Iranian journalists might write under their real names but mostly they choose to write under a penname. Some even have numerous pennames. Basically, it is an odd question to ask the Iranian journalists if they have a penname.

They might use their pennames more often than their real name and gain much fame under the penname. Ali-Akbar Dehkhoda named himself Dakho in Charand Parand (Fiddle-Faddle) column. Mohammad Mosoud mostly wrote under M. M. Dahati (M. M. Villager). Rahman Hatefi wrote his political artciles under the penname of Heidar Mehregan. We have interviewed a few journalists who have been writing under pennames.

I’ve hidden my news and professional ID

A journalist told us: “following the controversial presidential election in 2009 in Iran, I started writing for opposition news websites and then I chose a penname for the first time in ten years. I only meant to help my country in the chaotic situation to spread information. I did not look at it as a duty.”

However, this journalist chose to continue writing under a penname after the unrest in Iran. She says: “I did not want to quit my job as a journalist and I could not write under my real name either. I chose to keep writing in a news website affiliated to the Green Movement. And also I wanted to avoid any contact with the intelligence ministry. A penname was a good option considering that it would give me a pseudo identity so that my reader could follow my articles in future.

She goes on to add: “it is really brutal to stop writing under your own name. A few of my articles are not even against the government policy still were considered to fit in the censorship circle. So I keep writing under a penname and I am grateful that gained a new identity via this penname. I evaded security complications and stayed journalist under my penname. I am sick of this situation but I have no other choice either.”

I wrote my best reports under penname

The reporter interviewed another journalist to hear his narrative of pennames. This journalist, who has been arrested before for journalism, says: “I picked up a penname a few weeks after the election. I still was working under my real name because the news website that I was working for was not blocked by the government. It was still legal to work for such news websites.”

He states: “I am a journalist and never dealt with pennames or pseudonyms. I did not understand what security concerns meant. I thought having a penname is enough. When I was arrested and the interrogator called me by penname, I reviewed all have written in my head in cold sweat.”

He recalls: “everything has changed after I was released. I wanted to be a journalist and could not give up because I was arrested. Some people choose to transfer their identity to their penname and they do it successfully. But I lost my identity in the middle of numerous pennames that I picked up for various subjects. I have more than a dozen pennames. This year I published a handful of articles in newspapers under my real name. You have no idea how joyful it was to see my real name next to an article that I wrote. Still, I wrote the best reports of my entire career under my pennames.”

Pennames for breadwinning

Some journalists are embarrassed to publish their names in some news agencies or websites. A journalist told us: “in a few occasions I wrote articles for some specific news agencies or websites that are not professional. I feel embarrassed to tell my colleagues and friends that I was working with those websites. So I picked up a penname to protect my grace.”

He states: “I always felt guilty working for them; so I chose humanitarian topics that did not violate my political perspective either. They paid me well and on time. I cannot live my life with less than 500 dollars a month. It was a good source to earn money and I hid my real identity too.

Realerimage under pennames

These were a few narratives from journalists, who write under pennames. They hide their real identity for a personal reason. Still, it is not the full image of what is going on. Censorship and duplication of a subject are mentioned as other reasons why journalists choose pennames. A journalist says he has to write about a few humanitarian topics every day. It means he has been trapped in duplication; what he does is that he organizes the articles in two groups of first grade and second grade articles. He publishes the second grade articles under his penname.

Reported by Sara Mohseni

Translated by Rose Arjmand

Source: Khabarnegaran