For internet news sites the quota does not depend on surface area as it does for newspapers, but on the number of employees insured under Law No. 5953.

The Quota Table

Art. 27/2 of the Press Card Regulation sets three tiers:

Employees insured under Law No. 5953Cards that may be issued
FourThe licence holder or representative of the legal person and four employees
Five to nineThe licence holder or representative of the legal person and nine employees
Ten and aboveNo quota limit is applied

The Other Conditions Required of the Outlet

The quota alone is not enough. Art. 18 requires seven conditions of internet news sites whose staff may be issued press cards:

  • (a) Submitting to the Directorate an approved copy of the declaration filed under Law No. 5187 and of the receipt issued by the public prosecutor's office
  • (b) Being dedicated to the purpose of sharing news
  • (c) Meeting the minimum employee condition under Law No. 5953 in the number stated in Art. 27
  • (ç) The publication being open to uninterrupted access, save for force majeure and statutory restrictions
  • (d) Carrying written, visual or audio content in the nature of daily news or comment, provided it is original and current
  • (e) Where a quotation is made by subscription or against a royalty fee, showing which publication it was taken from
  • (f) The page layout, headline, text and visual content not being verbatim quotation from another publication, even where it belongs to the same person
  • (g) Performing the notification duty in Art. 36 on a change of workplace and/or title

The Commission's Extra Measure: Traffic

Art. 35/3 sets a special measure for news sites: where the applicant works for an internet news site, the site's unique visitor count and page-view count are also taken into account.

Which Titles?

Art. 27/1 enumerates 22 titles for internet news sites. Those specific to digital publishing stand out:

  • Licence holder or representative of the legal person
  • Editor-in-chief / coordinator / internet publishing director / internet publishing editor
  • Responsible managing editor or responsible editor; managing editor
  • Intelligence and news desk chief
  • Internet news director, coordinator, editor, sub-editor or chief - provided they work in the listed news fields
  • Reporter, photojournalist, correspondent
  • Art director, page secretary, designer-graphic artist working in the news field
  • News camera operator, news presenter, camera operator
  • Editor, video editor, social media editor

We gather the full list in the eligible titles guide.

Compared with Newspapers

PublicationThe measure that sets the quotaArticle
Daily political newspaperPage surface area (square metres)Art. 19
MagazinePage countArts. 20-22
Radio and televisionCharacter of the broadcast (national/regional/local)Art. 26
Internet news siteNumber of employees insured under Law No. 5953Art. 27

Summary

  • The quota for internet news sites depends on the number of insured employees.
  • With four employees, the licence holder or representative and four employees get cards; with five to nine, nine employees; with ten or more, no limit applies.
  • Alongside the quota, the seven outlet conditions in Art. 18 must also be met.