NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE LAUNCHES IN TURKEY THIS MONTH

WASHINGTON—The Turkish edition of National Geographic magazine debuted on May 3, 2001, bringing to 19 the number of local-language editions of the magazine.

The magazine is being produced under license from the National Geographic Society by Dogus Communications, the fastest-growing publishing company in Turkey. Dogus Communications is a publishing subsidiary of Dogus Holding, one of Turkey’s largest banking, automotive and construction conglomerates. Dogus Communications publishes six other magazine titles and owns NTV, the national news channel, which partners with MSNBC in Turkey, and CNBC-e, the national finance channel, which partners with CNBC in Turkey.

The Turkish edition of National Geographic magazine will appear monthly and will closely follow the editorial content of the English-language original in the same size format.

“We are delighted and proud to become the National Geographic Society’s partner in publishing the magazine,” said Atilla Yerlikya, president and CEO of Dogus Communications. “Turkish readers have always enjoyed the famous yellow-bordered publication and are enthusiastic about reading it in their own language,” he said.

The magazine has a total circulation of around 10 million and is read in every country of the world.

Published in English since 1888, National Geographic is now also published in Japanese, Spanish (for Spain and Latin America), Italian, Greek, Hebrew, French, German, Polish, Korean, Portuguese (for Portugal and Brazil), Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Dutch and Chinese traditional character set. A Thai edition will launch in August 2001.

“Expanding our global reach by publishing the magazine in many different languages is a compelling way to extend the Society’s mission to spread geographic knowledge,” said Society President and CEO John Fahey. “Turkey is a country that has been covered extensively in National Geographic magazine and in television programs broadcast through National Geographic Channels International. The Society’s research and exploration efforts run deep in Turkey, from funding work of archaeologists in Aphrodisias to Explorer-in-Residence Bob Ballard’s recent Black Sea discoveries,” he said.

The flagship journal of the Society, National Geographic magazine provides in-depth editorial coverage of cultures, nature, science and technology and has set the standard for excellence in storytelling, photography and mapmaking.

The National Geographic Society is the world’s largest nonprofit scientific and educational organization. The 113-year-old Society reflects the world through magazines, books, maps, television and interactive media. The Society has funded more than 7,000 scientific research projects around the world and supports an education program combating geographic illiteracy.

National Geographic Channels International is seen by almost 100 million subscribers in 129 countries in 18 languages.

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May 2001