@incollection{KurbanSozeri, author = {Kurban, Dilek and Sozeri, Ceren}, title = {The state of the journalistic profession in Turkey}, series = {Media Policies Revisited: The Challenge of Media Freedom and Independence}, booktitle = {Media Policies Revisited: The Challenge of Media Freedom and Independence}, publisher = {Palgrave Macmillan}, address = {London}, isbn = {9781137337832}, pages = {191 -- 205}, abstract = {From the outset, the media in Turkey have developed as a political institution rather than a market and media owners perceived themselves primarily as political actors. This has caused the media to be divided between proponents and opponents of the political establishment. Initially, media polarisation was characterised by ideological divisions. With the changes brought in the ownership structure after the 1980s, however, where news outlets were transferred from family firms to large corporations, the proximity (or distance) of media owners to government became no longer indicative of political (dis)agreement; rather it was primarily driven by economic interests. Accordingly, the journalistic profession was transformed from a self-driven political class to an instrument of power for the state and the private capital.This chapter aims to provide an analysis of the multi-faceted and inter-connected sources of pressure - the military, the government, courts, media owners and journalists themselves - on the journalistic profession in Turkey. These sources reinforce each other in sustaining various types of pressures on the media of a political, legal and financial nature. The constraints produced by these power mechanisms gain particular weight and become all the more effective in view of the absence of a collective professional identity and the lack of solidarity among journalists. The deeply entrenched socio-economic inequalities that characterise the journalistic profession, professional hierarchies and ideological polarisation deepen journalists' vulnerability vis-{\`a}-vis political and economic power, as represented by the state and media ownership.}, language = {en} }