Messages in the Media - University of Toronto

class readers. 6 The newspaper launched in 1948 is currently
owned by the large industrial group, Doğan. The company
also owns several other daily publications in the country.
7
Sabah
www.sabah.com.tr
Sabah is one of Turley’s most popular daily tabloids with
close to 400,000 copies circulated daily. 8 It is a moderate,
centre-right newspaper that was recently acquired by Çalık
Holding, 9 whose CEO, Berat Albayrak, is the son-in-law of
Prime Minister Erdoğan. The company publishes over 50
other publications such as regional and national daily
newspapers, weekly papers and magazines. 10
FINDINGS:
The articles found in the aforementioned news sources
throughout 2011, revealed the following trends:
Loss of Interest in Accession
- There is the notion among the Turkish people, which is
represented by the domestic media, that the EU is sort of
a “Christian Club” 11 in which the major players France
and Germany will not tolerate the accession of a largely
Muslim country that would also significantly alter the
balance of power. 12
- There is a consensus that the government in power has
fulfilled its requirements to bring Turkish standards up to
the level necessary for acceptance into the EU. The EU’s
complex system of bureaucracy is mostly blamed for the
lengthy process. 13
- The media consistently reflects the Turkish public’s declining
enthusiasm for accession to the EU. In a survey
conducted by the German Marshall Fund, only 38% of
Turks say that EU membership would be a good thing,
compared to 73% in 2004. 14
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