Turkey’s Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) has not taken any punitive action against the pro-government ATV television station despite the fact that the station has received the highest number of complaints from viewers over the past six months, according to a report from a RTÜK member, the Evrensel daily reported.
The report, drafted by İlhan Taşçı, a RTÜK member elected from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), shows RTÜK has received nearly 90,000 complaints about ATV over the past six months but that the council has not even prepared a report about the TV station.
Most of the complaints are about a program named “Müge Anlı ile Tatlı Sert” presented by journalist Anlı on ATV. In the program, people who are looking for lost relatives are welcomed, and issues such as unsolved murders and people who cannot be found are discussed.
Taşçı claimed that pro-government TV stations are under the protection of RTÜK head Ebubekir Şahin and that no punitive action is taken against them even though they receive the highest number of complaints from viewers.
ATV was owned by Çalık Holding’s Turkuvaz Media Group, but in 2013 its ownership changed to the Kalyon Group, which is known to win lucrative state tenders.