Ali Hamid

Censorship in Iranian media

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London- A Lecture by Mr. Masoud Behnoud, Iranian journalist and novelist, on the Persian media was held on October 26th ,2017 at the SOAS university of London.

The lecture was initiated with an overview of the media history in Iran with an emphasis on areas where censorship was imposed. Mr. Behnoud talked about how in the last 70 years, Iranian governments have always been blaming the media when they concerned.

 However, from the viewpoint of those in power, they were handling problems on their own without all the noises and exposure by the media. Which result in internal and external pressures. So they want journalists not to get involved or if possible be coordinate with them and serve their propaganda machine.

The talk continued with several anecdotes about the lecturer’s personal experiences of the field of journalism in the last 50 years. “We were facing Censorship by authorities, as well as self-censorship of and by the journalists,” he said. For instance, he talked about the time when he was working as chief editor of Ayandegan newspaper. At that time, he received a note of two pages from the Iranian intelligence services, telling him what to write and what not to write about.” All we were asking the government was please don’t tell us what to write. Just let us know what not to write. We unconsciously accepted the censorship on us”.

In addition, the horizon detection for the media in Iran with all pressures and censorship was highlighted. The lecturer talked about how in the last century Iranian regimes used their power to declare control over radio, television, and newspapers, and then used their power over the flow of information to shape general belief. 

The lecture was also made interactive by provoking questions posed by the audience. For instance, lecturer was asked by the audience about those who point out the contradictions between journalism and storytelling which could be questioning the accuracy in the field. Mr. Behnoud way of answering created an excitement among the audience.