PERSONNEL SHUFFLES ROCK STATE MEDIA GIANT

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 001882

DEPT FOR EUR/SE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/28/2018
TAGS: KPAO PHUM PGOV OSCE EU OIIP TU
SUBJECT: PERSONNEL SHUFFLES ROCK STATE MEDIA GIANT

REF: 08ANKARA719

Classified By: PAS Counselor Thomas Leary, reasons 1.4 (b,d)

1.(U) Summary and Comment: Turkish Radio and Television (TRT)
is undergoing an identity crisis as the media giant appears
to be caught in the latest tug of war between so-called
secularists and Islamists. The debate was sparked by a
recent personnel reshuffle at TRT which is part of a larger
reorganization plan authorized by Parliament earlier this
year. The shuffle has drawn criticism from those who view
the radical wave of internal appointments, as an attempt
by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to replace
the professional staff with party loyalists. TRT management
and AKP government officials maintain the changes are a part
of a long overdue streamlining effort. While partisan
appointments are nothing new to TRT, the high number of
appointments in a short time frame led to complaints that the
AKP is aiming at replacing TRT,s constitutionally-guaranteed
independent programming with programming of a more Islamist
bent. AKP critics can be expected to raise their voice
against any such perceived AKP consolidation of public media
power in the lead up to March 2009 local elections. End
summary and comment.


2. (C) Shortly after being appointed TRT Director General two
years ago, Ibrahim Sahin, a successful businessman known for
his skill in reorganizing bloated companies, immediately
began devising a reorganization plan for the state
broadcaster. His most recent project was the successful
rejuvenation of state postal corporation PTT from a stodgy
bureaucracy in the red to an efficient profit making company.
At TRT, Sahin drafted a plan that included cutting thousands
of personnel and retooling the company,s four terrestrial TV
channels to be more entertaining, more focused and better
able to exploit 21st century technology. In discussions with
Embassy officers, Sahin justified his ideas, pointing out,
for example, that TRT was burdened with thousands of
employees in regional bureaus while commercial news channels
provide the same coverage with one or two employees in each
regional capitol.


3. (C) After Parliament,s June 11th passage of Sahin,s plan
(reftel 08ANKARA719 and 08ANKARA1091) he immediately began
implementation. In late September, nearly 970 senior
administrators accepted early retirement packages and 600
other senior media managers were reassigned to positions as
researchers. However, evidence began to mount that many of
the new hires lacked basic management skills and were
unprepared for senior management positions. One recent
example is the appointment of a Washington Bureau Chief -
arguably one of the most prestigious reporting jobs for any
Turkish media outlet - who speaks very little English and has
never served in a foreign bureau before.


4. (C) Reha Atasagun, TRT,s web news service chief who
formerly served as TRT,s Washington Bureau Chief,told us,
I have never seen anything like this in my 38 years at
TRT., Reha noted the purges, and hiring of ill-qualified
new employees had caused extremely low morale, which she
expected to continue to plummet as subsequent purges,
expected next January come like the waves of Ergenekon
arrests., While Reha plans to retire next year, she is
concerned with the effects this reorganization will have on
TRT after experienced professionals like her move on.
Correspondent and producer for TRT,s news service Murat
Hizal commented that the new wave of appointments seeks to
create a mouthpiece for not just the AKP but also for
Islamists., In fact, President of the Contemporary
Journalists Association Ahmet Abakay posited that many of the
new senior managers only have high school degrees from imam
hatip religious schools, or possess other similar
conservative bona fides. Abakay admitted that every
government has sought to leave its imprint on the state
broadcast network, but Abakay stressed that he viewed the AKP
leaders as opportunists who are taking advantage of the
political capital they have gained through EU reforms in
order to create a new class of journalists comprised of
Islamists and AKP-sympathizers., MHP Vice Chairman Faruk
Bal told us, TRT has become highly politicized, as part
of a wider trend of AKP consolidating power in the
bureaucracy.,


5. (C) AKP MP Nurettin Akman, who defended the personnel
changes, told us, TRT had 9,000 employees and 3,000 of them
were collecting salaries but never coming to work., Akman
said PM Erdogan had long realized that TRT needed a massive
restructuring to get rid of the dead wood., Akman told us
the PM believed Ibrahim Sahin was a competent person with a
solid public administration background who could successfully
tackle the job.
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey

WILSON

Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey

WILSON