Coup d'état against the Turkish press

Those familiar with the history of the Turkish press, especially foreign observers, may not be convinced if they were told that the media in Turkey was freer in the recent past compared to today.

They may argue that the mainstream media in Turkey did not do its job in accordance with international norms and standards. They may say that the mainstream media preferred not to challenge the essential lines of the "state establishment" on issues like the Kurdish problem or the Armenian question, etc. They may accuse some media outlets of having controversial relations with successive governments - supporting a government for the continuation of certain economic advantages for the business dealings of their media group, or using editorial lines and reporting as leverage against the government to secure new economic gains.

That might well be the case, and it is certainly not something one should be proud of it.

But the difference with the present is that this past situation was of the media bosses' own choosing. They were not forced or pressed to adopt this or that line. 

Yes, there were times when the media came under pressure from the army, for example. The Islamist and the Kurdish media suffered from this. I do not recall, however, any Islamist journalists spending time in jail in the 1990s when the army was powerful and waging a campaign against religious parties.

The mainstream media was also under the close monitoring of the army, especially at the peak of the fight against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The fundamental rights of the Kurds (as simple as being accepted as ethnic Kurds and not Turks) were disregarded and human rights violations during the fight against terrorists were not reported properly.