''Hürriyet'' (, ''Liberty'') is a major
Turkish newspaper, founded in 1948. it had the highest circulation of any newspaper in Turkey at around 319,000.
''Hürriyet'' combines entertainment with news coverage and has a mainstream, liberal and conservative outlook.
''Hürriyet'' has regional offices in
Istanbul
Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
,
Ankara
Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...
,
İzmir
İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...
,
Adana
Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province, Adana province, and has a population of 1 81 ...
,
Antalya
Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...
and
Trabzon
Trabzon, historically known as Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. The city was founded in 756 BC as "Trapezous" by colonists from Miletus. It was added into the Achaemenid E ...
, as well as a news network comprising 52 offices and 600 reporters in Turkey and abroad, all affiliated with
DoÄŸan News Agency DoÄŸan is both a masculine Turkish given name and a Turkish surname meaning ''Falcon''. Notable people with the name include:
Given name
* DoÄŸan Abukay, Turkish experimental physicist and academic
* Doğan Akhanlı (1957–2021) Turkish-German wr ...
, 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
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
, Germany. , according to
Alexa
Alexa may refer to: Technology
*Amazon Alexa, a virtual assistant developed by Amazon
* Alexa Internet, a defunct website ranking and traffic analysis service
* Alexa Fluor, a family of fluorescent dyes
* Arri Alexa, a digital motion picture ca ...
, its website was the tenth most visited in Turkey, the second most visited of a newspaper and the fourth most visited news website. On 21 March 2018, Doğan Yayın Holding, the parent company of ''Hürriyet'', was sold to
Demirören Holding Demiören is a Turkish word meaning ''iron braider'' and may refer to:
Company
* Demirören Group
Demirören Group is a Turkish conglomerate company. Its properties include Milangaz (a liquefied petroleum gas distributor with 9% share of the Tu ...
for approximately $1.2 billion. The Demirören Group is known for its pro-government stance.
History
''Hürriyet'' was founded by
Sedat Simavi
Sedat Simavi (1896 – 11 December 1953) was a Turkish journalist, writer and film director. He established many newspapers and magazines.
Biography
Simavi was born in 1896. His grandfather and uncles served in different positions in the of ...
on 1 May 1948 with a staff of 48. Selling 50,000 copies in its first week, ''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
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...
to
İsmet İnönü
Mustafa İsmet İnönü (24 September 1884 – 25 December 1973) was a Turkish politician and military officer who served as the second List of Presidents of Turkey, president of Turkey from 1938 to 1950, and as its Prime Minister of Turkey, pr ...
.
In the letter, Johnson overtly stated that Turkey should not organize any military intervention in Cyprus.
[
It is considered a high-circulation newspaper in Turkey.
In 2018, ''Hurriyet'' was bought by ]Demirören Holding Demiören is a Turkish word meaning ''iron braider'' and may refer to:
Company
* Demirören Group
Demirören Group is a Turkish conglomerate company. Its properties include Milangaz (a liquefied petroleum gas distributor with 9% share of the Tu ...
, owned by the Demirören family, who are considered to be close to President Erdoğan.
Tax fine controversy
In February 2009, the newspaper received an 826.2 million TL (US$523 million) fine for tax evasion by DoÄŸan Group/Petrol Ofisi. Following this, the Istanbul Stock Exchange
The Borsa İstanbul (abbreviated as BIST) is the sole exchange entity of Turkey combining the former Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE) (), the Istanbul Gold Exchange () and the Derivatives Exchange of Turkey () under one umbrella. It was establishe ...
suspended DoÄŸan Holding's shares, and Fitch downgraded the rating of ''Hürriyet'' to 'BB−'.
Executives at the Doğan Group expressed the opinion that the tax fine was politically motivated "intimidation", caused by ''Hürriyet'' linking of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...
and his political party, AKP, to a charity scandal in Germany. In March 2009, Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
, expressed public concern about the fine, saying that it threatened "pluralism and freedom of the press."[Dogan Hit by $2.5 Billion Tax Fine in Erdogan Feud](_blank)
Seda Sezer and Ben Holland, ''Bloomberg'', September 8, 2009
In September 2009, DoÄŸan Group was fined a record US$2.5 billion, related to alleged past tax irregularities.
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
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the p ...
.[Turkish Premier Defends Media Tax Battle](_blank)
Marc Champion, ''The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'', October 5, 2009 It also caused some critics and global investors to compare the fines to then-Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
n President Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
's use of tax-evasion charges to bankrupt oil company Yukos
OJSC "Yukos Oil Company" (, ) was an oil and gas company based in Moscow, Russia. Yukos was acquired from the Russian government by Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky's Bank Menatep during the controversial "loans for shares" auctions of ...
for allegedly political reasons. In an interview, ErdoÄŸan denied this charge, calling it "very ugly" and "disrespectful" to both himself and Putin.
Istanbul -Hürriyet- 2000 by RaBoe 01.jpg, Hürriyet headquarters in Güneşli, Istanbul
Istanbul -Hürriyet- 2000 by RaBoe 02.jpg, Hürriyet headquarters in Güneşli, Istanbul
Notable people
* Ahmet Altan
* Fatih Altaylı
* Burak Bekdil
* Orhan Boran
Orhan Boran (30 June 1928 – 26 May 2012) was a Turkish people, Turkish radio and TV host and actor. He was also widely known for his laudable usage of the Turkish language.
Early life
Boran was born in Istanbul, Turkey in 1928 as the son ...
* Bekir CoÅŸkun
Bekir Coşkun (1945 – 18 October 2020) was a Turkish people, Turkish journalist, writer and columnist for leading Turkish daily, ''Cumhuriyet''. He was a good friend of Emin Çölaşan, with whom he had worked in the newspaper ''Hürriyet'' befo ...
* Emin Çölaşan
* Cengiz Çandar
Cengiz Çandar (born 1948) is a Turkish politician, journalist, senior columnist, and a Middle East expert. He is elected to the Turkish Parliament (TBMM) in May 2023, as Deputy of Diyarbakır from the pro-Kurdish, the Peoples’ Equality and De ...
* Oktay EkÅŸi
* Çetin Emeç
* Ahmet Hakan
* Doğan Hızlan
* Halit Kıvanç
Halit Ahmet Kıvanç (18 February 1925 – 25 October 2022) was a Turkish television and radio presenter, humorist, sports journalist and writer. He was best known as a sports commentator.
Early years
Kıvanç was born in the Fatih district of I ...
* Emre Kızılkaya
Emre Kızılkaya (born 6 July 1982, in Istanbul) is a Turkish journalist and researcher who served as a vice-chair of the Vienna-based International Press Institute and as a Technology and Human Rights Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Carr Ce ...
* Gary S. Lachman
* Çetin Özek
* Ertuğrul Özkök
* Erman Åžener
* Doğan Uluç
* Didem Ünsal
Golden Butterfly Awards
''Hürriyet'', along with Pantene
Pantene () is an American brand of hair care products now owned by Procter & Gamble. The product line originated in Europe in 1945 by Hoffmann-La Roche of Switzerland, which based the name on panthenol. It started to be introduced in the United ...
, sponsors the annual Golden Butterfly Awards
The Golden Butterfly Awards (Turkish: ''Altın Kelebek Ödülleri'') are annual Turkish music and television awards held since 1972. Sponsored by Pantene, winners are chosen by readers of the daily newspaper ''Hürriyet'', and the event is broad ...
, in which its readers vote for nominees in the fields of Turkish television and music.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurriyet
1948 establishments in Turkey
Bağcılar
DoÄŸan Media Group
Newspapers published in Istanbul
Newspapers established in 1948
Turkish-language newspapers
Daily newspapers published in Turkey