Cumhuriyet

Cumhuriyet
Type Up-market daily
Format Berliner
Owner(s) Cumhuriyet Foundation
Founder(s) Yunus Nadi Abalıoğlu
Editor-in-chief Aykut Karakaya
Founded 7 May 1924 (1924-05-07)
Political alignment Centre-left
Left-wing politics
Secularism/Laïcité
Social democracy
Language Turkish
Headquarters Şişli, Istanbul, Turkey
Circulation 43,791 (as of May 2018)
Website www.cumhuriyet.com

Cumhuriyet (Turkish pronunciation: [d͡ʒum.huː.ɾi.ˈjet], The Republic) is the oldest up-market Turkish daily newspaper. Headquartered in Istanbul, the newspaper also has offices in Ankara and İzmir.

Established on 7 May 1924 by journalist Yunus Nadi Abalıoğlu, a confidant of the Turkish Republic's founder Atatürk, the newspaper has subscribed to a staunchly secular, republican course. In the past closely affiliated with the Kemalist Republican People's Party (CHP), the center-left newspaper turned to a more independent course over time, advocating democracy, social liberal values and free markets.

In 2015, it was awarded the Freedom of Press Prize by international NGO Reporters Without Borders for making a stand against the AKP government's mounting pressure.[1] Shortly thereafter, Cumhuriyet's former editor-in-chief Can Dündar and the newspaper's Ankara representative Erdem Gül were arrested facing sentences up to life imprisonment.

During the last decade, the newspaper's staff has also been physically attacked, with the 2008 molotov attack against Cumhuriyet's headquarters in Istanbul's Şişli district being particularly significant. Also notable is the attempted assassination of Can Dündar in 2016.

Cumhuriyet contributors such as Uğur Mumcu, Bahriye Üçok, Ahmet Taner Kışlalı, Muammer Aksoy, Ümit Kaftancıoğlu, and Cavit Orhan Tütengil had been assassinated in the past.

By the end of 2016, almost half of the paper's reporters, columnists and executives had been jailed by the Erdoğan government.[2]

History

Cumhuriyet 11 November 1938 issue announcing the death of President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

Following the death of Yunus Nadi on 28 March 1945 in Geneva, Switzerland, Cumhuriyet was owned by his eldest son Nadir Nadi Abalıoğlu until his death on 20 August 1991. Nadir Nadi's wife Berin then published the newspaper. Cumhuriyet has been owned by the Cumhuriyet Foundation since the death of Berin Nadi on 5 November 2001. One of its publishers was the renowned political columnist İlhan Selçuk, who was also chairman of the board of trustees and lead writer (from 1992) until he died in 2010.

During the Gulf War, Cumhuriyet suffered a collapse in advertising revenue, and following an unrelated dispute over editorial policy, nearly 40 journalists and commentators walked out in November 1991: "Circulation fell by half, and it was saved only by an extraordinary campaign by readers to buy extra copies and even pay money into a special account."[3] Hasan Cemal, chief editor since 1981,[4] resigned in January 1992 over the dispute: "I tried to widen the spectrum, to keep the balance. But they (old-guard intellectuals) always resisted, calling us plotters, tools of big business and the United States".[3]

Since 17 October 2005, the newspaper's headquarters have been located in Istanbul's Şişli district, after being the last newspaper to leave the traditional press district of Cağaloğlu.

The newspaper's advertisements before the 2007 Turkish presidential election and general election with the message "Are you aware of the danger?" were controversial.[5][6]

Cumhuriyet's office in Istanbul was the site of a molotov attack in 2008.[7]

In 2010, the newspaper was one of the first up-market newspapers in Turkey to abandon the established broadsheet format for the midi-sized Berliner format.[8]

In January 2015, the newspaper reprinted cartoons from Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical magazine which had depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad and been subject to a terror attack. As a result, Cumhuriyet received threats and was placed under police protection.[9]

The editor-in-chief of the online edition, Oğuz Güven, was arrested on 12 May 2017 in connection with an article on the "accidental" death of Mustafa Alper, the first public prosecutor to file an indictment about the Gülenist Terror Organization (FETÖ). Güven was released pending trial on 14 June 2017.[10]

MİT trucks scandal

Cumhuriyet's former editor-in-chief Can Dündar receiving the 2015 Reporters Without Borders Prize.

Following the appointment of new editor-in-chief Can Dündar, the newspaper on 29 May 2015 released detailed footage depicting trucks of the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MİT) carrying weapons to Islamist rebels in neighboring Syria. While the government faced calls to resign, an investigation began into Cumhuriyet for releasing the footage.[11] Turkish President Erdoğan publicly targeted Dündar, stating: "I suppose the person who wrote this as an exclusive report will pay a heavy price for this."[12]

In spite of the threats, on June 11 Cumhuriyet published further material, including photos and videos confirming that MİT trucks transported both weapons and militants between Turkey and various locations in neighboring Syria.[13] In November, the newspaper was awarded the 2015 Reporters Without Borders Prize for its "independent and courageous journalism."[14] Shortly thereafter, editor-in-chief Dündar and Ankara bureau chief Erdem Gül were arrested on charges of being members of a terror organization, espionage and revealing confidential documents, facing sentences up to life imprisonment.[15]

On 22 September 2016 the newspaper was awarded the Right Livelihood Award for its "fearless investigative reporting and standing up for freedom of speech and opinion despite being subject to death threats, censorship and state prosecution".[16]

Distribution

On 7 May 1998, the newspaper launched its online edition. The print circulation figure is around 40,000 copies as of May 2018.[17]

Notable contributors (past and present)

Columnists
  • İbrahim Yıldız (Cumhuriyet'ten Okurlara)
  • Cüneyt Arcayürek (Güncel)
  • Mustafa Balbay (Gündem)
  • Emre Kongar (Aydınlanma)
  • Hikmet Çetinkaya (Politika Günlüğü)
  • Orhan Erinç (Geçmişten Geleceğe)
  • Erdal Atabek (2000'li Yıllarda)
  • Erol Manisalı (Bıçak Sırtı)
  • Özgen Acar (Kavşak)
  • Orhan Birgit (Düz Yazı)
  • Ümit Zileli (Düz Çizgi)
  • Deniz Kavukçuoğlu (Pano)
  • Nilgün Cerrahoğlu (Sağnak)
  • Işıl Özgentürk (Al Gözüm Seyreyle)
  • Ataol Behramoğlu (Cumartesi Yazıları)
  • Sunay Akın (Kule Cambazı)
  • Işık Kansu (Ankara Kulisi)
  • Hilmi Develi (Satır Arası)
  • Bedri Baykam (Görüş)
  • Leyla Tavşanoğlu (Pazar Söyleşileri)
  • Süheyl Batum (Sözden Yazıya)

World

Economics
  • Şükran Soner (İşçi Evreninden)
  • Öztin Akgüç (Yorum)
  • Ergin Yıldızoğlu (Dünya Ekonomisine Bakış)
  • Erinç Yeldan (Ekonomi Politik)
  • Özlem Yüzak (Bilgi Toplumuna Doğru)
  • Yakup Kepenek (Ankara Pazarı)
  • Yahya Arıkan (Yaşamda Mali Çözüm)
  • Mustafa Pamukoğlu (Maliye Tarafından)
Science-Politics
  • Orhan Bursalı (Perşembe)
Media
  • Mehmet Faraç (Med - Cezir)
Culture-Art
  • Zeynep Oral (Esintiler)
  • Turgay Fişekçi (Defne Gölgesi)
  • Adnan Binyazar (Ayna)
  • Vecdi Sayar (Kedi Gözü)
Sports
  • Arif Kızılyalın (Spor Yorumu)
  • Adnan Dinçer (Görüş)
  • Ahmet Kurt (Basket Yorum)
  • Halit Deringör (Görüş)

Deceased contributors

Supplements

Supplements of the newspaper:

  • Strateji (Strategy), Mondays
  • Kitap (Book), Thursdays
  • Bilim Teknoloji (Science and Technology), Fridays
  • Hafta Sonu (Weekend), Saturdays
  • Pazar (Sunday), Sundays
  • Gezi (Travel), every other Wednesday
  • Tarım (Agriculture), once a month
  • Yerel Yönetimler (Local Governments)

See also

References

  1. ↑ Monde Prize ceremony, Reporters without Borders, 19 November. 2015
  2. ↑ Basaran, Ezgi (2017-01-03). "Secular citizens of Turkey have never felt so alone". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 2017-01-04. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  3. 1 2 Hugh Pope, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 1992, Media: It's News Vs. Nudes in the Turkish Press: The glitzy Sabah daily and the respected Cumhuriyet reflect clashing cultures at a continental crossroads
  4. ↑ "Hasan Cemal Biyografisi". Sondakika (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  5. ↑ "Cumhuriyet, 'Tehlikenin farkında mısınız!' demişti". ABC Gazetesi (in Turkish). 2016-10-01. Archived from the original on 2018-05-08. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  6. ↑ "Geçmişten Bugüne Cumhuriyet Gazetesi Reklamlarının Perspektifinden Türkiye". Bigumigu (in Turkish). 2016-11-02. Archived from the original on 2018-05-07. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  7. ↑ Mastermind behind Cumhuriyet attack under arrest Archived 2008-12-05 at the Wayback Machine., Today's Zaman, 1 April 2008
  8. ↑ Mustafa Köker (22 April 2010). "Cumhuriyet'le gelen 'değişim'". Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  9. ↑ Josh Levs et al (14 February 2015) Turkey bans Charlie Hebdo cover, newspaper gets death threats CNN
  10. ↑ "Cumhuriyet online's editor-in-chief Oğuz Güven released pending trial". 14 June 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  11. ↑ "Turkish daily faces terrorism probe after publishing alleged photos of arms on MİT trucks". 29 May 2015. Archived from the original on 29 November 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  12. ↑ "Erdoğan's lawyer demands aggravated life sentence for Turkish journalist over news story". Hürriyet Daily News. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  13. ↑ "Turkey denies report of sending weapons, fighters to ISIL". 11 June 2015. Archived from the original on 29 November 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  14. ↑ "Cumhuriyet newspaper wins journalism prize from Reporters Without Borders". Today's Zaman. 18 November 2015. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  15. ↑ "Cumhuriyet daily's Dündar, Gül arrested over report on Syria arms transfer". Zaman. 2015-11-26. Archived from the original on 2016-03-08. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  16. ↑ Regierungskritische türkische Zeitung - "Cumhuriyet" erhält Alternativen Nobelpreis . Spiegel Online, 2016-09-22 (German)
  17. ↑ "Gazete Tirajları". gazetetirajlari.com. 2018-05-06. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
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