ILLITERACY, CENSORSHIP AND PAPER SHORTAGE
Newspapers and Circulation Numbers in Türkiye, 1923 to 1945
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https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8339835Keywords:
Turkish Press, Circulation Numbers, Paper Shortage, Letter Reform, Single Party Rule, Press CensorshipAbstract
This research article focuses on dailies and other newspapers published in the first decades of the Turkish Republic and is mainly based on unpublished German and Austrian records. The sources do not only provide information about the newspapers’ tendencies, editors, journalists and readers but also rich data on circulation figures. When compared with Western European countries, Türkiye’s press was on a par with them in terms of the number of newspapers but lagged behind in respect to circulation numbers. This may be attributed to various factors, such as a high illiteracy rate, letter and language reforms and also a shortage of paper.
References
Rıfat Bali. Newspapaer Circulation in the Single – Party Period. Journal of History and Society. Vol. 221 (May 2002): 18 – 19. For circulation data from 1928 and 1931 Bali quoted NARA, decimal file 867. 402 / 42, April 19, 1932. For data from 1932 Bali quoted “P. Di Roccalta, Angora e Kemal Pascia Problemi Politici ed Economici Della Moderna Turchia, A. R. E. Anonima romana Editoriale, Roma 1932, s. 126 – 128.”
See Bali (2002). Bali quoted also an US – American source. Fort his study, a copy of the document was obtained from NARA in order to see the original. Unfortunately, this was not possible fot the Italian source that Bali had quoted as no copy of the monography could be obtained.
There are several publications that treat the press in Türkiye but focus rather on the newspapers or journalists than on their circulation gigures. Hıfzı Topuz, e. g. Provided a detail rich description of the censorship of the press and listed founders, editors and their co – workers but did not provide any circulation numvers (Hıfzı Topuz 1996). “Turkish Press History from its Beginnings to the Present in 100 Questions”. İstanbul: Gerçek Publisher, 2nd ed. See also Alpay Kabacalı. “Veiled Censorship of the National Chief Era”. Journal of History and Society. No. 38: 1987. Fuat Süreyya Oral (1987). “Turkish Press History 1919 – 1965, Republican Era”. İstanbul: Doğuş Publisher and Cemil Koçak. “Foreign Influences on the Turkish Press”. Journal of History and Society. 1987: 50 -52.
Deutsches Institut für Zeitungskunde (Ed., 1931). Handbuch der Weltpresse. Berlin: Carl Duncker Verlag, 1st ed.: 337. The book is hencefoth referred to as Handbuch der Weltpresse (1931).
See Kemal H. Karpar (1964). The Mass Media. In Robert E. Ward, Robert and Danwart A. Rustow (eds.), Political Modernization in Japan and Türkiye, p. 279. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
The shortening of papaer was reported from the German ambassador already in 1939 who expected the circulation numbers to go down in the following years, see PAAA, R123077, A2741 / 39, von Papen to Auswartiges Amt, September 26, 1939. Hereafter, Auswartiges Amt is referred to as AA.
PAAA, R123077, record written form Schwörbel. The document refers to the press in Turkiye form summer 1937 to spring 1938 and was presented on 8 april 1938, therefore it is very likely to have been written in March or April 1938.
Quoted as given form Walter F. Weiker (1973). Political Tutelage and Democracy in Türkiye. Leiden: E. J. Brill, Leiden: 233.
Murat Belge and Bülent Özüakın (Eds). Republican Era Türkiye Encyclopedia, İstanbul: İletişim Publisher, undated). Vol. 5 / 6: 1426: 1438.
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