Iranian Journalism-- Beyond the Prison

Lately, Iran has been the front page story of many newspapers and video segments; their "historic" breakthrough in the nuclear issue has people on both sides of the aisle talking.  What is not being talked about much lately is the state of journalism in Iran.  Most people that I know assume that all Iranian journalists are mouthpieces of the regime, simply parroting the official rhetoric handed down to them.  While this assumption may be close to accurate, very few scientific studies have ever been done to give an in depth look at what an Iranian journalist inside Iran actually goes through.  Until now.

Researchers from the Annenberg School for Communication, part of the University of Pennsylvania, have set up an entire program to look into what life is like for Iranian journalists.  During the summer of 2013, they released a report entitled Facing Boundaries, Finding Freedoms: An In-Depth Report of Iranian Journalists Working in Iran.  For the systematic study, 304 journalists at both state owned and independent media outlets responded, leading to an overall response rate of 30%.  Off to a bad start for freedom of the press, but I digress.  Much of the world seems to comprehend the often heavy handed repression journalists face through repression, harassment, and arrests.  Many can even recall some of the oppressive measures that occurred in the political aftermath of the disputed 2009 elections of incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.  What is less understood are the everyday battles that Iranian journalists face such as operating within complex regulatory frameworks and governmental controls that lead to a general lack of information flow and openness.  This is precisely what was focused on in the report; the other side of the Iranian media coin.  Roughly 24 pages long, the report serves to deliver readers with a better understanding of non-traditional challenges faced by journalists living under the Ayatollah and Revolutionary Guard forces.  I will not summarize the entire article here, rather, I will pull out some of the key quotes and findings of the survey.  I recommend that anyone interested in pushing further than the tip of the iceberg read the report, I found it fairly educational as well as potentially useful as an International Affairs major.The survey showed that:

-There was little difference between journalists who worked for state-run media outlets and independent media outlets in terms of editorial freedoms and perceptions of media in society; a surprising find as I assumed that independent journalists would have greater freedoms.

-State journalists were more likely to utilize circumvention tools such as proxy servers to access censored online content than independent journalists

-55% of respondents said they "never" used social media or photo sharing sites to gather information

-The more experienced a journalist was, the less likely they were to cover controversial issues.  To me, this suggests that those who question the regime don't stay in business too long.

-Although journalists do not feel comfortable in traditional "watchdog" roles, many indicated that they felt comfortable presenting alternative strategies for governmental policies.