The Press Card Regulation does not gather the eligible titles into one list. Nine separate articles give separate lists by media type, and an application under a title not on the list is not accepted.

Which Article for Which Type of Publication?

ArticleType of publication
Art. 19Daily political newspapers
Art. 20Weekly political newspapers and magazines
Art. 21Non-political newspapers and magazines
Art. 22Fortnightly newspapers and magazines published less often
Art. 23Anadolu Agency
Art. 24News and photograph agencies
Art. 25Turkish Radio-Television Corporation
Art. 26Radio and television
Art. 27Internet news sites

The Common Backbone

Different as the lists are, they share a backbone. The list for internet news sites in Art. 27 shows it well:

  • Management: licence holder or representative of the legal person, editor-in-chief, general manager, establishment manager
  • Editorial: responsible managing editor, managing editor, night editorial officer
  • News: intelligence and news desk chief, internet news director / editor / sub-editor, reporter, photojournalist, correspondent
  • Writers: lead writer and writer with their own column writing periodically
  • Visual: art director, page secretary, designer-graphic artist, cartoonist, illustrator
  • Video and audio: news camera operator, news presenter, camera operator, editor, video editor
  • Other: reader representative, regional or provincial correspondent, social media editor

The social media editor title on the last line is digital publishing reflected in the Regulation, and is specific to internet news sites.

A Special Qualification for Writers

The News Field Condition

For some types of publication, being on the title list is not enough on its own. Two examples:

PublicationExtra conditionArticle
Radio and televisionNo card is issued to those not working in the news field, even if they work under the listed titlesArt. 26/2-f
Anadolu AgencyNo card is issued to those not working in the news fieldArt. 23/2

A Title Added by the 2024 Amendment

Presidential Decision No. 8624 of 6/6/2024 added the title of photographer to the list of titles eligible for a card at radio and television outlets (Art. 26/1-s).

The Title Must Match the Contract

A Change of Title Must Be Notified

Under Art. 36, changes in the workplace and title of card holders or applicants are notified in writing to the Directorate within one month of the change. Under Art. 37 the card is also returned within one month on a change of title.

We cover this in the title change notification guide.

Summary

  • Eligible titles are enumerated by type of publication in Arts. 19-27.
  • Social media editor is on the list for internet news sites.
  • Writers must have their own column and write periodically.
  • At radio, television and Anadolu Agency, no card is issued to those not working in the news field even if their title is listed.