Not so free

摘要

First comes the phone call, usually from a prime ministerial adviser. Displeasure over the critical writings of a columnist is relayed. He or she is admonished. "Tone it down," bosses plead. The columnist stands firm and is then sacked. Fearful of antagonising Turkey's autocratic prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdo-gan, media bosses (who have diverse business interests) have begun a cull. Many recall the $2.5 billion fine slapped on the Dogan Group, Turkey's biggest media conglomerate, in 2009. Its owner, Aydin Dogan, was forced to shrink his empire and dump some critics of Mr Erdogan before the pressure eased.