The Passing of Keyhan’s Founder

Dr. Mostafa Mesbahzadeh, the founder of Keyhan group of publications, passed away this Friday at his house in Los Angeles. We spoke to different journalists about Mesbahzadeh, whose name is entangled with the history of journalism in Iran. What they all agree on, without exception, is that Mesbahzadeh is the “father of modern Iranian journalism.”

Dr. Sadredin Elahi, professor of journalism and former editor-in-chief of Keyhan Varzeshi [Keyhan’s sports magazine], has this to say about Mesbahzadeh: “In the world there are always people who organize their activities around a center; and then there are people who are themselves the center, people who are both institutions and institution-builders. Mesbahzadeh was an institution. He brought everything with himself. He was gifted with the art of seeing well: he could see the future. He believed in the future, and especially in the youth, because to him they were the bearers of the future. In Keyhan there was always a place for everyone from every school of thought. Indeed, this diversity distinguished Keyhan from other publications and accounted for its popularity and influence. Mesbahzadeh saw big, thought big, and was never afraid to try new things. He began publishing a sports magazine when no one else even imagined doing such a thing. It is due to such actions that Mesbahzadeh’s name is tied to new innovations in Iranian journalism.”

Ahmad Ahrad, editor-in-chief of Keyhan London, regards Mesbahzadeh in a similar light. He says, “The publishing of Keyhan in 1942 was an extraordinary event, which pointed to Mesbahzadeh’s innovative personality. He founded Keyhan as a competitor to Etelaat, and, in a very short time, that led to qualitative and quantitative improvements in both publications. Educating professional journalists, putting out new and interesting publications, and taking care of his people and country were among the qualities of a man who never got tired. Mesbahzadeh loved innovating. In fact, innovation was his favorite word and he never let it get out of his sight.”

Houshang Asadi, who was a member of Keyhan’s editorial board in the years leading up to the revolution, has a similar take on Mesbahzadeh’s life: “Until the 1970s there were two schools of journalism in Iran. Etelaat, which was established in the years following the Constitutional Revolution, followed a more traditional line; while Keyhan brought innovation to life and explored new directions. Keyhan gathered its writers from among the nationalist and leftist forces and derived its inspiration from Mesbahzadeh, who was simply referred to as the ‘Dr..’ And the Dr. did not know the meaning of stagnation. When, in a meeting, I told him we were becoming the Le Monde of the Middle East, he gave me a bitter look – even the world was too small for him.”