Top Turkish media group Dogan set for sale to President Erdogan ally – reports

Turkey’s largest media holding said Thursday it was in talks to sell to a tycoon close to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Dogan Holding said that talks had begun on the sale of Dogan Media Group to the Demiroren Group of magnate Erdogan Demiroren for around $1 billion. Dogan comprises some of Turkey’s most prestigious media names including the Hurriyet daily newspaper, the CNN-Turk rolling news service, and the Kanal-D channel. CNN-Turk and Hurriyet, while in no way anti-government, had been regarded as holding a relatively independent editorial line in recent years. Demiroren Holding is seen as more friendly to Erdogan. The takeover plan would see the government tightening its grip over the media ahead of presidential elections next year.