 TEHRAN, Aug 11, 2006 (AFP) - Iran's conservative Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister Mohammad-Hossein Saffar-Harandi vowed Friday to rein in the media as part of a new clampdown on "wicked manifestations in society".
The minister said there too many domestic news agencies in the Islamic republic and that their number needed to be reined in to create more quality and less quantity of news output.
| So they'll get rid of the ones that report anything negative about the Mad Mullahs™. |
He said 11 news agencies were already operating with his ministry's authorization and another eight were awaiting permits. A further 50 to 60 had also submitted applications to the ministry, he added. "I have no choice but to restrict the extent of these things, when the investment has been more in quantity than quality," he said.
| Because he's smarter about this than the consumers of the news. |
Saffar-Harandi said the move would be part of a wider campaign to revive the values of the Islamic revolution in cultural life. "Unfortunately, we witness inappropriate and wicked manifestations in society today ... But now, you have my word that we will purify the cultural atmosphere," he said in a speech carried live by state radio. "In the near future, we will not witness an unhealthy cultural product among books, movies, shows, music, etc."
| It's a 'Back to the Burqa' movment. |
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