The conditions for news and photograph agencies sit in Art. 16 of the Press Card Regulation, and they follow a different logic from newspapers and magazines: here what is decisive is staffing and a sales contract.
Five Conditions
| Subpara. | Condition |
|---|---|
| (a) | Being published regularly, or transmitted electronically, at the intervals stated in the declaration filed under Law No. 5187 |
| (b) | One copy of each issue of its work being sent to the relevant regional directorate within five days of publication at the latest, and transmitted electronically to the Directorate |
| (c) | Having on staff at least five journalists who have previously held a press card and who work under Law No. 5953 |
| (ç) | Having concluded a paid news sales contract with a periodical of national or regional character |
| (d) | Performing the notification duty in Art. 36 on a change of workplace and/or title |
Quota: Three Tiers
Art. 24/2 sets the quota in three tiers by the size of the agency:
| Condition | Quota |
|---|---|
| A news and photograph contract with at least 10 daily political national/regional newspapers or 5 national radio or television outlets + at least 10 journalists on staff who have previously held a card and work under Law No. 5953 | No quota limit. Cards are also issued to staff in foreign bureaux |
| A contract with daily political newspapers whose combined actual daily sales are not less than 250,000, or with 2 national radio/television outlets + 5 journalists on staff | Owner or representative of the legal person + 18 employees. No cards for foreign bureaux |
| Commercial agencies with 1,000 paying subscribers and at least 5 journalists on staff who have previously held a card and work under Law No. 5953 | The quota set in the article |
The gap between the tiers is wide: the first has no limit at all, the second is capped at 18 employees.
Why a Sales Contract?
Subparagraph (ç) requires the agency actually to have a customer. A paid news sales contract with a periodical of national or regional character shows the agency has a market.
A Separate Article for Anadolu Agency
Art. 23 governs the titles at Anadolu Agency separately, and its second paragraph draws a clear line: no press card is issued to those who do not work in the news field at Anadolu Agency.
The Employee's Own Conditions
Even where the outlet's conditions are met, the person must meet the general conditions in Art. 8. We cover this in the application checklist.
Summary
- News and photograph agencies need regular publication or electronic transmission, delivery of work within five days, at least five journalists on staff who have previously held a card and work under Law No. 5953, and a paid news sales contract.
- The quota varies with the number of contracts and the size of the staff.
- At the top tier there is no quota limit and foreign bureau staff also get cards.