BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 10
Trend:
The last two decades saw the rise of conservative-leaning websites that reinvigorated Turkey’s media landscape and gave a voice to a large, albeit marginalized, segment of society, introducing a fresh take on topics such as politics, art, philosophy and social media, Trend reports.
As Turkey’s Justice and Development (AK) Party arrived on the scene at the turn of the century, reversing decades-old bans that had previously kept conservative voices off-screens and outside decision-making circles, a new era has been ushered in for adequate representation of Turkey’s conservatives, which make up a large portion of the country’s population of 81 million.
As more households gained access to the internet in the early 2000s, several of Turkey’s established newspapers went digital. Prominent among them was Yeni Şafak, which was founded in 1994, as it managed to carve out a niche for itself in the new-age media landscape by keeping an eye on social media trends and its finger on the pulse of Turkey’s booming conservative youths. It successfully tapped into the country’s wealth of young talent, becoming one of the leading Islamic voices online as it adopted creative new ways of reporting by relying on videos, infographics and animated content to deliver information in a fresh and piercing way, keeping abreast with the latest trends.
Nowhere was that more obvious than on the night of the July 15 failed coup attempt, when Yeni Şafak became the first major news outlet to report on the event, which would change Turkey forever.
In a tweet, Yeni Şafak divulged to its large readership what was unfolding on the ground and helped mobilize people to take to the streets and protect Turkish democracy.
Yeni Şafak is joined by other conservative-leaning media outlets such as Daily Sabah, Mecra, GZT and Gerçek Hayat, which are transforming the online media landscape in Turkey and offering new platforms for self-expression that a fast-developing country like Turkey needs as it moves into the future.