by Murat Bayram
Summary
25 million Kurdish citizens* in Turkey have access to only four Turkey-based daily news sites in their mother tongue. These platforms struggle to survive in many areas, from economic sustainability to technological infrastructure, from educational opportunities to content production. The situation in traditional media is even more striking: none of the 1,866 newspapers publish daily in Kurdish, and none of the 2,182 magazines are in Kurdish. This report examines the problems faced by Kurdish media and proposes solutions.
News Site Criteria and Categories
There are clear criteria for platforms evaluated in the Kurdish daily news site category: sites with Kurdish homepages and Kurdish as their primary working language that update daily fall into this category.
Platforms that fall outside this definition but include Kurdish broadcasting or language options, such as Mezopotamya Agency, Anadolu Agency, JinNews News Agency, İlke News Agency, Gazete Duvar, bianet, Amed Times, Peyama Kurd, and Medyascope, are evaluated in a different category.
Additionally, special interest sites that publish in Kurdish but not daily, such as Nuhev (Positive news), Çandname (Culture), Sînemaya Serbixwe (Cinema), and Diyalog (Theater), are excluded from this assessment.
Currently, there are no active Podcasts, YouTube channels, or blogs providing daily Kurdish news.
Corporate Structures of Existing News Sites
Botan Times
The only site with an institutional affiliation listed in its masthead, operating as an organ of Botan International Media Ltd. Co. As a content partner of the Digital Media Association, its official editorship is carried out part-time (4 hours per day) by Engin Ölmez, while Murat Bayram and Yonca Sarsılmaz serve as volunteer editors. The site has the largest team in its field with 58 writers and 151 paid subscribers.
Xwebûn
While no institution name appears on their site, Kadri Esen serves as the rights holder and Mehmet Ali Ertaş as the Responsible Managing Editor(Editor in Chief). The same team publishes a weekly newspaper under the same name – the only Kurdish newspaper published in Turkey.
Diyarname
With 19 years of publication history, it’s the oldest site in its category. Founded by Cemil Oguz and having the largest editorial desk, the site is edited by Cemil Oguz, Zekî Ozmen, and Welat Dilken. It’s the only site in this field managed outside Diyarbakır.
Zazaki News
Established in the last year, the site stands out as the only platform publishing daily in the Zazaki dialect of Kurdish. Supported by EED, the site was founded by Enver Yılmaz and appears unaffiliated with any institution.
Sector Assessment
Based on publicly available information: Kurdish daily media organizations in Turkey consist of one company site (Botan Times) and three individual sites. Among these sites, only Diyarname has multiple editors, Zazaki News is the only platform receiving external funding, and Botan Times is the only platform generating reader revenue. Botan Times hosts the largest staff with over 60 people serving as writers and volunteer editors, while Diyarname stands out as the sector’s oldest platform with 19 years of publication history.
State Ownership of Kurdish Media and Monopolization
A notable monopolization is evident in the national Kurdish broadcasting field in Turkey. The state controls two main channels of national Kurdish broadcasting: TRT Kurdî, the only television channel offering Kurdish news programs nationwide, and TRT Kurdî radio, the only national Kurdish radio station. Additionally, Anadolu Agency, which offers language options in both Sorani and Kurmanji dialects, is also state-owned.
Despite this monopolization, a striking situation exists: neither the state nor pro-government companies have a Kurdish newspaper or news site. While the state maintains its monopoly in national broadcasting and restricts space for other media organs, it shows no presence in print media and news sites, yet the existing space continues to shrink.
Deep Silence in Traditional Media
Among Turkey’s 477 television channels, only TRT Kurdî provides Kurdish news. After the closure of Denge TV, Batman’s only local channel, the city was left without local television. Among 1,866 newspapers and 2,182 magazines, not a single publication produces daily Kurdish content. Only the weekly Xwebûn exists. Printing houses avoid printing Kurdish publications, and those that do face police raids.
Zero Advertising Revenue, Insufficient Subscriptions
The economic picture is striking: None of the 22,798 businesses in Diyarbakır advertise on Kurdish news sites. Xwebûn is the only site receiving advertisements from local organisations and municipalities. Botan Times, the only platform able to implement a digital subscription system, has only 151 subscribers. This economic vicious cycle threatens the development and sustainability of platforms. Worse, media outlets are pushed to treat Kurdish labor as cheap or free.
Double Standard: Google and BİK Barrier
Kurdish news sites face a double economic blockade: Google AdSense doesn’t include Kurdish among supported languages, and the Press Advertising Agency (BİK) doesn’t provide official announcements and advertising to Kurdish publications. This situation eliminates both digital and traditional media revenue sources.
Lynch Culture and Systematic Pressures
Kurdish media organizations and their employees constantly face various forms of targeting and pressure. All Kurdish-broadcasting media organizations are automatically associated with an organization or political structure. This situation seriously affects journalists’ professional activities. Undoubtedly, a media organ can be associated with an organization or political formation and openly declare this. However, because Kurdish organizations and political formations are “associated with terrorism” by the state, biased media, groups, and institutions, this poses a great threat to these journalists.
Botan Times/Botan International announced its partnership with France-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF), but this falls outside the criteria mentioned above. When Kurdish media partners with a Kurdish organization, pressures increase.
Digital Lynch and Labeling
Journalists frequently face digital lynching. Among the most common accusations:
- “Terrorist”
- “Traitor”
- “Agent”
- “Enemy of religion”
- “Pro-government”
- “Fund media”
- “Spokesperson for foreign powers”
These labels work in multiple ways. Besides attacks from anonymous accounts, sometimes state officials and even other journalists participate in this targeting process.
TRT Kurdî and State Broadcasting
The double standard in TRT’s broadcasting policy is noteworthy: While TRT World broadcasts English content and TRT Arabi broadcasts Arabic content without Turkish subtitles, some broadcasts on TRT Kurdî include Turkish subtitles. While 15 of TRT’s 18 channels broadcast in Turkish, we haven’t found an explanation for why Turkish exists on TRT Kurdî, the only Kurdish channel. Additionally, unlike TRT World English and TRT Arabi, Turkish posts can be seen on the television’s social media accounts.
Even more striking, journalists at TRT Kurdî receiving their training in Turkish has led to a diction that distorts the natural structure of Kurdish, which belongs to the Indo-European language family. Kurdish letters and words are read with Turkish diction.
Historical Context: Journalism Between Two “Welat”s
The words of Abdullah Keskin, founding Editor-in-Chief of Turkey’s first Kurdish newspaper Welat (1992), reveal the challenging journey of Kurdish media:
“When we started publishing, Kurdish press and broadcasting weren’t free in Turkey. There were no Kurdish-speaking journalists. I was trying to learn by myself. During this process, I got Celadet Alî Bedirxan’s alphabet and started learning with it. The first issue sold 24,000 through distribution companies, approximately 30,000 with direct distribution.”
The experiences of Çetin Altun, editor of the last Welat newspaper, show that problems continue to this day:
“Even though we paid, printing houses didn’t want to print our newspaper. Every printing house that printed our newspaper faced police raids under some pretext. We considered buying a printing press; however, if we had invested all our resources in a printing press and it was confiscated, we would have faced a bad situation. We photocopied our last issues. Young people distributing were detained. We couldn’t continue, we had to quit.”
Big Gap in Education
While media education is provided at 74 universities in Turkey, Kurdish journalism education is forbidden. Established in 2020, Botan International stands out as the only educational institution in this field. Since media education is forbidden, it organizes knowledge exchange programs and workshops. Almost all of the dozens of fund programs transferred by European countries to media education in Turkey go to Turkish media education.
Peace Process: Short Spring of Kurdish Media
The “solution process” conducted by the AK Party government between 2009-2015 went down in history as a promising period for Kurdish media. During this period, dozens of local television channels and newspapers started Kurdish broadcasting, media organizations could make long-term plans, and technical infrastructure investments accelerated. At least seven of eight local newspapers in Diyarbakır added Kurdish pages, and bilingual broadcasting experience began.
However, the end of the peace process in 2015 and the subsequent coup attempt in 2016 turned this short spring into a harsh winter. The closure of seven television channels in Diyarbakır, hundreds of media workers becoming unemployed, and technical investments becoming idle deeply shook the sector. Today, eight local newspapers in Diyarbakır publish entirely in Turkish, Kurdish pages have completely disappeared. Institutionalization efforts were interrupted, and economic sustainability was again endangered.
Nevertheless, the most important legacy of the peace process was showing that a professional Kurdish media ecosystem is possible.
Coup Attempt and Structural Transformation in Kurdish Media
The 2016 coup attempt marked the beginning of a new era for Kurdish media. Important broadcasting organizations like Azadî TV, Gün TV, and children’s channel Zarok TV had to end their broadcasting lives or were shut down. Today, only limited Kurdish news programming is broadcast on Amed TV in the city center. Zarok TV resumed broadcasting and continues today.
The effects of the coup attempt also left deep wounds in local media. After the closure of Batman’s only local channel Denge TV, the city was left without local television. This situation makes it difficult to follow local news and city agenda.
Regional broadcasting was also hit in 2017. Kurdistan24, Waar TV, and Rûdaw TV broadcasting from the Iraqi Kurdistan Region were removed from the Türksat satellite.
The only positive development brought by the digital age was the start of broadcasting by more than 20 Kurdish podcast channels. However, this number remains quite symbolic for a language with millions of speakers.
Working Conditions and Professional Issues
Journalists working in Kurdish media struggle with challenging economic and professional conditions. State pressure, detentions and arrests, and low wages lead to experienced journalists leaving the sector and weakening institutional memory.
Psychological support programs are also inadequate. The limited support programs offered by Botan International and the Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG) fall short of meeting increasing needs. Comprehensive support mechanisms are needed for journalists working under constant pressure, experiencing economic difficulties, concerned about their security, and working in a region with conflict and natural disasters.
Critical Juncture and Solution Proposals
Kurdish media in Turkey is going through a critical period. The right to receive news in one’s mother tongue is seen as a fundamental human right, but current conditions make it difficult to exercise this right. For solution:
- Kurdish media should not be treated as a security issue
- Education bans should be lifted
- Funding/budget should be provided for Kurdish media education
- Employment opportunities should be created
- Confiscated broadcasting equipment should be returned
- Institutions like BİK and Google should support Kurdish media
This report aims to document the problems faced by Kurdish media in Turkey and propose solutions. The data reveals the obstacles to the right to receive news in one’s mother tongue and the steps that need to be taken to overcome these obstacles.
*Despite the lack of clear data on the Kurdish population living in Turkey, all existing research and surveys indicate an average of 25 million people. In light of surveys and reports by Rawest and Kurdish Studies Association, KSC; it’s estimated that 18-20 million people state that they speak Kurdish as their mother tongue at home.
** All data and information were compiled from publicly accessible news sites, RTÜK and TÜİK websites.
