The Supreme Leader’s View of the Press

The Supreme Leader’s View of the Press
28/02/2009

A populist government - the basic structure of which includes a role for the public - cannot dispense with public awareness. Such a government must raise public awareness. It must encourage critical thinking among its people and provide them with the necessary and useful information. That is how our government works: The more public awareness, the better it is for the Islamic Republic. Thus, our government needs public awareness.

It is impossible to find a quality newspaper in the US or Europe which does not belong to capitalists. Freedom of a newspaper implies freedom of the class of people to whom the newspaper belongs. But is there any newspaper that belongs to the lower or middle classes there? All newspapers belong to powerful cartels, trusts, and capitalists, which means that it is the capitalists who have freedom of expression, who have the means to defame or praise whoever they want, and who can mold public opinion the way they like. That is not freedom.

I believe that the press are not just a formality for the Islamic Republic. Therefore, qualitative and quantitative improvement of the press is one of the most essential tasks that has to be undertaken by our government. I believe that the press are indispensable and absolutely necessary for our society as well as any other community that wants a good life. I think there are three responsibilities that have to be fulfilled by the press: Criticism and supervision, clear and sincere provision of information, and presentation and exchange of ideas and opinions in society. I have no doubts in this regard and this is a well-defined principle of the Constitution.

I believe that if a society loses its thriving and free press or its free writers, it will lose many other things as well. Freedom of the press is an indicator and indeed a cause of a nation's growth. That is to say, growth and freedom of a nation can bring about freedom of the press, which can in turn bring about more growth for the nation. There are of course other realities and values that must not be ignored for the sake of freedom of the press. It is quite an art to secure freedom and understand the truth at the same time. It is quite an art to have freedom of the press and avoid the problems at the same time. That is what we must strive for.

Public trust is the main asset of all media, which is achieved through sincerity and respect for the values and beliefs of the majority of the people as well as the government. The more the number of the newspapers, the better only if the press raise public awareness the way it has been specified in the Constitution, do not act against national interests, and write in favor of the public and religion.

The cultural responsibility is the most important duty of the press in the Islamic Republic - namely, to introduce and preserve the values and ideals of this revolutionary nation and to raise public awareness. In the current situation, especially after the complete failure of Marxism, the western arrogant powers mainly focused on cultural methods to spread their political and heretic domination over revolutionary nations. Appropriate measures against the cultural assault of the west on various fronts must be a priority for our public media.

That is why I constantly advise the press and the media to react responsibly to our national issues. We must not act like an agent for the enemies and facilitate what they want to achieve. We must not let our media and press to promote the ideas that they try to sell in the cultural atmosphere of our society. That is a disastrous mistake. It is great treachery if it is done on purpose and it is a disastrous mistake if it is done inadvertently. We must be extremely careful and vigilant.

Therefore, it is necessary to supervise the press. It is a duty. It is in the Constitution, the press laws, and our laws in general. Undoubtedly, national interests and goals will not be promoted in the absence of supervision over the press. Some people think that public opinion is something that they can manipulate the way they want. Public opinion is not a guinea pig to be experimented with. Faulty analyses, libel, and lies would shake the faith and beliefs of our people and hurt their feelings. It is morally wrong to do such a thing. Therefore, these things necessitate supervision as a prerequisite. This is a duty.

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