18 - Communication media and globalization: an Iranian perspective - Yahya R

. Kamalipour

Purdue University, Calumet, USA kamaliyr@calumet.purdue.edu

Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which toppled the earlier monarchical and secular Pahlavi regime, Iran has undergone a profound social transformation. For the first time in Iran’s history about 92 per cent of the young are literate; 75 per cent of the 70-million Iranian population is under the age of 30. The number of universities has been increased and, interestingly enough, more than 60 per cent of all university students in Iran are female.
Iranians are communicating with each other more than ever before. There are approximately 5 million internet users and over 70,000 bloggers – most of whom are young students, educators, journalists, writers, artists, musicians and clerics. Hundreds of clerics in the holy city of Qum, the center of Islamic seminaries and teaching, are electronically connected to the global village via their desktops and laptops. In addition to numerous weblogs, the clerics have produced digital online websites that provide a wealth of information about a wide range of topics, including articles, speeches, commentaries, book reviews and Quranic analysis and translations in 30 languages. Even Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (http://www.khamenei.ir), and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (www.ahmadinejad.ir) have their own weblogs which are normally in both the Persian and English languages.
As is the case in many big cities around the world, internet cafes can be found in most major Iranian cities. Additionally, wired (landline) and wireless telephone services are available throughout the country and cell phones have become quite widespread and popular, especially among the youth. Reportedly, cell phones are quickly replacing the wired telephones as the preferred mode of communication in many developing countries, including Iran.
Although illegal, millions of homes are equipped with, often disguised, satellite-receiving dishes across Iran. Hence millions of Iranians can watch over 20 Iranian Los Angeles-based Persian Satellite TV channels, hundreds of international channels, including Euro News, Voice of America, CNN and the BBC. In addition to seven domestic (internal) TV channels and eight radio networks, Iranians have access to dozens of international (external) online and broadcast Persian language radio stations, including BBC radio, Radio Farda (USA), VOA, Radio Israel, Radio Moscow, Radio France, Deutsche Welle (Germany), KIRN Radio (USA), and Radio Peyk (Switzerland). The international service of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting or IRIB (http://www.irib.com), broadcasts programs in 30 foreign languages, via radio, and in several languages via satellite television, including Al-Alam TV and Al-Kowthar TV (Arabic) and Sahar TV (English).
Historically, many Iranian newspapers have functioned as government organs and have faced a variety of restrictions. In Iran, no one is allowed to publish a newspaper without obtaining a legal permit from the government. Furthermore, the line between ‘private press’ and ‘public press’ is blurred due to the fact that even privately-owned newspapers are dependent on the government for their vital needs such as paper supplies, printing plates and advertising income. Today, over 20 daily newspapers are published in Iran, with estimated circulations ranging from around 50,000 to 150,000. An interesting aspect of journalism in Iran is that the majority of reporters are young while the majority of owners and editors are of an older generation.
Although the initial revolutionary fervor of nearly three decades ago has given way to greater realism, the Islamic Republic of Iran faces many social, political, and economic problems. The regime’s excesses vis-a-vis the suppression of press freedom and individual freedom, particularly under conservative President Mahmoud Ahamadinejad, continue to alienate the Iranian youth and contribute to the unfortunate brain drain through migration to other nations, particularly Western countries. Furthermore, the regime’s policies – instituted in the name of Islam – have had a negative impact on the youth and their perceptions of religion. On the other hand, in terms of infrastructures, transportation, education, agriculture, military and technology, despite the ongoing US embargos, Iran has attained notable achievements. Furthermore, commercial interests have prompted Iran to work toward joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), which has been countered by the US. Nonetheless, a majority of Iranians tend to favor dialogue and rapprochement with the US, at both cultural and political levels.
Regarding the ongoing Iranian nuclear controversy, the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and other Iranian politicians know that the United States is bogged down in the Iraq and Afghanistan quagmire and is militarily stretched beyond its means. Hence, attacking another member of the ‘axis of evil,’ so called by President George W. Bush in 2002, is not only unlikely but would indeed be disastrous for both the US and other countries in the region and throughout the world.
Despite readily visible symbols of globalization and the widespread adoption of new information and communication technologies in contemporary Iran, the gap between the haves and have-nots is quite pronounced and disheartening. In addition to the so-called digital divide, another divide is developing in a gap between government and public interests. After nearly three decades, since the establishment of the Islamic Republic, we are witnessing a considerable gap between the people’s aspirations and demands – particularly among the youth – and the government’s ideal of creating a model Islamic State in Iran. In general, the greater the government’s emphasis on Islamic conduct and rules, the greater the dissatisfaction among the Iranian people.