The Teheran Radio and Television complex
Mass
Media
The Teheran Radio and Television complex
Although an official newspaper first appeared in Iran in 1851, it was not until late in the nineteenth century that publishing and journalism had much effect on the political or intellectual life of the nation. And the most important Persian papers at that time were in fact printed abroad, chiefly in Turkey and India.
From the early twentieth century onwards, however, publishing developed rapidly in Iran, and several newspapers played an important part in the success of the Constitutional Revolution.
The first modern newspaper, Ettela'at, was launched in 1926. Its success led to the establishment of another paper Kayhan, in 1941. These two evening papers have now developed into the country's main publishing houses, producing a wide range of dailies and periodicals in several languages.
In addition to these two old-established papers, there were a number of other Persian dailies with large circulations, including Rastakhiz and Ayandegan, both morning papers. In the country as a whole 85 periodicals were published, including a number of official publications, mainly dealing with technical or specialized subjects. The foreign-language press is represented by two English, one French and one Armenian dailies, a German weekly and an Arabic monthly magazine.
While the larger publications subscribed to the international news agencies and services independently, many subscribed to the official Pars News Agency, which edited and translated material of interest to its subscribers. Pars had a large provincial network of correspondents and was also building up a foreign news network. While the press remained relatively static in terms of the number of publications and circulation, there was a tremendous expansion among the electronic media.
Iran's first radio station went on the air in 1940, with a 30-kilowatt medium-wave transmitter broadcasting five hours a day. Radio quickly became popular, especially with the advent of cheap transistorized receivers. Total transmission capacity has grew rapidly, from 3,523 kilowatts and 38 stations in 1968 to 7,710 kilowatts and 64 stations in 1976.
Radio coverage in Iran extended to 100 per cent of the population on medium-wave transmission, and in addition most provincial centres and major towns had an FM network. The estimated number of radio sets was twelve million. The Voice of Iran beamed to the entire Middle East, Europe and North America, and Far East broadcasts too began. In addition to Persian, the Voice of Iran did broadcast in 15 other languages.
In 1971, after over 30 years of independent operation, Radio Iran was merged with the state television organization to form- a semi-autonomous governmental authority, National Iranian Radio Television.
Television broadcasting began on a small scale in 1958, but it was not until 1966 that serious efforts to start a nation-wide network began. Coverage expanded tremendously in the seventies,.and covered much of Iran.
Transmission capacity was 161 kilowatts in 1976 and the number of transmitters exceeds 100. By the end of the Fifth Plan period it was expected that coverage of the Television First Programme would reach 65 per cent of the population and that of the Second Programme 50 per cent. Colour television broadcasting was on the French SECAM standard.
The cinema has always enjoyed great popularity in Iran. Originally, foreign films were imported and Persian sound-tracks or sub-titles simply added, but in the past decade a flourishing local film industry has developed.
Iranian film-makers have mostly been influenced by straight box-office considerations, but of late a numbed of producers and directors have been raising standards, and several Iranian films, including some excellent documentaries, have received international. acclaim, while also being box-office hits In 1976 there were 433 cinemas in 151 towns with 109 of them in Tehran. In 1975 a total of 67 films were produced in Iran.
The Centre for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, under the patronage of Empress Farah Pahlavi, commissioned several excellent productions, and the Tehran International Festival of Children's Films was one of the top four festivals of its kind in the world.
The first Tehran International Film Festival was held in 1972, one of only half a dozen recognized by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations. It was held every year in late autumn and had firmly established itself as a malor show-piece for Asian and Third World films, and its Golden Ibex awards attracted the world's top film-makers.
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