"Iran 360: the rebirth of citizen journalism"

Nearly two years ago scores of Iranian citizens used the obviously rigged 2009 Presidential election and the Iranian government forces’ constant manipulation tactics as an excuse to heavily protest on the streets and question their fate and the events that took place in their daily lives. This mass social movement spread throughout Iran in a short period of time; it was the beginning of an end and Iranians impatiently and loudly sang their government's farewell song. Although leading Iranian social movements and more aware sectors of Iran had foreseen the Iranian government's end for a long time, the Green Movement was the collaborating point between liberated thoughts of the last decade and the daily lives of citizens.

Although Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s appointment as Iran's President was an excuse to trigger this remarkable social and political movement, it also allowed many complexities to be addressed that had accumulated over the years.


This movement was not limited to street protests and occasional clashes between people and the militia. This political/social phenomenon had a such a massive influence on the media and communication world that many analysts labelled it a “media revolution”. However, this definition has its own discrepancies: it limits the Iranian movement to the media and the definition of revolution is aside from the people’s libertarian intentions.


The reliable point in the defining media goes back to the demand of a group of Iranians for communication with one another and the world without having to go through intermediaries. Citizens that with slight changes in their ways and reasoning bring passion and epic to the streets of their cities


Aligned with the mass social request, a group of aware citizens, activists, and journalists have launched a new approach based on today’s media standards for reporting on the developments taking place in the streets and political/social events in Iran. Although this community was initially limited to a group of social activists that had gathered through our cooperation in various fields, we gradually spread across the world.


Many friends from Italy, France, Spain, and the Arabic countries came to our help in the field of translation. In the absence of free and reliable Internet in Iran, many friends from Brazil came to the rescue and began uploading videos and footages on sites such as YouTube and Facebook. We received footages from several different countries such as Japan, Sweden, and the United States; footages that were recorded in defense of Iranian citizens against the dictatorship rule in Iran. These unique collaborations have a long list that stretches beyond the capacity of this text.


In the past 18 months we have used all our efforts to focus on an independent and ongoing media by expanding our citizen network and deepening our ways of safely communicating and identifying reliable sources in Iran. So far we have overlooked all forms of financial help from any government. We also have not benefited from the support of any specific sector or political party. Our efforts depend on volunteer citizen journalists who have experienced first hand beatings by Iranian government forces and their ensuing actions of threats, arrests, imprisonment, and exile.


"Iran 360" aims to launch a new media movement that focuses on Iran and the Middle East. The news on the "Iran 360" will be published in the English language every Friday. The content on the website will be used in efforts to close the gap between Iranian citizens and the world.


The content on the "Iran 360" is supported by various sources inside Iran and gathered and edited by Saeed Valadbaygi. We are using our full efforts to present readers with a different perspective on what is happening in Iran; a perspective often overlooked by mass media and not highlighted by political organizations.

We understand that the English translations posted on the "Iran 360" may not be free of grammatical errors. For this reason, we depend on volunteers along the way to help strengthen the quality of the site's content. "Iran 360" eagerly awaits your help in the field of translation and publishing.


Keep an eye out for the first issue of "Iran 360" on June 10, 2011.