A decision by Turkey’s state-run Press Advertising Authority (BİK) agency announced on Saturday may result in 1200 newspaper employees losing their jobs amid the country’s currency crisis, according to a report by Cumhuriyet daily.
The decision of the agency to decrease the minimum number of workers at newspapers from seven to six was published on Saturday in the Official Gazette.
The agency, responsible for allocating ads in newspapers, stated the decision was a precautionary measure as the prices of paper surges amid an ongoing financial crisis, which has spelled trouble for print publications.
Turkey, which imports most of its paper, has witnessed paper prices triple this year due to the Turkish Lira’s 40 percent loss of value against the US dollar.
Turkey is ranked 157th among 180 countries in the 2018 World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). If Turkey falls two more places, it will make it to the list of countries on the blacklist, which have the poorest record in press freedom.
Turkey is the biggest jailer of journalists in the world. The most recent figures documented by SCF show that 236 journalists and media workers were in jail as of Sept. 13, 2018, most in pretrial detention. Of those in prison 168 were under arrest pending trial while only 68 journalists have been convicted and are serving their time. Detention warrants are outstanding for 147 journalists who are living in exile or remain at large in Turkey.
Detaining tens of thousands of people over alleged links to the Gülen movement, the government also closed down some 200 media outlets, including Kurdish news agencies and newspapers, after the coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016.
The post 1200 newspaper staff facing job loss due to Turkey’s advertising authority decision appeared first on Stockholm Center for Freedom.
from Stockholm Center for Freedom https://stockholmcf.org/1200-newspaper-staff-facing-job-loss-due-to-turkeys-advertising-authority-decision/
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