The concentration of media assets in a few hands is certainly an issue. Dogan also appears poised to take over the rival Sabah newspaper, owned by the financially troubled Bilgin family. Turkish law does restrict monopoly ownership and cross holdings, but legislation is often not vigorously enforced. Veteran columnist Mehmet Barlas thinks he knows why. They have lost all credibility.
Independent research bears out the charge.
Meanwhile independent Internet news sites are multiplying, both in number and in terms of traffic, a phenomenon driven on also by the explosive growth of the Internet as a whole in Turkey. Haberturk 's Guldemir says that translates into impressive viewing figures, claiming up to 4 million daily hits, or 140,000 unique visitors to the site. In comparison, the circulation of the top-selling newspaper, Hurriyet , averages around 650,000. Internet numbers are unverifiable, as website traffic is not yet independently audited in Turkey. Nevertheless Guldemir is optimistic.