Mahdipur: The authority of the domestic media has not been lost/ Radio and TV are the most popular media in the country.

Farshad Mehdipour, deputy press officer of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, said in Radio Javan’s “Unique” program about the state of the media, according to Fars News Agency’s Radio and Television reporter: “Today, we are facing a group of media in which several important events have taken place.” First, a dominant mainstream has emerged in the world. If 20 years ago, the main stream was in the hands of the world’s three biggest news agencies, i.e. Associated Press, AFP and Reuters, today we see the mainstream media in Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

The consumption of satellite has started to decrease

According to Mehdipour, due to the expansion of social networks and virtual space, the amount of access from outside to inside has increased. It means that the amount of satellite consumption in Iran has directly decreased. But viewing satellite content on social networks has increased. On the other hand, it has become easier for Iranians to see external content.

The press deputy of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance said about the media authority and the difference between the news agency and social networks: The reality is that none of the social networks did what they claim. Among other things, they did not provide the possibility of equality in content production and the possibility of equal access. For example, in the story of the end of Trump’s presidency, these networks dealt with the American president in the most violent way possible. After the presidency, they removed Trump completely.

Mehdipour stated that a messaging service like Telegram, which claimed to operate outside of these areas, went ahead with this process of exclusions, and continued: This issue can also be seen in the assassination of Haj Qassem Soleimani. The moment the Americans assassinated Haj Qasim and we tried to talk about this character, we were blocked. This blocking has been going on for about three years. It means that we are facing a layer of access and equality in content production. Everyone can post as much as the platform allows on social media.

Reflecting the content of official media in virtual space

Regarding whether the authority of the domestic media has been weakened, the Deputy Press Secretary of the Ministry of Guidance added: We conducted a survey in this regard and we ask people what they see, what they read, how they access different contents, and what tools and platforms they use. . In newspapers, we may face a weakening of stall sales. But when we go to all social networks, the content of these media is republished. About 15% of people directly encourage these media and a large part of the content that people see on social networks is the content of official and domestic media.

Farshad Mehdipour said: I believe that the authority of domestic media has been weakened, but it has not disappeared. This attempt to take self-confidence from the media is a dangerous thing. By the way, the biggest and most popular media in the country is radio and television. After radio and television, the main news agencies and newspapers are influential in the domestic and foreign environment. Today, some newspapers can make changes in the politics of the Islamic Republic or send different messages to the world with their editorials.

The newspaper is a strategic media in the country

In response to the question that the issues raised on social networks may become the headlines of the newspapers, the Deputy Press Secretary of the Ministry of Guidance said: Yes, this happens a lot. I have no dispute that virtual space and social networks have taken over public opinion. However, in our opinion, the newspaper is a strategic media in the country. Some researchers had also come to the conclusion that the corona era may cause a return to written media. Because we witnessed a kind of impatience and confusion during that time.

Human resources are the most expensive part of any media

Mehdipour said about solving the problems of the media: since human resources are considered to be the most expensive part of any media, one of the most challenging issues in this field is reducing the number of professional journalists remaining in the media. That is, journalists who take a journalism course in the form of a workshop, soon leave the news field and want to become editors or public relations of an organization.

He said: The number of journalists who have been in this profession for a long time is very small. I was present at the President’s press conference and the number of reporters who worked continuously for more than 10 years was not more than a few people. Of course, some of them were not present as reporters. This is a big issue. We reminded the media managers of this legal obligation that they must insure their media members. Therefore, we made it mandatory for journalists in the media to be insured and made it a condition for all our support.

The Deputy Press Secretary of the Ministry of Guidance stated that the main challenge is that the dignity of journalists has decreased, and added: On the other hand, structural changes should be made in the law to give the job of a journalist a status. A reporter cannot become an expert reporter, a seasoned reporter, etc. and go through the ranks of his career in the organization itself. This is where the reporter always remains.

Trying to turn the media into press institutions

Farshad Mehdipour pointed out that we are trying to take and promote the media towards corporate and institutional movements and added: We are trying to encourage the media towards corporate and institutional movements. Of course, we are facing legal obstacles. That is, we seek to give more privileges to press institutions. It means that quasi-holding should be created and the field of media entrepreneurship should be strengthened.

Regarding the lawsuits that arise for the media, he added: I think the process of lawsuits was a downward trend in the last decade. That is, from the style of administration of the judicial system 12 years ago, this issue has been institutionalized, and the process of interaction with people of culture, art and media has changed. For this reason, instead of the Press Prosecutor’s Office, the Press Dispute Resolution Council has been established.

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