the Meeting Between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House (Nilgün Balkaç Archive)}

• Covered Türkiye’s historic natural gas agreement with Iran on site.
• Shared reports and impressions from Cerablus, cleared of terrorism by the Free Syrian Army.

^{Covering Developments in Cerablus (Nilgün Balkaç Archive)}

• Reported from the border on developments in Cerablus and Afrin, covering the Operation Olive Branch, and conducted interviews with local residents and Free Syrian Army soldiers.

^{Covering Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit’s Visit to India (Nilgün Balkaç Archive)}

• Covered the 28 February process and the incident of tanks being deployed in Sincan, reporting on indefinite vigils outside the constitutional court and political developments.
• Worked on-site during major earthquakes in Türkiye, beginning with the 1999 Marmara earthquake.
• Reported from the site following the Soma mine disaster.
• Conducted one of the first interviews during the Rahşan Amnesty process.
• Participated in diplomatic tours related to Türkiye’s European Union accession process.
• Covered foreign visits by political leaders, including Bülent Ecevit’s trip to India.
• Covered Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s first visit to the White House as AK Party leader.

^{From the 2021 International Strategic Communication Summit (Nilgün Balkaç Archive)}

• Covered all political developments from the expulsion of a female MP wearing a headscarf to the headscarf regulation.
• Attended the funerals of prominent politicians including Alparslan Türkeş, Necmettin Erbakan, Bülent Ecevit, and Süleyman Demirel.
• Reported on developments surrounding the National Security Council process of 1997.
• Led the media component of campaigns led by Professor Cevdet Erdöl to promote awareness and understanding of smoking regulations in Türkiye; received awards for her work in this field.

Throughout her career, Nilgün Balkaç has produced and presented various news and discussion programs:

^{Before Broadcast (Nilgün Balkaç Archive)}

• First Page
• Good Morning Weekend with Nilgün Balkaç
• Question and Answer
• Press Card (Moderator)
• Noon Main News
• Capital Agenda
• Election Special Broadcasts

Throughout her career, she has conducted interviews with numerous domestic and foreign political leaders, military officials, and key figures on the public agenda.

^{From TRT Future Communicators Training (Nilgün Balkaç Archive)}

Balkaç provides training in journalism and correspondence at TRT Academy and TRT Future Communicators. She continues to share her experience with young journalists and communicators.