What it means
خبرنگار (khabar-negâr) means journalist or reporter. It is a mixed-origin compound: خبر (khabar) comes from Arabic and means news or report, while نگار (negâr) is a native Persian agentive element derived from نگاشتن (negâshtan), meaning to write or inscribe. Together they mean news-writer. The word is used for print journalists, broadcast reporters, and online journalists alike. A close synonym is روزنامهنگار (ruznâme-negâr), which literally means newspaper-writer and is often interchangeable, though it more specifically implies print journalism.
How to use it
- خبرنگارا جلوی دادگاه جمع شدن. (khabarnegârâ jelo-ye dâdgâh jam shodan.) “The reporters gathered in front of the courthouse.”
- اون خبرنگار بیبیسیه. (un khabarnegâr-e BBC-ye.) “She is a BBC journalist.”
- خبرنگارا اجازه ورود نداشتن. (khabarnegârâ ejâze-ye vorud nadâshtan.) “Journalists were not allowed to enter.”
- میخوام خبرنگار بشم. (mikhâm khabarnegâr besham.) “I want to become a journalist.”
Cultural note
Press freedom in Iran is heavily restricted, and خبرنگار carries real professional risk for those who practice independent journalism. Iran consistently ranks among the top jailers of journalists globally, according to press freedom organizations. Despite this, a large state media apparatus employs many reporters under the title خبرنگار for outlets such as IRNA, IRIB, and Tasnim. Iranian diaspora journalists and citizen reporters who document events on the ground inside Iran are also widely referred to by this title, both by themselves and by their audiences abroad.