Report: Pro-government newspapers received 78 percent of all public ad payments in 2020

The government has been criticized for using the Press Advertisement Agency to repress independent newspapers.

İstanbul

Report: Pro-government newspapers received 78 percent of all public ad payments in 2020

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Pro-government newspapers received 78 percent of the payments made to national newspapers for public ads last year, according to Press Advertisement Institution (BİK) documents revealed by Deutsche Welle Turkish.

The BİK distributed 416.18 million lira (48.6 million USD) to all newspapers in 2020 with 30 national newspapers receiving 182.49 million lira (21.3 million USD), the documents show. Pro-government newspapers received 141.9 million lira (16.6 million USD), or 78 percent, of the funds distributed to national newspapers.

The BİK was founded in 1961 to support independent newspapers through public ads and notices. Over the past few years, it has been criticized for using ad bans as a punitive tool against newspapers critical of the government. Ads and notices placed by the BİK are an essential source of income for most independent outlets.

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According to the documents revealed by DW Turkish, newspapers of two media conglomerates received 36 percent of the funds allocated for national newspapers.

Three newspapers of Turkuvaz Media Group received 33.51 million lira, or 18.37 percent of the funds while three newspapers of Demirören Media Group received 33.16 million lira.

Here are 13 national newspapers' public ad revenues in 2020:

•Sabah (Turkuvaz): 17,561,538 lira

•Hürriyet (Demirören): 13,353,645 lira

•Posta ve Milliyet (Demirören): 9,9 million lira each

•Yeni Şafak (Albayrak): 9,662,294 lira

•Sözcü: 9,539,776 lira

•Karar: 6,000,412,lira

•Milli Gazete: 6,000,49,lira

•Yeniçağ: 6,000,22,lira

•Cumhuriyet: 5,000,30,lira

•Korkusuz: 4,000,713,lira

•BirGün: 2,000,381,lira

•Yeni Asya: 116,000 lira

The documents also show an unprecedented increase in the penalties issued to newspapers due to failure to fulfill the requirements of the legislation and violating the General Assembly Resolution on Press Ethics.

In 2019, the BİK issued a total of 181 days of ad and notice cut penalties on 88 newspapers due to procedural violations while it issued a total of 143 days of penalties due to violations of ethical principles.

In the last year, penalties increased by more than twice as 75 newspapers received a total of 236 days of public ad and notice penalties for procedural violations and 35 newspapers received a total of 572 days of penalties for violations of ethical principles.

Five newspapers received 97 percent of the penalties imposed on national newspapers: Cumhuriyet (128 days), Evrensel (68 days), Birgün (61 days), Sözcü (34 days), and Korkusuz (25 days).

Since it was handed over to the Presidency Communications Directorate following the switch to the presidential system, the BİK has not been making public data on newspaper circulations and ad placements. (KÖ/VK)