Mass media in Turkey

The mass media in Turkey includes a wide variety of domestic and foreign periodicals expressing disparate views, and domestic newspapers are extremely competitive.^[1] However, media ownership is concentrated in the hands of a few large private media groups which are typically part of wider conglomerates controlled by wealthy individuals, which limits the views that are presented.^[1] In addition, the companies are willing to use their influence to support their owners' wider business interests, including by trying to maintain friendly relations with the government.^[2] The media exert a strong influence on public opinion.^[1] Censorship in Turkey is also an issue, and in the 2000s Turkey has seen many journalists arrested and writers prosecuted. On Reporters Without Borders' Press Freedom Index it has fallen from being ranked around 100 in 2005 to around 150 in 2013.

In reaction to the failed coup d'état on 15 July 2016, over 150 media organisations, including newspapers, television and radio channels, news agencies, magazines and publishing houses, have been closed by the government of Turkey, and 160 journalists have been jailed.^[3]

By circulation, the most popular daily newspapers are Sabah, Sözcü, Hürriyet, Posta, and Milliyet.^[4] The broadcast media have a very high penetration as satellite dishes and cable systems are widely available.^[1] The "Radio and Television Supreme Council" (RTÜK) is the government body overseeing the broadcast media.^[1] In 2003 a total of 257 television stations and 1,100 radio stations were licensed to operate, and others operated without licenses.^[1] Of those licensed, 16 television and 36 radio stations reached national audiences.^[1] In 2003 some 22.9 million televisions and 11.3 million radios were in service.^[1] Aside from Turkish, the state television network offers some programs in Arabic, Circassian, Kurdish, and Zaza.^[1]

Turkish consumers are the second-most media illiterate when compared to countries in Europe, leaving them especially vulnerable to fake news, according to a 2018 study.^[5] A combination of low education levels, low reading scores, low media freedom and low societal trust went into making the score, which saw Turkey being placed second lowest only to North Macedonia.^[6]^[5] Conspiracy theories are a prevalent phenomenon in Turkish media.^[7] According to the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2018, Turkey was the country where people complained the most about completely made-up stories.^[8]^[9]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Turkey country profile. Library of Congress Federal Research Division (January 2006). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^ Turkey media guide https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17992011
^ "Turkish court orders release of journalists during their trial". Reuters. 9 March 2018.
^ "16 Mart-22 Mart 2020 Haftası Tiraj Raporu". Medya Radar. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
^ ^a ^b Sukru Oktay Kilic (29 March 2019). "Why Turkish media's credibility is dead". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
^ Marin Lessenski (March 2018). "COMMON SENSE WANTED - Resilence to 'post-truth' and its predictors in the new media literacy index 2018" (PDF). Open Society Institute – Sofia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
^ Mustafa Akyol (12 September 2016). "The Tin-Foil Hats Are Out in Turkey". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
^ Mark Lowen (15 November 2018). "Fake news in Turkey: Hunting for truth in land of conspiracy". BBC. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
^ Nic Newman with Richard Fletcher, Antonis Kalogeropoulos, David A. L. Levy and Rasmus Kleis Nielsen (2018). "Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2018" (PDF). Reuters Institute. p. 39.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[cp-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Turkey country profile. Library of Congress Federal Research Division (January 2006). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

[2] Turkey media guide https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17992011

[3] "Turkish court orders release of journalists during their trial". Reuters. 9 March 2018.

[:0-4] "16 Mart-22 Mart 2020 Haftası Tiraj Raporu". Medya Radar. Retrieved 29 March 2020.

[:1-5] Sukru Oktay Kilic (29 March 2019). "Why Turkish media's credibility is dead". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 17 February 2023.

[literacy-6] Marin Lessenski (March 2018). "COMMON SENSE WANTED - Resilence to 'post-truth' and its predictors in the new media literacy index 2018" (PDF). Open Society Institute – Sofia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2018.

[7] Mustafa Akyol (12 September 2016). "The Tin-Foil Hats Are Out in Turkey". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 10 January 2017.

[8] Mark Lowen (15 November 2018). "Fake news in Turkey: Hunting for truth in land of conspiracy". BBC. Retrieved 16 February 2023.

[9] Nic Newman with Richard Fletcher, Antonis Kalogeropoulos, David A. L. Levy and Rasmus Kleis Nielsen (2018). "Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2018" (PDF). Reuters Institute. p. 39.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

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