Turkish media under attack during failed coup attempt

ANKARA: Forced at gunpoint to read a statement by coup plotters and raided by rebel military forces, Turkey’s media organisations were bruised by the drama of a coup but also played a role in ensuring it did not succeed.

A presenter with state-run TRT television had to read a statement late Friday from a group called “the Council for Peace in the Homeland”, which claimed to have superseded the regular Turkish armed forces and to have taken control in the country.

Another private channel was raided by rebel soldiers and forced to temporarily cut its broadcasts.

But television channels also played a role in facing down the coup, broadcasting messages from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urging his supporters to go out on to the streets and providing sometimes impressive coverage of the events as they unfolded.

“I read the statement (of coup plotters) under gun threat,” TRT’s female anchor Tijen Karas said.