Opportunity to Preserve Iran’s Media Authority

Pouneh Nedaei, Editor-in-Chief of Shokaran

For several years, we had been concerned about the loss of media authority in Iran. However, the outbreak of war turned the attention of the international community towards Iranian media, as those seeking the truth understood that reliable accounts of the war had to be sought from media outlets operating inside Iran.

Persian Media Authority

At the same time, Iran’s Ministry of Culture invited journalists from major international media organisations to Iran. This gave foreign journalists an opportunity to engage directly with Iranian media and gain a better understanding of the realities of the war, while also conveying Iran’s voice to the world.

A simple search shows that Reuters, the Associated Press, CNN and other major international media outlets used Iranian media reports as a reference for their coverage of the war in Iran.

The Red Line

Another issue that received international attention through Iranian media was the expression of Iranian patriotism. The international community came to understand that, despite deep ideological and political differences among Iranians, there is a red line that unites them: Iran and its territorial integrity.

Narrating Suffering

Ultimately, we journalists were the storytellers of the twelve-day and forty-day wars, documenting the bombs that fell on civilians and military personnel. We reported on the bombing of bridges, infrastructure and the coastal strip. We wrote about fellow Iranians who disappeared beneath the rubble, some of whom left behind nothing more than a finger or a fragment of their bodies…

Cultural Rediscovery

Throughout the war, we witnessed Iranians who had emigrated from the country years earlier many of whom had become disillusioned with, and even deeply resentful of, the situation in Iran turn their attention back towards the country. They, too, remembered their roots.

Now that media authority has returned to Iran, I believe greater attention should be devoted to introducing Iran’s culture and civilisation to the world anew.

National Press Day

In my view, it would be worthwhile to establish a National Press Day in the Iranian calendar in recognition of the importance of journalism and the Iranian press.

Cultural Governance: A New Definition

Furthermore, in order to preserve Iran’s media authority, cultural governance should continue its work under new definitions and approaches suited to the realities of wartime and the post-war period. Iran’s culture and civilisation deserve to be reconsidered, reassessed and revitalised.