News Media Consolidation and Censorship in Turkey: From Liberal Ideals to Corporatist Realities

The relationship between Turkish media conglomerates and how the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government has shown increased con-flict since 2009. The AKP, under the leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has displayed increasing fear of and suspicion toward Turkey’s liberal media. Censorship of the news in Turkey intensified after the failed coup attempt of July 2016. Media control tools used by business moguls were supported by the government and led the way to the creation of a corporatist media, which in turn has come under increased government pressure. This essay also high-lights an ever-present tension within media and politics in Turkey. Turkish journalists tend to define themselves as liberals who historically assigned themselves the mission to inform the public and to raise public awareness on political issues independent of ruling governments. On the other hand, suc-cessive Turkish governments, both conservative and liberal, have tended to view the media either as an ally or as an enemy to be feared.