Current Media Structure in Turkey

            Turkey has had a tumultuous history when it comes to media. However, its current state is structured and welcomes foreign broadcasts. Turkey follows the libertarian theory but is sometimes criticized for its authoritarian actions with censorship and intolerance for press that is critical of the government, military and politics. The possession of media is classified as cross-media ownership, which is when a company owns outlets in more than one medium. Doğan Holding is one of Turkey’s largest conglomerates and owns a majority of the country’s media. The EU, or European Union, has also played a major role in the transformation of Turkish media by removing a majority of oppressive restrictions. However, some injustices still occur.

            Turkey’s main media outlets are television, radio, newspapers, magazine and the Internet. There are more than 300 private, regional and local TV stations in Turkey and more than 1,000 private radio stations. These private stations often compete with Turkey’s state broadcaster, Turkish Radio and Television or TRT. Turkey’s newspapers and magazines reached an average daily circulation of 6.7 million people in 2007. Some of the highest selling newspapers include: Zaman, Milliyet (featured in picture on top left - front page from Friday, April 20, 2012), Hürriyet, Sabah, and Taraf. By June of 2010, 35 million people were accessing the Internet. Today, most websites are still available to the public like YouTube, Facebook and Skype. However, websites can be blocked if they are found to be insulting.