BĀMŠĀD newspaper

 

BĀMŠĀD, a Persian newspaper and a news and public affairs magazine published in Tehran 1956-68. Its licensee and chief editor was Esmāʿīl Pūrwālī (b. 1301 Š./1922 in Mašhad), a professional journalist whose career began in 1319 Š./1940 and includes stints as the editor of the newspaper Īrān-e mā (Tehran, 1943-47), Paris correspondent of National Iranian Radio and Television (1971-76), and editor of the magazine Rūzgār-e now currently published in Paris. The weekly Bāmšād was brought out in Ḵordād, 1335 Š./June-July, 1956, as a publication of the newspaper Īrān-e mā, but, after three issues a special permission from A. ʿAlam, minister of the interior, allowed it to be published as an independent weekly magazine without official license. The license was issued toward the end of that summer; popular for its illustrations and its diverse contents, Bāmšād ranged from 72 to 84 pages, measured 12 x 18.5 cm, and cost five rials. In the fall of 1335 Š./1956, an independent newspaper Bāmšād began publishing simultaneously with the magazine; it was a four-page, seven-column paper with an average measurement of 32 x 44.5 cm and contained a separate, humor supplement called Mašhadī Bābā. In the summer of 1336 Š./1957, the publication of a line from Ḥāfeẓ as a caption to a childhood picture of Moḥammad-Reżā Shah and construed to have a slightly satirical flavor led to the suppression of both the newspaper and the magazine and to Pūrwālī’s arrest and imprisonment for 40 days. Though the satire proved to be unintentional, Bāmšād magazine remained censored even after Pūrwālī’s release from prison. Only the newspaper was allowed to continue publication and at the outset of 1343 Š./1964 was changed to a weekly news magazine of twenty seven-column pages, measuring 29 x 42 cm. This magazine was at its most popular during the tenure of Prime Minister ʿAlī Amīnī. Its illustrations were seasoned with political cartoons signed by Moḥsen Davallū. It assumed the shape of an Express or Newsweek-style news and public affairs magazine from 8 Ābān 1345 Š./30 October 1966 until 1348 Š./1969, when political and financial constraints forced it to stop publication. During this period, it contained between 48 and 114 three-column pages, measuring 21 x 28.5 cm, and cost ten rials. It was well-illustrated and sported eye-catching Davallū caricatures on the cover; interior caricatures were drawn by Laṭīfī. Well-known contributors to Bāmšād included: Ḥasan Arsanjānī, Moḥammad-Reżā ʿAskarī, Parvīz Āzādī, Tūraj Farāzmand, Šāʾallāh Nāẓerīān, Īraj Nabawī, and Dāryūš Homāyūn. After the revolution of 1979, Pūrwālī published Bāmšād in a smaller format, but, after two issues, discontinued publication and emigrated to Paris. In the fall of 1360 Š./1981, he began the Persian magazine Rūzgār-e now. Incomplete sets of Bāmšād are kept in major libraries of Iran.

 

Bibliography:

Fehrest-e rūz-nāmahā-ye mawjūd dar Ketāb-ḵāna-ye Mellī-e Īrān, Tehran, 2536 = 1356 Š./1977, p. 53.

K. Amīr Nūrī, Fehrest-e našrīyāt-e mawjūd dar Ketāb-ḵāna-ye Markaz-e Madārek-e Farhangī-e Enqelāb-e Eslāmī, Tehran, 1362 Š./1983, p. 27.

R. Mach and R. D. McChesney, A List of Persian Serials in the Princeton University Library, Princeton, 1971.

Search terms:

 بامشاد، روزنامه bamshad,rooznameh baamshaad  

 

(N. Parvīn)

Originally Published: December 15, 1988

Last Updated: December 15, 1988