Removal of quiz show after corruption question a concern for democracy

Show presenter Ali İhsan Varol, who tests contestants' vocabulary skills, asked one of the contestants on Dec. 17 what a person who takes bribes is called, and accepted “yiyici” as the answer -- a Turkish word that translates to “someone who constantly receives bribes.” The word has also become a euphemism to refer to corrupt officials. This episode is believed to be the reason behind the removal of the program from the channel after a similar incident during the Gezi Park protests when the show was moved to a different channel.

Professor of international relations Baskın Oran told Today's Zaman on Tuesday that the pressure exerted on this quiz show is an example of the government's effort to cover up the dirt caused by recent corruption allegations. Providing other examples such as the restriction of certain newspapers on Turkish Airlines (THY) planes, blocking access to journalist Mehmet Baransu's website and the decision to shut down press offices within the country's police departments, Oran argued that the government is trying to spread fear among people to prevent criticism against it. “I can speak freely because I have nothing to fear from or have no expectations from the government,” he pointed out, adding that he had only witnessed a similar atmosphere of fear during the military coup eras.

Renowned comedian Cem Yılmaz was among those who reacted to the decision to stop the broadcast of the TV show on Twitter, where he has over 5 million followers. “The most decent TV program has stopped being broadcast. I once volunteered to be a contestant on the show. It was my favorite. I condemn the decision," Yılmaz wrote on his Twitter account.

Aslı Tunç, a professor from Bilgi University's media school, finds it “grave” that even this level of criticism is not tolerated in Turkey. “If intolerance has reached this point, this is pretty concerning” she told Today's Zaman, adding that the program was entertaining, and that there was nothing provocative about it. According to Tunç, the removal of such a wholesome TV show should be protested in the absence of quality programs on Turkish TV channels. “The show did not target anyone or include anything political, but merely a word relevant to the country's agenda,” she noted.

The episode following which the alleged ban took place was broadcast last Tuesday evening, the day when a corruption scandal -- which came as a bombshell in the media -- broke.

Similarly, popular comedian and actor Şahan Gökbakar, the creator of the popular movie character Recep İvedik, also reacted negatively to the removal of the program. Stating that he had shot some scenes including the vocabulary show for his upcoming movie “Recep İvedik 4,” Gökbakar said he will share the clip in protest and as a New Year's present.

As part of a corruption investigation that has dominated the country's agenda since last week, 52 people were taken into custody after an investigation jointly carried out in İstanbul and Ankara by the financial crimes and anti-organized crime departments of the İstanbul Police Department on Dec. 17.

The sons of Interior Minister Muammer Güler, Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan and Environment and Urban Planning Minister Erdoğan Bayraktar were among those detained. On Saturday, the first two were arrested while the last was released pending trial.

Other detainees included the mayor of İstanbul's Fatih district, Mustafa Demir, Turkish construction mogul Ali Ağaoğlu, Emlak Konut General Director Murat Kurum, Halkbank General Manager Süleyman Aslan, Iranian businessman of Azerbaijani origin Reza Zarrab and bureaucrats from the ministries of environment and economy. Aslan and Zarrab were also arrested over the weekend.

The quiz show maintains its relevance by addressing major incidents that rock the country, with a particular way of conveying its views. The show, which was initially broadcast on the Bloomberg-HT channel, touched on the Gezi Park protests in its own unique manner and made the protests a theme during one episode while tension was still high in many parts of the country. Host Varol had asked competitors what "must be done to decrease tension?" The correct answer was one of protesters' main demands from the heavy-handed police in İstanbul and other cities: "withdrawal."

Indeed, one episode of the quiz show included questions only on the Gezi Park protests, showing its support for the protests by doing so. One of the questions asked which word was the most suitable name for a TV channel, the answer to which was “public.” The answer to the question referred to Halk TV, the name of a channel established by the country's main opposition party, the Republican People's Party (CHP), which was highly praised by Gezi Park supporters given that it was among the few TV channels which showed the extent of the events during the protests while mainstream media ignored the incidents to a great extent.

The quiz show, which moved to Show TV following the halting of its broadcast on Bloomberg HT, allegedly moved channels due to its low ratings. But figures later showed that the program's ratings were relatively high on the day it was broadcast, which led to questions among the public as to why the show had moved channels.

On Monday, Turkey's flagship carrier THY stopped the distribution of the Zaman, Today's Zaman, Bugün and Ortadoğu dailies to business class passengers on its planes without providing any explanation, though other dailies are still being handed out onboard.

On Friday, the website of Taraf columnist Baransu was blocked in Turkey by the Telecommunications Directorate (TİB) for publishing photos and tapes about the major investigation into alleged bribery linked to public tenders and money laundering, a move that Baransu defined as an “unlawful action.”

Following the corruption investigation, last week the National Police Department banned journalists from entering police department buildings, a move considered a clear violation of the people's right to be informed.

In October, after Justice and Development Party (AKP) Deputy Chairman Hüseyin Çelik complained of what he deemed an excessive amount of cleavage on display during a television show, Gözde Kansu, the presenter of "Veliaht" (Crown Prince) on ATV, was promptly dismissed by the television channel the following day.