The appointment of a trustee to Halk TV has reopened the debate on interventions against media organizations in Turkey over the past year. With this latest development, it is stated that the number of television channels whose management has changed within the scope of various investigations and TMSF decisions has reached 10.
The process began on March 14, 2025, with an investigation into illegal betting and money laundering. 23 companies, including Flash TV, owned by Erkan Kork, were seized; trustees were appointed to companies including Flash TV, BankPozitif, and PayFix.
Subsequently, as part of an illegal betting investigation into Papara, Ekotürk TV, in which the company is a major shareholder, passed to the management of the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) on August 11, 2025. The channel's management was taken over by a trustee decision.
SUCCESSIVE TRUSTEE DECISIONS IN ONE YEAR
On September 11, 2025, the TMSF was appointed as a trustee to 121 companies as part of an investigation into Can Holding. During this process, Habertürk TV, Show TV, Bloomberg HT, HT Spor, Show Türk, and Show Max, which are under the holding, also passed to trustee management. It was later reported that the companies for which trustees were appointed were returned to their owners, but debates regarding the broadcasting line of the mentioned channels continue.
One of the most debated decisions in the media field was made for TELE1 on October 24, 2025. Following the detention of TELE1 Editor-in-Chief Merdan Yanardağ as part of an "espionage" investigation, the TMSF was appointed as a management trustee to the channel's owner, ABC Radyo Televizyon ve Dijital Yayıncılık AŞ. İbrahim Paşalı was brought in to manage the channel.
Journalists who left TELE1 began broadcasting over the internet under the name TELE2 Haber in November 2025. However, this broadcast also shut down because the internet license fee requested by RTÜK could not be met; it was stated that the team continued their broadcasts under the name TELE3.
The appointment of a trustee to Halk TV drew attention not only in terms of the channel itself but also in terms of debates on media ownership and press freedom. Access blocks, licensing processes, judicial investigations, and arrests targeting opposition media organizations are among the hottest topics of the recent period.
It was reported that in the last month, journalists appeared before judges at least 50 times, 17 journalists and media workers were arrested, and access blocks were imposed on news sites and numerous social media accounts. It was also reported that investigations were launched against journalists who reported on allegations that public officials obtained unfair gains from funds in the liquidation process.
While trustee decisions and access blocks against media organizations make the tension in the field of press freedom in Turkey even more visible, the impact of the decisions of the judiciary, RTÜK, and the TMSF on the process continues to be debated.
News Source: 12punto
