The Regulation does not set out a long list of entitlements. What it provides is gathered in two articles, and both have broad indirect consequences.
First: An Official Identity Document
Art. 5 of the Press Card Regulation: press cards are official identity documents issued by the Directorate and to be accepted by all public and private institutions.
The same wording appears in the Law: Additional Art. 1 of Law No. 5187 states that the press card is an official identity document.
Second: The Press Traffic Card
Art. 44 provides an additional document:
- A press traffic card may be issued to press card holders on request.
- The procedures and principles for the issue, use, the facilities it will provide and, where necessary, the withdrawal of the press traffic card are determined jointly by the Directorate and the Ministry of Interior.
- Press traffic cards are not issued to foreign media members.
We cover the traffic card separately in the press traffic card guide.
Scope by Card Type
Art. 6 provides five card types, each answering a different situation:
| Card type | For whom | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Post-linked | Turkish citizen media members and information officers working for a media outlet | Art. 10 |
| Fixed-term | Foreign media members whose area of duty covers Turkey | Art. 11 |
| Temporary | Foreign media members coming to Turkey for news purposes for a limited period | Art. 12 |
| Free | Turkish citizens temporarily not working, or working as freelance journalists abroad | Art. 13 |
| Permanent | Issued for life to those with at least eighteen years of professional service | Art. 14 |
Facilities Not in This Source Set
One Benefit Governed by a Separate Directive: The Service-Stamped Passport
One item sits outside the Regulation, in a separate directive: the Directorate of Communications' Directive on the Procedures and Principles to Be Followed in Service-Stamped Passport Applications by Press Members Holding a Press Card.
- Scope: press card holders assigned abroad temporarily by their outlets, and permanent card holders resident in Turkey (Directive Art. 2)
- The application is made at least two weeks before the departure date (Art. 5/2)
- The passport is returned within one week at the latest of the end of the assignment (Art. 8/1)
- The request is renewed for every foreign assignment (Art. 9)
- No foreign assignment approval is issued for spouses and children (Art. 11)
We cover the detail, including a paragraph annulled by the Council of State, in the service-stamped passport guide.
The Obligations the Card Brings
The card carries responsibility as well as opportunity:
- Bar on commercial activity - not engaging in commercial activity outside media activity (Art. 8/1-g)
- Working without a break - not breaking for more than one month after leaving a job (Art. 8/1-f)
- Notification - notifying a departure from a job or a change of title (Art. 36)
- Return - returning the card within one month on a change of workplace or title, leaving a job, or cancellation (Art. 37)
- Compliance with press ethics principles - a breach is a ground for warning or cancellation (Art. 38/2)
- Not letting anyone else use the card - a ground for cancellation (Art. 38/1-c)
Summary
- The card's principal function under the Regulation is to be an official identity document accepted by all public and private institutions.
- A press traffic card may additionally be issued on request; the facilities it provides are set jointly by the Directorate and the Ministry of Interior.
- Other benefits attributed to the card in practice rest on other institutions' own legislation.
- The card also brings duties: no outside commercial activity, no break in work, notification, return and compliance with ethics principles.