Source Radio Zamaneh
On September 11, 2006, Radio Zamaneh
was officially launched as a Persian speaking radio station in the
The budget for this radio station,
which is transmitted through shortwave, the Internet, and satellite all over the
globe, is provided by the non-governmental organization Press Now, following a
bill presented in the Dutch Parliament to aid independent Persian media. With
the efforts of the Iranian-born Dutch MP, Farah Karimi, this bill was
approved in 2004. The director of the radio station is Mehdi Jami, whose
experience includes over a decade of professional journalism in international
Persian media. Radio Zamaneh has employed its staff from
Farah
Karimi, Persian-born Dutch MP at Radio Zamaneh Workshop,
Summer 2006 (Photo
by Pejman Akbarzadeh)
Radio Zamaneh's website has grown
rapidly, and demonstrated its responsiveness to the needs of its audience. Since
September 2006 through the following December, the number of pages read in the
site increased each month and reached 1 million pages in December, while in the
first six months of 2007 this figure increased four times, reaching 4 million
pages by July.
Radio Zamaneh's programs, with a
target audience of a generation who are under 30 years of age in Iran (Persia),
entails news, interviews, political and social analyses, as well as
philosophical, literary, and artistic discussions appropriate for a young
audience. At present, the programs are broadcast daily from 18:00 hrs to 21:00
hrs, Central European Time, which is 20:30 to 22:30 hrs, Tehran Time. In a
period of 24 hours, the programs are repeated three times.
Persian media within
In the restricted circumstances of
media activity in
Zamaneh reflects ideas which had no
voice before. Inspired by weblog in its interactive relationship with the
audience, Zamaneh has attempted to create a new atmosphere in Persian media,
generating a bilateral, participatory radio.
Left to Right: Sholeh, Mani, Sahand Saheb-Divani, Pantea
Modiri, Shahrokh
Golestan, Jahanshah
Javid, Mehdi Jami, Shahzadej Nazarova, Nikahang
Kowsar, Pejman Akbarzadeh,
Kobra Ghassemi In front of
Considering itself a tribune for
people who had none before, Zamaneh has succeeded in airing the voices of many
Persian writers and intellectuals to an interested audience. For the first time,
these writers who had no access to the state media have been able to read their
works through Radio Zamaneh. According to their recommendations and feedback,
Zamaneh has arranged a free competition in story-writing for the youth, and has
posted the stories, free of censorship, on Zamaneh's website. The competition is
supervised by a prominent Persian writer in exile, Abbas Maroufi, who resides in
In the past 12 months, Zamaneh has
been a visible and courageous defender of the rights of women, intellectuals,
students, and laborers; it has attempted to reflect the general predicaments of
citizens in major Iranian cities; that is, the same people who are the main
audience of the radio station.
At present, Radio Zamaneh is known
as an independent and critical medium with a cultural and social viewpoint,
which pays special attention to fundamental issues in democracy and human rights
– a medium which aims to educate people in democratic solutions while creating
its own democratic model in media management.
Radio Zamaneh website
(in Persian):
www.radiozamaneh.com
Radio Zamaneh Manifesto
(in English): www.radiozamaneh.com/mediapolicy
For more information please contact
Ms Kobra Ghassemi
+31 – 20 - 568 2062