Values
Hürriyet is:
Democratic: Conscious of the role of the free press in strengthening democracy, Hürriyet supports the expression of political preferences in free elections under democratic principles and the manifestation of this expression in the governing body.
An advocate of freedom: Hürriyet opposes racism and all forms of discrimination. It supports free expression and the publication of all views and opposes the curtailment of these basic freedoms.
Secular: Hürriyet is opposed to basing the social, economic, political or legal systems of the state on religious principles.
Respectful of differences: Hürriyet does not discriminate with respect to language, faith, nationality, race or gender. It respectfully acknowledges the existence of people who speak different languages, or identify themselves differently, as long as these freedoms do not promote discriminatory political stances.
Respectful of press ethics: Hürriyet subscribes to universal journalism guidelines that are listed in both the Publication Principles released by Doğan Editorial Council and in the Hürriyet Journalism Handbook. These must be adhered to without exception.
Responsible to the public: Hürriyet offers itself as a solution provider to overcome societal problems. Particularly in its specialized field, it supports all efforts to improve the quality of newspaper journalism.
Editorial Principles of Hürriyet
- The primary function of journalism is to convey to the public the most complete information available in the shortest possible time without any distortion of the truth, exaggeration or any kind of external pressure.
- A journalist shall not allow his/her profession to be influenced by any other interests or forces. As such, a journalist cannot play an active role in any political party. Employees who work at divisions of Doğan Yayın Holding (DYH) that prepare economic or financial reports shall not own stocks and shall not directly or indirectly deal in stock markets.
- A journalist must avoid methods and attitudes that might cast doubt on the respectability of his or her title. DYH employees cannot accept travel invitations from and cannot travel with third parties without the consent of their division heads.
- Employees shall not accept gifts or benefits that are not compatible with the ethics and traditions of the profession from persons or organizations that are actual or potential subjects of publications.
- Publications shall not disparage or condemn anyone on the basis of race, gender, social status, religious belief or physical handicap.
- Publications that limit freedom of expression or freedom of conscience, or threaten the general tenets of morality, religious sentiments and family values are unacceptable.
- Epithets and expressions that mock, disparage or falsely accuse persons or organizations beyond the limits of legitimate criticism are unacceptable. Writers shall personally pay 20% of any damages arising from verbal attacks or false accusations in their columns.
- No one shall be depicted as guilty unless convicted by the judicial system.
- News whose content can reasonably be investigated shall only be published after conducting and announcing the results of such investigation and/or verifying the accuracy of the story. Any journalist at a Doğan Yayın Holding company who provides misleading information or publishes an inaccurate story shall be subject to sanctions ranging from a warning to dismissal.
- No one shall be accused of criminal actions unless credible and reasonable grounds are presented.
- The private lives of individuals shall not be covered in news reports, except for cases where the lifestyle of the individual in question constitutes an express or implied consent and except where the publication would serve the public good.
- Unless they serve the public good, methods of investigation that violate civil liberties, such as the use of hidden cameras and secret audio recordings, as well as unauthorized entry into private property, are unacceptable.
- The identities of relatives or acquaintances of persons convicted or charged with a crime shall not be made public unless they are themselves involved or their exposure is necessary for accurate reporting.
- Unless this would serve the public good materially, information obtained subject to a confidentiality condition shall not be disclosed.
- All news sources shall be kept strictly confidential, except where the source intends to deceive the public.
- News stories must at all times be investigated, prepared and published in a balanced, accurate and objective manner:
- The views of the accused party must be included in the story. It must also be specified when the relevant party has not responded or could not be reached,
- quotations cannot be summarized and/or changed in a way that would result in the source being portrayed as incomprehensible or preposterous. The source and date must be clearly specified in published quotations,
- all public surveys must specify the name of the surveying agency, the party ordering the survey, funding sources, survey dates, the number of people surveyed and the survey method.
- Reports that encourage or incite violence and the use of force, that influence children negatively or incite hatred and enmity between persons, communities and nations shall be avoided.
- Announcements and advertorials must be explicitly identified as such.
- Embargo dates and times shall be observed.
- The right to respond to and refute inaccurate publications shall be respected and necessary steps shall be taken accordingly.
Doğan Yayın Holding companies have in place regular intervention mechanisms to correct mistakes.
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Values and Editorial Principles of Hurriyet
