This is the information a journalist needs most often: through which door do applications pass? The answer is the provincial organisation.
How Is the Provincial Organisation Set Up?
Art. 22 of Presidential Decree No. 14: the Directorate is empowered to establish overseas and provincial organisation. The second paragraph, added by Presidential Decree No. 66: the Directorate's provincial organisation consists of regional directorates attached directly to the centre.
Nineteen Regional Directorates
The same paragraph lists the centres one by one. The regional directorates are based in these provinces:
| Regional directorate centres |
|---|
| Adana |
| Afyonkarahisar |
| Ankara |
| Antalya |
| Bursa |
| Canakkale |
| Diyarbakir |
| Edirne |
| Erzincan |
| Erzurum |
| Gaziantep |
| Istanbul |
| Izmir |
| Kayseri |
| Konya |
| Mugla |
| Samsun |
| Sanliurfa |
| Trabzon |
The article continues: the Directorate is empowered to determine and change the provinces attached to the regional directorates. Liaison offices may be established, attached to the regional directorates, in provinces where the Directorate considers it necessary.
The Most Important Duty: The Press Card Application
The Other Duties
The other subparagraphs of the same article list the regional functions:
- (b) To follow developments in the field of press and broadcasting activity in the region and inform the Directorate
- (ç) To carry out the activities needed to regulate relations with press members in the region and to strengthen the press
- (f) To carry out the work and take the measures needed to facilitate the professional activities of domestic and foreign press and broadcasting organisations and their members in the region
- (ğ) To carry out research and make proposals on strengthening the local press operating in the region and increasing news sources
- (h) To establish relations with press and broadcasting organisations for the promotion of the provinces and, where necessary, to arrange for press members to be invited to the centre or the attached provinces
- (ı) To follow press and broadcasting organisations in the region and to secure the inclusion of local press organisations in the work of the State Information System
- (i) To compile written sources on the history of the press in the region and to carry out, or have carried out, work such as books and bulletins
The Organisational Structure
Arts. 3 and 4 of the Regulation define the structure:
| Unit | Definition |
|---|---|
| Regional Directorate | Directorates attached directly to the Directorate of Communications, having a centre and attached provinces |
| Regional Director | The most senior officer of the Regional Directorate |
| Communication Offices | Offices charged with securing the necessary liaison in the provinces attached to the Regional Directorates |
| Branch Directorate | Directorates attached directly to the Regional Director to carry out the work of the Regional Directorate |
The Regulation rests on Arts. 19 and 22 of Presidential Decree No. 14; the provinces attached to the regional directorates are shown in Annex 1 and the Head is empowered to determine and change them.
The Five-Day Delivery Duty
The regional directorates are also the addressee of publishers' regular delivery duty. Press Card Regulation Art. 15/g: one copy of each published issue must be sent within five days of publication at the latest to the relevant regional directorate in the place of publication and uploaded to the State Information System.
The same structure exists for agencies (Art. 16/1-b). We cover it in the mandatory copies guide.
Summary
- The Directorate's provincial organisation consists of regional directorates based in 19 provinces and attached directly to the centre; communication offices may be opened where necessary.
- Their most important function for a journalist is receiving press card applications, keeping the personal file and sending the application to the Directorate.
- They are also the addressee of publishers' five-day delivery duty.