''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 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 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, 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 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 to İsmet İnönü. 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, 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 Doğan Group/Petrol Ofisi. Following this, the Istanbul Stock Exchange suspended Doğan 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 Erdoğan (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
Seda Sezer and Ben Holland, ''Bloomberg'', September 8, 2009 In September 2009, Doğan 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
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 for allegedly political reasons. In an interview, Erdoğan 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 * Bekir Coşkun * Emin Çölaşan * Cengiz Çandar * Oktay Ekşi * Çetin Emeç * Ahmet Hakan * Doğan Hızlan * Halit Kıvanç * Emre Kızılkaya * Gary S. Lachman * Çetin Özek * Ertuğrul Özkök * Erman Şener * Doğan Uluç * Didem Ünsal

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.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hurriyet 1948 establishments in Turkey Bağcılar Doğan Media Group Newspapers published in Istanbul Newspapers established in 1948 Turkish-language newspapers Daily newspapers published in Turkey