Media Systems and Media Capture in Turkey: A Hybrid Approach

Abstract

Hallin and Mancini's media systems model did not include Turkish media in their landmark study that introduced the concept initially. Later attempts that tested Turkey's media system found it to be somewhat closer to the Mediterranean model and pluralist polarised model. Yet the media landscape shifted so quickly in Turkey, that these categorizations rapidly lost their grip in the last two decades. We propose that the Turkish media system shifted to become a hybrid media system based heavily on media capture. Three of Hallin and Mancini media systems concepts and framework of analysis stand out in the Turkish media system shift: political parallelism, journalistic professionalism (ethics), role of the state and ownership concentration. Hence this study aims to explore this hybrid model in associating media systems and media capture approaches in Turkey. In explaining the shift to a hybrid media system in Turkey we acknowledge that domestic political factors and media policy/policy makers need to be taken into account as well as newsmakers' attitudes, i.e. journalists and their journalistic integrity and finally the people and their conflicting needs of stability versus freedoms (of expression/against corruption etc). The article proposes that in this hybrid system approach, relationships of media fear determine the extent to which successive governments in Turkey attempt at media capture.