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The 2025 favorites of the presidential plane: Taha Dağlı, Nermin Yurteri, Murat Alan, and Sena Alkan

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I have kept track of the pro-government journalists invited to President Tayyip Erdoğan’s foreign trips again this year. I have identified those who have fallen out of favor and the new favorites.

The journalists most frequently invited to the presidential plane for foreign trips in 2025 were Taha Dağlı (Haber Global), Nermin Yurteri (NTV), Murat Alan (Yeni Akit), and Sena Alkan (Habertürk).

There were major changes in the list of invited journalists for the presidential plane in 2025. Some who had fallen out of favor in previous years regained their standing; the number of names falling out of favor increased; and some names who had never been invited before began to be seen on the plane.

The primary reason for the major changes in invited journalists is the change in the head of the institution that organizes the invitation list. With the appointment of Burhanettin Duran to the Directorate of Communications, replacing Fahrettin Altun who held the position for seven years, the invitation lists for the presidential plane were updated, just as the management staff of the Directorate of Communications was.

Of course, not a single name from the opposition media was invited to these trips.

A GREEN TEA CHAT ON THE RETURN FROM CHINA

Practices on the presidential plane that are contrary to journalistic ethics also continued exactly as before. The extent to which the press conferences held by President Erdoğan with the journalists participating in the trips are staged was documented last year.

Let me remind you, the full ordered list of questions that journalists would ask Erdoğan on the return from the US trip on September 26, 2025, reached me before the plane even took off. I could not find a notary at that hour of the night; so I sent the questions to two journalist friends I trust to bear witness. Indeed, the questions at the press conference published the next day with the approval of the Directorate of Communications were word-for-word the same as the questions that reached me before the plane took off!

The Directorate of Communications, which responds to every news report and every criticism with a "disinformation" statement, was silent this time. The only defense came from Ahmet Hakan, one of the journalists on that trip. He argued that the Directorate of Communications did not interfere with the questions, but he also admitted that they provided the questions in advance.

The method is as follows; the Directorate of Communications takes two questions from each journalist before the plane takes off; it lists and orders the ones it deems appropriate and sends them to the journalists on the plane. They then read their questions in the specified order during the press conference. The President also answers that question by looking at the cards in front of him!

However, as far as I have learned, on the return from the China trip, Erdoğan mixed up the cards for the questions regarding Turkey’s geopolitical identity and Gaza. No warning came from the journalists. The Directorate of Communications also corrected this mix-up in the text while transcribing and distributing the Q&A.

In any case, the text published in the pro-government media and Anadolu Agency is always the same as the texts published on the websites of the Directorate of Communications and the AKP Headquarters. Furthermore, not a single observation or conversation with Erdoğan other than the approved text is written about on these trips. Even the text published by the pro-government media and Anadolu Agency is the same as the text published by the Directorate of Communications and the AKP Headquarters.

There was even a "green tea" chat between Erdoğan and the journalists on the return from the China trip. Erdoğan asked who had ordered green tea and then praised local tea, but even this cheerful chat was not mentioned in the news.

Additionally, journalists have short bilateral meetings with Erdoğan on these journeys whenever they find the opportunity, but those are not published either. Because in these conversations, journalists usually express their personal problems and opinions!

2025'S FAVORITES TAHA DAĞLI AND NERMIN YURTERI

President Erdoğan went on 18 foreign trips in 2025. As in previous years, SETA was a fixture of the trips in 2025; SETA Coordinator Nebi Miş participated in all of the trips. TRT General Manager Zahid Sobacı and Anadolu Agency General Manager Serdar Karagöz were also present on 13 trips each.

Leaving SETA, TRT, and AA aside, the favorite journalist of 2025 was Haber Global Editor-in-Chief Taha Dağlı, who was invited to 10 trips. Dağlı, who was in first place, was followed by Nermin Yurteri (NTV), Murat Alan (Yeni Akit), and Sena Alkan (Habertürk), who were invited to seven trips each.

Yurteri was also in second place a year ago, but Murat Alan and Sena Alkan rose rapidly from the lower ranks in 2025.

In the "reputation barometer" of the Directorate of Communications, the Presidency, and therefore the AKP, they were followed by Hande Fırat (Hürriyet), Serkan Kalemciler (Ensonhaber), Nazlı Çelik (Star TV), Abdülhalik Çimen (A Haber), Melissa Bağcı (Beyaz TV), Deniz Gürel (TV100), and Mehmet Acet (Kanal 7) with six trips each. Murat Yancı (CNN Türk), Hasan Öztürk (Ülke TV), Halime Kökce (Star Newspaper / AKP Istanbul Deputy Provincial Chair), Okan Müderrisoğlu (Sabah), Melih Altınok (Sabah), Ömer Özkök (24 TV), Ahmet Hakan (Hürriyet), and Hüseyin Likoğlu (Yeni Şafak) were invited to four trips.

It was noteworthy that Serkan Kalemciler, Okan Müderrisoğlu, Ahmet Hakan, Hasan Öztürk, Ömer Özkök, Ercan Seki, Hacı Yakışıklı, Zafer Şahin, and Kurtuluş Tayiz were invited to more trips compared to the previous year. For example, Hacı Yakışıklı began to be invited less after leaving Yeni Akit and moving to TV100, participating in only one trip in 2024; last year, however, he was invited to three trips. Milliyet columnist and CNN Türk commentator Zafer Şahin, who was not invited at all in 2023 and was invited to only one trip in 2024, rose in the "reputation barometer" by being invited to three trips in 2025.

Another innovation that stood out after Burhanettin Duran took office was that names such as Mahmut Övür, Fatih Atik, Esra Elönü, and Abdülkadir Selvi began to be invited again.

Ferhat Murat, Muhammed Enes Polat, Fatma Demircioğlu Parlar, Seda Akbay, Seval Yılmaztekin, Hasan Uylaş, and Ebrar Rümeysa Ak boarded the presidential plane for the first time last year. Ferhat Murat was invited twice, and the others were invited once each.

THOSE WHO FELL OUT OF FAVOR IN THE REPUTATION BAROMETER

At the top of the list of those who have fallen out of favor are names such as Zahid Akman, Hale Kaplan, Seda Öğretir, Ünal Kaya, and Ayşe Olgun. Invitations to Sinan Burhan, President of the Turkey Press Federation, who was invited to five trips in 2022, became less frequent over time, and he was able to participate in only two trips in 2025. Turkey newspaper General Publication Coordinator Yücel Koç is also among those who have regressed. He had been invited to six trips the previous year; in 2025, the number of invitations dropped to three.

Ibrahim Karagül, Turgay Güler, İsmail Kapan, Hakan Çelik, and Mustafa Kartoğlu, who were frequently invited in the early years, are still invited to some trips, although less than in the past. Ali Adakoğlu, Murat Kelkitlioğlu, Ekrem Kızıltaş, Ergun Diler, and Nihal Bengisu Karaca, who were among the pro-government journalists most invited in the past, no longer appear in the photos taken with Erdoğan at the press conferences on the plane.

Mehmet Akif Ersoy, who was removed from his position as Habertürk TV editor-in-chief after being arrested, was also only invited to the China trip in September last year.

In previous years, pro-government journalists who shifted to active politics began to be invited less; this practice has changed. Halime Kökce, a Star columnist who is also the AKP Istanbul Deputy Provincial Chair, was invited to five trips in 2025. Yet, the number of invitations was only two the previous year. Fadime Özkan, the Star Ankara Representative who was once a member of the AKP Headquarters Women's Branch MKYK, was invited to two trips in 2024.

TURKUVAZ AND DEMİRÖREN MEDIA AT THE TOP OF THE LIST

Invitations for representatives of printed newspapers decreased even further this year; those invited from television stations made up the majority on the plane. While the number of invitations sent to printed newspapers for the 18 foreign trips in 2025 was 84, the number of invitations sent to television organizations reached 160.

Invitations made to names from internet sites remained at only eight. But this is still a higher number than a year ago. Digital publisher Adem Metan, who was invited to two trips a year ago, was only taken on one trip in 2025.

In total, the most favored media groups are again Turkuvaz Media and the Demirören Group. Invitations were sent to journalists in these two media groups 37 times last year. The Türk Medya and Albayrak groups follow further behind.

24 TV IS THE FAVORITE ON TV

Among television channels, the one that received the most invitations was again 24 TV from the Türk Medya Group. It was followed by A Haber (18 invitations), NTV (17 invitations), Haber Global (15 invitations), CNN Türk (14 invitations), and Habertürk TV (14 invitations), respectively. There was not much change in this ranking compared to a year ago.

The most notable change in the list regarding TVs is that TGRT has entered the "favorites" again. TGRT, which was not invited to any of Erdoğan’s trips in 2024, was invited seven times in 2025. Bengütürk, which is the MHP’s TV channel, was invited to only two trips last year. Journalists from Yeni Akit, Kanal D, and ATV were not invited at all in 2025.

Among news sites, the most invited was the Ensonhaber site. Names from Ensonhaber, which is a favorite of the Directorate of Communications, were invited to six trips. Haber 7, which follows it, was invited to four trips.

SABAH IS THE FAVORITE IN NEWSPAPERS

The favorite of the Directorate of Communications among newspapers was again Sabah. Sabah, which was invited 17 times, was followed by Hürriyet and Akşam with 14 invitations. Yeni Şafak, Türkiye, Milliyet, and Yeni Akit also took their places at the top of the list.

Diriliş Postası and Milat appeared to have fallen completely out of favor. Because no one from these newspapers was invited to the trips in 2025. Türkgün, which was not taken on any trips in 2024, was invited to only one trip last year.

JOURNALISTS' EFFORTS TO CURRY FAVOR

The only activity of the journalists invited to the presidential plane is to attend Erdoğan’s press conference during the return journey. However, not everyone who participates in the trip can ask questions at those meetings; there is no time for some, and they settle for appearing in the group photo that is taken after the meeting and sent to them later by the Directorate of Communications.

Not only is not a single question of a critical nature that would disturb Erdoğan asked, but questions that exceed the boundaries of journalism, contain praise for Erdoğan, and attempt to curry favor are also asked at those press conferences.

In the past, the Directorate of Communications used to send texts to media organizations that included the questions. But when questions containing personal evaluations, which have little to do with journalistic style, attracted the attention of the opposition media and were reported, the Directorate of Communications began to summarize the questions in the texts it sent.

I will still give a few examples of questions aimed at currying favor with Erdoğan. On the return from the Albania trip, a journalist began their question by saying, "Together with Mr. Devlet Bahçeli, you ended a 50-year nightmare. This is actually a step that requires a Nobel Peace Prize, a revolution." Erdoğan, perhaps not very impressed, did not mention the "Nobel Prize" at all while answering.

On the return from the Egypt trip, a journalist, taking Erdoğan’s place, characterized CHP Chairman Özgür Özel holding a rally in Brussels as an "effort to damage Turkey’s international reputation."

Returning from the Gulf trip, a journalist, while mentioning the indictment against the CHP-run Beşiktaş Municipality, did not refrain from expressing their own verdict by saying, "The prosecutor has such theses in the hundreds-page indictment that they are truly allegations that will go down in history as a black mark." Of course, we do not know the names of the journalists who ask these types of questions, and they do not disclose them themselves.

Unfortunately, years pass, but the condition for being invited to the presidential plane on foreign trips is still closeness to the political power. Good, critical, and independent journalism is not wanted on that plane. And the pro-government journalists who see being invited to that plane as a kind of "reward" and "indicator of reputation" do not hesitate at all to fulfill the requirements of the invitation.

Well, if you internalize it, everything is possible…

Faruk BİLDİRİCİ / January 10, 2026

(*) Let me remind you once again; Fatih Selek from the Türkiye newspaper examined 26 photos published between 2014-2017 and compiled a list of journalists invited to President Erdoğan’s foreign trips. With the help of my friend Saim Tokaçoğlu, I scanned the trip photos from 2022 and compared them with Selek’s analysis. Since that date, I have been updating the list every year and continuing to compare it with the past ones.

THOSE WHO BOARDED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 2025...

Journalists Ferhat Murat, Muhammed Enes Polat, Fatma Demircioğlu Parlar, Seda Akbay, Seval Yılmaztekin, Hasan Uylaş, and Ebrar Rümeysa Ak boarded the presidential plane for the first time last year. Ferhat Murat was invited twice in 2025, and the others were invited once each.