Sözcü

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Sözcü
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatBerliner
OwnerEstetik Publishing A.Ş.
Founded27 June 2007
Political alignment
Kemalism
Secularism
LanguageTurkish
HeadquartersHalkalı, Küçükçekmece
CityIstanbul
CountryTurkey
Circulation305,368
Sister newspapers
Korkusuz
AMK
Websitewww.sozcu.com.tr Edit this at Wikidata

Sözcü (English: Spokesperson) is a popular Turkish daily newspaper. Sözcü was first published on 27 June 2007 by Burak Akbay and is distributed nationwide.[1] As of June 2018, it was one of the top-selling newspapers in Turkey, with around 300,000 copies sold daily.[2]

Overview

The origins of Sözcü trace back to Gözcü (“Observer”), a daily newspaper published by the Doğan Media Group beginning on 15 May 1996. Gözcü ceased publication on 1 April 2007. Shortly thereafter, a group of journalists associated with the paper relaunched it under the name Sözcü in 2007. In its early period, the newspaper sold approximately 60,000 copies. By September 2008, its average circulation had reportedly risen to around 150,000, and by December 2010 it had exceeded 200,000 copies, becoming one of Turkey’s highest-selling dailies.[3]

Amid increasing political polarisation during the 2010s, Sözcü consolidated its position as one of the country’s top-selling newspapers through its strongly critical stance toward the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.[4] It is widely regarded as the highest-selling Turkish daily that consistently and openly criticises the government. Editorially, Sözcü is generally associated with a Kemalist and nationalist orientation, distinguishing it from other opposition newspapers such as Cumhuriyet and BirGün.

The newspaper has faced legal pressure. In 2017, several executives and columnists were detained and later prosecuted on charges of aiding a terrorist organisation, in connection with alleged links to the Gülen movement. Press freedom organisations criticised the case as part of a broader crackdown on critical media following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt.[5][6] In subsequent appeals, some sentences were reduced or overturned.

In addition to its print edition, Sözcü has developed a strong digital presence through its website, Sözcü.com.tr, which ranks among the most-visited news portals in Turkey. The paper also publishes a European edition aimed at the Turkish diaspora, printed in Germany.[7]

Korkusuz

Another daily newspaper called Korkusuz (English: Fearless) has been published by the Sözcü Group since November 2014.

AMK

The daily sports newspaper AMK has been published by the Sözcü Group since June 2012. The name AMK is officially an acronym of Açık Mert Korkusuz (translated: Open, Valiant and Fearless) but this evoked some controversy, as the acronym is commonly understood to mean a profane phrase in Turkish.[8] On 5 January 2019, the newspaper ceased to be published.[9]

Sözcü TV

Sözcü TV, often shortened as SZC TV, began web broadcasting in 2019 and launched on YouTube in 2021. The channel acquired Sivas SRT’s licence in 2020 but faced delays in RTÜK’s logo approval, which was granted in July 2021. Test broadcasts began the same month, and the channel officially launched on 1 March 2023.[10]

On 8 July 2025, Sözcü TV was subjected to a 10-day broadcast blackout by the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK). Critics argued that the ban was a result of the channel’s extensive coverage of the Anti-Government Protests and its opposition reporting.[11][12]

The channel resumed broadcasting after the ban ended.

Contributors (past and present)

References

  1. "Hürriyet".
  2. "GAZETE TİRAJLARI – Günlük Gazetelerin Tirajları". www.gazetetirajlari.com. 2018-06-09. Retrieved 2018-06-15.
  3. "Sözcü gazetesi tirajı ve tarihsel gelişimi". GasteArşivi. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  4. "The Big Prison By the Sea: Will Its Captives Change Turkey's History?". Time. 6 February 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
  5. Bayar, Gozde (27 December 2019). "7 staff members of Sözcü newspaper sentenced for aiding terrorist group FETÖ". Daily Sabah. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  6. "Two media professionals of Turkey's Sözcü newspaper arrested". BirGün. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  7. "Sözcü newspaper available in Germany since March 2014". Eurotopics. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  8. "Women's group slams sports paper over obscene name choice". Retrieved 2015-04-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  9. "Açık Mert Korkusuz yayın hayatına son veriyor" (in Turkish). Retrieved 2025-03-30.
  10. Merkezi, Haber (1 March 2024). "SÖZCÜ TV 1 YAŞINDA - Sözcü Gazetesi". www.sozcu.com.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  11. "10-day unprecedented blackout on pro-opposition Sözcü TV starts tomorrow". Retrieved 1 April 2026.
  12. "Turkey's Sözcü TV forced off air: What we know". Retrieved 1 April 2026.