Hayat Gorsel
Hayat Gorsel is a media conglomerate that owns three television channels, a radio station, and three websites. Formerly known as Yeni Pasifik İnşaat Sanayi ve Ticaret, the company adopted its current name in 2008.
Media assets
Television: Kanal 7, Kanal 7 Avrupa, Ulke TV
Radio: Radyo 7
News portal: Haber7, Izle7, Yasemin
State Media Matrix Typology
Ownership and governance
Ownership of Hayat Gorsel is divided equally among four shareholders: Zekeriya Karaman, İsmail Karahan, Mustafa Çelik, and Zahid Akman. Each holds 25% of the company. All four were implicated in the so-called “Lighthouse” (Deniz Feneri) scandal in the early 2010s, a major embezzlement case that led to their imprisonment. Although the charges were eventually dismissed in 2015, the episode continues to be cited as an example of the political protection enjoyed by media figures close to the government.
The political ties of the owners extend beyond business: for instance, Zekeriya Karaman’s family is directly connected to President Erdoğan’s family through marriage, while Mustafa Çelik’s daughter was elected as a Member of Parliament for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). These familial and political linkages highlight the deep integration of Hayat Gorsel into Turkey’s political elite.
Source of funding and budget
Financial transparency remains limited. Local journalists interviewed for this report in May 2024 noted that the conglomerate benefits from a steady stream of advertising contracts with both state institutions and private companies, but the exact share of state-sponsored advertising in its turnover remains unknown. This opacity reflects the broader lack of accountability in Turkey’s media market, where state advertising is a key instrument of political influence.
Editorial independence
Editorially, the group’s outlets are known for their consistent support of the government and President Erdoğan. Their content regularly echoes government talking points and refrains from publishing dissenting perspectives. This alignment is widely attributed to the close personal and political ties between the owners and the ruling party.
We have not identified any statutes, internal codes, or independent oversight mechanisms that could safeguard editorial independence within Hayat Gorsel’s media operations. In practice, this absence of structural guarantees cements the group’s role as a loyalist media platform rather than an independent news provider.
September 2025