A very high percentage of journalists in Turkey accept that there is censorship and self-censorship in Turkish media, a recent report prepared by Istanbul Bilgi University Professor Esra Arsan has revealed.

According to Hurriyet Daily News, after surveying 67 journalists from various media outlets, such as Milliyet, Hürriyet, Zaman, Taraf, Sabah, Habertürk and Sözcü, 85.1 percent of the journalists surveyed said censorship and self-censorship are definitely common in the Turkish media while 14.9 percent said it was fairly common.

When it comes to the actors intervening in the news-making process, 95 percent of the journalists surveyed said the government intervenes and 89 percent said the media owners do.

The survey posed questions to the journalists such as whether they ever soften the tone of their stories or what subjects they think are censored the most.

According to the report, while more than 50 percent said they softened their tone because they are afraid of government and media boss pressure, 64.5 percent said they were afraid that they might be taken to court for the content of their articles.

When asking what topics journalists think are most censored, 92 percent said relationship between the media owners is not revealed in the media. Meanwhile, 67 percent said stories that cause other journalists to go to jail are censored. None of the surveyed journalists disagreed with stories about the gathering of religious groups in state affairs being censored.

The report also contained civil disobedience acts, such as protests against hydropower plants or Internet bans or disobedience acts of Kurdish groups in Turkey and underlines that to sustain a healthy society these acts should be recognized by the media.

The report also talked about the lack of unionization among journalists, citing that only 21 percent of the people who took the survey were members of the Journalists Union. Also, 89 percent said the legal regulations protecting media freedom were not enough.