Iranican

From the blog

Iran’s BBC?

Press TV Logo

Flipping through my parents’ satellite channels about a week ago, I discovered an English-language news network that I never heard of before. Some of the accents sounded Iranian, and many of the running headlines on the bottom of the screen focused on news from the Middle East, but I really didn’t put two and two together until I saw a headscarved-woman and an announcement of the time in Tehran. This, of course, was the Iranian government-funded Press TV, a network which has put a new, more sexy face on Iran.

Frankly, I was enjoying the discussion of news topics on this specific program, “Four Corners,” which allows a diverse assortment of speakers far more time to give their input and present their argument than most other networks. The number of correspondents and bureaus Press TV boasts is surprising. It is not at all uncommon to see an Indian woman and a Japanese man debating over a topic which is being moderated in a London studio by non-Iranian journalists.

Press TV doesn’t shy away from guests who wouldn’t normally be given a microphone on an Iranian news program, like this Israeli journalist. But it also doesn’t hide its clear, anti-Western bias, such as showing numerous graphic photos of injured and dead Palestinians from an Israeli raid while neglecting those Israelis injured or killed by Hamas rockets. Or presenting wholly one-sided documentaries. Or making humorous blunders.

Moral of the story: I’m not sure. Press TV does a fairly good job with news analysis and discussion, and at times its partiality is far less than that of, say, Fox News. But on the other hand, it is fully-funded by the Iranian government, and if the latter’s pressure on Iran’s domestic press is any hint, we must take everything with a grain of salt.

-Kevin

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