ABSTRACT
The reign of Reza Shah was the result of a military coup d'etat. Following the successful coup of 3 Esfand 1299 (21 February 1921) Reza Khan gradually extended and enforced his power. Simultaneously, he distributed many of the important posts in the country among his colleagues in the military. In military regimes the press has no place but to praise the dictator. Perhaps this attitude actually contributed to the fact that during all his years in power Reza Shah never bothered to alter or replace the press law (qanun-e matbu‘at) from the constitutional period, issued 5 Moharram 1326 (8 February 1908). Two supplementary articles, from 10 Aban 1301 (2 November 1922), which were the result of much hard work by the members of the fourth Majles (1 Tir 1300 to Khordad 130 /June 1921 to 30 June 1923) equally failed to attract the attention of Reza Shah, since he, and the censoring system he had created, did not feel the slightest need to refer to the law. During this period censorship was one of the most important tools with which the government imagined it could maintain order and stability. The press-censoring apparatus in the Reza Shah era operated according to the personal taste of the person or organization at its head during that particular period of time.
