Tehran Bureau is an online news magazine covering politics, foreign affairs, culture and society in Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

 and the Iranian Diaspora

Iranian citizens abroad

The term Iranians abroad or Iranian diaspora refers to the Iranian people born in Iran but living outside of Iran with their children.As of 2010, there are an estimated four to five million Iranians living abroad, mostly in North America, Europe, Persian Gulf States, Turkey, Australia and the...

. It was founded by Iranian-born journalist Kelly Golnoush Niknejad in February 2008, initially as a blog

Blog

A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...

. In May 2009, it was launched as a virtual news bureau, featuring a growing list of regular contributors and journalists knowledgeable about Iran and Iranian affairs. Tehran Bureau combines aspects of traditional journalism and new media, using trusted online social networks to complement conventional coverage. Starting out as an independent news organization, Tehran Bureau had no affiliation with and received no funding or support from any government, religious, or interest group. However in September 2009 it began a collaboration with the Public Broadcasting Service

Public Broadcasting Service

The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....

 television series "Frontline" which will provide it with financing, host its Web site and provide editorial support. In return Tehran Bureau will help shape a coming “Frontline” program about Iran.

Its mission statement states, "Tehran Bureau is a virtual bureau connecting journalists, Iran experts and readers all over the world. Our stories are written by Iranians in Iran and the Middle East, foreigners viewing or interacting with our culture for the first time, and hyphenated Iranians best suited to bridge the cultures."

Among its contributing journalists Muhammad Sahimi

Muhammad Sahimi

Muhammad Sahimi is a Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, and holds the NIOC Chair in petroleum engineering at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He is also active in journalism, writing frequently on Iranian politics.-Career:Sahimi received his B.S...

, Jason Rezaian, Gareth Smyth and many others writing without a byline since the crackdown on journalists after the June 12 presidential election of 2009.

External links

• Tehran Bureau official site
  • Why Tehran Bureau?
• Tehran Bureau Press Release
• Disapora Iranians spreading the message, David Mattin, The Guardian
  The Guardian
  The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
  
  , 17 June 2009
• Laura Secor: Why Tehran Matters, The New Yorker, June 15, 2009
• "Kelly Golnoush Niknejad, M.S. ’05, M.A. ’06, launches Tehran Bureau" Columbia University Journalism School Press Room
• "The Virtual Iran Beat" Harvard University
  Harvard University
  Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
  
   Nieman Foundation
• The Boston Globe, June 20, 2009
• Rachman blog at The Financial Times