Hello Universe! Story of a Istanbulite Independent Radio

Good, good, good, good vibrations (oom bop bop)

She's giving me the excitations (excitations, oom bop bop)

I'm pickin' up good vibrations

Na na na na na, na na na

Na na na na na, na na na (bop bop-bop-bop-bop, bop)

Do do do do do, do do do (bop bop-bop-bop-bop, bop)

It was October 16th, 2024, when we, as long-term listeners, supporters, and programmers of Açık Radyo, waited for the radio to stop broadcasting. It was a very unusual day, we were listening to 95.0 FM and we knew that we wouldn’t be able to listen to it for an unknown period of time. "So we are now coming to the end... We thank all the listeners and all the people who have supported us. Açık Radyo will remain open to all the voices, all the colours, and all the stirrings of the universe," said Ömer Madra, founder and editor-in-chief of Açık Radyo, in front of a huge crowd outside the studio in Beyoğlu. After 30 years of live broadcasting, it was time for a deep silence at 13:00. The space of 95.0 FM will be an empty space of silence for a while. The Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations,” which we were used to hearing as the opening teaser of the morning show, was played as a farewell song.

What Is Açık Radyo?

It is easy to say that Açık Radyo is a big family of programmers, listeners, participants, collaborators, supporters; people of different ages and backgrounds connected through radio waves under the roof of the radio station that is based in İstanbul. Açık Radyo (Open Radio) is an independent radio station that started broadcasting on November 13th, 1995. It is a “regional” radio station that broadcasts to the metropolitan area of Istanbul and the surrounding region.

In its early years, Açık Radyo’s founders considered their radio channel as "a forum for discussion, interaction, and organising for the future". And even today, it is a place where the unspoken is spoken openly.

After its terrestrial broadcast was shut down in October 2024, it was relaunched a month later this time on the internet with a new name: Apaçık Radyo. Apaçık Radyo keeps on Açık’s heritage and identity and defines itself as “not dependent on any interest group or any corporation. Needless to say, it is completely independent from the state, too.”

Açık / Apaçık Radyo is a community radio; which means that all the programmers are volunteers who make and produce their programmes for the radio, with the radio. Although each programme has its own agenda and content, it also creates a collective spirit that acts together.

Regarding material support, Açık Radyo is able to cover 40% of its annual expenses thanks to the Listener Support Project (Dinleyici Destek Projesi), which has been running for almost twenty years.^[1] In other words, listeners personally sponsor (support) radio programmes, which continues to strengthen the community and collective spirit behind the station. More than ten thousand Açık Radyo listeners have contributed to the radio programmes through individual sponsorships.  When the selected programme is broadcast, the name of the supporter is mentioned at the beginning and end of the programme. Independence is also interdependence, which means solidarity.

What Has Happened?

The Radio and Television Supreme Council of Turkey (RTÜK) punished Açık Radyo in May 2024 after a guest made the following remarks on air: “The 109th anniversary of the deportations and massacres, called genocide, that took place on Ottoman soil. As you know, the commemoration of the Armenian genocide has been banned again this year.” RTÜK accused the station of “inciting hatred or enmity or promoting feelings of hatred in society,” and ordered an administrative fine and a five-day suspension for the same programme. Açık Radyo paid the fine, but continued to broadcast its programmes, which RTÜK considered a violation of the terms of its sanction. In July, RTÜK revoked Açık Radyo’s broadcasting licence.^[2] The revocation of its terrestrial broadcasting license also ended simultaneous Internet broadcasting, which had been in operation since 2002.

What Is Happening Now?

Apaçık Radio (Wide Open Radio) welcomed its listeners on the Internet on November 8th, 2024 after Açık was silenced for nearly a month. After a three-day test broadcast, Apaçık Radio’s programmers finally went on air with their microphones on the morning of November 11th, 2024. The radio station is back with a new name and as an online only radio for now. However, this is a temporary situation; the radio team and volunteers are working on new licensing options in the meantime. The necessary legal appeals have been filed against RTÜK's decision and the legal process is ongoing. The final outcome of the legal process will determine whether Apaçık Radyo will recover Açık’s past terrestrial broadcasting.

Broadcast Bans and Censorship

The RTÜK is in the hands of the government and often decides to ban broadcasts when there is a major event or disaster, often linked to the criminal acts or negligence of the government. From the published or broadcast news related to the Gezi Park uprisings, to the Soma mine disaster in 2014 that killed 301 miners, to the major fires in the southeastern coasts in the summer of 2021, or even the news related to one of the biggest earthquakes that happened in the country in 2023 were banned. And the biggest bans are usually related to Turkey’s military war in the Kurdish regions (Turkey and Syria) and the denial of the Armenian genocide.

These threats to the freedom of information and speech are purely and simply censorship and the laws that are (mis)used for the accusations are such as “Insulting the Turkish Nation (301)”; “Insulting (i.e. the President) - (125)”; “Inciting and insulting the public to hatred and hostility (216)” and other titles that are directly related to “terror,” which is also a very vague term manipulated by the government.

In a civic space that is shrinking by the day, independence is not just an attitude, rather a necessity while mainstream media is under the control of the repressive state. For example; Apaçık Radio played a significant role in facilitating understanding of the protests that followed the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on March 19th, 2025. The station unpacked the complexities of the protests, which spanned a wide range of social, political, and geographic contexts.

Açık / Apaçık Radyo & Oda Projesi

The technology of radio is still magical for us, as an artist collective; once the radio is on, it occupies the space and demands attention, it shapes the knowledge, sensation, experience, and history of a place. Along Açık Radyo’s way, it has hosted Oda Projesi as programmers. In 2005-2007, we made Radio Within a Radio: 101.7 EFEM. In this programme, we used recordings from our previous neighbourhood radio project  along with new recordings; each week we explored  news about the urban transformation processes all over İstanbul, always considering that we are a radio within a radio.

Due to the violent gentrification and transformation that took place in the Galata district, we had to leave our project space in March 2005 and our last project was a “pirate radio station project” with artist Matthieu Prat. The station was open almost everyday during a month, with neighbours, musicians, academics, passers-by, children, all on air with live and pre-recorded programmes. Through our radio experience, we contacted Açık Radyo and agreed to make programmes there once a week. We expanded the studio and opened its doors to the corridors, offices, and to the kitchen of the radio station. In addition to the sounds of the street and previous recordings, the people working at the radio station also became part of the programmes; we collaborated with the plants or the weather conditions when we opened the windows, including the unwanted sound to the radio, even creating parasites for other programmers.

Currently, over 200 programmers and producers are contributing with more than 150 different talk shows and music programmes to Apaçık Radyo. Hoping to get back to terrestrial broadcasting soon. Long Live Açık Radyo!