Ql - ITO

12 İSTANBUL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Similar to the BBC model that was used in the country as an example by
the supporters and executives of this attempt, the first years of TV broadcasting
in Turkey are defined by public broadcasting. The primal objective is to offer to
the public the news with sound and image, educational and inforınative content
via this new technology. The very essence of this approach which prioritizes
public service is the execution of TV broadcasts by an autonomous institution
in a politically impartial manner. However, as seen on the table below which
show s the important mo men ts in Turkish television history, Turkish Radio and
Television Corporation' s (TRT) principle of autonomy was abrogated in 1971
during another military intervention, preserving only the principle of
impartiality.
The 70s, the decade in which audiences really got acquainted with
television, represent also a one-channel system period producing content in
accordance with state monopoly. Although the broadcasting hours had
increased, seven days a week broadcast had started and reaching all parts of
Turkey was planned; a widespread access could not be maintained due to
technical and socio-economic problems.
Nevertheless, when analyzed sociologically, it is observed that, even ın
those years when not every household passessed a TV, nearly everyone had
already become aTV viewer, and that the seeds of "TV culture" which would
take shape 40 years later, were planted at those times. The interest of public in
this medium even in its first years can be explained by the attachment of the
public to preceding visual culture products, especially to cinema. Asa matter of
fact, the particular intere st of viewers in TV dramas is a strong indication of the
transitivity between these two mediums and of the transformatian of TV series
to an independent "social fact" today. In its first years, TV has also been an
instmment of intensive socialization. In those times when the level of
equipment was poor at households, it was a common practice to visit families
who had TV on days that important shows were on and to watch the show
question with them. "Tele-visiting" has triggered coınmentaries about the TV
shows, arguments that were linked to subjects discussed on TV and also has