Launched in 1920 during the Turkish War of Independence, Anadolu Agency is Turkey’s official newswire. Based in the capital city of Ankara, Anadolu provides wire news service, photos, graphics and video content.
Media assets
News agency: Anadolu
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
Anadolu Agency is a joint stock company founded by the state of Turkey. The company is owned by the Undersecretariat of Treasury. Since the AKP took power, the agency (along with the public broadcaster TRT) came under increased political pressures. A 2019 presidential decree put Anadolu Agency under the Directorate of Communications, a unit managed by the Presidency. The decree gives the Presidency full powers to audit the agency, appoint its management and manage its operations (including budget and staff appointments).
Source of funding and budget
Anadolu Agency receives most of its budget from state subsidies, according to local journalists and experts interviewed for this report.
Editorial independence
Anadolu Agency has always been perceived and operated as an official pro-government news agency. However, in recent years, its coverage has become increasingly supportive of the government, particularly of the Presidency. The changes in the operation of Anadolu that were adopted by the President in 2019 linked even more the agency to the Presidency, further cementing the president’s control over the agency’s editorial output.
Local journalists say that Fahrettin Altun, the head of the Communications Directorate in the presidential administration, which directly manages now Anadolu, has more power in the agency’s editorial affairs than the agency’s director general (who is appointed anyway by the Presidency: the current director of the agency, Şenol Kazancı, was an adviser to President Erdoğan for three years until December 2014.). Altun has often spoken about his view of a “native and national” culture in Turkey in terms that are very much in line with the vision of AKP for the future of Turkey.
Analysis of news content published by Anadolu shows a strong bias in the agency’s political coverage, openly praising the country’s government while slamming the foreign entities and governments critical of the Turkish government.
There is no such statute to establish the outlet’s independence. The agency has a set of editorial guidelines regarding broadcasting of extreme events such as terrorist attacks or natural disasters, but that has nothing to do with the agency’s overall editorial independence.
There is no independent assessment/oversight mechanism that would validate the outlet’s independence.
October 2023