The Anatolian News Agency (A.A.)
Was founded on April 6, 1920 and was given its name personally by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, for the purpose of creating awareness throughout the country and the whole world of the Turkish cause. During the War of Independence, the Anatolian News Agency successfully performed the duty of keeping the people aware of the government's decisions and actions. On March 1, 1925 the Agency was given the status of a partnership corporation.

Starting from 1920 the Agency has gradually developed and today is a big organization with its headquarters in Ankara, with directorates in certain provinces and representatives throughout the country as a whole.

The organization has offices in Lefkosa, Frankfurt, Bonn, Brussels, London, Washington, New York, Athens, Cairo, Moscow, Stockholm, Strasbourg, Paris, Teheran, Baghdad, Tirana, Sofia and Berlin. It has made agreements with all the well known agencies in the world and also in more than a 100 countries, with their national agencies. It is a member of the Union of European News Agencies and the International Union of Islamic Agencies. It was also the founder of the Union of News Agencies of the Mediterranean Countries in 1992.

Communications are computerized, and a news unit with camera was brought out in 1992. The Agency utilizes on an average some 500 news items everyday, and this forms an indispensable source for the Turkish press, radio and television. The Agency also beams daily programmes from its Ankara transmitter in Turkish, English and French to Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Turkish News Agency (TNA)
Turkish News Agency - TNA - Daily and Weekly news from Turkey...

The Ankara News Agency (ANKA)
ANKA special news agency was established on March 3, 1972 in Ankara. The Agency changed its legal status in July 1977 and became a joint stock company.

ANKA has its own representatives in Istanbul and Izmir, and correspondents working on a contract basis in provinces and districts. ANKA has connections with the German WDR radio, and Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and Dutch radio and television.

Aside from routine news services, ANKA also publishes the daily "Economic Bulletin" and the weekly "Ankara Review" in English.

Independent Press Agency (BBA)
BBA, which was established in 1982 is operating in television broadcasting services. It is the Turkish representative of British Worldwide Television News (WTN), German WDR and Swiss SRTV. It's main office is in Istanbul and has a branch in Ankara.

Economic Press Agency (EBA)
Based in Ankara this agency was founded in 1969. It has correspondents both in Turkey and other countries. It publishes a daily newsletter an two bulletins per week in both English and Turkish.

The Hurriyet News Agency (HHA)
This agency with its headquarters in Istanbul was set up in 1963. Its branches spread throughout the country are equipped with telex, telephone, telephoto and facsimile connections, and these are connected to the centre in Istanbul. The Agency's TV-syndication unit markets TV news films, colour and black and white photos, surveys and news abroad.

Since the beginning of 1992, HHA has marketed the photos of the EPA Photograph Agency, with whom they have an agreement. EPA has its headquarters in Frankfurt and has eleven member photograph agencies throughout Europe. HHA publishes two daily bulletins one of which deals with sports.

The IKA News Agency
The agency was founded in Ankara on January 29, 1954. It has offices in Istanbul, Izmir, Antalya and Eskisehir. In other cities it has local correspondents. It publishes a daily Economy and Adjudications bulletin in Turkish and a weekly business and investments bulletin in English.

Feature and Current News Agency (MAK-AJANS)
The Ankara based agency was founded on July 6, 1981, and publishes daily news bulletins for press organizations together with a monthly newspaper called "Fisilti".

MAK-AJANS attaches special importance to news from the radio and TV world and social cultural activities. It is the first and only agency that provides feature stories.

The Milliyet News Agency (MIL-HA)
This agency was founded on November 25, 1980 as a part of the Milliyet newspapers' domestic network. The agency has eighteen branch offices throughout the country equipped with telex, fax and telephoto connections with the centre, all providing an uninterrupted flow of news.

The Turkish Press Agency (TUBA)
This agency was established in Ankara on January 2, 1973. It has the distinction of being the first organization in Turkey to deal with press-public relations. Besides periodical news bulletins covering interviews, surveys and research, it also publishes a variety of books dealing with legislation in the fields of labour, social security, finance and economics.

The National Press Agency (UBA)
UBA was founded on October 29, 1979 and it became a joint stock company in 1984. The Agency has its headquarters in Ankara, and gives verbal and written news services to press organizations. It has a special 24 hours open communications connection between Ankara and Istanbul through which it renders services to its subscribers. It has a total of 135 local correspondents. Local radio stations and international news agencies avail themselves of the services rendered by UBA, and western radio and TV stations utilize the news regarding political developments in Turkey and at times also broadcast live TV programmes.

International News Agency (UHA)
With is headquarters in Ankara, this agency supplies its subscribers with local and international news. It also prepares TV and radio programmes along with advertising. The agency additionally has guide and camera renting, services.

The PTT General Directorate
In 1839, during this period of reforms, the Ministry of Postal Services was established by the Decree of the Sultan and in 1840 with the introduction of the telegraph it was renamed the Ministry of Postal and Telegraph Services in 1871. In 1909 it became the Ministry of Postal, Telegraph and Telephone Services, which in 1913 became a General Directorate.

In 1953 the General Directorate was turned into a state economic enterprise, and in 1984 into a public economic enterprise.

The first manual switchboard began operating in Turkey in 1909. The first 2000-line automatic telephone switchboard was installed in 1926. Today the share of digital telephone exchanges in the communications network is 54%. The first digital radio link system was introduced in Turkey in 185. In long distance telephone communications systems the PCM multiplex system is in use.

The first earth station for satellite communications (AKA-1) connected to the INTELSAT satellite over the Atlantic Ocean became operational in 1979, the second (EUTELSAT) in 1986, (AKA-2) and the third (AKA-3) in 1988. Direct links have now been established between Turkey and Southeast Asian and Far Eastern countries with this third system.

The first Turkish communications satellite (TURKSAT) is to be launched in 1993. Feasibility studies have been completed and bids solicited.

To meet the ever increasing needs of the telecommunications network for more inter-city channels and ascertain alternative methods, the Western anatolian Underground Co-Axial Cables System (BAYKOK) was put into service in 1988. An extension of this project connecting Istanbul to Edirne via the TRAYKOK network has also been put into service.

The EMOS sea bed fibre-optic cable system undertaken by Turkey, Israel, Greece and Italy in the Eastern Mediterranean basin, joins Turkey, Israel, Greece and Italy without any land connections and each country is connected by an individual fibre-optic cable system. The EMOS cable joins Turkey in Marmaris. Thus, in addition to the Antalya-Catania (Italy) underwater co-axial cable system, the Marmaris-Palermo (Italy) underwater fibre-optic cable system also has gone into service, and with the Turkish Land and Satellite connections, Turkey has been connected to Europe via two separate routes.

An EMOS system connected directly to the U.S. has been achieved via the underwater TAT-8 cable connection system. A second connection has been made through the MAT-2 underwater fibre-optic system in the western Mediterranean and the TAT-9 underwater fibre-optic cable system in the Atlantic.

The TAT-10, TAT-11, TAT-12, TAT-13 systems which soon are to go into service are being added to the fibre-optic systems across the Atlantic.

The speedy developments in the field of trade and extensive use of computers, have given rise to the need for speedier forms of communications in addition to the postal, telegraph and telephone services. This has resulted in the use of vehicle telephone systems, call systems, tele-information, computerized data systems (TURPAK), cordless telephones and video conference systems, all of which are being successfully implemented in Turkey.

In densely populated areas, touristic sites and on highways telephone booths operating on the coin and card systems have been installed to meet the needs of the public. To meet increasing demand the 41,916 PTT outlets will be increased.

In accordance with the law which went into effect on January 21, 1989 the planning and operation of radio and TV stations programme links have been turned over to the PTT.

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