Sabah (newspaper)
Sabah is a Turkish daily newspaper, with a circulation of around 330,000 as of 2011. Its name means "morning" in Turkish.
Sabah, amongst other newspapers | |
Type | Daily newspaper |
---|---|
Format | Berliner |
Owner(s) | Turkuvaz Media Group |
Founder(s) | Dinç Bilgin |
Publisher | Kalyon Group |
Editor-in-chief | Erdal Şafak |
Associate editor | Metin Yüksel |
Founded | 22 April 1985 |
Political alignment | Pro-government Social conservatism Right wing |
Language | Turkish |
Headquarters | Beşiktaş |
City | İstanbul |
Country | Turkey |
Circulation | 305.714[1] |
Sister newspapers | Yeni Asır, Takvim, Fotomaç |
Website | www |
|
The newspaper was founded in Izmir by Dinç Bilgin on 22 April 1985.[2]
In 2007, the government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan seized the newspaper, citing a legal document that had not been disclosed to authorities when Sabah was sold in 2001. Ownership of the newspaper was given to the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund of Turkey. Some of the newspaper's staffers were fired, and the paper was then sold to the Turkuvaz Media Group belonging to Çalık Holding whose CEO, Berat Albayrak, is the son-in-law of Erdoğan and whose chairman, Ahmet Çalık, has been described as a "close associate" of Erdoğan.[3] The $1.1bn sale aroused substantial controversy in Turkey, not least because it was partially financed by $750m of loans from two state banks, VakıfBank and Halkbank,[4] and was sold for the minimum price, with Çalık Holding the sole bidder.[5]
According to Aslı Aydıntaşbaş, who was Sabah's Ankara bureau chief until the takeover, from then on the newspaper took on "an unwavering pro-government line."[6]
The Kalyon Group took over the newspaper in 2013.[7]
Kalyon Group is the current publisher, while Erdal Şafak is the editor-in-chief.[8]
Sabah has published The New York Times International Weekly on Sundays since 2009. This 8-page supplement features a selection of articles from The New York Times translated into Turkish. The partnership with the New York Times was terminated in 2014 without any formal explanation given.
Notable contributors (past and present)
- Engin Ardıç, journalist
- Haşmet Babaoğlu
- Mehmet Barlas, columnist
- Mehmet Ali Birand (1941-2013), journalist
- Yavuz Donat
- Salih Memecan, cartoonist
- Hıncal Uluç, journalist
- Ahmet Vardar (1937-2010), journalist
References
- "Newspaper Circulation Table". Medyatava.com. 2014-11-10.
- Gholamali Haddad Adel; Mohammad Jafar Elmi; Hassan Taromi-Rad (31 August 2012). Periodicals of the Muslim World: An Entry from Encyclopaedia of the World of Islam. EWI Press. p. 269. ISBN 978-1-908433-10-7. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
- The Economist, 8 May 2008, Circulation wars
- Çalık Holding press release, 22 April 2008, ÇALIK HOLDING ACQUIRES ATV-SABAH
- Reuters, 12 January 2008, Turkey eyes reform of media ownership law -paper
- Turkey's War on the Press, Asli Aydintasbas, The Wall Street Journal, 18 September 2009
- "Turkish media group Sabah-ATV sold to Kalyon group". Retrieved 6 August 2014.
- "Künye". Sabah (in Turkish). Retrieved 15 July 2011.
External links
- Official website (in Turkish)
- Sabah Europe (in Turkish)
- Sabah Deutsch (in German)
- The newspaper's web site (in English)
- https://twitter.com/asliaydintasbas
- Today's Sabah front page at the Newseum website