The honest answer: in the legislative set this article rests on there is no provision setting a general minimum page count for newspapers. Page count is not a condition but a variable in a calculation.
Where Does Page Count Appear?
Art. 4 of the Press Card Regulation defines surface area: the value in square metres of the figure found by multiplying the page width, page height and page count of periodicals published in print.
| Multiplier | Unit |
|---|---|
| Page width | Metres |
| Page height | Metres |
| Page count | Number |
| Result | Surface area in square metres |
The Real Conditions on Page Layout
The Regulation imposes conditions not on page count but on page content. Art. 15(c):
- That the total area of advertisements, announcements, pictures of the same nature, ready-made blocks and side margins does not exceed one third of the surface area
- That each page is reset and laid out afresh before printing
The Quotation Limit Is Also a Measure
Subparagraph (ç) of the same article limits the originality of content: apart from material under contract or for which royalty or subscription fees have been paid, no more than one third of the page layout, headlines, text and visual content may be verbatim quotation from another publication, even where it belongs to the same person.
Subparagraph (d) imposes an attribution duty: where a quotation is made by subscription or against a royalty fee, the publication it was taken from must be shown.
The Regular Publication Condition
Art. 4 of the Regulation defines regular publication: publication made, save for force majeure, without interruptions exceeding fifteen issues in a year for daily periodicals, six for weekly periodicals, three for fortnightly periodicals, one for monthly, bimonthly and quarterly periodicals, and a total of two days for news and photograph agencies.
So what the legislation cares about is not the page count but the continuity of publication and the originality of the content.
The Offering for Sale Condition
Subparagraph (ğ) of Art. 15 sets one more condition: being offered for sale at market price in places anyone can see or enter. We cover it in the cover price guide.
The Official Announcement Side
Summary
- The legislation sets no general minimum page count for newspapers.
- Page count, multiplied by page width and height, gives the surface area, and the surface area sets the press card quota.
- The Regulation's real conditions are about content: advertising and margin area not exceeding one third of the surface area, each page reset and laid out afresh, and quotation not exceeding one third.