The Media Scene in Turkey
The Media Scene in Turkey

Summary/Abstract: Turkey has a tradition of vocal, dynamic and colorful press, and the media, to some extent, have not changed, despite efforts of the government to stifle independent and dissenting voices. It is, however, in reflection of the deep divisions in the country, highly polarized along the secularist-Islamist fault line. This has made organized professional resistance to political pressure very difficult. The AKP government has been quite successful in redesigning the media scene over the past eight years and is expected to increase its efforts in that direction in 2011, an election year. While there are serious legal problems and financial pressure on the media, it is also true that the atmosphere for the discussion of formerly taboo subjects – such as the Kurdish and Armenian issues and the role of the military in politics – has improved markedly over the past 20 years. There are signs that the European Union is finally beginning to pay some attention to the deterioration of press freedoms in Turkey. Additional attention will be needed.

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