Anadolu Agency
Anadolu Agency (Turkish: Anadolu Ajansı, lit. 'Anatolia Agency'; abbreviated AA) is a state-run[1][2] news agency headquartered in Ankara, Turkey.[3]
joint-stock company | |
Industry | News agency |
Founded | April 6, 1920 |
Founders | Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Halide Edip Adıvar Yunus Nadi Abalıoğlu |
Headquarters | Çankaya, Ankara, Turkey |
Key people | Şenol Kazancı (CEO) |
Number of employees | 3,000 |
Website | Anadolu Ajansı |
History
The Anadolu Agency was founded in 1920 during the Turkish War of Independence. Journalist Yunus Nadi Abalıoğlu and writer Halide Edip, fleeing the occupied capital, met in Geyve and concluded that a new Turkish press agency was needed. The agency was officially launched on April 6, 1920, 17 days before the Turkish Grand National Assembly convened for the first time. It announced the first legislation passed by the Assembly, which established the Republic of Turkey.[4]
Since the Justice and Development Party (AKP) took power, AA and the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) were both restructured to more closely reflect the government line. This tighter degree of government control over AA and TRT, along with increasing government influence over private media, has contributed to the formation of a hegemonic, dominant-party system in Turkey. According to a 2016 academic article, "these public news producers, especially during the most recent term of the AKP government, have been controlled by officials from a small network close to the party leadership."[5]
References
- Syria war: Rebels 'withdraw heavy weapons from Idlib buffer zone', BBC News (October 8, 2018): "Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency..."
- Turkish Employee of US Consulate to Remain in Custody, Associated Press (March 28, 2019): "the state-run Anadolu Agency reported."
- "UN journalists visit Anadolu Agency headquarters". AA. 5 May 2017.
- "History". Anadolu Agency. Archived from the original on 3 July 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
- Irak, Dağhan (2016). "A Close-Knit Bunch: Political Concentration in Turkey's Anadolu Agency through Twitter Interactions". Turkish Studies. 17 (2): 336–360. doi:10.1080/14683849.2016.1138287.