Iranian media also hit by the crisis

The sinking Iranian newspapers need their own Clay Shirky and Jeff Jarvis to make them feel miserable help them survive in this merciless post-newspaper world: The financial crisis and the new media onslaught are taking a heavy toll not only on American newspapers but also on their Iranian counterparts, including those believed to be mouthpieces ...

The sinking Iranian newspapers need their own Clay Shirky and Jeff Jarvis to make them feel miserable help them survive in this merciless post-newspaper world: The financial crisis and the new media onslaught are taking a heavy toll not only on American newspapers but also on their Iranian counterparts, including those believed to be mouthpieces of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad:

Iranian state-owned newspaper Khorshid or "Sun" has been shut as part of government cost-cuts, official IRNA news agency reported on Monday.

Khorshid, launched in October last year, has been closed down following "supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s new year message" that urged the government to rein in costs, said Ali Zabihi, managing director of government agency Atieh.

In his message on the day of Persian New Year, Khamenei called on the government to cut costs amid the overall global economic recession.

Khorshid was known for its high quality paper, engaging colour schemes and editorial coverage spanning politics, sports to entertainment.

The newspaper was launched with a budget of around 120 billion rials (12 million dollars) and targeting a circulation of 200,000.

Evgeny Morozov is a fellow at the Open Society Institute and sits on the board of OSI's Information Program. He writes the Net Effect blog on ForeignPolicy.com

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