Serdar Karagöz, born on 24 May 1981 in Sakarya, is a Turkish media executive who has held various roles in journalism, media management and media institution building. After gaining experience in print media, television journalism and news agency management, he has served as Chairman of the Board and General Manager of Anadolu Ajansı since 7 April 2021. He also continues to hold various leadership and deputy leadership positions within international news agency associations.

Serdar Karagöz was born on 24 May 1981 in Sakarya. He completed his primary, secondary and high school education in Istanbul. He earned his undergraduate degree in Political Science from the Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences at Istanbul Bilgi University. He also graduated from the university’s Master’s Program in Human Rights Law. In 2010, he enrolled in a second master’s program in Media Studies at The New School University in the United States and completed the program.^【1】

Karagöz began his career in 2007 and joined Turkuvaz Media Group as a management trainee in 2008. During this period, he held positions in various departments of the group. In 2010, he began his master’s studies at The New School University and, after completing his education, worked at the Syndication Department of The New York Times. From 2012 to 2014, he served as the United Nations Diplomatic Correspondent for A Haber Television; during this time he wrote weekly columns on U.S. affairs for Sabah Newspaper and founded the web portal usasabah.com to cover U.S. news.^【2】

After completing his master’s studies, Serdar Karagöz worked as a marketing researcher in the Syndication Department of The New York Times between 2010 and 2011.

Upon returning to Türkiye, Karagöz was appointed Director of Foreign News at Sabah Newspaper and simultaneously led the founding efforts of Daily Sabah. In February 2014, he assumed the role of Founding General Editor of Daily Sabah.

^{TRT Deputy Director General, Serdar Karagöz} (Anadolu Ajansı)

Appointed to TRT in October 2018, Karagöz was assigned as Director General of TRT International News Channels. During this period, he was responsible for adding Arabic, German, Russian and Balkan languages to TRT’s broadcast languages. In 2020, he was appointed Deputy Director General responsible for International Broadcasts at TRT.

Serdar Karagöz has served as Chairman of the Board and General Manager of Anadolu Ajansı since 7 April 2021.

^{106th Anniversary of AA’s Foundation} (Anadolu Ajansı)

At a program held at AAtölye to mark the 106th anniversary of Anadolu Ajansı’s founding, Karagöz described the agency’s goal upon assuming office in 2021 as follows:

"We are revising this goal within five years to become one of the top five news agencies. Is it ambitious? Yes, it is. But Anadolu Ajansı’s strategic vision and institutional capacity now enable this competition." ^【3】

At the opening of the Istanbul Photo Awards on 16 June 2026, Karagöz stated that they had revised their initial goal of becoming one of the top ten news agencies and affirmed that Anadolu Ajansı must become one of the world’s three best news agencies.^【4】

On 25 October 2022, Karagöz was elected Deputy President of the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA). On 6 November 2023, he was appointed President of the Turkish News Agencies Union, established through signatures at the "Turkish News Agencies Media Summit: Unity and Future Vision in Media" organized by Anadolu Ajansı. Since September 2023, he has served as President of the Balkan News Agencies Union – Southeast Europe (ABNA-SE).

^{AA Environment Forum} (Anadolu Ajansı)

Under Karagöz’s leadership, Anadolu Ajansı launched the "AA Environment Forum" as part of its environmental vision. The first forum, attended by numerous national and international stakeholders, aimed to place environmental and climate crises at the center of media discourse. Karagöz sought to redefine the language of environmental journalism, make climate reporting a necessity and build a global awareness network. The forum established a corporate platform through which the agency declared its commitment to environmental issues to the international public.^【5】

In a speech at the International Strategic Communication Summit (Stratcom Summit) organized by the Presidency of Communication, Serdar Karagöz shared strategic initiatives to strengthen Anadolu Ajansı’s position in global media. Highlighting the media’s responsibility during its digital transformation, Karagöz announced three new thematic initiatives established within the agency: "Green Line," "Verification Line" and "Discrimination Line."^【6】

Karagöz detailed these institutional initiatives at the summit as follows:

• Green Line: Established to monitor global climate crises and environmental issues and to raise social and global awareness. Karagöz aims to professionalize environmental journalism through this line.
• Discrimination Line: Designed to examine rising Islamophobia, xenophobia, racism and all forms of discriminatory attitudes across different regions of the world. Karagöz has designated monitoring and reporting hate speech and human rights violations on a global scale as a corporate responsibility.
• Verification Line: Activated to combat misinformation, fake news and information pollution rapidly spreading on digital platforms and media. It aims to ensure reliable and verified information flow by investigating the validity of claims.

In his address at the summit, Karagöz emphasized that Anadolu Ajansı is more than a traditional news agency. He stated that these three new lines elevate the agency’s mission to defend truth, demonstrate environmental sensitivity and contribute to global justice to a higher level.^【7】

^{Istanbul Energy Forum} (Anadolu Ajansı)

The Istanbul Photo Awards, organized by Anadolu Ajansı, is an international photojournalism competition bringing together professional photojournalists from around the world. Since its inception, the Istanbul Photo Awards has attracted strong global interest and was held for the twelfth time in 2026. At the exhibition opening on 16 June 2026 at the AAtölye Exhibition Hall in Ankara, Karagöz announced that 19,000 photographs from 113 nationalities had been submitted for the competition and that 165 photographs by the 26 award-winning photographers were displayed.^【8】

Under Serdar Karagöz’s leadership, Anadolu Ajansı expanded its global thematic events to include energy with the "Istanbul Energy Forum." The forum brought together international ministers, industry leaders and experts in Istanbul to discuss the future of the energy sector, global supply security, the transition to green energy and technological transformation. Speaking at the forum, Karagöz stated that energy is not merely an economic factor but one of the most decisive pillars of global politics and geopolitics. Through this initiative, Anadolu Ajansı aims to reinforce its central role in global diplomatic and economic journalism.^【9】

^{Chairman and General Manager of Anadolu Ajansı Serdar Karagöz} (Anadolu Ajansı)

The AA Participation Finance Summit is a financial platform organized in cooperation between Anadolu Ajansı and the Turkish Participation Banks Association (TKBB), addressing the current state, future strategies, digitalization process and new investment models of the participation finance ecosystem. At the opening of the AA Participation Finance Summit held on 7 May 2026 at the Istanbul Finance Center, Karagöz stated that participation finance must be addressed more comprehensively on a global scale and that an international communication platform must be established in this field. He expressed the goal of transforming the summit into a global meeting point over time.^【10】

Positioning the provision of verifiable data on the international legal stage as one of the agency’s core responsibilities, Karagöz has managed special publication projects documenting human rights violations in global conflict zones. In particular, to document violations during the events in Gaza, a trilogy of books titled "Witness," "Evidence" and "Suspect" was published using sources gathered by Anadolu Ajansı reporters and photojournalists. Karagöz emphasized that these publications are not merely journalistic achievements but historical documents with evidentiary value in international courts. He affirmed that Anadolu Ajansı will continue its mission of informing the global public about war crimes through these publications.^【11】

^{AA City Economies Summit Gaziantep-Aleppo} (Anadolu Ajansı)

At the opening of the AA City Economies Summit Gaziantep-Aleppo on 9 June 2026 at the Mavera Congress and Arts Center of Gaziantep University, Karagöz stated that Anadolu Ajansı considers strengthening city brands a corporate responsibility. He also noted that the summit was organized to address the reinvigorated economic ties between Türkiye and Syria and regional development opportunities.^【12】

In addition to his media management roles, Karagöz holds positions in various civil society organizations and federations. In 2024, he was elected to the Board of Directors of the Turkish Basketball Federation. He serves as a founding member of the Cemre Foundation and as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Culture Civilization Foundation (KÜME).

Karagöz is married to Sema Karagöz. He speaks English fluently and is interested in basketball, padel, skiing, equestrian sports and rowing.