Fast Facts RFE/RL's Radio Farda is one of the few remaining sources of uncensored news and information for people in Iran. Despite severe restrictions on access, Radio Farda's website receives 10 million page views every month. Language: Persian Coverage: 24 hours daily Established: December 2002 Distribution: Radio (SW, AM, Satellite), Internet (news site, social media) Location: Prague headquarters, Washington; no local bureau Staff: 57 (Prague), 2 (Washington), 15 stringers

Media Environment

• Freedom House Freedom of the Press Index, 2012: Not Free (192nd/197)
• Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index, 2012: 175th/179. Iran was also named an “Enemy of the Internet” by RSF.
• According to Reporters Without Borders, “Free expression continues to be no more than a dream” in Iran and the country is “the world’s biggest prison for the media.” All media is tightly controlled, Internet access is restricted and families of Farda journalists are targeted for intimidation.
• In an unprecedented crack-down on independent media, Iranian authorities closed dozens of newspapers and arrested over a hundred journalists and bloggers during the unrest following the disputed June 2009 presidential election. All foreign journalists were ejected from the country.

Highlights

• Despite strict bans on internet access, Radio Farda’s website receives about 5 million visits every month, with at least one quarter of these coming from inside Iran. Audiences interact with Farda personalities and programs with more than 10,000 SMS, phone and email messages every month. Radio Farda has three popular Facebook pages, with a combined fan base exceeding 300,000. It also gets about 110,000 audience reactions and comments each month via these Facebook pages.
• Radio Farda routinely challenges the official Iranian version of news. When official media tried to distort news in June 2012 about the nuclear negotiations, Radio Farda interviewed an EU official who disputed the Iranian claims and the state media changed their version of events.
• Radio Farda reports on political prisoners also have an impact.  A recently released prisoner told Farda that political inmates in Iran are finding ways to secretly listen to these reports and discuss their content in their prison cells.
• Radio Farda has recently launched more than a dozen new weekly programs covering diverse topics such as human rights, the internet, labor issues and the economy. These programs are also on social media platforms, receiving praise from the audience. “Pas Farda,” Radio Farda’s signature satire show, launched in 2010, has a Facebook fan base of more than 80,000. It receives hundreds of messages every day during the five days each week it is on air.
• Radio Farda’s impact has prompted Iranian authorities to harass staff members’ relatives in Iran. In over 20 incidents this year, they have been contacted, interrogated and threatened by secret police. Iran has also set up imitation websites to discredit Farda reporting and staff members.

Updated: 27 June 2012

Population
74.8 million (World Bank estimate, 2011)

Most Common Languages:
Persian, Turkic dialects, Kurdish, Luri, Balochi, Arabic

Press Freedom Index (Freedom House):
Not Free, ranked 188 out of 196 (2011)

Press Freedom Index (RSF):
175 out of 179 (2011/2012)

Corruption Index (Transparency Int.):
120 out of 183 (2011)

Global Peace Index (IES):
128 out of 159 (2012)

Human Rights Watch:
Report on Iran (2012)

Amnesty International:
Iran Report (2012)