“Jam Jam”, the last bastion that should not be left
Fars News Agency – Radio and Television Group – Sajjad Rezaei Moghadam: For some time now, the news of the possible liquidation of the Jam Jam Global Network as one of the important media arms of the Islamic Republic of Iran by the Broadcasting Organization has been circulating, a media that has a long way to go to reach maximum impact.
Certainly, the issues and topics that are relevant for Iranians abroad cannot be solved only by making talk shows, and it is not an exaggeration to say that even special series should be made for this group of audience members and broadcast on this important network.
Today, it is no secret that the media is perhaps one of the most important factors and components of power among different countries of the world; An arm that can single-handedly achieve the desired goals and policies of a country in any part of the world, or publish and promote its ideas and discourses.
Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili, the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, said about this: “The media is no longer a tool of power, but it is the very power; “Today, many independent countries in the world are victims of the invasion of media terrorism by the domineering powers.”
To confirm these statements, you don’t even need to study history or take courses in media literacy education. Just take a look at the events of last year and the unrest that occurred, to see the important role of the evil media in promoting various lies and as a result creating chaos; Lies that were told at no cost to the counter-revolution, but created many costs for the country.
An audience that should not be ignored
In this unequal battle of media in the world in visual mediums, the Islamic Republic of Iran has several important arms to present its performance to the world and of course to counter the lies of the enemy media. Domestic networks and the national television are one of these arms that use their power to enlighten the country, but the media representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran Radio and Television for Iranians abroad is the “Jam Jam” series of networks, which, if not more, is not less important than the national television. .
To prove this statement, it should be said that in the current situation, all countries that have a high number of immigrants in other lands, such as China, India, and Korea, arrange many cultural and media programs for the cultural nutrition of their immigrants outside their internal borders to connect The mentality and culture of immigrants should not be cut off from their country. In fact, immigrants are known as capital in all fields for all these countries.
A corner of the importance of having a platform for Iranians abroad
The necessity of a communication bridge between Iran and its citizens abroad is undeniable. It should even be said that the importance of this issue is not only limited to cultural or even political dimensions, and perhaps one of the most important and tangible aspects is related to the economic events of the country.
Many Iranians abroad have serious capital to invest in the country; So that maybe even compared to real capitals inside and outside the country, the bottom of the scale is heavier or equal in favor of Iranian immigrants. To confirm this issue, it is enough to look at the comparison of GDP (net national product that includes only domestic capital) and GNP (gross national product that includes the capital of Iranians abroad) of Iran.
Iran’s GDP from 2010 to 2020 (in billions of US dollars)
Certainly, Iranians abroad are also looking for a place that has the most profit for them to invest. According to Iran’s trade law, this group of people is the same as foreign people in domestic investment, which means they are exempt from taxes and the laws of non-Iranian investors include them. In this situation, if this law and of course the favorable fields of investment in Iran are clarified for these people, it will definitely be favorable for them to work in their motherland; An event that the country also needs and of course will not be realized; except by using a media such as “Jam Jam” network.
The cultural dimensions of the need for a foreign platform for Iranians are more obvious than its economic dimensions. Today, with nearly 10 million first and second generation Iranians outside the country’s borders, we have an important capacity to promote and introduce authentic Iranian-Islamic culture to other countries. For example, after the use of the word Arabian Gulf in one of the countries, the first reaction of Iranians in protesting this incident was done by Iranians abroad; But unfortunately, with today’s lack of media, instead of promoting the culture of their mother country, the new generation of Iranian immigrants are being digested in the culture of the host countries.
Politically, the importance of the existence of networks for Iranians abroad was felt more than ever during the events of last year, and perhaps few people did not understand the need for it. In the absence of such a network, a large number of Iranians abroad, who are effective in many political decision-making, will face the unanimity of networks such as “Iran International” and “BBC Persian” and there will be no answer to the lies spread by the hostile media.
Why is “Jam Jam” important?
Now the question may be raised that all these cases can be solved despite the access of Iranians abroad to domestic networks, or maybe they consider the use of television and virtual space as a suitable alternative for this network.
In this regard, special attention should be paid to several propositions; First, the content produced for Iranians abroad must be different from the content produced for the national media within the borders of the country. For the least reason of this sentence, re-read the section on the economic importance of foreign platforms for Iranians and pay attention to the fact that this information should not be published on domestic networks; Because it has no use for the domestic audience. The importance of media struggles and the difference in content offered to Iranian immigrants by the opposing media also have their place. Even consular problems or issues that arise for military personnel living abroad are such issues that should be raised for Iranian immigrants, but they will not have an audience inside the country.
Apart from these points, the mental atmosphere of a person who has migrated to another country away from his motherland will definitely be different from someone who lives in his own country. .
The next point is about using virtual space to transfer this information. It goes without saying that the provision of information on the broadcast platform (public and satellite broadcasting) which is freely available to the audience, will have more audience than the virtual space platform.
Do not empty the scene
According to the announcement of the official sources of the United States, the budget of the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) in 2023 is equal to 1.01 billion dollars, a budget that grows and increases every year compared to the previous year.
Also, in 1400, the Russian Sputnik news agency announced in a report that in the US budget that was presented to the Congress of this country, the US provided an 800 million dollar budget for international television channels to target audiences in Iran, China and Russia, as well as African and Middle Eastern countries. considered.
A corner of Persian language satellite channels
In addition, it should be noted that the website www.insidegov.com, which is now unavailable, published documents showing that Masih Alinejad had three contracts with the “Board of News Directors” (known as “BBG”) between 2015 and 2018. Affiliated with the US government.
The Board of News Directors (BBG) is an organization that includes all news agencies of the US government, under which “Voice of America”, “Radio Farda”, “Radio Free Europe/Radio Azadi” operate. This organization has changed its name to “United States Global Media Organization” during the presidency of “Donald Trump”, the former president of the United States.
The three documents that were placed on the website www.insidegov.com in February 2016 were the contracts that were concluded between the “Council of News Directors” as the employer and “Mesih Alinejad” as the employee. A statistic that shows the performance of this council and the location of the aforementioned budget.
This statistic shows the special importance of Iranian media abroad, especially with the Iranian audience. In this media battle, different countries are trying to make Iranian audiences everywhere in the world the target of cultural and media attack at very high costs. Certainly, in this situation, emptying the stage and losing the podium that has the ability to influence is not the solution.
The community of Iranians abroad has always been of interest to the high officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The emphasis of the leader of the revolution, the formation of the Supreme Council of Iranians abroad and the orders of the head of the judiciary regarding the ease of entry and exit of this group from the society to the country indicate this important matter.
In this situation, the presence of a media for this group of society and the adoption of the right measures can improve the relationship between the country and its immigrants, and maybe eventually lead to the return of the elites who left the country.
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