Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting

The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB; Persian: صدا و سيمای جمهوری اسلامی ايران) formerly called National Iranian Radio and Television until the Iranian revolution of 1979, is an Iranian state-controlled media corporation that holds a monopoly of domestic radio and television services in Iran. It is also among the largest media organizations in Asia and the Pacific region and a regular member of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union.[2][3] Its head is appointed directly by the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.[4]

Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting
TypeBroadcast radio, television and online
Country
Iran
AvailabilityNational
International 
Revenue40 trillion IRR ($950 million) (2019)[1]
HeadquartersJaame Jam, Park-Ave, Valiasr Street, Tehran
OwnerGovernment of Iran (publicly owned)
Key people
  • Peyman Jebelli (Director-General)
  • Mohsen Barmahani (Vice Director-General)
Launch date
1929 (radio)
1958 (television)
1966 (incorporated)
1979 (current form)
Former names
National Iranian Radio and Television
Official website
www.irib.ir

With 13,000 employees and branches in 20 countries worldwide, including France, Belgium, Guyana, Malaysia, Lebanon, United Kingdom, the United States, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting offers both domestic and foreign radio and television services, broadcasting twelve domestic television channels, four international news television channels, six satellite television channels for international audiences, and thirty provincial television channels available countrywide, half of which are broadcast in minority-status languages in Iran, for example Azerbaijani and Kurdish, as well as the local accents or dialects of Persian. The IRIB provides twelve radio stations for domestic audiences, and through the IRIB World Service, thirty radio stations are available for foreign and international audiences. It also publishes the Persian-language newspaper Jam-e Jam.[5]

History

Before the 1979 Revolution

On 24 April 1940, Radio Iran was officially opened by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi –Iran crown prince at the time– and Isa Sedigh was the first head of it.[6] the radio had five hours program a day and broadcast programs like domestic and foreign news, Iranian and western traditional music, religious and sports and also economic and political discussion. according to Statistical Centre of Iran estimates, in 1976 about 76% of urban population and 45% of rural population had access to the radio.

National Iranian Television officially opened on 21 March 1967 to create National Iranian Radio and Television. At that time hardware equipment was at Post ministry, Telegraph and Telephone disposal and its media was producing by Advertising and publishing department. In later years radio and television expansion request across the country to create an integrated entity and from 1971 all facilities was given to National Radio and Television. Shah personally appointed Reza Ghotbi in head of organization and the time of programs increased quickly. At the end of revolution two TV channel (first program and second program) was active and with facilities expansion, more than 95% of Urban population and about 75% of country population was able to receive TV waves. Before the revolution about 40% of TV programs was foreign and also imported and internal programs were usually modeled from foreign programs.

During the 1979 revolution unrest and when Arteshbod Azhari became prime minister of Iran, Touraj Farazmand was chosen for head of National Iranian Radio and Television after Reza Ghotbi.[7]

After 1979 revolution

This organization expanded greatly after 1979 revolution and in addition to internal and global broadcasting channels, it benefits more than one hundred electronic information base and written media.

Broadcasting budget 4000 billion Toman expected in 2018 budget bill, however, according to Ali Asgari, (this organization manager) Just a channel budget like BBC Persian reaches more than 6000 billion Toman and Broadcasting needs more budget for manage 62 TV channels and 83 radio channels.

Sign
  • Sign of National Iranian Radio and Television
    Sign of National Iranian Radio and Television
  • Sign of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting
    Sign of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting

Sign of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting

Broadcasting sign includes Emblem of the Islamic Republic at the top and two words «لا» in Arabic; Shia font used for creating this sign. When this sign created at the beginning of the revolution, it was a sign of «say no» to Western and East countries or specifically United States and Soviet Union. These two words at the middle get together like a channel and there is an eye sign at the intersection of them. At the bottom of the sign, Islamic Republic of Iran phrase is written in Nastaliq font in the Persian language.

IRIB's place in Iran's civil code
Modified Telefunken FuBK colour test card used by IRIB television

According to Article 175 of the Iranian constitution,

  1. The freedom of expression and dissemination of thoughts in the Radio and Television of the Islamic Republic of Iran must be guaranteed in keeping with the Islamic criteria and the best interests of the country.
  2. The appointment and dismissal of the head of the Radio and Television of the Islamic Republic of Iran rest with the Leader. A council consisting of two representatives each of the President, the head of the judiciary branch, and the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the Iranian parliament shall supervise the functioning of this organization.
  3. The policies and the manner of managing the organization and its supervision will be determined by law.
IRIB's northeast gate along Valiasr Street, Tehran

Prior to the 1979 Iranian Revolution, IRIB was known as National Iranian Radio and Television (NIRT).[8]

The constitution further specifies that the director of the organization is chosen directly by the Supreme Leader for five years, and the head of the judiciary branch, the president, and the Islamic Consultative Assembly oversee the organization.[8] The first director after the 1979 Revolution was Sadeq Qotbzadeh. The current director is Peyman Jebelli. The previous directors included Abdulali Ali-Asghari, Mohammad Sarafraz, Ezzatollah Zarghami, Ali Larijani and Mohammad Hashemi Rafsanjani. The Sima Festival is a TV productions contest sponsored annually by IRIB organization for the best producers, directors, actors and directors in multiple categories.

Facts about IRIB
  • IRIB has branches in 20 countries worldwide, including France, India, Belgium, Malaysia, UK, the United States, and broadcasts in more than 30 languages.
  • IRIB broadcasts 12 national television channels, 4 international news television channels, 6 satellite television channels for international viewers, and 30 provincial television channels all around Iran. Fifty percent of those 30 provincial channels use the local accent or dialect. The IRIB provides twelve major radio stations as well, and an international service. IRIB has 27 world service channels.
  • IRIB also has Arabic, Hindi, English, French and Spanish channels, besides the native Persian.
  • Total number of employees: 13,000[2] to 50,000[3]
  • 45.5% of Iran's youth report trust news broadcast by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).[9]
  • Total budget of IRIB is about $0.9–1 billion which is maintained by advertisement and governmental budget.[3]

Affiliates
  • Jam-e Jam is the official organ of the IRIB organization.
  • IRIB News Department is a news agency affiliated to the IRIB organization.
  • IRIB has a movie production company, called Sima Film.
  • IRIB also outsources media production to numerous privately owned domestic media companies.
  • TAKTA Co. produces technical equipment such as transmission and switching systems for IRIB
  • Soroush Rasaneh Co. IT & ICT Company related to IRIB which provides IPTV services and it has 26 branch offices in Iran.
  • Soroush Multimedia Co. provides CD/DVD of IRIB programs and holds some special short term education in 31 offices all over provinces of Iran.
  • IRIB Pension Fund Co. is the holding company of 17 companies related to IRIB, such as Soroush Multimedia Co., Soroush Rasaneh Co., and TAKTA CO.
  • IRIB University Archived 2012-12-13 at the Wayback Machine provides some courses related to media
  • IRIB Research Center is responsible for research in the social and religious fields related to media.
  • IRIB Media Trade, known before as Cima Media Int'l, is the sole representative of IRIB in the distribution of its productions (documentaries, feature films, TV series, telefilms and animations) as well as program acquisition for local IRIB TV channels.
  • IRIB HD was a television channel run by IRIB. It was one of the recent television channels in Iran and was launched on June 15, 2014. This channel was a channel for test HD broadcasting. At 25 January 2016, it was removed in Tehran and replaced by provincial channel IRIB Tehran, as IRIB TV5 has been national.

Directors-general

The director-general of IRIB is Peyman Jebelli, who was appointed by the Supreme Leader of Iran in 2021.

# President Years Time in post
1 Reza Ghotbi 1966–1979 13 years
2 Sadegh Ghotbzadeh 1979 1 year
— Mohammad Mousavi Khoeiniha (acting)
& Other acting committees		 1979–1981 2 years
3 Mohammad Hashemi Rafsanjani 1981–1994 12 years
4 Ali Larijani 1994–2004 10 years
5 Ezzatollah Zarghami 2004–2014 10 years
6 Mohammad Sarafraz 2014–2016 2 years
7 Abdulali Ali-Asgari 2016–2021 5 years
8 Peyman Jebelli 2021–present in post

Controversies

The isolation of Iran’s movie industry has forced filmmakers to reorient themselves around national television broadcasters. These networks churn out ideological products in line with the state’s unenlightened gender norms, with women cast in subservient roles and deferential to men, their guardians and protectors. Some even promote child marriage and polygamy, practices that are rejected by the majority of Iranians. Amid the intensified conflict with the United States, Iran’s security establishment has emerged as a major producer of blockbuster television and film centering on the prowess of the Revolutionary Guards and its intelligence services. Iran is awash in sophisticated domestic versions of “Homeland,” and deprived of the self-interrogating, subversive cinema that once allowed society to have a public conversation with itself about gender, culture, marriage and power.[10]

Allegations of false confessions

A study published in June 2020 by the Justice for Iran and the International Federation for Human Rights said Iranian television had broadcast the potentially coerced confessions of 355 detainees since 2010.[11] Former prisoners stated they had been beaten and received threats of sexual violence as a means for their false testimonies to be delivered for use by the country's broadcasters.[11]

Censorship of reformists

IRIB, along with other Iranian state-run media tend to censor or silence voices or opinions of reformist politicians as well ridicule them even as the reformists are in power since most of his editorial bias is more closed to the Ayatollah and the Principlist.[12][13]

International sanctions

United States

Pursuant to the United States Presidential Executive Order 13628, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting is subjected to U.S. sanctions under Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act which gives the Treasury Department the authority to designate those in Iran who restrict or deny the free flow of information to or from the Iranian people.[14]

European Union

IRIB was placed in the list of sanctioned entities of the European Union in December 2022 due to its role in the repression of the Mahsa Amini protests.[15] Following this order, Eutelsat ceased broadcasts of the IRIB international channels for the Europe region via Hot Bird satellite on 21 December 2022.[16]

See also

References
  1. "آیا تلویزیون دولتی ایران از برنامه مخصوص کودکان بخش فارسی بی‌بی‌سی نگران است؟". BBC News فارسی (in Persian).
  2. "IRIB's Testimony Submitted to The WHO Public Hearings on FCTC" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 13, 2016.
  3. "Can Iran's new TV chief bring IRIB, Rouhani closer?".
  4. Dehghan ht, Saeed Kamali (6 February 2014). "Rouhanicare: Iran's president promises healthcare for all by 2018". The Guardian. IRIB is independent of the Iranian government and its head is appointed directly by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It is the only legal TV and radio broadcaster inside the country but millions of Iranians watch foreign-based channels via illegal satellite dishes on rooftops.
  5. "IRIB at a glance". Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. 2010. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  6. Sreberny-Mohammadi, Encyclopædia Iranica.رده:مقاله‌هایی که تجمیع ارجاع در آن‌ها ممنوع است
  7. تورج و ایرج؛ فرازمند از نگاه پزشک‌زاد Archived 2016-06-09 at the Wayback Machine، بی‌بی‌سی فارسی
  8. Pahlavi, Pierre (May 2012). "Understanding Iran's Media Diplomacy" (PDF). Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs. Israel Council on Foreign Relations. 6 (2): 22. doi:10.1080/23739770.2012.11446499. S2CID 145607236. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-08-12.
  9. "67.4% of Iranian youths use internet: Survey - Tehran Times". Archived from the original on 2015-01-14. Retrieved 2015-11-22.
  10. Moaveni, Azadeh; Tahmasebi, Sussan (2021). "The Middle-Class Women of Iran Are Disappearing". The International Crisis Group.
  11. Gambrell, Jon (25 June 2020). "Report: Iran TV airs 355 coerced confessions over decade". ABC News. Associated Press. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  12. "Censorship and Self-Censorship During the Protests". IranWire | خانه. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  13. "Censorship and Self-Censorship During the Protests". journalismisnotacrime.com. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  14. Press Center treasury.gov
  15. "COUNCIL IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2022/2428 of 12 December 2022 implementing Regulation (EU) No 359/2011 concerning restrictive measures directed against certain persons, entities and bodies in view of the situation in Iran". europa.eu. Official Journal of the European Union. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  16. "Eutelsat statement on the suspension of broadcasting activities with respect to certain channels in Russia and Iran". Eutelsat. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
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