Individual Owners
Out of the top 40 media outlets compiled by MOM according to their audience shares - including the ones owned by the state -, more than two thirds (8 newspapers, 9 television channels, 9 radio stations and 7 websites) are owned by business groups that also operate in sectors such as construction, energy, mining and tourism: Demirören, Doğuş, Ciner, Albayrak, Kalyon, İhlas. The owners of these companies are in close ties with the ruling party AKP and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The Türk Medya group, owned by Zeki Yeşildağ, is active only in the field of media.
The Doğan Group has withdrawn completely from the media sector, with the sale of its media assets to Demirören group with 916 billion US dollars on March 22, 2018. It is kept as a trade secret whether the loans have been paid back or not.
The shareholders of Demirören, Doğuş, Albayrak, İhlas groups are mostly family members.
Among the top 40 media outlets, 8 of 10 most popular newspapers (except for Sözcü and Korkusuz newspapers belonging to Estetik Publishing transferred to BEME Media Group), 9 most popular radio channels, 9 of the 10 most popular TV channels (excluding FOX TV), and 7 out of 10 most-clicked news portals (except for sozcu.com.tr, mynet.com, onedio.com) are generally broadcast in line with the President, government and AKP policies.
23 out of 28 owners are men
4 women are shareholders in the family business and 1 woman sits at the board of directors.
Meltem Oktay, the daughter of Erdoğan Demirören, is one of the shareholders of Demirören Holding and the vice chair of the board of directors. She sits on the Board of Directors in many firms owned by the group.
Deniz Şahenk is a shareholder of Doğuş Holding as well, she was married to Ayhan Şahenk, who died in 2001.
Filiz Şahenk is the daughter of Ayhan Şahenk (founder of Doğuş Holding) and manages the conglomerate's brand clothing and tourism businesses. She is also a shareholder of Doğuş Holding, construction, tourism, real estate, energy and the entertainment sectors among others.
Ayşe Dilvin Öner is a shareholder of İhlas Holding. She was married to İhlas Holding founder Enver Ören, who died in 2013.
Didem Ciner is the vice chairperson of the Board of Directors at Ciner Holding. She is married to Turgay Ciner.