"The state of the media and democracy in Turkey faces critical challenges that hinder freedom of expression and pluralism, due to restrictive legal frameworks, economic instability, and cross-ownership in the media sector. Although digitalization has transformed news consumption, the government’s control over online platforms increases concerns about censorship and reinforces practices of self-censorship. Public trust in the media continues to decline, driven by perceptions of political influence and biased reporting. Similarly, democracy is plagued with issues, as global rankings point to decline in Turkish democracy, while concerns about judicial independence persist. While elections with high voter turnout do occur, this may only be interpreted as a pattern of practicing democracy rather than a sign of democratic strength. Urgent and comprehensive reforms are needed to ensure judicial independence, create a pluralistic media environment, increase transparency, and protect press freedom." (Executive summary)

"[...] All the data used in this report is based on desktop research, email correspondence with the TGS [Journalists’ Union of Turkey] president, responses received from the Press Council regarding relevant questions, and data, research, and studies obtained with the support of the bianet.org team. For this research, the questions we posed to the Presidency’s Communication Center (CIMER), particularly regarding media ownership, were left unanswered on the grounds that the information was considered “trade secrets.” Furthermore, clear responses to information requests were often not obtained in this study, too, and in some cases, negative replies were received (bianet, 2024a). This indicates that the protection of the right to information is in a precarious state. While there is more available information about traditional media, the lack of data in the digital news sector and the absence of transparency in the publication of media owners’ revenues pose a challenge in evaluating the online mediascape." (Introduction, pages 6-7)