Prominent Turkish journalists quit independent news channel Artı 1

ISTANBUL

Journalists Banu Güven, Özlem Gürses, Uğur Dündar, Ece Temelkuran were among the names who stepped down from the independent news outlet Artı 1, claiming that their independence was under risk.

Veteran anchorman Dündar said they understood that they would not be able to perform the broadcasting they wanted when they saw their freedom was under risk and when editorial intervention from above increased, speaking in an interview with Halk TV on July 10.

He said they could not accept interventions in editorial independence, and stressed that he had never experienced such interventions at daily Sözcü, where he writes as a columnist.

Artı 1’s Chief Editor Mustafa Hoş, Haluk Şahin, Turgut Erat, Salvo Kohen, and Barbaros Şansal are some of the other names who quit their positions at the broadcaster.

Dündar also cited the removal of Artı 1 CEO Tuncay Mollaveisoğlu from his post as another reason for their resignation.