News Media Consolidation and Censorship in Turkey

The consolidation of the Turkish media is a recent phenomenon based on the economic liberalization of the 1980s under Turgut Ozal. Conglomerates in Turkish media were created as a result of the 1980s liberalization of the economy that allowed businessmen to purchase multiple newspapers. During the 1990s, the relationship between the media bosses and politicians came under public scrutiny due to competition between different media outlets. The most notable conglomerates of the 1990s in Turkish media were Aydin Dogan, the owner of Kanal D, Hurriyet, and Milliyet dailies; Dinc Bilgin, the owner of ATV and Sabah daily; and Cem Uzan the owner of Star TV. As a former editor of Milliyet daily, Derya Sazak, commented, it was a photo in 1997 of media mogul Aydin Dogan and then prime minister Mesut Yilmaz chatting and walking on a weekend that gave the impression that media bosses can make or break governments.1 The meeting was photographed and sent to news agencies. It caused a furor over Dogan and his influence with the government. The reaction came from Islamic and opposition press that supported the recently deposed government of Necmettin Erbakan in a coalition with the centerright True Path Party of Tansu Ciller.