Sözcü (English: Spokesperson) is a popular Turkish daily newspaper. Sözcü was first published on 27 June 2007 by Burak Akbay and is distributed nationwide.[1] As of June 2018, it is one of the top-selling newspapers in Turkey, with around 300,000 copies sold daily.[2]
Its origins go back to Gözcü (literally, Observer, published by Doğan Media Group) which began publication on 15 May 1996 and ceased publication on 1 April 2007. Gözcü was taken over by its employees and its name was changed to Sözcü. In its first days the newspaper sold around 60,000 copies. By September 2008, the newspaper had an average circulation of 150,000. In December 2010 this number had reached 210,000.[3]
As a result of increasing political polarization, Sözcü has become one of the country’s top-selling newspapers through its anti-government (Justice and Development Party or AKP) stance.[4] It is the highest-selling Turkish paper that openly criticizes the ruling party and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Sözcü adopts a more nationalist and Kemalist political orientation than other anti-AKP papers such as Cumhuriyet and BirGün.
An edition of Sözcü aimed at the Turks of Western Europe is printed in Germany.[5]