The literature on media justice in Iran has predominantly reduced the link between media justice and social solidarity to issues of content distribution or access, neglecting the qualitative understanding of recognition mechanisms at the level of lived experience. This gap deepens in multicultural settings where identity sensitivities intertwine with the symbolic order. Thus, this study explores this link by examining the lived experiences of elites in the metropolis of Kermanshah regarding the Zagros Provincial Network, drawing on Axel Honneth’s theory of justice as recognition and employing Colaizzi’s phenomenological method. Data from in-depth semi-structured interviews with 10 experts in political science, sociology, history, and management were analyzed using Colaizzi’s seven-step method. Findings reveal that perception of solidarity is a multidimensional construct tied to the need for “being seen” and “mutual valuation.” However, the current situation in Kermanshah is conceptualized as “incomplete recognition”: a halt at the affective and legal levels of recognition, with the third level (active valuation of differences) remaining unrealized. Believing in the network’s specific role, participants propose “purposeful pluralism” as a transformative strategy. By focusing on recognition justice components, problem-oriented agency, and responsible management of cultural diversity, this model can turn the Zagros network into a “recognizing platform.” Finally, conceptualizing “incomplete recognition” and “latent recognition capital,” the article extends Honneth’s theory, demonstrating that without institutionalizing recognition justice in institutions such as media, solidarity in multicultural societies is reduced to mere coexistence.