Iran orders ‘relaxing’ music for TV and radio
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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has ordered Iran’s national media network to replace Western and “decadent” music with “relaxing themes and memorable music from the revolution.” The presidential decree in December was part of Ahmadinejad’s election manifesto to restore Islamic revolutionary “values” in Iran.
Ahmadinejad said that Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), which has should supervise content, “create norms and define criteria.” The decree also said that "violence and decadence should be avoided in the Iranian cinema industry.”
Relations between the Iranian government and other media organizations have not been entirely smooth since Ahmadinejad’s election last year. In late January, the BBC accused Tehran of blocking its widely read Farsi-language internet news site, saying the move deprived Iranians of “a trusted source of impartial and editorially independent news,” according to a statement by BBC World Service director Nigel Chapman.
Earlier in January, Iran had lifted a one day ban on CNN’s activities in the country after an interpreter misquoted President Ahmadinejad by incorrectly translating the phrase ‘nuclear technology’ as ‘nuclear weapons.’ Ahmadinejad requested the ban be lifted after CNN issued an apology.
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