Hürriyet
First issue, dated 1 May 1948
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatBerliner (Broadsheet prior to 15 October 2012)
Owner(s)Demirören Holding
EditorHasan Kılıç
Founded1948 (1948)
Political alignmentMainstream
Liberalism
Secularism[1]
LanguageTurkish
HeadquartersGüneşli, Bağcılar
CityIstanbul
CountryTurkey
CirculationDecrease 319,273 (8 January 2018 – 14 January 2018)[2]
Websitewww.hurriyet.com.tr

Hürriyet (Turkish pronunciation: [hyɾːiˈjet] ⓘ, Liberty) is one of the major Turkish newspapers, founded in 1948. As of January 2018, it had the highest circulation of any newspaper in Turkey at around 319,000.[2] Hürriyet has a mainstream, liberal and conservative outlook.[1] Hürriyet combines entertainment with news coverage.

Hürriyet has regional offices in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Adana, Antalya and Trabzon, as well as a news network comprising 52 offices and 600 reporters in Turkey and abroad, all affiliated with Doğan News Agency, which primarily serves newspapers and television channels that were previously under the management of Doğan Media Group (Doğan Yayın Holding). Hürriyet is printed in six cities in Turkey and in Frankfurt, Germany.[3] As of January 2017, according to Alexa, its website was the tenth most visited in Turkey, the second most visited of a newspaper and the fourth most visited news website.[4] On 21 March 2018, Doğan Yayın Holding, the parent company of Hürriyet, was sold to Demirören Holding for approximately $1.2 billion. The Demirören Group is known for its pro-government stance.[5]

History

Hürriyet was founded by Sedat Simavi on 1 May 1948 with a staff of 48. Selling 50,000 in its first week,[6] Hürriyet was Simavi's 59th and last publication. On 13 January 1965 the paper was confiscated by the Turkish authorities shortly after the publication of the letter of the US President Lyndon B. Johnson to İsmet İnönü.[7] In the letter Johnson overtly stated that Turkey should not organize any military intervention to Cyprus.[7]

It is considered a high-circulation newspaper in Turkey.[8][9]

In 2018, Hurriyet was bought by Demirören Holding, owned by the Demirören family who are considered to be close to President Erdoğan.[10]

Tax fine controversy

In February 2009, the newspaper received an 826.2 million TL (US$523 million) fine for tax evasion by Doğan Group/Petrol Ofisi. Following this, the Istanbul Stock Exchange suspended Doğan Holding's shares,[11][12][13] and Fitch downgraded Hürriyet to 'BB−'.[14]

Executives at the Doğan Group expressed the opinion that the tax fine was politically motivated "intimidation", caused by Hürriyet's linking of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his political party, AKP, to a charity scandal in Germany. In March 2009, Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, expressed public concern about the fine, saying that it threatened "pluralism and freedom of the press."[15]

In September 2009, Doğan Group was fined a record US$2.5 billion, related to alleged past tax irregularities.[15][16]

The September fine caused further expressions of public concern from the European Commission, as well as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.[17] It also caused some critics and global investors[18] to compare the fines to then-Russian President Vladimir Putin's use of tax-evasion charges to bankrupt oil company Yukos for allegedly political reasons. In an interview, Erdoğan denied this charge, calling it "very ugly" and "disrespectful" to both himself and Putin.[17]

Notable people

Golden Butterfly Awards

Hürriyet, along with Pantene, sponsors the annual Golden Butterfly Awards, in which its readers vote for nominees in the fields of Turkish television and music.[19]

References

  1. 1 2 Esra Özyürek Archived 2012-04-22 at the Wayback Machine, Nostalgia for the Modern: State Secularism and Everyday Politics in Turkey, 2006, p. 197, Duke University Press, 2006, ISBN 0822338955
  2. 1 2 "08 Ocak 2018 – 14 Ocak 2018 haftası Tiraj Tablosu". Archived from the original on 25 March 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  3. ↑ Throughout 60 years, Hürriyet from past to present Archived 2008-09-04 at the Wayback Machine. Hürriyet Kurumsal.
  4. ↑ "Top Sites in Turkey". Alexa. Archived from the original on 5 January 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  5. ↑ New York Times (21 March 2018). "Turkish Media Group Bought by Pro-Government Conglomerate". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  6. ↑ "Hürriyet'in Kilometre Taşları". Hürriyet Kurumsal (in Turkish). 2005. Archived from the original on 23 March 2008. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
  7. 1 2 "Chronology December 1, 1965-February 28, 1966". The Middle East Journal. 20 (2): 233. Spring 1966. JSTOR 4323989.
  8. ↑ Finkel, Andrew (16 August 2007). "News fit to print?". Today's Zaman. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2008. I am no great fan of Hürriyet as a newspaper. I believe it abuses the considerable authority it wields.
  9. ↑ Görmüş, Alper (19 December 2008). "Konu: Ergenekon haberciliği... Soru: Hürriyet bunu neden göze alıyor?". Taraf (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2008. ...Türkiye'nin en etkili gazetesi...
  10. ↑ "Turkish Media Group Bought by Pro-Government Conglomerate (Published 2018)". The New York Times. 21 March 2018. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  11. ↑ "Prosecutors set to file tax evasion lawsuit against Doğan Yayın". Archived from the original on 23 February 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  12. ↑ "Finance ministry orders BP to pay TL 474 million for tax evasion haberi - Thursday, 05 March 2009 09:57". Archived from the original on 29 April 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  13. ↑ "Turkish index suspends Dogan group, Petrol Ofisi shares". Reuters. 18 March 2009.
  14. ↑ "Fitch Downgrades Turkey's Hurriyet to 'BB-'; Outlook Negative - PO Oil Financing LTD, Petrol Ofisi A.S., Hurriyet Gazetecilik ve Matbaacilik A.S., Dogan Yayin Holding AS Market Size, Market Share and Demand Forecast". Archived from the original on 6 December 2010. Retrieved 8 September 2009. Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine
  15. 1 2 Dogan Hit by $2.5 Billion Tax Fine in Erdogan Feud, Seda Sezer and Ben Holland, Bloomberg, September 8, 2009
  16. ↑ Turkey gov't hits media group Dogan with tax fine, Reuters, September 8, 2009
  17. 1 2 Turkish Premier Defends Media Tax Battle, Marc Champion, The Wall Street Journal, October 5, 2009
  18. ↑ Feud Shaking Turkey Pits Erdogan Against Dogan Newspaper Baron Archived 2012-11-03 at the Wayback Machine, Ben Holland and Firat Kayakiran, Bloomberg, June 23, 2009
  19. ↑ "Golden Butterfly Awards recognize best of Turkey's TV and music world". Hürriyet. 14 November 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
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