TRT names former ATV exec as GM

Turkish state broadcaster TRT has appointed a former ATV executive to fill the vacant post of general manager.

İbrahim Eren

İbrahim Eren replaces Şenol Göka, who is reported to have resigned from the broadcaster this month after three years due to government pressure over two of his staff appointments. He was replaced in the interim by TRT’s deputy general manager Erkan Durdu.

Eren, who had been deputy director general at TRT since 2013, had previously been overseeing almost a dozen networks for the pubcaster, including TRT1 and TRT World.

Local media reported Eren is the schoolmate of Bilal Erdogan, son of Turkey’s president Tayyip Erdoğan.

TRT has been revamping its services over recent months, including ramping up factual channel TRT Belgesel (TRT Documentary)’s presence on the global factual market ahead of a relaunch.

It also recently unveiled the first batch of projects to emerge from the formats initiative it launched 18 months ago for flagship channel TRT1. The 10 successful formats were picked from 45 pitches following a call for projects from Turkey’s independent production sector.

In August, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) urged the Turkish government to “respect the freedom of the media” following a move to close TV stations and media outlets in the country.

A decree published in Turkey’s official gazette in July last year demanded the closure of more than 100 broadcasters, newspapers, magazines, publishing houses and distribution companies. This included three news agencies, 16 TV channels, 23 radio channels, 45 papers and 15 magazines.