Sultanic verses

THE past three weeks have seen a reversal of fortunes for Dogan Holding, Turkey’s largest media conglomerate. Last September, when a mob of supporters of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) party stormed the offices of Hurriyet, the group’s biggest newspaper, it was to protest at what they saw as hostile coverage of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. But when a similar crowd returned on July 16th, in the dying hours of an attempted coup against Mr Erdogan’s government, it was with a wholly different purpose: to evict rebel troops that had taken over Dogan’s flagship news channel, CNN Turk.

Along with all of Turkey’s mainstream media, CNN Turk had sided against the coup plotters. Shortly before being yanked off the air by the putschists, the channel broadcast Mr Erdogan’s plea, made using a FaceTime call, for Turks to fight back. At the cost of some 270 lives, they did. Today, the Dogan group, once reviled as a bastion of the political opposition by AK hardliners, is basking in the government’s favour. Its share price has climbed by 40%, while its journalists are lauded as heroes. “I think the media response to the coup was a lesson for Erdogan,” says Nevsin Mengu, one of CNN Turk’s most popular anchors, “because it showed him the need for a free press.”