Media Truth Commission Against “Yes, Sir" Journalism

Following the release of recordings of a phone conversation between PM Erdoğan and Habertürk television administrator Fatih Saraç, bianet interviewed prominent journalists Amberin Zaman, Ertuğrul Mavioğlu and Yavuz Baydar on the current situation of press in Turkey. 

While all three journalists agreed that media had always been oppressed by governments previously, they concluded that the government’s pressure on the press is overt now.  

Baydar: The government now intervenes “on the first hand”  

“As people who lived the era of 90’s, we always felt the pressure of the government in Turkey on the media. The system was set up, developed and functioned this way.

“In mid 1990’s, business moguls like Doğan, Bilgin, Uzan and Çağlar set up a system where business mogul with no media background ruled Turkey’s prominent media outlets. This system functioned through editor-in-chiefs and coordinators who worked as ‘puppets’. Both administrational and editorial decisions have taken this way. 

“The weak coalitions and torn governments of the 1990’s allowed journalists to work in different place when they were laid off. However, we are talking about the monopolization of power nowadays. The key mechanism of the state works through one person now. And that person is directly intervening to news articles. 

“During a meeting in Ankara on October 20, 2011, [media mogul] Aydın Doğan offered to form a ‘censor commission’. It would be naive to expect something [in favor of journalism] from a boss like that. It is time that journalists expose these cases by either giving their names or announcing anonymously. Maybe we need to form our own ‘Media Truth Commission’ to overcome this.”

Mavioğlu: Journalism is a demand-based production activity

"The government's oppression on the media has 'exceed its limits' with AKP. The era of 'airplane-admitted' journalism has started under Turgut Özal's rule. During those days, the government was giving messages to a newspaper by un-accrediting one of its journalists. 

“Whereas now, the government is even deciding on which journalist will be working on which position. Even journalists are assigned in private-run newspapers. These incidents happen mostly in the past five years. Media bosses assign their editors accordingly. 

“It is not only about Fatih Saraç or Fatih Altaylı here. If we leave beside all dissident newspapers, there is no single editor-in-chief who will resist to such pressures. When I was working in Radikal newspaper, I even experienced that my editor-in-chief published a correction about some true news information. 

"The harmony between the government, media moguls and editor-in-chiefs is in perfect shape now. Saraç’s words 'Understood, sir', 'OK, sir' are the very proof of my claim. Saraç spoke like that, because he was aware that he did something missing. Journalism is a demand-based production activity now and there is an understanding that nothing except Turkey Propoganda is not considered journalism.”

Zaman: Proof of media's misery 

"Journalists who were laid off by the government's order raised their voices. However, it wasn't something that everybody believed or cared about. [After the phone recordings] it all came to surface. Doubtlessly, this is actually a proof of how miserable we all are. And we all share the responsibility equally. 

"While I exclude my colleagues who are compelled to help their families or have no other income from the guilt, I can make this conclusion: Submitting to their demands is the worst thing to do. This is the worst harm we can inflict to ourselves.

"Turkey's power-holders [always] oppressed the media. The military tutelage used to make interventions to those whose opinions were radioactive to 'national interests'. Today, on the other hand, the governement is intervening every issue that it considered as a threat. Since this government is in power for the past 10 years, we feel its oppression more suffucating. But for the first time, the tip of oppression also touches the mainstream media.”

What happened? 

Following PM Erdoğan's intervetion to Habertürk, 3 media workers including an editor has been laid off. The incident came into surface after the voice recordings of a phone conversation between PM and Saraç were released. (EA/HK/BM)