Dragomir Writes About the Current State of Turkish Media

In a recent piece for the Media Power Monitor, Dragomir gives an overview of the state of Turkish media, building on a recent report launched by Reporters Without Frontiers (RSF), an international press freedom NGO, which shows how a ring of powerful players have turned most of the country’s media into a vast propaganda machine, calibrated to protect their wealth and influence.

As Dragomir writes,Turkey’s independent journalism and media are in their most dismal state in decades. All three indicators of political control measured in RSF’s report – control of media outlets and distribution platforms, funding and news agencies – show high risk. This is the worst case to date in the organization’s work on mapping media pluralism. It might not come as a surprise that state-owned media outlets, such as Turkish Radio and Television (TRT) and Anadolu Agency endorse the government’s take on most topics. Authorities have always interfered with their coverage. But it’s seriously alarming to see that happening in most of the media.

Of the ten most read dailies, seven belong to owners who are affiliated with the government. The same is happening in the television market, according to RSF. There is still some space for independent journalism on the internet, but even there the situation is deteriorating quickly. Five of the ten most read news portals belong to people linked with the government, according to RSF.

Read the article here.