Freedom of expression debates in Turkey: Acute problems and new hopes

Abstract

This article critically evaluates the increasing restrictions on freedom of press in Turkey by giving examples and discussing cases in the last decade. The ownership structure of the media, legal constraints on journalists, self-censorship, media owners' close links with the political establishment and erosion of editorial independence are the chronic diseases of the media sector. The panacea might be social media as an unfettered source of news with the vacuum in mainstream media coverage of civil antigovernment movements such as Gezi Park protests.