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IRNA Man Dir says IRNA in line with national interests

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, Nov 9, IRNA -- Media Consultant of President and IRNA managing director said here Monday night IRNA is a national media, moving in line with national interests and expediencies.

According to IRNA Political Desk reporter, Ali-Akbar Javanfekr who was participating at an exclusive TV interview with Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) Channel Three Network further reiterated that as the IRNA managing director he tries to keep the mother media away from partisan and biased orientations.

He meanwhile emphasized, “Our efforts are also aimed at reflecting the policies of the system.”

The presidential consultant evaluating IRNA’s current status and responding to the question how close it is to his ideal level, said, “Keeping in mind that I have always been with IRNA ever since the beginning of my life career, I am quite familiar with the missions and the duties of the IRNA personnel.”

He added, “Of course IRNA is far away from my ideal image of a national news agency, which is due to various reasons and involved factors. During different periods of its life IRNA has had directors with various political tendencies and this has damaged the managing level of IRNA as well as its body. We are now determined to mend such inflicted damages and deficiencies.”

Javanfekr added that IRNA has also been in line with privatization movement during the past 15 years, adding, “This trend, too, has had certain damaging effects on IRNA, which is why sending a letter to the Supreme Leader, I have requested his eminence to exempt IRNA from inclusion in that trend and gained Ayatollah Khameneie’s confirmation of the proposal, based on which we are now busy planning and designing the apparatus of IRNA anew.”

The TV reporter asked Javanfekr his idea about the claims made about other Iranian news agencies’ greater and more professional competence compared to IRNA. He responded, “We respect those who claim so, but in order to prove IRNA’s competence I would not like to put under question the performance of other media, including the other Iranian news agencies.”

IRNA managing director said, “In certain fields one of the news agencies might be better than IRNA, and vice versa, but I believe IRNA is playing its role competently at the media atmosphere of the country, but finding its beneath is prestige to compete with the other media.”

He noted that a national media has a special share in a country’s news dissemination field, adding, “Some news agencies in the country might be pursuing certain political tendencies and acting in accordance with their political orientations, but IRNA tries to regulate its policies and orientations in line with the system’s policies an alignments, the national interests and the people’s rights.”

Regarding his relations with President Ahamdinejad, and whether its friendly and intimate, he said, “President Ahamdinejad is the political leader of a great country and nation, and that position is very prestigious.”

He added, “Despite the previous old friendship with the president, now I try to respect his privacy and to regulate friendly ties between a staffer and his boss.”

The reporter asked IRNA managing director to announce a piece of hot news for the TV network’s audience, including the gasoline price after the elimination of its subsidies. The media consultant of the president said that such news would be announced in due time by concerned officials, adding, “Untimely announcement of them can have negative social effects.”

Focusing about the reflections of his remarks regarding the conduct of the Foreign Ministry, he said, “We are living in a free country and people criticize and contemplate in various fields, not meaning denouncement, or rejection of them, but jubilance and dynamism of the great Islamic Iran.”

The reporter also asked whether Javanfekr has orally, or in written texts reflected the president’s ideas and taken sides. He replied, I have never taken sides on behalf of him. The government has a spokesman and he is in charge of doing so, and as a member of the government I sometimes reflect some stands, which are not considered as official stands of the system.”

The reporter said that according to some news circles some of the stands adopted by Javanfekr have been affecting the national unity negatively, asking his opinion. He replied, “The national interests should not be considered at the same lave as such issues, since the people are still loyally following the Supreme Leader and the national unity thus remains intact.”

He said that some people link their own concerns and partisan issue with the national unity, which is alright, but not necessarily precise.

The TV reporter focusing on the presidential consultant’s personal weblog said that some of this remarks there are controversial and troublesome. The presidential consultant said, “A weblog is a personal affair and the issues reflected there are miscellaneous, but in case of mine, they are all aimed at the wellbeing and advancement of out society and problem solving.”

He added, “Even if I have criticized certain conducts they have not been trouble making, but respectfully reflecting some shortcomings.”

The reporter said that Javanfekr has somewhere said that conservatism and reformism are both values and Ahamdinejad has shares of both, asking for his justification of his remark. Javanfekr said, “That is right, because if there is a mistake, we need to resort to a reform in order to get back on the right path, just as conservatism is a value and for instance the values of the revolution have to be preserved painstakingly, and President Ahmadinejad is benefited from both privileges.”

The reporter referred to the president’s refraining from attendance at the Expediency Council sessions. Javanfekr said that the matter is not contradictory with preservation of the national unity, arguing, “It is related to the differences of tendencies between personalities, but the more important point is remaining faithful to the main norms.”

The reporter said, “You have noted that the president’s position is above that of the Parliament.” The IRNA managing director denied having said so, arguing, “Any legal apparatus in the country has its own special position and apparatus, neither meaning the supremacy, or inferiority of one compared to the other.”