(51) Seized Turkish opposition newspaper toes government line

Link: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/06/seized-turkish-opposition-newspaper-zaman-erdogan-government

 



Summary:

 

The Turkish daily Zaman, the country’s biggest newspaper, has published its first printed edition under new management, two days after the government seized the paper and removed its editor-in-chief. Formerly an opposition newspaper critical of the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and his Justice and Development party (AKP), Sunday’s edition firmly toed the government line. The new admin turned seized Zaman into a propaganda piece of the regime in Turkey. “We are going through the darkest and gloomiest days in terms of freedom of the press, which is a major benchmark for democracy and the rule of law,” a statement published by Today’s Zaman read. “Intellectuals, businesspeople, celebrities, civil society organisations, media organisations and journalists are being silenced via threats and blackmail. We have entered the last phase in terms of pressure on those who persistently remain independent in their publications.”

 

Key data/statistical information:

 

• “In less than 48 hours, the new admin turned seized Zaman into a propaganda piece of the regime in Turkey,” Sevgi Akarcesme, the editor-in chief of Today’s Zaman, an English-language sister publication, tweeted
• Two other opposition TV channels were taken off air two weeks ago
• In October last year, government trustees were appointed to manage the Koza İpek Media Group, a business with close ties to the Gülen movement
• Last month, the group’s media operations, including TV channels and newspapers, were closed down
• Turkey ranks 149th among 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders.

What's my view?

From a Marxist perspective, we can definitely see that the elite people still have control over what media people can consume. People are suffering from an illusion of autonomy as they think that new and digital media has paved the way to freedom of speech in which it has in some circumstances but as we can see in countries like Turkey, freedom of the press is greatly abused. The government censors what people can read and closes down newspapers if necessary.