Death of Reza Qotbi; From the Presidency of National Radio and Television to 45 Years of Silent Exile

Reza Qotbi, a prominent politician who held a long presidency of the National Radio and Television Organization during the Pahlavi era, passed away on Monday, September 5, at the age of 86 in Paris after a long illness. While only a few professors and students in Iran's academic circles had heard of him due to his position as a mathematics professor at Aryamehr University, he became a familiar name to media audiences and part of the Iranian public due to the extensive changes he initiated at the beginning of his presidency of the National Radio and Television Organization of Iran. Some also knew that he was the cousin of Empress Farah and had heard that his father, Mohammad Ali Qotbi, a renowned architect, played a role in financing his aunt Farideh Diba and her daughter Farah, who had lost their husband and father. The close relations between the Qotbi and Diba families led Farideh Diba to send her daughter to Paris for studies in architecture, where she met Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi and later accepted his marriage proposal. Reza Qotbi was born in 1938 in Lahijan and, like the children of the upper class of society at that time, attended Italian and French-speaking schools in Tehran after World War II, showing great talent in mathematics like his ancestors, including Qotb al-Din Mohammad Lahiji. It was said that during the events of Mohammad Mossadegh's era, while studying at Alborz High School, he was targeted with a knife for defending nationalist views, but he never spoke about it later. After completing his studies at the Polytechnic in France, he returned to Tehran and was hired at Aryamehr University, eventually becoming a mathematics professor. He joined a group in the Ministry of Information and Tourism that was preparing to establish a large television organization in the Western style, and later the presidency of this new media was entrusted to him. Reza Qotbi began reforms in the national media from the very start of his presidency in 1963, at a time when the June 1963 protests had been suppressed, and the government, looking to strengthen its foundations, portrayed radio and television as a sign of the regime's determination for economic growth, instilling hope for the improvement of the general public's living standards and achieving a global position for the country in the face of public opinion. During those years, Reza Qotbi attracted several poets, writers, and journalists who voiced opposition to the monarchy and successfully garnered their cooperation. He was referred to as 'Engineer Qotbi' in the organization and media of the time, and during his presidency, he even turned individuals like Houshang Ebtehaj, Ahmad Shamlou, and Khosrow Golserkhi, known for their leftist positions and opposition to the Pahlavi regime, into television collaborators. Mr. Qotbi also granted extensive powers to the organization's radio and television offices in the provinces to utilize local individuals in their programs and produce content for local audiences. As rapid changes occurred in the structure of the national radio and television, modern studios were being built in the Jam-e Jam building in northern Tehran, and radio and television studios were established in cities across the country based on Western advancements. This organization had become one of the largest centers for recruiting personnel throughout Iran and an institution for supporting national cultural and artistic programs and international initiatives in these fields. Television productions increased significantly, and entertaining series emptied the streets of people eagerly waiting to watch the programs. Artistic shows, especially for weekends, became an inseparable part of productions, with hosts like Fereydoun Farrokhzad becoming their stars. Alongside this trend, Reza Qotbi also began the process of creating other networks within the organization to attract specific audiences. Some program makers who were popular among intellectuals quickly began working on the second television network. Watching television series like 'Dai Jan Napoleon,' 'Italia, Italia,' 'Deliran Tangestan,' popular weekend shows, or organizing celebrations filled with songs, dances, and excitement for national and traditional ceremonies like Nowruz, along with dubbing popular foreign series or listening to radio series and cheerful and humorous shows on Fridays, became an inseparable part of the lives of millions of Iranians during that time. However, at times after the beginning of the 1970s, when some religious and so-called leftist guerrilla groups sought to overthrow the Pahlavi monarchy, and Ruhollah Khomeini was encouraging his supporters in Iran to oppose the Shah from Najaf in Iraq, the television broadcast trials of several defendants and some of their confessions at the recommendation of SAVAK, the secret police, created the impression among the public that SAVAK was monitoring all aspects of people's lives, which was considered a deterrent against 'saboteurs' and 'traitors.' Kamabiz Mahmoudi, who was Qotbi's deputy for more than a decade, later stated after leaving Iran that even a fifth-grade employee of the National Radio and Television Organization thought their home and work phone were under SAVAK's control. Nevertheless, Kamabiz Mahmoudi added in oral histories of the Iran Studies Foundation that statements suggesting that the security organization (SAVAK) was involved in all stages of television programming or had a committee that oversaw radio and television productions and reviewed and approved content before production were incorrect and wrong. According to Mr. Mahmoudi, 'Of course, saying that all productions and broadcast materials and the activities of the National Radio and Television Organization were free from such relationships is incorrect, and the organization, like other institutions and state bodies, participated in efforts to create the impression that the security organization was present everywhere,' and this approach played a role in the events leading to the revolution and the escalation of discontent and uprisings against the regime. Nikzad, one of the program makers of that television era, stated in oral histories of the Iran Studies Foundation that he personally never experienced during Qotbi's presidency that anyone from anywhere requested to intervene, supervise, or control a program or film in production. Mohammad Nafisi, one of the producers of children's programs on Iranian television six years before the establishment of the Islamic Republic, stated in the oral history of the Iran Studies Foundation that in cases like the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Pahlavi dynasty or the 2500-year celebration of the monarchy, there was no directive from Qotbi, SAVAK, or others that all programs had to reflect these events, but we participated in general proposals in these areas and took responsibility for them. Mohammad Nafisi emphasizes that the programming council in the organization provided general advisory opinions in its weekly meetings regarding the programs, and its members discussed whether certain parts of the programs aligned with the overall goals or not, and if there were instances where individuals 'from outside the organization' came, they only spoke with group managers, and overall, the programming council oversaw the quality of the programs. Reza Qotbi held the presidency of this organization until September 1978, that is, until the flames of opposition from supporters of Ruhollah Khomeini and other opponents of the Pahlavi regime rose, and all of them, gathering around this spiritual leader who had moved from Najaf to Neauphle-le-Château in France, resolved to end the Pahlavi monarchy. At that time, it was widely said that the text of the Shah's statement, which became famous as 'hearing your revolution's voice,' was written by Reza Qotbi and Hossein Nasr, a senior employee in the office of Empress Farah. Supporters of Khomeini viewed the takeover of the National Radio and Television building in Iran on the evening of February 11, 1979, as a symbol of the fall of the Pahlavi monarchy and the 2500-year-old imperial system. Opponents of the Pahlavi family accused Reza Qotbi of being the main promoter of Empress Farah in holding the Shiraz Arts Festival, which international artistic groups participated in, deeming that festival contrary to the traditions of a 'Muslim society.' Reza Qotbi remained in Iran for a while after the establishment of the Islamic Republic but, on the verge of his 40th birthday, while the execution of many officials related to the Pahlavi monarchy was on Sheikh Sadegh Khalkhali's agenda with the support of Ruhollah Khomeini, and images of their bloodied and bullet-ridden bodies covered the pages of newspapers, managed to leave the country from his hiding place in a way that has not yet been disclosed. Reza Qotbi's 45 years of residence abroad, a person whose history is intertwined with the national radio and television of Iran, passed in complete silence and isolation until now, when his death at the age of 86 has made headlines.