Turkey: Recently launched paper at the forefront of political controversy

Thanks to its precocious reporting, Taraf, a small, Turkish daily paper launched last November, has found itself at the center of a brewing political storm.

In its inaugural year, Taraf published a chain of stories divulging the army's efforts to overthrow the government's ruling party.

Taraf broke the news of a secret meeting between Osman Paksut, Turkey's second-ranking judge on the constitutional court, and General Ilker Basbug, its land-force commander. The paper also published a document outlining "plans by the general staff to mobilize public opinion against the government", according to the Economist.

"Taraf has become a standard-bearer for the rising number of young and increasingly vocal Turks who say the people, not the generals, should determine the country's future."

Despite the paper's success - circulation is at 24,000 copies-per-day and growing - some fear it could be shut down. Nokta, a Turkish weekly, was forced to close in 2004 after publishing sensitive military material.

But Deputy Managing Editor Yasemin Congar isn't worried about the paper's future. As public outrage over the revelations swells, Taraf is settling into its spot in the limelight.

"We are changing the rules the mainstream media work by in this country," he said.

Source: The Economist