The Power of Turkish Radio & Television and Satellite-Television in the Netherlands
Television is a powerful medium. However, Turkish viewers ignore Dutch television and point their dishes to receive TV-stations from their home country. The commercial Turkish stations are more popular than the state broadcast TRT INT, receivable through cable. Do these stations actually interfere with integration or are the Dutch stations not making enough efforts to attract Turkish viewer ship?
TRT INT is the international TV-station of the Turkish state-owned broadcasting system TRT. It broadcasts ‘the best of - ‘ programs (read: archived material) of the six national TRTstations from countries where there are large Turkish populations. Taken into consideration that the main aim of any international TV-station is a hidden form of state propaganda (just like RAI UNO from Italy, TVE Internacional from Spain and ERT from Greece), TRT INT goes a step further. This station not only wants to present the Turkish viewers abroad with a Turkey of an immaculate prehistory, including racially pure norms and values which are presently no longer existing in (larger parts of) Turkey. The station also creates a matriarchy in which it exercises a subtle form of social control over the Turkish viewers abroad, who have supposedly fallen into an identity crisis. TRT INT offers help to expatriates in order to retain Turkish culture, language, religion and traditions through documentaries, films, talk shows and music programmes. Furthermore, it informs the foreign Turkish viewers on topics such as law, legislation and social services in Turkey and Western Europe. First generation Turks especially agree with the point of view represented by TRT INT, because these foreign labourers still live with the idea of returning to the country of their birth. Cemil (59), working at a computer company, considers the programs as essential. “Perhaps because it is still in the back of my mind to return one day. Dutch television does not appeal to me, but neither does TNT, I must say. That is a
TRT INT is the international TV-station of the Turkish state-owned broadcasting system TRT. It broadcasts ‘the best of - ‘ programs (read: archived material) of the six national TRTstations from countries where there are large Turkish populations. Taken into consideration that the main aim of any international TV-station is a hidden form of state propaganda (just like RAI UNO from Italy, TVE Internacional from Spain and ERT from Greece), TRT INT goes a step further. This station not only wants to present the Turkish viewers abroad with a Turkey of an immaculate prehistory, including racially pure norms and values which are presently no longer existing in (larger parts of) Turkey. The station also creates a matriarchy in which it exercises a subtle form of social control over the Turkish viewers abroad, who have supposedly fallen into an identity crisis. TRT INT offers help to expatriates in order to retain Turkish culture, language, religion and traditions through documentaries, films, talk shows and music programmes. Furthermore, it informs the foreign Turkish viewers on topics such as law, legislation and social services in Turkey and Western Europe. First generation Turks especially agree with the point of view represented by TRT INT, because these foreign labourers still live with the idea of returning to the country of their birth. Cemil (59), working at a computer company, considers the programs as essential. “Perhaps because it is still in the back of my mind to return one day. Dutch television does not appeal to me, but neither does TNT, I must say. That is a