Cumhuriyet

History

The founding editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet was Zekeriya Sertel, a Turkish journalist. Following the death of Yunus Nadi on 28 March 1945 in Geneva, Switzerland, Cumhuriyet was owned by his eldest son 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 his death in 2010.

Cumhuriyet contributors such as Uğur Mumcu, Bahriye Üçok, Ahmet Taner Kışlalı, Muammer Aksoy, Ümit Kaftancıoğlu, Onat Kutlar, and Cavit Orhan Tütengil were assassinated between the 1970s and 1990s.

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." Hasan Cemal, chief editor since 1981, 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".

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 also has offices in Ankara and İzmir.

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

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

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.

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. 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.

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". In 2016 the newspaper reported on the Panama Papers and in 2017 on the Paradise Papers affairs, linking a number of prominent Turkish figures to those.

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.

Today, the newspaper is struggling financially due to a low daily circulation figure that has fallen from more than 150,000 in the mid-1990s, in addition to plummeting advertising revenues as companies are not willing to advertise in media critical of the government.

MİT trucks scandal

Main article: 2014 National Intelligence Organisation scandal in Turkey

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 Syrian rebels in neighboring Syria. While the government faced calls to resign, an investigation began into Cumhuriyet for releasing the footage. 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."

In spite of the threats, Cumhuriyet published further material on June 11, including photos and videos confirming that MİT trucks transported both weapons and militants between Turkey and various locations in neighboring Syria.

In November, the newspaper was awarded the 2015 Reporters Without Borders Prize for its "independent and courageous journalism." 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.

Circulation and online edition

In 1924 Cumhuriyet sold 5,000-10,000 copies.{{cite thesis|author=Erol Baykal|title=The Ottoman Press, 1908-1923|url=https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.15925|location=University of Cambridge|page=129|format=PhD|date=2013

Notable contributors (past and present)

Columnists

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

World

• (Dünyada Bugün)
• Güray Öz (Avrupa)
• Mümtaz Soysal (Açı)
• Özgür Mumcu
• Can Dündar

Economics

• Şükran Soner (İşçi Evreninden)
• Öztin Akgüç (Yorum)
• Ergin Yıldızoğlu (Dünya Ekonomisine Bakış)
• (Ekonomi Politik)
• Özlem Yüzak (Bilgi Toplumuna Doğru)
• (Ankara Pazarı)
• Yahya Arıkan (Yaşamda Mali Çözüm)
• Mustafa Pamukoğlu (Maliye Tarafından)

Science-politics

• (Perşembe)

Media

• Mehmet Faraç (Med - Cezir)

Culture-art

• Zeynep Oral (Esintiler)
• (Defne Gölgesi)
• (Ayna)
• (Kedi Gözü)

Sports

• Arif Kızılyalın (Spor Yorumu)
• Adnan Dinçer (Görüş)
• Ahmet Kurt (Basket Yorum)
• Halit Deringör (Görüş)

Deceased contributors

• Uğur Mumcu
• Ahmet Taner Kışlalı
• Bahriye Üçok
• İlhan Selçuk
• Muammer Aksoy
• Hüsnü A. Göksel (1969–2002)
• Ümit Kaftancıoğlu
• Cavit Orhan Tütengil
• Onat Kutlar
• Metin Toker
• Server Tanilli (Bir Bakıma)
• (Evet/Hayır)
• (Hesaplaşma, 1979-1991)
• Hüseyin Baş (Değişen Dünyadan)
• (Göz Ucuyla)
• Mehmet Sucu (Enternet)
• (Sanata Bakış)
• (Wrestling)

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)
• Le Monde diplomatique Türkiye (Le Monde diplomatique Turkey), the first Monday of the month (since February 3, 2020)

References

References

1. "Cumhuriyet".
2. [https://web.archive.org/web/20160426072850/http://rsf.org/en/news/reporters-without-borders-tv5-monde-prize-ceremony TV5 Monde Prize ceremony], Reporters without Borders, 19 November. 2015
3. (24 July 2017). "Turkish activists decry attack on press freedom as journalists stand trial". [[The Guardian]].
4. "irtica haberleri – Son dakika irtica haberleri – irtica ile ilgili en önemli gelişmeler".
5. "CUMHURİYET GAZETESİ 9 TEMMUZ 1969 ÇARŞAMBA – İRTİCA KAYSERİ'DE DE AYAKLANDI {{!}} Nadir Kitap".
6. Osborne, Samuel. (2016-05-06). "Turkish journalist escapes assassination attempt before being sentenced to 5 years in prison".
7. McTighe, Kristen. (2019-09-27). "Turkish scientist gets 15-month sentence for publishing environmental study".
8. Basaran, Ezgi. (2017-01-03). "Secular citizens of Turkey have never felt so alone". Washington Post.
9. (18 May 1980). "Zekeriya Sertel Paris'te Öldü (ZS died in Paris)". Cumhuriyet.
10. "Hasan Cemal Biyografisi". Sondakika.
11. Hugh Pope, ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', 12 May 1992, [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-05-12-wr-1773-story.html 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]
12. (2016-10-01). "Cumhuriyet, 'Tehlikenin farkında mısınız!' demişti". ABC Gazetesi.
13. (2016-11-02). "Geçmişten Bugüne Cumhuriyet Gazetesi Reklamlarının Perspektifinden Türkiye". Bigumigu.
14. link. (2008-12-05 , ''[[Today's Zaman]]'', 1 April 2008)
15. Mustafa Köker. (22 April 2010). "Cumhuriyet'le gelen 'değişim'".
16. Josh Levs et al (14 February 2015) [https://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/14/world/turkey-charlie-hebdo/ Turkey bans Charlie Hebdo cover, newspaper gets death threats] CNN
17. [http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/alternativer-nobelpreis-auszeichnung-fuer-zeitung-cumhuriyet-a-1113256.html ''Regierungskritische türkische Zeitung - "Cumhuriyet" erhält Alternativen Nobelpreis '']. Spiegel Online, 2016-09-22 (German)
18. (5 September 2018). "A Turkish Lawsuit Could Muzzle an Important Journalist".
19. (14 June 2017). "Cumhuriyet online's editor-in-chief Oğuz Güven released pending trial".
20. (29 May 2015). "Turkish daily faces terrorism probe after publishing alleged photos of arms on MİT trucks".
21. (2 June 2015). "Erdoğan's lawyer demands aggravated life sentence for Turkish journalist over news story". [[Hürriyet Daily News]].
22. (11 June 2015). "Turkey denies report of sending weapons, fighters to ISIL".
23. (18 November 2015). "Cumhuriyet newspaper wins journalism prize from Reporters Without Borders". [[Today's Zaman]].
24. (2015-11-26). "Cumhuriyet daily's Dündar, Gül arrested over report on Syria arms transfer". Zaman.
25. (6 May 2018). "Gazete Tirajları".
26. "Hüsnü Göksel". Biyografya.