Jame'eh (Persian: جامعه, lit. 'Society') was a Persian language reformist newspaper published in Tehran briefly between February and June 1998. Geneive Abdo described it as the first free newspaper in Iran.[1]
History and profile
Jameah was launched on 5 February 1998.[1][2] Mohsen Sazegara was one of the three founders of the paper.[1] Hamidreza Jalaeipour was the publisher.[3] The paper gradually became one of the most read newspapers in Iran selling 300,000 copies.[1] It was a supporter of Mohammad Khatami and frequently covered news about the US movies.[1][3] In June 1998 the license of the paper was cancelled due to its allegedly insulting news about the head of the Revolutionary Guards, Rahim Safavi.[3] Following this incident the paper was banned by the Iranian government and was succeeded by another reformist newspaper Tus which was started in July 1998.[4] The editorial staff of the newspaper was same with those of Jameah, but it was soon shut down.[4] Then the reformists launched another newspaper, Neshat.[4]