New Adana Newspaper

New Adana Newspaper is known as Türkiye’s oldest local newspaper and has continuously published since 1918 to the present day. It is particularly recognized for its strong support of the National Struggle against the French occupation of Adana during the Turkish War of Independence.

Founding and Early Years

The newspaper was launched on 25 December 1918, following the French occupation of Adana, by teacher Ahmet Remzi (Yüreğir) and reserve officer Yozgatlı Mehmet Avni (Doğan), under the name “Adana.” Its publication goal was to inform public opinion about developments during the occupation and to support local resistance activities. However, due to interventions by the French Occupation Administration, the newspaper managed to publish only three issues before being shut down.

The founders regained publishing permission under the name “New Adana” and resumed journalistic activities. On 8 January 1919, the newspaper was closed by French authorities following an article by Avni Bey that criticized the occupation administration. Sources record that during this period, the printing press was shut down, its owner and Avni Doğan were arrested, Avni Doğan was sent to Yozgat, and a death sentence was issued against Ahmet Remzi Yüreğir. It is reported that Ahmet Remzi Yüreğir left the city and moved to another region.

Role During the National Struggle

After his escape, Ahmet Remzi Yüreğir continued his journalistic activities in Niğde and Kayseri, publishing newspapers in these cities as well. He became one of the founding members of the Cilicia (Adana) Society for the Defense of National Rights, established in Niğde under the directives of Mustafa Kemal Paşa due to the French occupation of Adana.

After a long hiatus, the New Adana Newspaper resumed publication on 25 July 1920 in a disused railway carriage at the Kelebek (Gelebek) Village Station in Toroslar. Due to insufficient printing materials, the newspaper was printed using the stencil method; paper was dampened with icy water, and ink was made from soot and linseed oil. After Pozantı was liberated from occupation, the newspaper began publication in Pozantı as of 9 September 1920. The proclamation prepared by Mustafa Kemal Paşa for the people of Adana during the Pozantı Congress was published in the newspaper’s 11th issue.

Throughout its publication history, the New Adana Newspaper maintained a publishing policy opposed to newspapers such as Ferda, which published content against the Kuva-yı Milliye. It aimed to inform public opinion by publishing articles and poems centered on themes of homeland, independence, and freedom. The newspaper’s editorial staff included Ahmet Remzi (Yüreğir) Bey, Yozgatlı Mehmet Avni (Doğan), Ferit Celal (Güven) Bey, Yahya Nüzhed, Naci Akverdi, Hacı Gülek, Muzaffer Timurtaş, Celal Sahir, and Refi Kerem. Among its writers, Yahya Nüzhed lost his life on the Western Front.

During the National Struggle, the New Adana Newspaper obtained news not only from the Anatolia Agency but also exchanged news with various Anatolian newspapers and the Istanbul press. It covered developments on the fronts, statements by Mustafa Kemal Paşa, and parliamentary debates. On the morning of 5 January 1922, it published the news of Adana’s liberation from French occupation.

The Republican Era and Beyond

Following the proclamation of the Republic, the newspaper continued its publications aligned with Atatürk’s principles and reforms. Fazıl Hüsnü Dağlarca published his first short story in 1927 and his first poem in 1928 in the New Adana Newspaper. Ahmet Remzi Yüreğir joined the Free Republican Party in 1930 and was elected as a member of parliament for Seyhan (Adana) from the Republican People’s Party in the 1946 elections, serving in the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye between 1946 and 1950.

After Ahmet Remzi Yüreğir died in a traffic accident in Istanbul in 1951, his son Çetin Remzi Yüreğir assumed ownership of the newspaper from 1958 onward. During the Democratic Party administration, the newspaper adopted an oppositional editorial line and was permanently closed on 9 May 1960 by decision of the Investigation Commission. This closure marked the second time in the newspaper’s history that it was shut down.