İbrahim Şahin’s TRT

Turkish Radio and Television Institute (TRT) General Manager İbrahim Şahin has been assigned as the governor of Samsun province. 

Incumbent since 2007, Şahin’s era was brought spurred controversies in the media. Several parliamentary questions and protests were launched against Şahin. 

Some of the highlights from Şahin’s administration is as follows: 

Sided broadcasting during elections 

* According to RTÜK’s Monitoring and Evaluation Report, TRT News Hour allocated AKP 13 hours and 32 minutes to the ruling party AKP whereas 48 minutes to MHP, 45 minutes to CHP and 2 minutes to BDP between 22 February and 2 March - the pre-election days. RTÜK issued a fine on the issue.

* It turned out that TRT Türk allocated 30 minutes to the presidential candidate Erdoğan on July 3 whereas no time to other candidates. On July 4, Erdoğan received 1 hour and 20 minutes of coverage whereas Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu was covered for 1 minute and Selahattin Demirtaş not at all. 

* “One of the candidates is only a party leader, the other one is only a presidential candidate and Erdoğan is both presidential candidate, party leader and prime minister. Can we arrange the coverage periods of all candidates according to this?” said RTÜK Interim Chair Hasan Tahsin Fendoğlu.

* TRT Haber also censored MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli’s speech in Afyonkarahisar’s Çay district on the issue, ending the live coverage as he started criticizing TRT. 

* TRT declined to broadcast corruption talks in the parliament saying that it would interrupt its sports news - a decision that inspired the front page of comic magazine Penguen.

TRT’s sexism 

* In 2013, Ömer Tuğrul İnançer, an Islamic thinker, attended TRT1’s Ramadan Program, saying that “it was against Islamic morals to announce pregnancy and it would inappropriate for women to go out in the street while pregnant”. İnançer’s words were reportedly approved by the presenter. 

Tosun Paşa censored 

* TRT also censored a Turkish bath scene in Tosun Paşa, a classical Turkish movie in the 1970s.  

TRT warned for “illegal broadcasting”

* RTÜK warned TRT Türkü radio for “illegal broadcasting”. However, it didn’t file any criminal complaint.

* RTÜK issued a warning on TRT after an evening news presenter called Turkey’s second biggest opposition party MHP “the babe opposition”. 

* TRT launched investigations on those employees who supported the Gezi Resistance via social media. (EA/BM)

* Click here to read the article in Turkish.