Cumhuriyet

This article is about the Turkish daily newspaper. For other uses, see Cumhuriyet (disambiguation).
Cumhuriyet
TypeUp-market daily
FormatBerliner
Owner(s)Cumhuriyet Foundation
Founder(s)Yunus Nadi Abalıoğlu
Editor-in-chiefMine Esen
FoundedMay 7, 1924; 100 years ago (1924-05-07)
Political alignmentKemalism
Secularism/Laïcité
Islamophobia
Left-wing politics
Social democracy
LanguageTurkish
HeadquartersŞişli, Istanbul, Turkey
Circulation43,791 (as of May 2018)
Websitecumhuriyet.com.tr Edit this at Wikidata

Cumhuriyet (Turkish pronunciation: [dʒumhuːɾiˈjet]; English: "Republic") is the oldest up-market Turkish daily newspaper. It has been described as "the most important independent public interest newspaper in contemporary Turkey".[1] The newspaper was awarded the Freedom of Press Prize by Reporters Without Borders in 2015 and the Alternative Nobel Prize in 2016.[1][2] It is considered Turkey's newspaper of record.[3] It has been known for its stance of publishing anti-Islamist titles and news at least since the 1960s.[4][5]

Established on 7 May 1924 by journalist Yunus Nadi Abalıoğlu, a confidant of the Turkish Republic's founder Mustafa Kemal 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 newspaper turned to a more independent course over time, advocating democracy, social liberal values and free markets. Today, "being a Cumhuriyet reader has become synonymous with embracing democratic values and a pluralistic society".[1]

The newspaper's anti-government advertisements before the 2007 Turkish presidential election and general election caused controversy for "warning" voters against the AKP government with the message "Are you aware of the danger?".[6][7] Notably, the newspaper has also broken the story on the treasonous 2014 National Intelligence Organisation scandal in Turkey, reprinted the scandalous cartoons from Charlie Hebdo, and reported on the Panama Papers and Paradise Papers affairs while linking prominent Turkish figures to the documents.

Cumhuriyet has been targeted throughout its history, such as with the assassinations of Uğur Mumcu, Bahriye Üçok, Ahmet Taner Kışlalı, Muammer Aksoy, Ümit Kaftancıoğlu, Onat Kutlar, and Cavit Orhan Tütengil. More recent attacks include the 2008 molotov attack on the newspaper's headquarters in Istanbul's Şişli district and the attempted assassination of Can Dündar in 2016.[8] The newspaper has been described as "a high-profile target in the Erdoğan government’s crackdown on media".[9] By the end of 2016, almost half of the paper's reporters, columnists and executives had been jailed.[10]

  1. ^ a b c "Cumhuriyet". The Right Livelihood Award. Archived from the original on 2020-05-27. Retrieved 2020-05-27.
  2. ^ TV5 Monde Prize ceremony, Reporters without Borders, 19 November. 2015
  3. ^ Shaheen, Kareem; Hatunoğlu, Gözde (24 July 2017). "Turkish activists decry attack on press freedom as journalists stand trial". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 May 2022. ...because Cumhuriyet, the country's newspaper of record that is committed to secularism...
  4. ^ "irtica haberleri – Son dakika irtica haberleri – irtica ile ilgili en önemli gelişmeler". cumhuriyet.com.tr. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  5. ^ "CUMHURİYET GAZETESİ 9 TEMMUZ 1969 ÇARŞAMBA – İRTİCA KAYSERİ'DE DE AYAKLANDI | Nadir Kitap". NadirKitap (in Turkish). Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Osborne, Samuel (2016-05-06). "Turkish journalist escapes assassination attempt before being sentenced to 5 years in prison". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2019-04-06. Retrieved 2020-05-27.
  9. ^ McTighe, Kristen (2019-09-27). "Turkish scientist gets 15-month sentence for publishing environmental study". Science | AAAS. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  10. ^ 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.