Cumhuriyet

Cumhuriyet (Turkish pronunciation: [dʒumhuːɾiˈjet]; English: "Republic") is the oldest up-market Turkish daily newspaper. It has been described as "the most important independent public interest newspaper in contemporary Turkey". The newspaper was awarded the Freedom of Press Prize by Reporters Without Borders in 2015 and the Alternative Nobel Prize in 2016. It is considered Turkey's newspaper of record. Established on 7 May 1924 by journalist Yunus Nadi Abalıoğlu, a confidant of the Turkish Republic's founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the newspaper has subscribed to a staunchly secular, republican course. In the past closely affiliated with the Kemalist Republican People's Party (CHP), the newspaper turned to a more independent course over time, advocating democracy, social liberal values and free markets. Today, "being a Cumhuriyet reader has become synonymous with embracing democratic values and a pluralistic society". The newspaper's anti-government advertisements before the 2007 Turkish presidential election and general election caused controversy for "warning" voters against the AKP government with the message "Are you aware of the danger?". Notably, the newspaper has also broken the story on the 2014 National Intelligence Organisation scandal in Turkey, reprinted cartoons from Charlie Hebdo, and reported on the Panama Papers and Paradise Papers affairs while linking prominent Turkish figures to the documents. Cumhuriyet has been targeted throughout its history, such as with the assassinations of the contributing writers Uğur Mumcu, Bahriye Üçok, Ahmet Taner Kışlalı, Muammer Aksoy, Ümit Kaftancıoğlu, Onat Kutlar, and Cavit Orhan Tütengil. More recent attacks include the 2008 molotov attack on the newspaper's headquarters in Istanbul's Şişli district and the attempted assassination of Can Dündar in 2016. The newspaper has been described as "a high-profile target in the Erdoğan government’s crackdown on media". By the end of 2016, almost half of the paper's reporters, columnists and executives had been jailed. Cumhuriyet has been publishing satirical...