Daily Sabah
Turkish English Newspapers 2 Daily Sabah
In their own words, Daily Sabah is ‘Turkey’s top English newspaper’, and is also available in German, Arabic, and Russian language. It is a general interest daily newspaper owned by Turkuvaz Media Group. In 2018, the circulation of this newspaper was 7,000, bringing to its readers a wide variety of topics such as politics, business, sports, lifestyle, and world news. It considers its publications varied enough to cover all aspects of the current media landscape.
In 2014, Turkish politics was going through a highly antagonistic climate. Multiple papers had begun to publish strong critiques of the ruling AKP government. In an attempt to counteract this, the Daily Sabah newspaper was founded at that time with a clear goal of conveying pro-government ideology to the people. The newspaper has often been called a propaganda outlet of the Turkish government by critics. This is further fuelled by the fact that it is owned by a friend of President Erdoğan, the current president of Turkey.
A nationwide publication, Daily Sabah prides itself on adhering to press ethics and upholding the rule of law and democracy, while still bringing to readers accurate facts. Despite this philosophy, the newspaper has fetched criticism for its stance from various sectors. It has been accused of being the mouthpiece of the Turkish government and using transparent and badly formed propaganda in the process.
Yeni Şafak
Turkish English Newspapers 3 Yeni Safak
Yeni Şafak is a daily Turkish newspaper, known for its Islamist, conservative tradition. It was founded in 1994 by Mehmet Ocaktan, who is a Turkish journalist, but also a supporter and former deputy of the Justice and Development Party (AKP). Published in Turkish, it also has an English-language version, with separate social media profiles for both languages.
The newspaper has a history of allowing space for liberal columnists as well. However, later political developments turned it into a hardline supporter of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Yeni Şafak has subsequently been accused of targeting opposition groups and minority communities by using hate speech. In 1997, the newspaper was acquired by Albayrak Holding, post which Ibrahim Karagül became the editor-in-chief. This led to an overhaul of the employee composition, with Islamist columnists being engaged, and critical liberals being hired.
The pro-government paper has had its share of controversies as well. Noam Chomsky, the renowned American multi-faceted individual at one point accused the newspaper of fabricating parts of an email interview conducted with him. The fabrications included invented questions and answers, and altered criticism of the President’s approach towards the situation in Egypt and Syria, into a positive angle. After much scandal and denial, the newspaper was forced to acknowledge its mistake and removed the full interview from the website. Yeni Şafak has had a history of misinformation in other historical situations as well.
Agos
Turkish English Newspapers 4 Agos Website
Agos is an important Armenian newspaper in Turkey, published weekly. It is printed in Turkish and Armenian but has an online English edition. Even though its circulation is not that high, it is still considered significant because of its tradition of freely discussing sensitive subjects.
It was established in 1996 by Turkish-Armenian editor, journalist, and columnist Hrant Dink. Originally, the main purpose of the paper was to bring to public notice all the troubles faced by the Armenians of Turkey.
The editorial philosophy of the newspaper at present allows it to focus on topics like minority rights, democratization, making peace with the past and protection and development of pluralism within Turkey. Its attempt is to serve as a truly independent platform for intellectual debate in Turkey, where freedom of speech is increasingly restricted.
This policy has also brought woe to the newspaper in the past. Hrant Dink – its founder and chief editor – was accused of ‘denigrating Turkishness’, and was assassinated outside the Agos offices in 2007. His son, Arat Dink, the executive editor of the newspaper, was then named co-defender in the court cases against his father.
Voices Newspaper
Turkish English Newspapers 5 Voices
This is a local newspaper based on the West coast of Turkey, bringing news in English to the people of Bodrum, Didim, and West Turkey. It has a general interest in media coverage. It brings to its readers a lively mixed bag of local and
international news, with a focus on travel reporting. The Voices also maintains directories of useful phone numbers on its website, including a list of international calling codes.
Turkish Press
Turkish English Newspapers 6 Turkish Press Website
TurkishPress.com is an online news source, based in Ankara. It is considered to be an independent, comprehensive website that is neither run by the government nor funded by it. It provides news and information from all around the world, for the people of Turkey. They cover news stories from all the continents, economic, and political news from within the country, business, and sports news. They have a robust lifestyle section which includes health and fashion news. Turkish press also has separate sections for news related to diplomacy and new developments in science. An interesting thing about this news portal is that it does not receive any revenue from advertisements.
Anadolu Agency
Turkish English Newspapers 7 Anadolu Agency
The Anadolu Agency is a state-run, global news agency that brings news to people across the world in English and twelve other languages. The Agency has a whopping 99 years of experience in the news world, covering various fields such as economics, finance, sports, energy, politics, technology, and more.
The history of the Anadolu Agency is also very interesting. In fact, it is considered quite synonymous with the Republic of Turkey. When Istanbul came under occupation and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk called for a new parliament to be established in Ankara, it paved the way for the foundation of this news agency. It was founded in 1920, 17 days before the Turkish Grand National Assembly convened for the very first time. The Anadolu Agency even helped to announce the legislation which brought the Republic to life.
The news agency has subsequently witnessed the National Struggle and the War of Liberation in Turkey. It has also been a part of the reforms of the Republic. In an attempt to make the Anadolu Agency resemble a Western news agency, in 1925, the Anadolu Agency Corporation was formed. It had an autonomous status and an exemplary organization chart!
