The campaign is not being reflected in the media

I have previously written about how the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) local branches are not mobilized for the electoral campaign of their joint presidential candidate, Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu.

Gürsel Tekin, the general secretary of the CHP, called me to say they are conducting extensive work for the campaign and are running an active campaign all across Turkey. “You cannot see this because the media does not cover any of these activities,” he said.

Later on, I received an email from a member of Antalya’s election commission for the presidency, a CHP supporter, Feridun Baloğlu. “It’s not surprising that you have not seen it in the news. The CHP team is on the streets everywhere, but we are being shown neither on TV nor in the newspapers,” he said.
Baloğlu also attached a file of all the activities they have taken part in, in Antalya, Burdur and Isparta.

Yes, by the looks of it, it seems like there is a serious campaign ongoing.

Due to my job, I have to look through all of the newspapers every day, while all the news channels are always turned on in my room. I have to say that the CHP officials are right. The media really does not and cannot reflect any of these meetings.

The Justice and Development Party (AKP) administration has formed a very strong media network loyal to it. It controls an important part of the media via the business people who are driven to buy TV stations and newspapers. When the rest of the media tries to give candidates equal time and space based on concerns about remaining neutral, the result is a tremendous imbalance.

The private channels that support the current government, as well as all of...