The History of Journalist Development n Iran 1819 – 1914

Journalism and journalists in Iran had some type of relative freedom during its early stage since the 19th century until the beginning of the constitutional movement in 1905. The country back then witnessed the issue of newspaper by the efforts of the Iranian government supported by the Shah. Its articles did not include any criticism to the policy of the state and the way it dealt with the foreign existence in Iran. This paved the way for the educated elite, who saw himself competent, to issue a newspaper and a magazine representing the tendency of the journalists and also the tendency of the Iranian people and their desire to liberate and be free.
After the events of the constitutional movement in 1905, the policy of the Iranian government changed towards the freedom of journalism, as number of rules were issued to organize the work of these newspapers and issuing new ones were not as easy as it was previously. The observation system set strict rules for the work of journalism especially during critical times that Iran went through at that time. Not only that, but the state faced criticism for the arrests and shutting down the offices of the newspapers that had attitudes against the government. In spite of that the efforts of the educated people did not end at that limit, but on the contrary they increased. The first period of the reign of Shah Ahmed Qajar 1909-1925 has witnessed the emerge of Hundreds of newspapers and magazines that had different tendencies.