Considering the Freedom of Communication in our country as the basic precondition of achieving human dignity, open government and democracy;

Pledging with our own free will that we shall struggle whenever and wherever necessary against all restrictions concerning Freedom of Communication generating from the law makers or other organisations and individuals;

Accepting the Freedom of Communication as an instrument of the people's right to know the truth;

Assessing that the main function of journalism is to discover the facts and communicate them to the public without distortion or exaggerating;

Reiterating our rejection of any external interference over the activities of the Press Council;

We, journalists declare to the public, to observe the following Code of Professional Principles of the Press as a corollary of our above mentioned fundamental beliefs:

1. No person shall be denounced or ridiculed in publications on the account of his/her race, sex, age, health, disabled condition, social status or religious beliefs.
2. Nothing that restricts freedom of thought, conscience and expression or is damaging or offensive to public moral, religious sentiments or the foundations of the institution of family, shall be published.
3. Journalism being a public function, shall not be used as a vehicle of immoral private pursuits and interests.
4. Nothing that humiliates, ridicules or defames private or public persons beyond the limits of fair criticism shall be published.
5. Private lives of individuals shall not be reported except when made necessary by the public interest.
6. Every effort shall be made to ensure that news stories that can be verified through normal journalistic channels shall not be published before investigation or shall not be put in print (broadcast) before a thorough assessment of its validity.
7. Information given on condition of confidentiality shall not be published (broadcast), except when made urgently necessary by public interest.
8. A media product produced by a medium of communication shall not be presented to the public by another medium of communication as its own, until its distribution process finalized. Attention shall be paid to cite the source of media products received from news agencies.
9. No person shall be declared "guilty" until he/she has been tried and convicted by judicial authorities.
10. Those actions deemed criminal by laws shall not be attributed to individuals without reasonable and persuasive evidence to that effect.
11. Journalists shall protect the confidentiality of their sources, except in the circumstances where the source is deliberately trying to mislead the public for personal, political, economic etc. reasons.
12. Journalists shall refrain from doing their duty with methods and manners that may be detrimental to the good name of the profession.
13. Publication of material that is conducive to violence, offensive to human values and use of force shall be avoided.
14. Paid announcements and advertisements shall be presented in such a way that leaves no room for doubt their true nature.
15. Embargoes on publication dates shall be respected.
16. The press (media) shall respect the right to reply and correction arising from inaccurate information.