Yes. Sub-paragraph (e) of Article 7 of the Press Card Regulation provides that a press card may be issued to public personnel working at public institutions providing services in the media field and in the information services carried out by public institutions.
Which Type of Card?
Article 10 provides that the duty-based press card may be issued to Turkish citizen media members employed at a media organisation and to information officers. Information officers therefore receive the duty-based card.
The Mandatory Document: The Duty Letter
Article 28/6 repeats this and stresses that the letter must evidence that the applicant actually works in state information services. The key word is actually: the staff title alone is not enough — the work must in fact be carried out.
A Criterion Specific to Information Officers
Article 35/4 adds an assessment criterion: where an application is made under the title of information officer, the applicant's title and whether the duty actually performed is media-related are taken into account by the Commission.
The Permanent Card Route
Information officers can also reach the permanent card, but the measure is different. Under Article 14, for media members the measure is 18 years of professional service, while for information officers it is having held a press card for at least 18 years.
| Who | Measure for the permanent card |
|---|---|
| Media members | 18 years of professional service |
| Information officers | Having held a press card for 18 years |
This is covered in the permanent card article.
Do Not Confuse This with Corporate Communications
Article 7/2 excludes the publishing staff of private sector organisations not providing media services. Someone working in a company's corporate communications unit is therefore outside the scope, while a public information officer is expressly within it. This is covered in the corporate communications article.
Bottom Line
Public personnel working at public institutions providing media services and in information services carried out by public institutions may be issued a duty-based press card. A duty letter signed by the senior manager, evidencing that the applicant actually works in state information services, is mandatory. For the permanent card the measure is 18 years of holding a press card.