He also expressed regret for failing to publish a conscientious newspaper during his days as a media boss, saying if he had a chance to start a newspaper now, his publication would be different than in the past.
Speaking to the Taraf daily in an interview published yesterday, Bilgin said that he had certain regrets about his work as a media boss. “All my regrets actually are about journalism. There were times I was remorseless when I was rising rapidly. We squashed so many people without even noticing. I would not have done those things. For reasons such as living a better life, possessing enormous wealth, not falling behind others, I entered banking -- an area that I did not know at all. In reality, you should have good things to pursue in life. I had lost that. I had lost sight of the struggle for democracy and a conscience.”
Bilgin said he would like to play a role contributing to the major transformation that Turkey has been undergoing. “I really would like to publish a democratic and conscientious newspaper.”
He said unlike in the past, the government now has no hold on the media’s sources of income. “In the past there were the Public Economic Enterprises [KİTs]. They were important advertisers. Now the private sector is much larger. This is why, if media bosses are not doing any other activity outside the media, there is no reason for them to be in a direct business relationship with the government. Today, the press has the opportunity to be independent.”
Bilgin also said he would never have imagined that a day would come in Turkey when newspapers would be criticizing the military. “I never thought that would happen. Sometimes I read Taraf’s headlines in terror, hoping that nothing bad will happen to this newspaper. This country is moving forward with the contributions of courageous people.”
He criticized some media outlets that recently disputed the authenticity of coup plans devised by a clandestine gang called Ergenekon. He said he would not allow his newspaper to publish news stories denying the ongoing investigation into Ergenekon. “I would have most certainly opposed the April 27 coup de communiqué, if I had been at the helm of Sabah then.” He also criticized his journalist friends who supported an attempt from a senior prosecutor to shut down the Justice and Development Party (AK Party). “They were so convinced that the AK Party would be shut down and that they would be rid of this bane, they supported the party’s closure. That was a great shame. The press I miss did not have the luxury to cause shame. For that to happen, such a media organization should never have any financial or business relations with the state.”
