TV channels critical of government take zero adverts from state-owned companies

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State-owned companies place most of their advertisements on pro-government TV channels, an opposition MP has revealed during the discussions of a motion for a parliamentary inquiry into the subject.

In the first nine months of the year, state-owned companies placed a total of 4.3 million seconds of adverts on TV channels, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy Utku Çakırözer said.

Three TV outlets close to the government, Akit TV (580,000 seconds), 24 TV (650,000 seconds) and A Haber (670,000 seconds) got nearly 45 percent of all adverts placed by those companies while no adverts were placed on Halk TV, FOX, KRT, Tele1 and TV5, he said.

Among other pro-government outlets, 170,000 seconds of adverts were placed on TGRT, 350,000 seconds of adverts were placed on TVNET and Ülke TV each, Çakırözer noted. A Haber's sister channels, A Para and A News broadcast 300,000 seconds and 140,000 seconds of adverts, respectively.

CNN Türk, NTV and Habertürk got the smallest share of state-owned companies' advertisements, he said.

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The advertisers include public banks, Turcell GSM operator, Turk Telekom, Turkish Airlines, Çaykur tea manufacturer and the Housing Development Administration of Turkey (TOKİ).

"We need to question this unfairness at the parliament today. On the one hand, public resources are unfairly pumped into pro-government media and on the other hand, newspapers and TV channels in Anatolia are fighting to survive," the MP remarked.

The government has long been criticized for transferring public resources to its favored broadcast and print media outlets through advertisements and using monetary penalties as a punitive measure on critical media outlets.

"The RTÜK [Radi and Television Supreme Council] and the Press Advertisement Institution have turned into organs to silence the newspapers and TV channels that tell the truth," added Çakırözer.

Local media

"The Anatolian press is on the verge of dying out. The number of local newspapers has dropped from about 1,800 to about 900; the number of local TV outlets has dropped from 100 to 50," he said, adding that more media outlets are expected to shut down due to the increasing exchange rate of the US dollar.

The unemployment rate in the press sector has risen to about 30 percent, the MP also noted.

Çakırözer called for a law to support news media, including online news outlets and said the RTÜK and the BİK should be restructured.

The motion for the inquiry was rejected by the votes of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and their allies Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

CLICK - Media Ownership Monitor Turkey

CLICK - BİA Media Monitoring Reports

(HA/VK)