Mohammad Ghouchani | |
|---|---|
 Ghouchani in 2020 | |
| Born | (1976-09-22)22 September 1976 (age 49) |
| Alma mater | University of Tehran |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Known for | Chief editor ofSazandegi newspaper |
| Political party | Executives of Construction Party |
Mohammad Ghouchani (Persian:محمد قوچانی, born 22 September 1976 inRasht) is an Iranian journalist. He has served as editor-in-chief of variousreformist print media, many of which have been banned by the authorities.[1]
Ghouchani was born in 1976[1] in the city ofRasht.[citation needed] He graduated from theUniversity of Tehran with a degree inPolitical Science.[citation needed]
He started his career inJame'eh, the most famous among the newspapers that started after the reformerMohammad Khatami became the president in 1997.[citation needed] Ghouchani also wrote forAsr-e Azadegan[2] and became the "star" of that publication.[3] In 2000, he won political columnist of the year prize at the Iranian Press Festival, but was jailed shortly after for his writings.[4]
He became the first editor-in-chief ofShargh in 2003[1] until it was closed down in September 2006. He then held the same position atHam-Mihan between May and June 2007, when the latter was also banned.[5] From 2007 to 2008, he was editor of the weekly magazineShahrvand-e-Emrooz.[1] Ghouchani then served as the editor-in-chief ofEtemad-e Melli, the official organ ofNational Trust Party led byMehdi Karroubi.[6] He was also in charge of the women's lifestyle magazineIrandokht, another publication close to Karroubi, until its office was raided in December 2009.[7] In the aftermath of2009 Iranian presidential election protests, Ghouchani was imprisoned along with many journalists and both his publications were closed down.[8] After 131 days in detention, he was released on bail.[9]
With ease of pressure on media asHassan Rouhani took office, Ghouchani published a pre-issue ofHam-Mihan on 26 October 2013, but thejudicial system allegedly prevented republication of the newspaper.[10] He also served as the editor-in-chief ofAseman andMehrnameh.[10] The former was a weekly magazine that was turned into a daily newspaper, but it was shut down by the judicial authorities less than a week after its launch in February 2014.[11]
Ghouchani is a critic ofNeo-Shariatism.[12]
In 2004, Ghouchani spoke out about thered lines that could not be crossed in Iran, and said he views theethical standard for journalism in Iran as "not lying to society". He also stated "Journalism is our job, our passion and our life, something that we don’t want to lose, unless we reach the point where we cannot work honorably".[13]
| Media offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| New title Media founded | Editor-in-Chief ofAgahi-e-No 2020–present | Incumbent |
| Editor-in-Chief ofSazandegi 2018–2021 | Succeeded by Akbar Montajabi | |
| Editor-in-Chief ofSiasatnameh 2015–2020 | Succeeded by Hamed Zareh | |
| Preceded by | Editor-in-Chief ofSeda 2015–2017 2014 | Succeeded by Akbar Montajabi |
| New title | Succeeded by | |
| New title Media founded | Editor-in-Chief ofMardom-e-Emrouz 2014–2015 | Vacant Banned |
| Editor-in-Chief ofAseman 2011–2015 | ||
| Editor-in-Chief ofTajrobeh 2011–2017 | Succeeded by Mehdi Yazdani Khorram | |
| Editor-in-Chief ofMehrnameh 2010–2017 | Vacant Publication ceased | |
| Preceded by Abolfazl Shakouri | Editor-in-Chief ofEtemad-e-Melli 2008–2009 | Vacant Banned |
| New title Media founded | Editor-in-Chief ofShahrvand-e-Emrooz 2007–2008 | Vacant Banned Title next held by Reza Khojasteh-Rahimi |
| Editor-in-Chief ofHam-Mihan 2013 2007 | Vacant Banned | |
| Editor-in-Chief ofIrandokht 2006–2010 | ||
| Editor-in-Chief ofShargh 2003–2006 | Succeeded by Editorial board | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
