anews
Turkish pro-government (Erdoğan-aligned)
Background
A News launched on April 3, 2017, as Turkey's first private English-language international news channel, operated by Turkuvaz Media Group from Istanbul. Turkuvaz is a large Turkish media conglomerate that also runs the A Haber news channel (Turkish-language, founded 2011), the ATV television network, the Sabah newspaper, and several other outlets. Zirve Holding, a subsidiary of the Kalyon Group — a construction and infrastructure conglomerate — acquired Turkuvaz in 2013 in circumstances later alleged to involve politically connected financing. Serhat Albayrak, brother of then-Energy Minister and later Finance Minister Berat Albayrak (Erdoğan's son-in-law), serves as CEO of Turkuvaz Media. YouTube labeled A News and sister channels as partly government-funded in August 2021. Independent press freedom organizations consistently classify Turkuvaz outlets as pro-government propaganda: Turkey ranked 159th out of 180 countries in the 2025 Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index, and surveys show pro-government Turkuvaz brands, including A Haber, are among the least trusted news sources in the country. A News reaches audiences across Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, and Russia via the Turksat 4A satellite, and positions itself as an alternative English-language voice to Western broadcasters such as the BBC and CNN.
Sources
- A News – Turkuvaz Media Group official page
- Turkuvaz Media Group – Wikipedia
- A Haber – Wikipedia
- Turkuvaz Medya – State Media Monitor (2025)
- Kalyon Group – Media Ownership Monitor Turkey
- Political Affiliations – Media Ownership Monitor Turkey
- Pro-gov't media outlets least trusted in Turkey – Stockholm Center for Freedom
- Turkey 2025 World Press Freedom Index – RSF
- A News launched – Daily Sabah (2017)
- How Erdogan acquired his propaganda machine – Nordic Monitor
Profile compiled 2026-08-08; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.