A budget crunch at Iran's conservative-run state broadcasting company IRIB could cost 10,000 people their jobs, a Tehran newspaper reported on Saturday.
An unnamed member of parliament told the conservative Resaalat paper the legislature would make an effort to avoid the job cuts at Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), which runs state radio and television.
IRIB launched its seventh television channel ¯ the Koran Channel, devoted exclusively to the Muslim holy book ¯ two weeks ago.
Recent press reports said the reform-majority parliament was considering giving its approval for the nation's first-ever private television channel, a move that would need approval by a conservative-led oversight body. — (AFP, Tehran)
© Agence France Presse 2000
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
