ILLITERACY, CENSORSHIP AND PAPER SHORTAGE Newspapers and Circulation Numbers in Türkiye, 1923 to 1945

This research article focuses on dailies and other newspapers published in the first decades of the Turkish Republic and is mainly based on unpublished German and Austrian records. The sources do not only provide information about the newspapers’ tendencies, editors, journalists and readers but also rich data on circulation figures. When compared with Western European countries, Türkiye’s press was on a par with them in terms of the number of newspapers but lagged behind in respect to circulation numbers. This may be attributed to various factors, such as a high illiteracy rate, letter and language reforms and also a shortage of paper.