There is no provision in the legislation setting a newspaper's cover price - the price is free. But two separate arrangements draw limits around price.
First Limit: "Offering for Sale at Market Price"
Subparagraph (ğ) of Art. 15 of the Press Card Regulation requires, for newspapers and magazines whose staff may be issued press cards: being offered for sale at market price in places anyone can see or enter.
| Element of the condition | Meaning |
|---|---|
| In places anyone can see or enter | Closed-circuit distribution is not enough |
| At market price | Not symbolic or free distribution |
| Offered for sale | Actually put up for sale |
Second Limit: The Distribution Fee Cap
Art. 23 of Law No. 5187 governs not the price but the distribution fee: persons distributing periodicals are obliged to distribute the publications whose distribution is requested of them against a fee not exceeding the distribution fee determined by reference to the sale price, circulation and page count they apply to the other publications they distribute.
Those acting contrary to that obligation are punished with a heavy fine of ten times the total value of the publication whose distribution they avoided.
Third Protection: Freedom of Retail Sale
The second paragraph of Art. 23 protects the retail side: natural or legal persons offering periodicals for retail sale may at the same time agree with as many distribution companies as they wish and sell whichever publications they wish.
Obstructing Distribution Is a Separate Offence
Art. 22 governs a graver case: a person who destroys or damages printed works lawfully printed, with the aim of preventing their publication, distribution or sale, is punished, where the act does not constitute a graver offence, with imprisonment of up to one year and a heavy fine.
The continuation: a person who, despite compliance with the conditions required by the Law, prevents the printing, publication, distribution or sale of periodicals and non-periodicals by violence or threat is punished, where the act does not constitute a graver offence, with imprisonment of up to two years.
The Official Announcement Fee Is a Separate Matter
A newspaper's cover price should not be confused with the official announcement fee. The official announcement fee is set by the Official Announcement Price Tariff brought into force by Presidential Decision and rests on the column-centimetre basis. We collected its archive in the tariff archive.
Summary
- The cover price is free; the legislation sets no figure.
- But Art. 15/ğ of the Press Card Regulation requires the publication to be offered for sale at market price in places anyone can see - so free distribution does not satisfy the condition.
- Art. 23 of Law No. 5187 caps the distribution fee and prohibits imposing on a retailer an obligation not to sell competing publications.