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editors and producers at Turkey's government-owned, English-language
television station gathered at their Istanbul office two weeks after the
failed coup to discuss the day's news.
After Turkey’s Failed Coup, a State-Owned TV Station Tilts
Amid Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s purge, unhappy staffers say TRT World has muted criticism of the government while blasting the opposition Gulen movement
Natasha Exelby, an anchor for TRT World, during a newscast in the station’s Istanbul studio, July 29.
Photo:
Dion Nissenbaum/The Wall Street Journal
Across the country, Turkish police were arresting scores of journalists, and the military was purging thousands accused of taking part in the abortive July 15 putsch. But inside the station, editors were more focused on the U.S. presidential race and the war in Syria. They decided to cover the military shake-up but didn’t even discuss the roundup of Turkish journalists.
“There’s not much moving, really, as far as I can see” regarding the government crackdown, said Nick Morgan, a former BBC journalist who is now an executive producer at TRT World, to two dozen staff members. None of them spoke up to disagree.
TRT World launched last fall with ambitions to become an internationally recognized news leader in league with the British Broadcasting Corp. But in the past four weeks, at least seven foreigners on the 220-person editorial staff have resigned amid concerns about the station’s direction. Staff members say that critical views of the government’s post-coup crackdown have been muted, that reports have been subtly tilted in favor of the government and that journalists have passed around talking points provided by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s office.
“I no longer hold out any hope that this channel will become what I wanted it to become,” said one of those who resigned. “After the coup, it became very apparent that the channel had no intention of actually covering it properly, in a professional, international broadcast standard.”
Resul Serdar Atas, TRT World’s managing editor, denies that the Erdogan government directly influences the station’s content. The station—with an audience of around 40 million households, mostly in the Middle East and Europe—has as much editorial freedom as other state-owned broadcasters, he says.
Related Reading
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- Before Turkish Coup, President’s Drive to Stifle Dissent Sowed Unrest (July 15, 2016)
Press freedom has been under attack in Turkey for years, but the post-coup crackdown is unprecedented, according to Western leaders. Under the state of emergency announced on July 20, Mr. Erdogan has forced the closure of 131 media outlets, including 16 TV stations and 45 newspapers. Prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for 89 Turkish journalists.
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When broadcasts resumed the morning after, the network ran extensive stories about the civilians who helped thwart the coup. They also focused critical coverage on Fethullah Gulen, the U.S.-based cleric whom Mr. Erdogan says directed the plot. Mr. Gulen calls such allegations baseless and part of a political vendetta against him and his supporters.
Turks working at TRT World say the coup was a national trauma akin to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in America. Key editors see Mr. Gulen as a terrorist on par with the leader of Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
“There is no difference between Baghdadi and Gulen to me,” said Fatih Er, the station’s head of newsgathering. “I don’t think Turkey is arresting people because they are journalists; they are arresting them because they think they have something to do with the coup and the Gulen movement.”
Some TRT World employees say they were pressured to rejigger their coverage to better align with the government’s loathing of Mr. Gulen. Staff members in a WhatsApp group shared talking points provided by the president’s office, and others received private calls from supervisors about the on-air tone toward Mr. Gulen, employees said. Some coverage after the coup was held up or re-edited to reflect more of the government perspective, employees added.
One disillusioned TRT World employee said the newsroom leaders are fighting for the newsroom’s independence.
“It’s walking a tightrope at the moment, but hasn’t fully jumped over to the side,” the employee said. “Even under the current pressure, you can’t compare it to Russia Today. It isn’t outright propaganda.”
Mr. Morgan said the newsroom is working to retain its editorial integrity while operating within the inherent limitations of a state-owned broadcaster.
“The state is wounded, is hurting at the moment,” he said. “It is a constant debate, especially with the guys from above…I’m not going to say, yes, it’s free and independent, but what media organization is?”
Write to Dion Nissenbaum at dion.nissenbaum@wsj.com
