Among the conditions for the right to publish official announcements, editorial staffing is the one item no software can solve. How many people you must employ depends on your category, who may be counted is limited by a separate article, and every change must be reported within a fixed period. This guide answers all four questions with the article numbers of the Regulation on Official Announcements and Advertisements.
The basic conditions for the staff (Art. 18)
Before the numbers, the quality of the staff matters. Under Article 18 the editorial staff shown on the roster must satisfy the following:
- Their employment contracts are made in writing and full-time in conformity with Law No. 5953
- Their wages are paid in full and in advance, over a full day and a full month, in conformity with their contracts
- They actually perform the work corresponding to the duties stated in their contracts
- Their social security notifications and premiums and the tax accruals on their wages are made in full within the statutory period
- They do not engage in a commercial business benefiting themselves and carry on no activity outside journalism
- They reside in the place of publication or quota location of the publication for which they work
The last condition has exceptions. Editorial staff other than the responsible editor may reside outside the place of publication provided they remain within the administrative boundaries of the same province and neighbouring provinces; the Agency decides whether the duty can be performed continuously, taking distance and public transport into account. The maximum numbers exempt from the residence condition are also set in the article: at most four in national newspapers; for online news sites at most ten in the General Category, four in the 1st and 2nd, two in the 3rd and 4th and one in the 5th Category. Residence is determined by the primary address in the national population register.
How many for newspapers? (Art. 38)
Article 38 sets the number, the breakdown and the duties together, category by category. Meeting the total alone is not enough; you must also comply with the breakdown.
| Category | Total | Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Category | 14 | 1 responsible editor, 1 news editor, 4 page secretaries, 6 reporters, 2 columnists |
| 2nd Category | 11 | 1 responsible editor, 1 news editor, 3 page secretaries, 5 reporters, 1 columnist |
| 3rd Category | 6 | 1 responsible editor, 1 page secretary, 3 reporters, 1 columnist |
| 4th Category | 5 | 1 responsible editor, 1 page secretary, 3 reporters |
| 5th Category | 4 | 1 responsible editor, 1 page secretary, 2 reporters |
| 6th Category | 3 | 1 responsible editor, 1 page secretary, 1 reporter |
The article contains two further provisions. First, newspapers in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Categories may employ an editor-in-chief in the minimum roster in place of one person serving in the reporter posts. Second, national newspapers must employ the number and duties of editorial staff specified for the 1st Category, irrespective of their own place of publication.
How many for online news sites? (Art. 59)
The table for online news sites is separate, and unlike newspapers the title of web editor comes into play.
| Category | Total | Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| General Category | 32 | 1 responsible editor, 3 news editors, 13 web editors, 11 reporters, 4 columnists |
| 1st Category | 15 | 1 responsible editor, 1 news editor, 6 web editors, 5 reporters, 2 columnists |
| 2nd Category | 12 | 1 responsible editor, 1 news editor, 4 web editors, 4 reporters, 2 columnists |
| 3rd Category | 8 | 1 responsible editor, 3 web editors, 3 reporters, 1 columnist |
| 4th Category | 6 | 1 responsible editor, 2 web editors, 3 reporters |
| 5th Category | 4 | 1 responsible editor, 1 web editor, 2 reporters |
The gap between the General Category and the 5th Category is eightfold: 32 people against 4. That row shows the price of a nationwide quota location.
Who may be on the roster? (Art. 19)
Article 19 requires editorial staff to hold at least one of seven qualifications: a degree from a communication faculty or a communication-related programme (or a master’s or doctoral programme in communication, or an equivalent diploma recognised by the Higher Education Council); a press card as an editorial worker; a vocational-school communication degree plus at least six months of uninterrupted documented work; a vocational high-school communication degree plus 12 months of documented work of which at least six are continuous; 15 months of documented work as editorial staff under Law No. 5953 of which at least six are continuous; 15 months in the news services of public broadcasters under public-law status; or a degree from a non-communication faculty plus at least nine months of uninterrupted documented work.
The second paragraph grants two exemptions: those employed as columnists, and — limited to one member of staff — persons treated as disabled under Law No. 4857 who document this with a proper medical board report.
Who may not? (Art. 20)
This is the article that most often causes problems on inspection, because in small publications family members and partners are naturally involved in the work.
Ownership and management ties
The concession holder or the representative of the legal person determined under Law No. 5187, partners in general partnerships, active partners in ordinary and share-capital limited partnerships, shareholders in shipping partnerships, partners representing the company and company managers in limited companies, partners authorised to represent the company and members of the board of directors and audit board in joint-stock companies, and in cooperatives the manager, the members of the management and audit boards and persons authorised to represent — none of these may appear in the editorial roster of publications belonging to themselves or to others.
Kinship ties
The mother, father, spouse, natural and step children, adopted child and spouse’s parents of a natural person owning a publication concerned with official announcements, or of members of the management or audit organs of a legal person owner, may not appear on that publication’s roster.
Other bars
Students in daytime education, and second-shift students in another province (open and distance education excepted), persons called up for military service and persons on unpaid leave may not appear in editorial rosters.
How quickly must changes be reported? (Art. 22)
Article 22 sets a clear period: newspapers and online news sites must transmit to the Agency through İLANBİS, within three working days at the latest of the transaction, the information and documents relating to hirings, title changes, departures and the tax and insurance accruals of their editorial staff.
Conclusion
The staffing condition has three layers: number (between 3 and 32 depending on your category), qualification (at least one of the seven routes in Article 19) and the ties prohibition (the ownership and kinship bars in Article 20). Without all three the roster is not complete.
Category-by-category figures are in the newspaper staffing guide and the online news site staffing guide.