Our friends thought we’d run out of puns by now. But where there’s a will, there’s a wordplay.
Turkey recap turns six this week and, as the head editor over the years, I can proudly say we’ve published the work of about 60 journalists for readers across more than 107 countries and 49 US states … looking at you, North Dakota.
Prairie state aside, we remain grateful to everyone who supported or contributed to this newsletter since 2019.
It’s been a real learning experience, and we are now applying those lessons with Stüdyo recap, creating the one-stop shop for politics in Ankara. (more on that below)
I didn’t know it at the start, but everyone struggles to understand what’s happening in Turkey. And this is more true today, as international news outlets focus their limited resources on developments in Gaza, Israel, Syria and Ukraine.
It’s not a glitch in your news feed. There’s definitely less Turkey news in English. We’ve tried to fill that void, but it’s not always easy. Publishers in Turkey face the one-two punch of repression from above and dispossession from AI, like everyone ever.
And the forecast is dark. As media researcher Emre Kızılkaya has noted, Google search results heavily favor pro-government media in Turkey. Should we assume AI assistants are doing the same now? Also, how do we keep our curated media diet balanced?
What does the facts say: A big part of the problem in monitoring Turkey news is the lack of facts. Information is sparse when primary sources don’t talk to the press, so many journalists (myself included) end up playing some form of "Minesweeper” by quoting adjacent sources.
This can result in conspiracy theories, or worse, in discourse about discourse, all of which is based on nothing. Garbage in, garbage out, as they say, and the same is true for AI.
Our goal with Stüdyo recap is to create some foundational facts about Turkish politics for us all to stand on. This is done with balanced reporting from parliament, as our correspondents do, and I hope their work allows everyone to build narratives that better reflect the reality here in Ankara.
Call it too simple. Call it naive. Turkey recap was called both those things when we launched. Since then, we’ve informed many thousands of readers with organized, easy-to-follow news about this country.
Now, we’re doing the same with Turkish politics for Turkish audiences.
Thank you again for reading us. If you don’t already, please consider supporting our work because none of this would exist without you.
Turkey recap is an independent, reader-supported newsletter that helps people make sense of the fast-paced Turkey news cycle. Contact us: info@turkeyrecap.com.
Subscribe here on Substack (or on Patreon for discount options). Paid subscribers get full access to our recaps, reports, members-only chat and news tracking tools.
We are an affiliate of the Global Forum for Media Development and aim to create balanced news that strengthens local media by supporting journalists in Turkey.
Diego Cupolo, Editor-in-chief
Emily Rice Johnson, Deputy editor
Ceren Bayar, Parliament correspondent
Yıldız Yazıcıoğlu, Parliament correspondent
Günsu Durak, Turkish language editor
Demet Şöhret, Social media and content manager