Özgür Özel's pushing the button for a news channel directly under his control has created both movement and discomfort in the media known to be ‘close to the CHP’.
When Yılmaz Özdil, who was proud of Sedat Peker's existence, took the helm of SZCTV, the channel's new editorial line began to follow a course that did not satisfy both the CHP headquarters and the Saraçhane and İmamoğlu team, leading Özel to search for new options.
Another reason for this is the concern that Halk TV and Cafer Mahiroğlu may evolve to a different line in the face of the pressure in the coming period. Of course, this is not the only reason.
In the fall of 2027 or 2028, it is still unclear who will be the CHP's candidate for the general and presidential elections.
Since the 38th Ordinary Congress, I have been defending ‘Özgür Özel will be CHP's presidential candidate in the first election’ I stood by my claim then and I stand by it today.
However, Özgür Özel cannot predict what position a media not entirely under his control will take during his presidential candidacy.
After all, he is not wrong. In the 2023 elections, he was one of the first witnesses of the games played behind Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu's back by some so-called ‘CHP media’ channels.
‘We all watched together how the debate, which was hidden behind the ’candidate who will win' cover, turned into a campaign to wear down Kılıçdaroğlu for days and nights.
With these materials, Özel was able to organize KOZA TV‘s restructuring into a national news channel was reflected in the media.
Özgür Çakmakçı, the former editor-in-chief of SZCTV, is rumored to be at the helm of the channel and the staff will largely consist of the former SZCTV team.
Özgür Özel explained the rationale for the new channel in a meeting with MPs “We have one and a half TVs” When his remarks were reported in the press, Güney Öztürk, General Manager of Sözcü TV, made a statement saying that they were not the ‘half of the CHP’:
“We do not receive money, sponsorship or any kind of financial support from any political party, including CHP. Establishing financial relations and interest-based contacts with political parties, politicians or any power centers is an attitude that we are principally against.”
Undoubtedly, the establishment of KOZA TV and Özgür Özel's ‘one and a half channels’ His exit caused the greatest discomfort on the Halk TV and Cafer Mahiroğlu front.
Cafer Mahiroğlu, the boss of Halk TV, who fled the country with the IBB operation and is allegedly in a financial crisis, is aware that the KOZA TV project is an alternative media formation.
That's why he was so angry and told the channel managers “From now on, I don't want to see a CHP member other than Özgür Özel on Halk TV” He said.
Of course, since the chairman cannot be censored, other CHP supporters will be the most affected by Halk TV's censorship.
We will see in the coming days whether this censorship includes CHP Group Deputy Chairman Ali Mahir Başarır, the husband of Halk TV lawyer Sebla Öztürk Başarır. Perhaps an exception will be made on the grounds of spousal status.
But will Cafer Mahiroğlu's distance from CHP headquarters result in a positioning closer to Saraçhane? ‘center media’ We will see in time whether it will become a more restrained opposition channel with its discourse.
KOZA TV will then have an alternative to ‘Glorious Memories'. ‘format’ will largely determine the shape and course of this relationship!
KOZA TV's expansion into national broadcasting is of course a great opportunity for media workers. Especially for many journalists who were left unemployed after the appointment of trustees to TELE1, it could be a new medium.
However, when I asked a senior journalist who knows the process very well about this situation, he said, ‘TELE2 team is also uncomfortable with this situation.
The reason is that after Özgür Özel's appointment of a trustee to TELE1 “They have appointed a trustee to TELE1, the friends at TELE1 have moved to a studio and are broadcasting from there. Are you ready to watch TELE2?’ in the form of a statement.
Following Özel's announcement to the TELE1 team that they would establish a new channel, the TELE2 team also reacted to the fact that there was no initiative from the CHP in this direction and that they came up with the KOZA TV project.
I heard that these words uttered in the first days of the operation against TELE1 have been forgotten and the TELE2 team is trying to continue broadcasting on YouTube with their own means in the studio allocated to them by YÖN Radio.
On the one hand there is SZCTV, which sees itself as ‘half-and-half’, on the other hand there is the TELE2 team, whose expectations were raised with promises, but which turned out to be the opposite, on the other hand there is HALK TV and Cafer Mahiroğlu, who see the new channel initiative as a ‘distrust of itself’...
How the CHP leadership manages the power struggle in its own media in the coming days is also important for the fate of the elections. Let's see if the experience of the party's deputy chairman in charge of media will be enough to solve the media crisis or will we witness a new war between the CHP and its media just before the elections? We will live to see.
Would history ever repeat itself if lessons were learned from it?