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Communication » Media » Iran: Media System

Iran: Media System




The Islamic Republic of Iran (population approx. 67,500,000 in 2004; adult literacy rate 77.1 percent) was established as a result of Iran’s revolution in 1979. The political system blends republican elements (i.e., regular parliamentary and presidential elections) with the idea of the “government of the Islamic jurist” (velayate faqih), developed during the 1960s and 1970s by Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution and the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Most political power thus lies in the hands of a Shiite cleric, the “Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution” (rahbar-e moazam-e enqelab-e eslami).

The history of Iran’s press is determined by successive phases of authoritarian rule and rare episodes of political liberalization. The first newspaper was published in 1837 under the Qajar dynasty. At the advent of the Constitutional Revolution in 1906, exile and clandestine periodicals gained considerable importance for the dissemination of modern political ideas. The subsequent years witnessed a flourishing of publications that ended when Reza Shah took power in 1925. The central state authority weakened again in 1942 – 1953, providing room for a dynamic and politicized press. The reinstated monarchy of Mohammad Reza Shah subjected the press once more to limitations.




Radio was introduced in 1940 by the government following experimentations with wireless transmissions throughout the 1920s. The first television channel opened in 1958 on the initiative of a private entrepreneur. Its merger with a second state-owned station in 1971 created the National Iranian Radio and Television organization. By the mid-1970s, Iran had developed the second biggest broadcasting system in Asia after Japan, reaching more than half the total population.

In the Islamic Republic, the constitution grants freedom for the mass media within the framework of religious principles. The constitution further stipulates the media’s educational mission for the propagation of Islamic culture. The press law requires all publications to be licensed and prohibits articles violating the fundamentals of the Islamic Republic or offending religious authorities. The principal institutions that shape culture and media politics are the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution.

Ideological restrictions on the media were especially severe during the Iran–Iraq war between 1980 and 1988. From the mid-1990s on, a relaxation of governmental politics allowed for a growing number of press publications to express alternative views. However, the press became the target of a judicial campaign backed by conservative factions, leading to the closure of over 100 publications from 2000 to 2006.

The majority of the press as well as radio and television are based in Tehran. Newspapers are comparatively cheap due to governmental subsidies for paper and advertisement. About 1,700 periodicals were published in 2005, including 136 dailies and more than 700 specialist publications. The main news agency is the governmental Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

The current national radio and television organization, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), has been under the direct control of the Supreme Leader since the revision of the constitution in 1989. The organization is funded by the state, though advertisement constitutes a growing share in its budget. IRIB has considerably expanded its structure and programming since 1994. A major factor in the rise of entertainment and foreign content in the programs was the attempt to counter the increasing influence of satellite television, perceived as a cultural onslaught by the regime.

Radio provided seven national channels in 2006, partly specializing in culture, youth, sports, and religion. IRIB offers extensive regional radio broadcasting and its world service transmits programs in 25 languages. There are two main national TV channels, while a third targets youth, providing sports and films. The fourth channel offers religious and instructive content; the fifth is a regional channel for the capital and other cities; and there are further educational and news channels. IRIB has also launched several satellite organizations. Since 1997, Jam-e Jam has been broadcasting three mainly Farsi channels for the Iranian diaspora. Sahar transmits two channels in different languages (English, Kurdish, and Urdu), and the Arabic Al-’Alam seeks its audience particularly in neighboring Iraq.

Attempts to create private television have failed so far. Receiving foreign satellite television is officially forbidden though currently tolerated. Estimates of the number of Iranian households equipped with satellite dishes go from 3 million to 5 million. Governmental projects to provide centralized access to chosen satellite channels have not yet been realized. About 15 stations broadcasting in Farsi and mainly run by the US-based exile community opposed to the current regime can be received in Iran.

The Internet was introduced in 1992. The estimated number of users increased noticeably between 2000 (200,000) and 2006 (7 million). Access is provided by over 500 ISPs working under the close supervision of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and of the national Telecommunications Company of Iran, owned by the state and working under the control of the ministry. Ambitious state programs seek to enhance Internet accessibility and connection quality. The government concurrently developed a sophisticated system of online censorship, controlling both the content and usage of the Internet, which had become an instrument for expressions of political and cultural discontent.

The evolution of Iran’s media is, therefore, constantly affected by the politics of a strong state. Despite significant cultural assets and a long history of journalism, the country has not yet developed an appropriate and independent media system.

References:

  1. Barraclough, S. (2001). Satellite television in Iran: Prohibition, imitation and reform. Middle Eastern Studies, 37(3), 25 – 48.
  2. Khiabany, G. (2007). The politics of broadcasting in Iran: Continuity and change, expansion and control. In D. Ward (ed.), Television and public policy: Change and continuity in an era of global liberalization. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
  3. Shahidi, H. (2006). From mission to profession: Journalism in Iran, 1979–2004. Iranian Studies, 39(1), 1– 28.
  4. Sreberny-Mohammadi, A., & Mohammadi, A. (1993). Communications. In E. Yarshater (ed.), Encyclopaedia Iranica. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda, pp. 89 – 95.




Communication Research

Communication Research

  • Media
    • Media Economics
    • Media Effects
    • Media History
    • Media Production and Content
    • Media Systems
    • Media and Perceptions of Reality
    • Excitation Transfer Theory
    • Effects Of Exemplification And Exemplars
    • Economics of Advertising
    • Antitrust Regulation
    • Audience Commodity
    • Brands
    • Circulation
    • Commercialization of the Media
    • Competition in Media Systems
    • Concentration in Media Systems
    • Consolidation of Media Markets
    • Consumers in Media Markets
    • Cost and Revenue Structures in the Media
    • Cross-Media Marketing
    • Distribution
    • Diversification of Media Markets
    • Economies of Scale in Media Markets
    • Globalization of the Media
    • Labor in the Media
    • Labor Unions in the Media
    • Markets of the Media
    • Media Conglomerates
    • Media Management
    • Media Marketing
    • Mergers
    • Ownership in the Media
    • Piracy
    • Political Economy of the Media
    • Privatization of the Media
    • Forms of Media Corporations
    • Public Goods
    • Agenda-Setting Effects
    • Appraisal Theory
    • Media Effects on Attitudes, Values, and Beliefs
    • Cognitive Availability
    • Albert Bandura
    • Catharsis Theory
    • Steven H. Chaffee
    • Credibility Effects
    • Cumulative Media Effects
    • Desensitization
    • Diffusion of Information and Innovation
    • Emotional Arousal Theory
    • Media Effects on Emotions
    • Effects of Entertainment
    • Fear Induction through Media Content
    • Leon Festinger
    • Framing Effects
    • Frustration Aggression Theory
    • George Gerbner
    • Carl I. Hovland
    • Intercultural Media Effects
    • Elihu Katz
    • Knowledge Gap Effects
    • Latitude of Acceptance
    • Linear and Nonlinear Models of Causal Analysis
    • Mainstreaming
    • Media Effects: Direct and Indirect Effects
    • Media Effects Duration
    • History of Media Effects
    • Media Effects Models: Elaborated Models
    • Strength of Media Effects
    • Media System Dependency Theory
    • Mediating Factors
    • Mediatization of Society
    • Structure of Message Effect
    • Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann
    • Effects of Nonverbal Signals
    • Observational Learning
    • Opinion Leader
    • Order of Presentation
    • Persuasion
    • Physical Effects of Media Content
    • Priming Theory
    • Media Effects on Public Opinion
    • Reciprocal Effects
    • Schemas and Media Effects
    • Effects of Sex and Pornography as Media Content
    • Sleeper Effect
    • Media Effects on Social Behavior
    • Media Effects on Social Capital
    • Social Judgment Theory
    • Trap Effect
    • Two-Step Flow of Communication
    • Secondary Victimization
    • Effects of Violence as Media Content
    • Academy Awards
    • History of Advertising
    • BBC
    • Cable Television
    • History of Censorship
    • History of Cinematography
    • History of Citizen Journalism
    • Civil Rights Movement and the Media
    • Coffee Houses as Public Sphere
    • Effects of Violence as Media Content
    • Academy Awards
    • Collective Memory and the Media
    • History of Digital Media
    • History of Documentary Film
    • History of Elections and Media
    • Electronic Mail
    • Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
    • Fleet Street
    • Fourth Estate
    • Graffiti
    • Historic Key Events and the Media
    • Illustrated Newspapers
    • Literary Journalism
    • History of Magazine
    • Music Videos
    • Nineteenth-Century New Journalism
    • History of News Agencies
    • History of News Magazine
    • Newscast
    • 24-Hour Newscast
    • Antecedents of Newspaper
    • History of Newspaper
    • Paperback Fiction
    • Penny Press
    • History of Postal Service
    • History of Printing
    • Newsreel
    • Freedom of Communication
    • Propaganda in World War II
    • History of Public Broadcasting
    • Radical Media
    • Radio Networks
    • Radio: Social History
    • Radio Technology
    • Satellite Television
    • History of Sports and the Media
    • History of Telegraph
    • Television Networks
    • Television: Social History
    • Television Technology
    • Underground Press
    • History of Violence and the Media
    • Virtual Reality
    • Watergate Scandal
    • Women’s Movement and the Media
    • Accountability of the Media
    • Accountability of the News
    • Accuracy
    • Balance
    • Bias in the News
    • Commentary
    • Commercialization: Impact on Media Content
    • Conflict as Media Content
    • Consonance of Media Content
    • Construction of Reality through the News
    • Credibility of Content
    • Crime Reporting
    • Editorial
    • Endorsement
    • Ethics of Media Content
    • Fairness Doctrine
    • Fictional Media Content
    • Framing of the News
    • Infotainment
    • Instrumental Actualization
    • Internet
    • Internet News
    • Local News
    • Magazine
    • Media Performance
    • Morality and Taste in Media Content
    • Narrative News Story
    • Negativity
    • Neutrality
    • News
    • News Factors
    • News Production and Technology
    • News Values
    • Newspaper
    • Objectivity in Reporting
    • Plurality
    • Quality of the News
    • Quality Press
    • Radio
    • Radio News
    • Reality and Media Reality
    • Scandalization in the News
    • Sensationalism
    • Separation of News and Comments
    • Soap Operas
    • Soft News
    • Sound Bites
    • Stereotypes
    • Synchronization of the News
    • Tabloid Press
    • Tabloidization
    • Television
    • News
    • Truth and Media Content
    • Violence as Media Content
    • Africa: Media Systems
    • Austria: Media System
    • Balkan States: Media Systems
    • Baltic States: Media Systems
    • Argentina: Media System
    • Bolivia: Media System
    • Brazil: Media System
    • Canada: Media System
    • Caribbean States: Media Systems
    • Central America: Media Systems
    • Chile: Media System
    • China: Media System
    • Colombia: Media System
    • Convergence of Media Systems
    • Cuba: Media System
    • Czech Republic: Media System
    • Egypt: Media System
    • France: Media System
    • Germany: Media System
    • Gulf States: Media Systems
    • India: Media System
    • Iran: Media System
    • Israel: Media System
    • Italy: Media System
    • Japan: Media System
    • Malaysia: Media System
    • Mexico: Media System
    • Netherlands: Media System
    • North Africa: Media Systems
    • Poland: Media System
    • Portugal: Media System
    • Public Broadcasting Systems
    • Russia: Media System
    • Scandinavian States: Media Systems
    • Singapore: Media System
    • South Africa: Media System
    • South Korea: Media System
    • Spain: Media System
    • Switzerland: Media System
    • United Kingdom: Media System
    • United States of America: Media System
    • West Asia: Media Systems
    • Behavioral Norms: Perception through the Media
    • Body Images in the Media
    • Computer Games and Reality Perception
    • Cultivation Effects
    • Disowning Projection
    • Entertainment Content and Reality Perception
    • Extra-Media Data
    • False Consensus
    • False Uniqueness
    • Media Campaigns And Perceptions Of Reality
    • Media Content and Social Networks
    • Media Messages and Family Communication
    • Media and Perceptions of Reality
    • Perceived Realism as a Decision Process
    • Perceived Reality as a Communication Process
    • Perceived Reality: Meta-Analyses
    • Perceived Reality as a Social Process
    • Pluralistic Ignorance
    • Pluralistic Ignorance and Ideological Biases
    • Social Perception
    • Social Perception: Impersonal Impact
    • Social Perception: Unrealistic Optimism
    • Socialization by the Media
    • Spiral of Silence
    • Stereotyping and the Media
    • Third-Person Effects
    • Video Malaise

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