AzerNews

Overview

AzerNews is Azerbaijan’s first English-language newspaper, published in Baku since 1997 with a large English-speaking readership (TurkicWorld). It is a member of the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and was selected as the Economic Cooperation Organization’s (ECO) media partner and information source from Azerbaijan (TurkicWorld). Its editorial office is registered under the legal name “Azərxəbər”-“Azernews” Qəzeti Redaksiyasi, with a registration record dated 7 September 1998 (AzerNews).

AzerNews publishes in English for an international as well as a domestic audience. Its site carries daily national and international headlines across politics, the economy, culture, and sport, as shown by the current headline list on its own About page (AzerNews). Its print edition has been distributed abroad, including in the United States, the United Kingdom, and China, alongside its online edition (TurkicWorld). Within Azerbaijan’s media landscape it is the long-running English-language reference point: the paper that an English reader in Baku, or an observer abroad, would have encountered first for much of the past three decades.

Origins and registration

AzerNews began publication in 1997 as Azerbaijan’s first English-language newspaper, a claim repeated by both the paper itself and by independent coverage of its later milestones (TurkicWorld; AzerNews). Its editorial office is registered in Baku’s Binagadi district under the legal name “Azərxəbər”-“Azernews” Qəzeti Redaksiyasi, with the registration record dated 7 September 1998 (AzerNews). The roughly one-year gap between the 1997 founding year and the 1998 registration date is recorded here without explanation, since none of the sources read in full explains it. The paper’s About page also reproduces the registration authority’s name and a company tax number, details this profile omits as unnecessary for identification. The registration record is reproduced on the paper’s own About page and is therefore first-party evidence, marked as such in this profile’s frontmatter. No fully-read source names a founder or a current owner, so this profile asserts neither; ownership questions are listed openly rather than filled in from unverified leads.

International memberships and recognition

AzerNews became the first Azerbaijani newspaper to join the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), which brings together 18,000 publications and 15,000 websites of news publishers (AzerNews). WAN was founded in 1948 to protect press freedom and economic independence, and merged with IFRA to form WAN-IFRA in 2009 (AzerNews). Welcoming AzerNews, WAN-IFRA’s membership director Birke Becker called it the first Azerbaijani newspaper to join and welcomed the paper (AzerNews). AzerNews’s then PR director Elina Shihmagomedova said participation would give the paper the latest information on publishing technology and trends and a chance to share experience with foreign counterparts (AzerNews).

The paper was also selected as the ECO’s media partner and information source from Azerbaijan, on a list that included The Kabul Times, Tehran Times, Dawn Media Group, Khovar, Anadolu Agency, and Uzdaily (TurkicWorld). It was additionally admitted to the Sparknews Impact Journalism Day initiative, a project uniting more than 60 newspapers worldwide, including USA Today, The Huffington Post, The Sunday Times, and Le Monde (TurkicWorld).

Print and digital presence

AzerNews operates as both a print and an online newspaper. Its print edition has been published in various modern designs and distributed in countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, and China, while an online version serves readers elsewhere (TurkicWorld). The online edition is available at azernews.az and, as of October 2026, carried a rolling daily file of national and international headlines, from Azerbaijani domestic politics and energy news to global business, technology, and culture stories (TurkicWorld; AzerNews). That daily output is the paper’s working presence: a continuously updated English-language news file on Azerbaijan and the wider world, rather than a weekly-only publication. The sources read in full do not give circulation, unique-visitor, or print-run figures, so this profile makes no claim about the size of that audience beyond TurkicWorld’s description of a large English-speaking readership (TurkicWorld). AzerNews’s own reporting also covers Azerbaijan’s media industry, including the launch of the sports portal Idman.biz (AzerNews).

Milestone	What the sources establish
Founded	1997, as Azerbaijan’s first English-language newspaper
Legal registration	7 September 1998, under the name “Azərxəbər”-“Azernews” Qəzeti Redaksiyasi (first-party record)
WAN-IFRA	First Azerbaijani newspaper to join; year not stated in sources read
ECO	Selected as ECO media partner and information source from Azerbaijan
Sparknews	Admitted to the Impact Journalism Day initiative (60+ newspapers)
Distribution	Print distributed in the US, UK, China and elsewhere; online edition at azernews.az

Sources: TurkicWorld; AzerNews; AzerNews.

Frequently asked questions

What is AzerNews? AzerNews is Azerbaijan’s first English-language newspaper, published in Baku since 1997. It produces a daily file of national and international news in English, in print and online, and is a member of WAN-IFRA and an ECO media partner for Azerbaijan.

When was AzerNews founded? AzerNews began publication in 1997, according to both its own reporting and independent coverage. Its editorial office’s registration record is dated 7 September 1998; the sources read do not explain the gap between founding and registration, and the profile records both dates without reconciling them.

Is AzerNews Azerbaijan’s first English-language newspaper? Yes, on the evidence of the sources read in full: both AzerNews itself and TurkicWorld’s independent report describe it as Azerbaijan’s first English-language newspaper. No source read in full contradicts that description. The description has stood since the paper’s 1997 founding, and later milestones consistently repeat it.

What does WAN-IFRA membership mean for AzerNews? WAN-IFRA is the global association of newspapers and news publishers. AzerNews was the first Azerbaijani newspaper to join it, giving the paper access to publishing technology, industry trends, and exchange with foreign counterparts, according to its then PR director. WAN-IFRA represents the newspaper industry at bodies such as the UN, UNESCO, and the Council of Europe.

Who owns AzerNews? The sources read in full do not establish a founder or current owner, so this profile does not name one. Ownership and editorial-independence questions are listed as open items rather than answered from unverified leads. Readers seeking ownership details will need a source this profile could not verify in full.

What this profile does not claim

• It does not name a founder or current owner; no fully-read source verified one.
• It does not date the WAN-IFRA membership, the ECO selection, or the Sparknews admission; the sources read do not give those years.
• It does not give circulation, print-run, staff-size, revenue, or audience figures; none were stated in the sources read in full.
• It does not assess AzerNews’s editorial independence or political alignment; no fully-read independent source assessed them.
• It does not explain the gap between the 1997 founding year and the September 1998 registration date.
• It does not treat the registration record on the paper’s own About page as independent evidence; it is marked first-party.