Apaçık Radyo: A History of Sound, Resistance, and Reinvention
Açık Radyo was an independent radio station based in Istanbul until its FM broadcast license was revoked by the Turkish High Council of Radio and Television in November 2024. The council, established in 1995 by the Turkish state, now operates under the Presidency of Türkiye and serves as a monitoring apparatus for both old and new media in the country. It claimed that Açık Radyo was inciting hatred among different segments of Turkish society by using terms like “genocide” and “massacre” during a broadcast on April 24, 2024. This broadcast commemorated the “Armenian massacres,” also referred to as deportation and genocide, which occurred in the Ottoman Empire in 1915. The report was an objective analysis of the recent political trends among various parties and was part of a long-standing debate in Turkey regarding the Armenian massacres or genocide, known in Armenian as "Medz Yeğern" (“the Great Catastrophe”). This discussion has been critical to Turkish society for the past 20 to 25 years and had been a focal point for Açık Radyo from multiple perspectives.
During its 30 years of FM broadcasting, Açık Radyo, now rebranded as Apaçık Radyo on online platforms, featured over 1,200 radio shows produced by volunteer programmers. These shows covered a wide range of topics, including ecology, sociology, anthropology, literature, culture, and the arts, as well as diverse musical traditions from around the world. It was one of the last bastions of free media on FM airwaves, which have increasingly been dominated by corporate media and state propaganda.
The private radio and television law was enacted in Turkey in 1995 after many people grew disillusioned with the bland and repetitive state broadcasts. This prompted the use of homemade antennas for more authentic expressions through what were known as pirate shows. The law established the framework for an official FM band, which soon became controlled by corporations exploiting the public good for private gain. Açık Radyo stood out as one of the few platforms that embraced a variety of civic expressions. Echoing its motto, “open to all the sounds, colors, and vibrations of the universe,” it aimed to be a space for the diverse voices of cultural and political life in Turkey. About 1,500 volunteers produced weekly radio shows, reflecting the richness of real-life experiences.
Global but local…
Açık Radyo has served as an active broadcast outlet during critical global events, including the massacres in Sarajevo and Rwanda in the 1990s. It was the only radio station broadcasting during the World Tribunal on Iraq in 2003, hosting notable figures such as Arundhati Roy and Tariq Ali.
When the first Climate Action protests occurred in Turkey in 2005, Açık Radyo stood alongside young activists, raising awareness about the impending climate catastrophe, which is now undeniably evident. The station has been one of the first Turkish media outlets to highlight human-induced global warming since the 2000s, covering public responses to political inaction and monitoring international conferences from the very beginning.
Additionally, the station acted as a communication center during a major earthquake that struck Gölcük Bay near Istanbul, resulting in over 45,000 deaths and leaving many more homeless in the greater Istanbul area. Its emergency broadcast, titled "Golden Hours," remained on the air until last November, monitoring official preparedness for earthquakes and other disasters. Açık Radyo served as a critical voice during the Gezi protests, covering the violence and witnessing the diverse expressions of opposition in Gezi Park. Its extensive sound coverage contributed to a major Gezi exhibition that has been showcased not only in Istanbul but also in Berlin.
Açık Radyo was the very first media outlet to support the rights-based LGBT initiative Lambdaistanbul when it sought a platform to raise public awareness back in 1995. KaosGL reporter and LGBTQ activist Yıldız Tar hosted a weekly radio show on this issue, but he was incarcerated only last February, and the reasons for his imprisonment remain unknown to the public. The station has provided a voice for civil opposition and struggle, particularly as urban transformation projects have displaced hundreds for the benefit of megacorporations, in the historical peninsula of Istanbul, in the Northern Forest neighboring towns, and the notorious Kanal İstanbul project. This mega project, implemented by the government and driven by profit-seeking corporations, will divide the city into three parts, opening new territories for foreign investment amid the ongoing financial crisis facing the country.
The discussion surrounding this project has intensified following last week’s Istanbul earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2, which highlighted the crucial need for independent broadcasting. When all GSM operators shut down after the quake and major roads were blocked by quickly accumulating traffic,
A vibrant cultural sound hub
Açık Radyo's content extends beyond politics; it encompasses culture in its broadest sense. In 1996, Açık Radyo was one of the organizers of a major music festival that highlighted diverse cultural groups, showcasing music from Turkish, Kurdish, Armenian, and Greek traditions. However, the event was canceled when officials deemed it unacceptable for an Armenian group to perform publicly.
Additionally, Açık Radyo has been a platform for world literature and philosophy since its inception, hosting numerous readings of novels, poems, and essays. Notably, in 2002, the station faced attempts to shut it down after airing a reading of a Bukowski novel, which was labeled obscene.
Despite such challenges, Açık Radyo was one of the few radio stations invited to participate in the internationally recognized Istanbul Biennale, where they were featured in a radio exhibition in 2022.
Community media in Türkiye?
In the final days of 2018, we conducted a listener survey in collaboration with KONDA, one of Turkey's leading research companies. Bekir Ağırdır, the then research director at KONDA, described Açık Radyo's audience as “a truly unique group, distinct from the national average and significantly more active and engaged in various aspects of life.” According to the survey, listeners describe Açık Radyo as “open to both global and Turkish issues, receptive to innovations, modern, warm, and entertaining.”
Ağırdır notes, “The survey results indicate that Açık Radyo is seen as a companion by its audience, particularly its loyal listeners.”
In an effort to engage its audience, Açık Radyo launched one of Turkey's earliest crowdfunding campaigns in 2004, setting a lasting precedent for financial sustainability in the country's free media landscape. To date, over 16,000 individuals have contributed to the Listeners’ Support Project. Approximately 4,000 of these contributors have covered 70% of the station's annual expenses last year. This model is unique in Turkish media, as it aligns with the station's editorial ethos, fostering participation from diverse communities and exemplifying circularity.
Community media is not officially recognized in Turkey, which means that an independent community-oriented station like Açık Radyo is still required to pay the same taxes and licensing fees as any corporate media entity.
To cite a recent report by Istanbul University lecturer Associate Professor Fırat Tufan:
“As a community radio station, Açık Radyo, like all other community radios worldwide, relies on the financial and moral support of its listeners. This support enables it to establish a much deeper connection with its audience compared to other radio stations. It is important to note that countries such as the US, Australia, Canada, the UK, and many European nations recognize and define 'community broadcasting' in their laws. They provide various opportunities, including free license allocation, collaboration with universities, and financial incentives at different scales, to help these radios operate effectively.”
From Açık to Apaçık: Reinvention and Risk
Overcoming financial constraints during challenging times requires the development of new strategies and the revision of existing ones.
After its license was revoked, Açık Radyo, now known as Apaçık, lost half of its daily listeners. According to a survey conducted by the station through one-on-one calls with supporter-listeners, being removed from the FM frequency significantly impacted their presence in daily life in Istanbul, where most radio listening occurs during drive-time. Although the station has been active online since 2001, with Açık Site reaching a global audience for many years and its podcasting service launching in the early 2010s (40% of Apaçık Radyo's main shows' listenership is located outside of Turkey, particularly in the diaspora), its financial sustainability is at risk. The station's core listeners, who previously contributed to its support, can no longer access it through traditional radio.
Now, the station must adapt to the algorithms that govern competition with platforms like YouTube, Spotify, and social media, which are driven by data and advertising. To combat the economic, political, and technological isolation it currently faces, Apaçık Radyo is developing international collaborations. It is reaching out to the diaspora, consolidating global ties, and reimagining what open radio can mean in the digital era.
In Closing
Açık Radyo was not just a station. It was — and still is — a commons. A place where the world and Turkey could speak to each other through poetry, dissent, music, mourning, resistance, and care.
The station awaits a court ruling, and listeners, volunteers, and supporters continue to push for its return. Meanwhile, its vast audio archive remains a living testimony to three decades of independent, courageous, and plural media in Turkey.
Question remains: And what kind of future can be built from sound?
