Yes. Law No. 7418 of 13/10/2022 added the words "internet news sites" to Article 1 of Law No. 5953. The amendment entered into force on 18/10/2022. From that date, a person doing intellectual and artistic work at an internet news site is a journalist and is governed by Law 5953, not by Labour Law No. 4857.
Before and After the Amendment
| Period | Scope |
|---|---|
| Before 18/10/2022 | Newspapers, periodicals, news and photo agencies |
| After 18/10/2022 | Newspapers, internet news sites, periodicals, news and photo agencies |
The same Law No. 7418 also made internet news sites periodicals for the purposes of Press Law No. 5187. The two amendments should be read together: the outlet itself became subject to periodical obligations, and its staff became subject to journalists' employment rights.
What Changes in Practice?
For a digital-only outlet the cost lines changed. The four most concrete:
| Item | What changed on moving to Law 5953 | Article |
|---|---|---|
| Annual leave | 4 weeks at one year of seniority; 6 weeks after more than 10 years in the profession | Art. 21 |
| Severance pay | Calculated from first entry into the profession; one month's wage per year | Art. 6 |
| Annual bonus | At least one month's wage at the end of each year of service | Art. 14 |
| Overtime | Hours falling after 00:00 are paid at double | Add. Art. 1 |
Do Contracts Need to Be Renewed?
Article 4 of Law 5953 requires a written contract with the journalist and requires the contract to state the nature of the work, the amount of the wage and the journalist's seniority. A contract drafted under Law 4857 may well not carry those three items in that form.
The sanction for failing to make a written contract is in Article 26(a): an administrative fine for each contract. Because the fine runs per contract, the total grows quickly on a large staff.
Who Remains Outside the Scope?
Not everyone at an internet news site is a journalist. The first leg of the definition still applies: the work must be intellectual and artistic work. Software developers, accountants and sales staff do not fall within that definition; they remain under Law 4857.
The public sector exception in Article 2 also applies here: civil servants and public employees of publicly-owned organisations are outside the scope.
Bottom Line
The intellectual workers of internet news sites have been journalists since 18/10/2022 and are governed by Law No. 5953. That means the entire regime for leave, the annual bonus, seniority and overtime changes. Software, accounting and sales staff remain outside the scope.
Who counts as a journalist is covered in the definition article, and the full comparison of the two statutes in the differences article.