More than meets the eye to sale of Turkish media giant
The sale of Turkey’s biggest media group, Dogan Media Company, is likely to negatively affect the health of the country’s economy while diminishing access to accurate information from and within Turkey.
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times; color: #101010; -webkit-text-stroke: #101010} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} span.s2 {font-kerning: none; color: #347ab7; -webkit-text-stroke: 0px #347ab7} span.s3 {font-kerning: none; background-color: #96d35f} span.s4 {font-kerning: none; background-color: #ff4013} span.s5 {font: 10.0px Arial; font-kerning: none; color: #232323; -webkit-text-stroke: 0px #232323}
Dogan Media Company, the flagship media group of Turkey, is on track to sell off most of its affiliates and outlets to a pro-government group. The talks for the sale are ongoing following the decision, which was announced March 21. Dogan Media Company's change of ownership is crucial for several reasons. The media group controls several newspapers, including the flagship daily Hurriyet, TV channels such as CNNTurk, an internet and digital television service called D-Smart, and a distribution system called YAYSAT.
Erdogan Demiroren, the owner of the buyer group Demiroren Holding, is best known in Turkey for his unadulterated devotion to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Demiroren also owns Milliyet and Vatan newspapers, both of which belonged to Dogan Media Company up until 2011.
Baris Yarkadas, a lawmaker from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), brought the recent sale to the attention of the national anti-trust board, highlighting that with this sale the Demiroren media conglomerate will be dominating the media market. The board still has to follow due process to finalize approval of the sale. Yarkadas said that he would ask them to stop the sale.
