Fox TV

The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) has imposed an administrative fine and two program suspensions on FOX TV for airing the contentious series Kızıl Goncalar (Red Rosebuds).

The decision comes in response to over 31,000 complaints received, RTÜK said on Dec. 28, citing violations of national and spiritual values.

Turkey's radio and television watchdog RTUK on Thursday placed a two-week broadcasting ban on the popular television series "Kizil Goncalar" (Crimson Buds), a board member said, as it was deemed to be against "society's national and spiritual values."

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"The RTUK made it clear in today's meeting that it aims to bring critical broadcasters in line before the election," Tasci wrote on Twitter.

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The BIA Media Monitor 2021 Report said that 35 journalists in Turkey were sentenced to a total of 92 years in prison in 2021.

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"Tele 1 was fined for the same reasons as other media houses. RTUK penalises media houses that report the truth and do journalism. They want us to stop reporting," Murat Taylan, General Coordinator at Tele 1 TV, told BIRN.

Taylan added that RTUK has become a government mechanism to control Turkey's remaining independent media.

İYİ (Good) Party leader Meral Akşener on Dec. 1 reacted to Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli over his remarks on Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş.

"We have got Yavaş's back; there are people of Ankara," she said, addressing her party's parliamentary group meeting.

Main opposition Republican People's Party (MHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has said Turkey must hold general elections in the fall, before the scheduled time in 2023.

"Can a state be governed like this? They must go to the election. The election should be in the fall," he said on March 26, speaking to private broadcaster Fox TV.

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Sozcu, one of Turkey's most read daily newspapers, bought the local TV station over a year ago and made all the preparations necessary for the start of nationwide broadcasting.

But RTUK has stopped the launch of Sozcu TV in its tracks, by not accepting its application for a change of logo, Sozcu said on Thursday.

The number of taxis in Istanbul will be increased for the first time after many years, because they are not enough for the city's large population, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has said in an interview with private broadcaster Fox TV.

The leader of the main opposition party has reiterated that his party is ready for snap elections if the government or its main political ally calls a poll, vowing they are also ready to govern the country in the best possible way and to resolve longstanding problems.