Abstract:

Newspapers in the Ottoman Empire emerged in the 19th century under the supervision of the state as a part of the modernisation enterprises. Following the publication of official Takvim-i Vakayi (Calendar of Events) in 1831 by Sultan Mahmud II, aiming to promulgate his reform policy, journals gradually increased in popularity. Since the economy was based on agriculture, Ottoman bureaucrats envisaged to increase the technical knowledge of the populace in order to improve agricultural production. Thus, both bureaucrats and agricultural experts embarked on publishing agricultural journals for the farmers. The publication of agricultural magazines was conceived as a media for the instruction of farmers in modern agricultural methods. The first agricultural magazine, Vasıta-ı Servet (Means for Wealth) was published in 1880. After this first attempt, other agricultural journals were successively published both by public institutions and private entrepreneurs. In this study, the short-lived journal Ekinci (The Cultivator), which appeared in the years 1913-14, will be introduced with a list of contents of its 15 issues.

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