"Media and the Economy" Conference in Iran

The third conference on "Media and the Economy" was held in Tehran, Iran on Monday. It was a one day conference attended by President Ahmadinejad and Mr. Zargami, the head of Iran's state media. IRINN reported that Mr. Zargami said that the country is at a very sensitive historical turning point, where certain lagging sectors of the economy need to be strengthened in order to move towards a bigger economy. Interestingly, Mr. Zargami also said that this approach was supported by the Leader of the Revolution (Khameinei).

The overall message of the conference was that political and side issues should not be brought to the table when discussing the economy.  And that the focus needs to be on the economy alone and this is a responsibility experts and of the media. The media should talk about the ideas and opinions of experts, to be supportive and bring attention to the lagging sectors of the economy.

This conference was not mentioned by other broadcasters outside Iran, except for China View:

"At a seminar on media and economy, Ahmadinejad said he believed Iranian scientists possess the capability to do so and called on them to start working on a global economic models based on ethical and humanitarian values. 

'The Iranian scientists would focus on schemes leading to elimination of poverty,' Ahmadinejad 

said, hoping that 'Iranian scientists would embark on the task the soonest possible.' 

Ahmadinejad's statements come amid the domestic concerns over the steady rise of the country's inflation since he took office in summer 2005."