Under Rouhani, Reporters Say they Feel a Thaw

Only one month has passed since President Hassan Rouhani took office but some journalists are already talking about a new era for Iran’s beleaguered independent press. How real is this feeling of freedom?

Sahar, a journalist working for a daily newspaper in Tehran, says the newsroom is joyous and lively again, and that journalists no longer feel they should stay silent and self-censor. An experienced journalist, Sahar has spent months in prison for supporting the Opposition in Iran and taking part in demonstrations after the controversial presidential election in 2009. She feels more secure now, but still not enough to allow her real name to be used in this article.

For Sahar, the new climate can be felt in simple but tangible ways. She feels the change when she sees the picture of Mohammad Khatami, the former president, on the first page of the newspapers. In the four years that have passed since 2009’s post-election uprising, authorities banned newspapers from even referring to imprisoned opposition leaders, and from running pictures of Khatami, who symbolized reform in the eyes of many Iranians.

The changed climate is not only palpable in independent newspapers but also in the content of state radio and television, according to Sahar. ‘It has been four years that no one spoke about the largest pro-reform party, Participation on television, unless they wanted to criticise it in the harshest way' she says. But recently when a former head of the reformist party sends a letter to state television complaining about fabricated reports about his party, his notice is broadcast by very programme that made the allegations.

Iranian newspapers experienced periods of relative freedom after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, but soon after journalists gradually faced increasing pressure to avoid sensitive subjects and reports that criticized the authorities. The surprise 1997 election of Mohammad Khatami, a former minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, ushered in an era of relative openness later referred to as the ‘Press Spring.’ Authorities significantly eased backed on censorship and numerous new newspapers and magazines emerged to take advantage of the new freedoms.

But Sahar, who started her career in those years, believes there is still a long way until the Iranian press experiences the same freedom again.

Bozorgmehr Hosseinpour, cartoonist and editor-in- chief of Chelcheragh Magazine also says he thinks the press are freer today compared to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's tenure but that the atmosphere is still incomparable to Khatami's era. ‘Journalists were so reckless at that time, reporting with no or minimum censorship,’ he says ‘But now journalists are more careful and vigilant and are more cautious not to cross the red-lines and get caught.” Hosseinpour says that despite journalists and editors to some extent internalizing some of the regime's red lines, the mood and motivation in the print media, even just one month into Rouhani's tenure, is still noticeably improved. “Journalists are passionate and optimistic again,’ he says.

Let’s Not Get Over-excited

Some journalists say they see the implicit red lines that govern what can be said or covered in print receding. Asal Abasian, a cultural reporter for Shargh newspaper, points out a recent front page interview with the singer, Mohammad-Reza Shajarian, published in her newspaper.  Shajarian, a nationally adored traditional musician, became controversial after siding with the opposition Green movement after the election in 2009, criticising the Islamic Republic for its crackdown and demanding that state broadcasting stop airing his works. State media blacklisted him in the aftermath, and in the intervening years he was forcibly erased from the media's consciousness

Ms Abasian has heard of a number of newspapers seeing their circulations rise, as many Iranians who had long lost interest in newspapers have once again been buying and reading them. She describes her uncle, a university professor, now prefers to follow the news by reading newspapers once again, and no longer by watching satellite TV networks like BBC Persian or Manoto. ‘He's passionate about reading newspaper again, and he reads the articles more carefully, as he believes they are not cut and censored like before,” she says.

Authorities have permitted some banned newspapers and magazines to start publishing again and some new newspapers are reportedly on the way. But Fazel Torkman, reporter at Chelcheragh Magazine, views the changing media climate more cautiously. He says he doesn’t want to get over-excited about these new and resurrected publications before seeing them in kiosks and checking their content.

Torkman has published several satirical poetry books and believes the new Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Ali Jannati, is more moderate when it comes to censorship. Torkman's new book has recently received permission from the government to be published. He says he more clearly sees changes in the book and cinema industries,  but that he is still waiting for this new lenience to waft over into print media.‘The censorship is not changed that much in media apart from the fact that you can criticise Ahmadinejad more easily,’ he says.

Better, Or Just Better Than Before?

Though some, like Torkman, are waiting for more palpable changes in what newspaper can cover, the view inside newsrooms themselves is more nuanced.

Poorya Soory, a journalist at Shargh newspaper, also says circulations have increased, a fact he attributes to newspapers publishing more fiery articles. ‘After the election the reformist newspapers have become livelier,’ he says. ‘Journalists are intrepidly covering topics which were forbidden during Ahmadinejad or could only be partly reported.’

Soory says the changes are highly visible on front pages, which can now feature punchier headlines and more assertive reporting on sensitive subjects, often relating to government accountability like alleged corruption of close allies of Ahmadinejad and role of his administration in long-standing bank and insurance fraud cases. ‘Criticism was not welcomed during Ahmadinejad’s term,’ he says. ‘People were curious to read about many issues but no one could report them. Now there are many reports on the corruption of Ahmadinejad’s government and that attracts people.’

For journalists themselves, greater freedom includes an enhanced feeling of personal security, and not simply more room to investigate tough stories. Nezhat Amirabadian, a journalist who was arrested by security forces in Shargh Newspaper in early 2011, says she feels much safer now. She cannot see any increase in the circulation of Bahaar, the reformist newspaper where she works, but as the reporter of international affairs she feels less restricted. ‘We were quite limited in covering Syria,' she says. ‘We are still, but we have gained more courage and confidence' She attributes the greater tolerance to President Rouhani's more moderate foreign policy outlook.

Time Will Tell

Some argue that the new media climate can only be gauged with time, once it becomes clear who precisely is responsible for the preliminary thaw. Mohammad Aghazadeh, the veteran journalist, sees no change in authorities' attitude toward the press. He believes if the newspapers publish news or interviews of Mohammad Khatami or Mohammad-Reza Shajarian, it is because journalists themselves are taking on greater risk, and that the ensuing vitality should not be  attributed to any hypothetical government plan to guarantee freedom of speech.

When I ask him if he thinks Rouhani will keep promises made during his presidential campaign to bring freedom to the media,  Aghazadeh replies ‘The press might experience more freedom in future but it will be due to journalists’ courage and the price they are ready to pay, not to the government’s policy.’

What remains clear is that it is still early days, and that any small gains are still vulnerable and greater freedoms yet to be won. The authorities have recently allowed some imprisoned journalists to come out on leave. But if President Rouhani wants to transform Iran's reputation as one of the world's biggest prisons for journalists, he will have to permit change on an entirely higher order.