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Agos
Armenian newspaper published in Turkey From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Agos (in Armenian: Ակօս, "furrow") is an Armenian bilingual weekly newspaper published in Istanbul, Turkey, established on 5 April 1996.
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Agos has both Armenian and Turkish pages as well as an online English edition. Today, the paper has a weekly circulation of over 5,000.
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History
Summarize
Perspective
Historical background, pre-1996
Following the coup Turkiye shifted to a neo-liberal free market economy as well as paving the way for a liberalisation in both politics as civil society. At the time the nearly 80.000 Armenians in Turkiye did not have any representation; At the time there were no Turkish written media outlets even though 80% of the Armenians in Turkiye could not read Armenian[1] Terror attacks by PKK and ASALA made the Turkish citizens wary of minorities within their society. Adding to it Turkish mainstream media were actively spreading misinformation about Armenians collaborating against the Turkish state.[citation needed] The already precarious position of the minority group within Turkiye resulted in a lack of cultural representation and -identity creating a growing demand for fair representation.[2][3]
In order to better the position of Turkiye's Armenian diaspora Hrant Dink established a commision. The goal of this commision were categorised to solve three problems. The first being related to the status of the Armenian community through the lens of Turkish politicians and media coverage, the second focussing on creating more equality such as preserving Armenian heritage as well as improving education and finally as third goal allowing the Armenians to work through generational and cultural trauma's build up due to a suppresive culture .
Hrant Dink and Mesrob Mutafyan developed a project to found a daily newspaper which would represent the Armenian minority within Turkiye. At the time Sarkis Seropyan estimated that 80% of the Armenian populace could not read Armenian thus creating a huge lack for representation in the media. The founders Luiz Bakar, Hrant Dink, Harutyun Şeşetyan, Anna Turay launched the first publication on 25 february 1996.[4]
Founding years, 1996 to 2007
Turkish-Armenian Hrant Dink was Agos chief editor from the newspaper's beginnings until his assassination outside the newspaper's offices in Istanbul in January 2007.
Hrant Dink's son, Arat Dink, who served as the executive editor of the weekly, had been co-defendant in the cases brought against Hrant Dink for "denigrating Turkishness" on account of his managerial position at the weekly.
After assassination, 2007 to present
Following Hrant Dink's assassination, Etyen Mahçupyan was named editor-in-chief. In 2010, he was succeeded in that position by Rober Koptaş.[5] Arat Dink continued to serve as executive editor.
In 2012, a plan made by the Atsız Youth to attack the Agos headquarters was exposed.[6][7]
In 2015, Yetvart Danzikyan became editor-in-chief of the newspaper and Aris Nalcı executive editor.[8]
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Governance
Editors-In-Chief
Finances & Reach
Revenue
Based on the statements of Hrant Dink and editor-in-chief Karin Karakaşlı in 2003, the newspaper only depends on advertisement and membership revenues.[9] Furthermore, in 2018, chief editor of Agos, Yetvart Danzikyan underlined that the economic sustainability of the newspaper is not painless since the culture of access to newspapers for free is common in Turkey.[10] The newspaper refuses funding from any foundation or institution because it believes that receiving money from these entities restricts the freedom of expression.[11][12]
Reached Numbers
Discourse of the Newspaper
Main Subjects
Agos has a dissenting and independent position both within the Armenian community and its relations with the State.[13] The newspaper focuses on the topics regarding human rights infringements and democratic progress in Turkey, accusations against the Community, Turkey-Armenian dialogue, Armenian cultural legacy, defects within the Armenian community such as non-transparency in administration.[14] Furthermore, approximately 80 percent of the Turkey's Armenians could not speak and read in Armenian; thus, the newspaper aimed to increase the language skills of the Community as well.[15] It is also significant for the Agos to introduce a new perspective about the community since the public and cultural image of the Armenians were negative and poor because of ASALA organisation.[16]
Cultural Significance
As a minority newspaper, Agos politicised the Armenian community and reinforced their apperance in Turkish public discourse.[17] After Hrant's assassination, Agos became more well-known and re-embraced by the Armenian groups in the world.[18]
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References
Further reading
External links
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