Special Report-Insiders reveal how Erdogan tamed Turkey’s newsrooms

FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan talks to media after attending Friday prayers at Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey August 7, 2020. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - When President Tayyip Erdogan's son-in-law suddenly quit as finance minister in late 2020, four staff in Turkey's leading newsrooms said they received a clear direction from their managers: don't report this until the government says so.

The resignation of Berat Albayrak, which he announced in a Sunday evening Instagram post, was reported by international and independent Turkish news outlets. The lira soared on hopes of a new direction for the beleaguered economy.