"News agency" is a defined concept in the legislation, and that definition produces consequences in the press card, Law No. 5187 and Law No. 5953 regimes alike.
It Appears in Three Statutes
| Legislation | How it treats agencies |
|---|---|
| Law No. 5187 Art. 2/c | Includes the publications of news agencies in the definition of a periodical |
| Law No. 5187 Art. 2/d | The definition of a national periodical covers the publications of news agencies |
| Law No. 5187 Art. 4 | The imprint duty carries the qualification "other than news agency publications" |
| Law No. 5953 Art. 1 | News and photograph agencies are listed in the scope - their staff are journalists |
| Press Card Reg. Arts. 16, 24 | The conditions required of agencies and the card quotas |
The Imprint Exemption
While Art. 4 of Law No. 5187 requires the place of management, owner, representative, responsible editor and publication type to be shown on periodicals, it sets an exception: other than news agency publications.
The Regular Publication Measure
When Art. 4 of the Press Card Regulation defines regular publication it sets a threshold specific to agencies. Save for force majeure, in a year at most:
| Publication | Maximum interruption in a year |
|---|---|
| Daily periodical | Fifteen issues |
| Weekly periodical | Six issues |
| Fortnightly periodical | Three issues |
| Monthly, bimonthly, quarterly periodical | One issue |
| News and photograph agencies | A total of two days |
The Staffing Condition
Art. 16 of the Regulation requires four conditions of news and photograph agencies whose staff may be issued press cards:
- (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 within five days of publication at the latest to the relevant regional directorate in the place of publication, and transmitted electronically to the Directorate
- (c) Having on staff at least five journalists who have previously held a press card and work under Law No. 5953
- (ç) Having concluded a paid news sales contract with a periodical of national or regional character
We cover this in the agency conditions guide.
Their Staff Count as Journalists
Art. 1 of Law No. 5953 expressly names news and photograph agencies when listing its scope. So people working for a wage in intellectual and artistic work at an agency are journalists and subject to the Law No. 5953 regime - severance, leave, bonus, overtime.
We cover the scope list in the journalist definition guide.
Using Agency Content
Separate rules apply to publications using agency content: Art. 36 of Law No. 5846 requires the name of the agency to be stated when citing the source; Art. 24 of Law No. 5187 punishes republication without citing the source. A subscription contract also brings its own limits.
We cover this in the agency credit guide and the agency copy guide.
Summary
- News and photograph agencies count as periodicals under Law No. 5187 and their publications are treated as national periodicals by definition.
- They are exempt from the additional imprint information in the second paragraph.
- Their staff are journalists under Law No. 5953.
- For press card purposes the regular publication threshold is a total of two days a year, and at least five journalists who have previously held a card are required on staff.