دنا رزمهر

With the increasing role of media in the society, comprehending the role of media and the dynamics of media gets vital. That is why, news agencies with various agenda-settings try compete in order to grab audiences’ mind. There has been various research on the role of media in shaping public opinion within multiple contexts. Iran and Afghanistan are countries with high influence from each other throughout the history more connected to each other in the last four decades due to the cross-border movements. In this explorative-explanatory research, we have analyzed the role of Iran and Afghanistan media (focused on IRNA and Tolo News) in five key incidents affecting the life of Afghan refugees in Iran including "Enrolment of Afghan students in Iranian schools”, “Legal documents of children with Iranian mother and Afghan father” and “Closing Iran borders after the Taliban takeover” in IRNA   and “Renewing Tazkera for Afghans in Iran” and “Afghans deportations from Iran” in TOLO News. With focusing on the problem, the process of change it had went through and the each news agency’s coverage, it became clear that IRNA plays a significant role in the Afghans in Iran related matters while TOLO News is less influencial and covering the news with more challenges. Yet, IRNA is more conservative in covering the incidents and is more of an active player when it come to promoting and implementing the change.

Key words: Media, Public Opinion, Iran, Afghanistan, IRNA, Tolo News