Mohsen Taghavi

Owner & Publisher

Salam Toronto

 

Mohsen Taghavi’s love of the written word began when he was a young boy in Iran reading the classics of both Persian and world literature. While studying in Los Angeles, Mohsen got his first taste of journalism when he volunteered to collect and summarize the news from home and share it with his fellow students during the height of the Iranian revolution.

Returning to Iran, he found a job at the country’s second largest daily paper where he worked until, fed-up with the censorship and pressure coming from the regime, he left in 1984. He then went on to help launch a series of progressive weeklies and dailies, before he was muscled out by the state.

In 1997 Mohsen and his family came to Canada where he quickly found work writing and editing for two Persian language publications. In the summer of 2000, he launched his own publication Salam Toronto, which ultimately included both Persian and English content. The paper became an OCNA member in 2002 (one of the first non-English or non-French publications to do so) and in 2007 Mohsen became the first publisher representing the multicultural press to be elected to OCNA’s board of directors.

In 2007, he was received honourary board membership from the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada and received a medal from the organization of his journalism and his efforts at promoting equality, human rights and cultural understanding. In 2017 he received Canada’s Sesquicentennial Citizenship Award for excellence in journalism and his outstanding contributions to promoting citizenship.

While Salam Toronto went online-only due to the pandemic, the publication continues to provide essential news and information to Canadians of Iranian, Afghan, Tajik and Turkmen descent through a balanced and comprehensive editorial approach.

Throughout his career, Mohsen has championed optimism, acceptance, cooperation, civic responsibility and mutual respect, while fostering a sense of belonging among his readerships and helping new immigrants navigate life in their communities, cities, and their new home, Canada.

This is why the Ontario Community Newspapers Association is thrilled to announce Mohsen Taghavi as an inductee of the OCNA Hall of Fame.

The OCNA Hall of Fame Award recognizes and celebrates individuals who have made exemplary contributions to Ontario’s community newspapers. Inductees are respected community news professionals who have remained passionate about the industry throughout challenges, opportunities, and changes. They are leaders who have helped community newspapers adapt and grow.