In the first years of President Khatami's presidency, the print media enjoyed a new-found and relative freedom. Dozens of papers emerged, most on the side of the reformers. The power of the press was demonstrated when the Intelligence Ministry was forced to admit that members of the ministry were involved in the murders of dissidents and intellectuals. The repercussions continue, with an investigation that appears to be pointing to the complicity of people higher and higher up in the Iranian conservative establishment.
But since the victory of the reformists in the parliamentary election in February last year, many pro-reform newspapers have been closed down and reformist writers and editors have been jailed. The highly conservative judiciary has led the campaign against the liberal media, with Mr Khatami and the parliament apparently powerless to intervene.
Under Khatami there have also been changes in the broadcast media. The restrictions on satellite television are less severe than before and the internet could further open Iran up to an information revolution. The government has increased the number of central television channels to five and introduced an international satellite channel for Persian speakers and Iranians abroad. Current affairs coverage has improved, but news of internal developments remains strictly controlled on radio and television, and entertainment is still limited by religious decrees.
