Independent media outlets have been one of the most contested topics in Turkey in recent years. Although they still can’t be compared to their mainstream counterparts in terms of the numbers of reach and the scope of news coverage due to their access to limited revenue sources and the political and economic constraints they are constantly facing, they constitute a significant place in the current journalistic production in Turkey. The used income models, political orientations and the legitimacy of the independent broadcasters have been questioned as a part of the government’s consolidated control over the news media for some time now. Most recently, independent media organizations have been subject to heavy criticism and lynching campaigns regarding their methods of financing, even fostering political controversy as authorities signalled that new regulation should be on the way.
Since we aim to contribute to the field of media studies and the development of independent media in Turkey, we wanted to see this study as an effort to bring about a meaningful contribution to the discussions regarding these platforms. We believe that all these criticisms aside, what distinguishes these independent media organizations from the common practices of media lies in their ability to be more inclusive and also open towards differences. For this reason, we wanted to build our research not on their organizational structures but rather on their strive towards a more representative, pluralistic and democratic media.
In this regard we chose 8 Turkish news organizations and 2 Turkish journalists that claim to be independent YouTube broadcasters, and examined their last 30 news programs where at least one guest speaker was present, in terms of the program format, moderators, profile of the guests, their professions and the political parties represented. Here are our main findings: