Printed press are financially down for a long time.  Increasing expenses and decreasing daily circulations make producers to look out for new options.  First that comes to mind is Membership Model.

The Agos Journalist founded by journalist Hrant Dink and his friends in 1966 was the first gazette published in Turkish-Armenian in the Republican Period. Weekly published gazette keeps its circulation up to about 3.500.  As the distributor company demand high share from the pie, gazette could only be handed out in İstanbul.

Agos Gazette publishes a part of its special file news and interviews online but membership is compulsory to read the whole.  Chief editor Yetvart Danzikyan says “ Agos, depends on the readers support.”

Free content discourage reader to buy gazette

“Knowing that the whole content would be online draw away some readers to buy gazette.” says Danzikyan. “Therefore we decided to go through the middle way. We are not tend to give up on the printed gazette.”

Gazettes are printed black and white due to the increasing press costs.”

Apoyevmatini is the only Rumi Gazette that continues its broadcasting life. Gazette had to leave its 90 year office in Surye Passage in 2014 due to economic reasons. Since then publisher Mihail Vasilidais prepares the gazette in his house.

Mihail Vasiliadis

Main income is foundations advertations

“I don’t profit from selling the gazette.”   Vasiliadis expressed that all earning from distribution of the gazette is left to the distributor.  There is a limited income from the memberships but adverts of the foundations are vital.  We’re trying to maintain the gazette with it.

We’re trying to gain non-jewish readers by membership option

Şalom Gazette ,publishing for Turkish-Jewish society, printed weekly. Şalom gazette has only membership option for printed gazette and offers membership for 3 months, 6 months and yearly to its readers. Readers can reach content in the daily updated website  www.salom.com.tr  without any charges.  Additionally, it is possible to find Şaloms pages through Dergilik app for a monthly price.

Broadcast Coordinator Virna Gumusgerdan exspressed that the number of memberships are under the expectation. “Our society is lessen day by day by various reasons.” Number of Turkish-Jewish reader community is decreased. “We would like our gazette to reach out for a broad society and gain non-jewish readers by membership option. However our memberships showw decrease.”

Ivo Molinas – Virna Gümüşgerdan

Resource: www.newslabturkey.org