Who will take the helm at Habertürk?

When Habertürk, Show TV, Bloomberg HT, HT Spor, and other media assets under Ciner Holding were transferred to Can Holding last December, all eyes turned to this holding company and its owners. Following this sale, it began to be discussed in media circles that Habertürk would follow a line closer to the government.

On September 11, news broke that the Istanbul Küçükçekmece Chief Public Prosecutor's Office had launched a comprehensive operation. With the operation against Can Holding, the assets of 121 companies were seized, and the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) was appointed as a trustee to these companies.

Holding executives Mehmet Şakir Can and Kemal Can are currently being sought.  One of the individuals for whom a detention warrant was issued was Kenan Tekdağ, who has been at the helm of media organizations such as Habertürk, Show TV, and Bloomberg HT for years...

Tekdağ, who served as the media group president at Ciner Holding, continued in this role during the Can Holding process. A house arrest order has been issued for Tekdağ.

Following the operation, the fate of Habertürk and other media outlets has become a subject of curiosity. 12punto has obtained critical inside information from Ankara and Istanbul regarding the developments within the group.

It is alleged that the group will remain under the TMSF until the next election and that no transfer is planned. "Will a TMSF trustee lead Habertürk into the election period, or will other names take Tekdağ's place?" This question has begun to be voiced loudly within the group and in Ankara...

It has been learned that three candidates have rolled up their sleeves for Tekdağ's seat.

The first of these is Habertürk Editor-in-Chief Mehmet Akif Ersoy... It was noteworthy that Ersoy, known to be close enough to Tekdağ to say "I love him like a father," headed straight to the TMSF following the operation against Can Holding. It is alleged that Ersoy requested to become the "media group president" during this meeting. It was also reported on some media websites that Ersoy, who met with managers close to him that day, requested the preparation of a list of people to be laid off in the new term. It is said that Ersoy prepared a layoff list containing 10 managers and 40 employees and submitted it to the TMSF. Whispers are circulating in the corridors of Istanbul and Ankara that he labeled those on the list as "CHP supporters, leftists, or nationalists."

It is rumored that Ersoy is being supported in this process by AKP Deputy Chairman and Spokesperson Ömer Çelik. However, there are also various allegations regarding Ersoy... It is stated that Ersoy's team consists of former TRT employees, that some of these individuals have links to FETÖ, and that this situation is being recorded as a negative mark against Ersoy. 

In addition to Ersoy, we have obtained information that the second person to begin efforts for the "media group presidency" is Habertürk TV Ankara Representative Nasuhi Güngör.

It is said that Güngör has been in contact with powerful figures within the AKP during this process and has approached some ministers to seek their approval. It is also stated that Güngör came to Istanbul in recent days and, like Mehmet Akif Ersoy, requested a position from TMSF officials. However, the allegations regarding his days at TRT and that period remain as a negative mark against him as well. 

Before moving on to the third candidate, it is useful to recall an assessment written by Cumhuriyet columnist Mustafa Balbay regarding the operation against Can Holding.

Balbay wrote that this operation took place at the request of Minister of Finance Mehmet Şimşek, stating, "At the forefront of the reasons pressuring Şimşek was the push from units in the US dealing with money laundering and smuggling. These organizations warned that the cycle, which has reached international dimensions and is expressed in billions of dollars, would put Turkey in a difficult position and could lead to a 'grey list' process, which has been experienced twice in the past." 

Balbay's assessment in this direction was criticized; many people said that the development, which is seen as a collapse operation by the government, was softened with this interpretation and reflected as if it were a development in the national interest.

In this context, the third candidate is rumored to be Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief Açıl Sezen, and it is said that Minister of Finance Mehmet Şimşek wants Sezen to become the head of the media group. However, let us note that the request has not yet been accepted by the government wing. 

It is predicted that the power struggle at Habertürk, which was transferred from Ciner Holding to Can Holding and recently passed to the TMSF (Savings Deposit Insurance Fund), will intensify in the coming days. The names we have mentioned are engaged in intense efforts within the corridors of the AKP and the Presidential Palace. 

Regardless of who takes the lead at the end of this process, it is considered certain that many employees will be purged from Habertürk. Another certainty is that Habertürk will eventually become like A Haber...

News Source: 12punto