The role that the media played in the failure of the July 15 coup attempt.

• Author: Karagoz, Serdar
• Position: Column

July 15 made history as the night of new beginnings in Turkey. Without any doubt, the most significant one amongst those beginnings was that for the first time ever in Turkish history the people displayed a comprehensive resistance against the coup attempt. Equally as impressive, however, was the reconstruction of media-military relations in one single night, the roots of which can be traced back over the last decade to the empowerment of civil politics against the tutelage of bureaucratic and military power in Turkish politics. Historically, the Turkish media has played an important role in coup attempts, always being used to further the aims of the coup plotters. In this regard, from the moment that the coup was publically declared, 'press freedom' faced a unique test: either the press would stand against the government and legitimize the coup, as had usually been the case in Turkish political history or it would take a risk and stand by democracy. On the night of July 15, almost every media outlet broadcasted messages against the coup attempt. The media's support for democracy and for the people of Turkey, and its resistance to the coup, became an important reason as to why the coup failed.

To understand why the media was so crucial that night, it is necessary to remember how it was guided by the army and the deep state to mobilize and manipulate the base during previous coups in Turkish political history. Still, even though the media is one of the main factors that needs to be discussed in order to offer a complete analysis of that night, it is important to ask ourselves whether it was a main actor or simply a tool used by the 'actors'? This article discusses the role and importance of the media in the making of a failed military coup.

The Military and Mass Media in Turkey: A Brief History

Among countless coup attempts that took place in Turkey, four were successful. In 1960, 1971, 1980 and 1997, the Turkish Armed Forces arbitrarily interfered in civilian politics to remove elected governments from power through the use or threat of violence. Each time, military commanders considered the media a crucial ally capable of discrediting elected leaders in order to pave the way for military intervention and, upon their removal from power, legitimizing the actions of coup plotters.

The first successful coup d'etat in modern Turkish history took place on May 27, 1960, when a group of soldiers led by 37 low-ranking military officers arrested their superiors, stormed government buildings and seized control of the public radio to announce that they were in charge. Over the following months, a show trial took place to discredit the Democratic Party (DP) leadership, including Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, who, along with two cabinet ministers, was executed in September 1961. President Celal Bayar, a hero of the War of Independence who was likewise removed from his position, was offered clemency, although the coup effectively ended his political career.

The 1960 coup marked the beginning of a long-term cooperation between the military and mass media to discredit the guardianship regime's political rivals and legitimize the actions of coup plotters. Having informed the public via state radio that the government had been overthrown, the junta was praised by national newspapers, which hailed the military officers as saviors of the Republic.

Over the following decades, the relationship between the press and military leaders became much closer as the Armed Forces discovered how media campaigns could be used to further their interests. Many reporters, columnists and editors, in turn, turned their backs on journalistic standards and backtracked from their commitment to democratic values in order to collaborate with coup plotters and self-proclaimed guardians of the Republic. In 1971 and 1980, the mainstream media's support for military intervention in civilian politics made it possible for the generals to create an echo chamber that eventually marginalized all critical voices. Meanwhile, the state broadcaster TRT's monopoly over the media scape at the time made it easier for the guardianship regime to guide the public in the direction of their choice. Consequently, journalists emerged as the military's closest allies during the Cold War.

The mainstream media's cooperation with the Armed Forces, however, continued after the collapse of the Soviet Union. As a matter of fact, journalists played a more active role in 1997, when the generals issued an ultimatum to the coalition government led by the Welfare Party's Necmettin Erbakan at a meeting of the National Security Council. What distinguished the February 27 process, dubbed the 'postmodern coup,' from other interventions by the military into civilian politics, was the military's decision to rely on the media and non-governmental organizations to throw knockout punches instead of resorting to hard power. At the time, newspapers such as Hurriyet, whose editorial board had backed the 1960 coup, pioneered a media campaign designed to turn public opinion against the elected government through fabricated stories and the use of provocative images.

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