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Dystopian predictions of Ray Bradbury in the science-fiction novel "Fahrenheit 451" not withstanding, it turns out that enhancing communication technologies can empower rather than enslave the masses. Indeed, the past century of Iranian history, complete with its revolutions and democracy-building, has been intertwined with the evolution of mass media.
The campaign for the June 12 presidential election is no exception.
During the 1905 to 1911 Iranian constitutional revolution that led to the establishment of a Parliament, the country experienced a period of unprecedented debate in the form of a flourishing press. For example, the revolutionary poet and agitator Nasim-e Shomal single-handedly wrote and hand-printed a newsletter published under his name, which translates in English to "the northern breeze." He is known for standing by the main gate of Tehran's Grand Bazaar with his bushy black beard and flowing clerical robes, distributing his constitutionalist agitprop.
During the Islamic Revolution of 1979, it was the now-obsolete cassette tape that slipped through the iron cage of the state-dominated news media and carried Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's sermons to his mass following.
More than 25 years later in the 2005 presidential elections, Iranian reformers used SMS messages and blogs to...