| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | Doğan Media Group |
| Founded | 1948 |
| Political alignment | Kemalism Turkish nationalism Economic liberalism |
| Headquarters | Güneşli, Bağcılar, Istanbul, Turkey |
| Circulation | 495,000 (2004) |
| Official website | www.hurriyet.com.tr |
Hürriyet ("Liberty") is a high-circulation[1][2] Turkish newspaper. Hürriyet was founded by Sedat Simavi on 1 May 1948 with a staff of 48. Selling 50,000 in its first week,[3] Hürriyet was Simavi's 59th and last publication.
Hürriyet has regional offices in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Adana, Antalya and Trabzon, 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 are under the management of Doğan Yayın Holding. Hürriyet is printed in six cities in Turkey and in Frankfurt, Germany.[4]
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Hürriyet is a nationalist leaning and strongly secularist paper, often critical of the ruling AK Party.[5] Hürriyet's editorial line may be considered middle-market, combining entertainment value with comprehensive news coverage and a strong cadre of columnists.
In February 2009, Doğan Group received a TL 826.2 million (US$ 523 million) fine for tax evasion by Doğan Group/Petrol Ofisi. Following this, the Turkish Stock Exchange suspended Doğan Holding's shares,[6][7][8] and Fitch downgraded Hurriyet to 'BB-'.[1] [2]
Executives at the Doğan Group expressed the opinion that the tax fine was politically-motivated "intimidation", caused by Hürriyet's linking of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his political party, AKP, to a charity scandal in Germany. In March 2009, Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, expressed public concern about the fine, saying that it threatened "pluralism and freedom of the press."[9]
In September 2009, Doğan Group received another fine, for a record US$ 2.5 billion, related to past tax irregularities.[9][10]
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.[11] It also caused some critics and global investors[12] to compare the fines to then-Russian President Vladimir Putin'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.[11]
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