The short answer is yes, it is a statutory obligation. Article 8/1(ı): “…it is mandatory to state the archive or reconstruction character of footage and the source of news taken from agencies or from another media source.”
Scope: not only agencies
The text names two groups: “from agencies” and “from another media source”. The second widens the scope considerably. If your own reporter did not produce it, the news came from another source and the source must be given.
| Source | Credit |
|---|---|
| News agency | Required |
| Another television or radio undertaking | Required |
| Newspaper or online news site | Required |
| Foreign media organisation | Required |
| An institution’s own statement | Expected to be stated as the source |
| News produced by your own reporter | Outside the sub-paragraph |
The print equivalent: mahrec
In Turkish print journalism the same rule is known as mahrec. Law No. 6112 does not use that word; it says “the source must be stated”. The function is identical: showing the reader or viewer where the news came from.
How to credit
The Law prescribes no form. The test is that the viewer can identify the source.
- A source caption on the footage, visible while the footage is on screen
- The presenter stating the source at the top of the item
- The source name in the lower third
- Where a single item has several sources, all of them shown
Crediting does not grant a right to use
This is the most common mistake. Article 8/1(ı) lays down a broadcasting principle; it does not regulate copyright. Using another undertaking’s footage with a credit does not extinguish that undertaking’s rights under Law No. 5846 on Intellectual and Artistic Works.
The short reporting regime for exclusive rights
Article 16 of Law No. 6112 sets up a special arrangement for footage of events of major importance for the public. Television broadcasters holding exclusive rights must, within the framework of Law No. 5846, grant other broadcasters a short reporting right “on a fair, reasonable and equitable basis against payment” (Art. 16/1).
Article 16/3 sets three limits on the use of such footage and repeats the source requirement: short reports are used “stating the source, only within news programmes and in a manner not exceeding ninety seconds”.
| Limit | Rule | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | Not more than 90 seconds | Art. 16/3 |
| Placement | Only within news programmes | Art. 16/3 |
| Attribution | The source must be stated | Art. 16/3 |
| Payment | Against payment; on a fair, reasonable and equitable basis | Art. 16/1 |
| Selection | The requesting broadcaster selects the short reports freely | Art. 16/2 |
The duty of accuracy cannot be delegated to the source
Crediting a source does not transfer responsibility for accuracy. The same sub-paragraph provides that “news capable of investigation within the framework of press professional principles may not be published without investigation or without being sure of its accuracy”. “That is how the agency filed it” is not, by itself, sufficient for a story that could have been checked.
Sanctions
A breach of Article 8/1(ı) falls under Article 32/2: one to three per cent of gross commercial communication revenue, with a floor of TRY 1,000 for radio and TRY 10,000 for television and on-demand services. More than twenty breaches within one year start the suspension ladder in the second track of Article 32/5.
The archive label is covered in the archive footage guide and the ninety-second limit in the short reporting guide.