- Following the eruption of political unrest and turmoil
in Iran which lasted for several weeks after the reelection of incumbent
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the June 12, 2009 presidential elections,
Press TV, a 24-hour English-language TV network run by Iran's state broadcaster
IRIB, came under the fire of harsh criticism by British media outlets,
including The Guardian, the Daily Telegraph and The Times of London because
of what they considered to be a "violation of neutrality" by
the network. This seemed to be simply a retaliatory act against Iranian
statesmen's explicit condemnation of the UK's BBC, which they alleged provoked
riot and insurgence in a turbulent Tehran.
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- Over the past two years and since it was launched in
2007, I've been a regular follower of both Press TV's website and TV channel.
Primarily, I admire the efforts of this Iranian news network, which has
strived to function as the "podium of justice" and "voice
of the voiceless". Those who are familiar with the media atmosphere
in Iran unanimously admit that Press TV is the most professional and unbiased
outlet, at least among the state-funded media.
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- However, the tradition of calling Press TV a state-run
or state-funded agency is a propagandistic technique which the western
mainstream media have adopted collectively. Whenever citing something from
Press TV, American and British mainstream media state the fact that the
network is funded by Iranian government simply in order to cast doubt on
the veracity and legitimacy of the source they're citing. This is the fallacy
of "ad hominem circumstantial".
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- To illustrate, France 24 can be accurately called the
French tantamount of Iran's Press TV; it's funded by the state with an
initial budget of ¤100m and conventionally follows the theoretical
line of French government. Nevertheless, a Google search for the term "state-funded
France 24" returns just 253 results while "state-funded Press
TV" returns 11,600 pages, an indication of the familiar exercise of
double standards by the corporate media who rule hearts and minds.
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- As someone who has customarily traced Press TV's trajectory,
I do have my own reasons to defend this new-born media hub which has seriously
called to challenge Russia Today, Aljazeera English and Deutsche Welle
World. Despite my disagreement with some of its policies and stances that
I've found objectionable and lopsided, especially in the post-election
turmoil of Iran, I generally appreciate Press TV for what it has achieved
so far and what it's trying to realize.
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- Although Press TV is not available to the majority of
Iranians who have been legally disentitled to own dish antennas to watch
global satellite channels over the past three decades, it should be domestically
admired for the esteem and value it gives to Iran's cultural heritage and
artistic treasures. In contrary to the majority of Iran's state-run and
non-governmental media outlets, which do not spare even minimal coverage
for Iran-related cultural events and accomplishments, Press TV has been
a major source of news features and reports on Iranian arts and culture.
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- Press TV prevalently runs reports on the concerts, exhibitions,
lectures, ceremonies and festivals which Iranian artists hold around the
world, honorably introducing award-winning Iranian scientists, cartoonists,
filmmakers, writers, and scholars who accomplish something extraordinary
in their field of endeavor. This comes while the rest of the Iranian media
seem to be worryingly afraid of Iranian culture, arts, and science as they
pervasively shun these popular areas.
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- While the Iranian people might not otherwise find a simple
exposure of their country's innumerable historical, architectural, and
archeological sites in the national media, Press TV commendably acquaints
its global audience with the priceless heritage of Iranian civilization.
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- Politically, I appreciate Press TV, because by the end
of the day, it generally preserves its impartiality and sheds a light on
a number of issues which the international community universally neglects.
I believe that it could have performed more objectively in the aftermath
of Iran's 2009 presidential election, especially in reaction to the demonstrations
of Iran's dissident citizens. However, Press TV realistically has fulfilled
its promise to serve as an outlet that exhibits the bitter realities that
the mainstream media otherwise overlook.
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- Take the case of the Holocaust and those who are in denial
of it. I'm not a history expert and thus keep aside from the controversy,
but I categorically believe that no one should come up with an excuse for
the relentless massacre of millions of people whose lives a Nazi regime
considered to be insignificant and dispensable. However, the very fact
that a growing number of Holocaust deniers such as Horst Mahler, Fredrick
Toben, Gaston-Armand Amaudruz, Wolfgang Frohlich, Herbert Verbeke and David
Irving have been put in jail for simply expressing their viewpoints, even
if what they believe is contradictory to the standards of western society,
suggests that there's something wrong with the right to "freedom of
speech" and the way it is interpreted. Press TV has successfully shed
a light on this contradiction.
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- As another example, during Israel's 22-day nightmare
offensive against the Gaza Strip, while reporting favoring the offender
encompassed the global mainstream, Press TV conducted interviews with prominent
figures who were somehow involved in the conflict and aired footages which
no other TV channel had dared broadcast, giving a glimpse into the victims'
point of view.
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- The best conceptual accomplishment of Press TV has been
the revelation of intolerable double standards that certain governments
exercise. Press TV screens critics and scholars that the mainstream media
have long boycotted. Its effort to give them a voice thwarts all of the
efforts that have been made to cover up the other side of stories, especially
in the Middle East, and this has outraged some who cling to the double-standard
of free speech discussed above.
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- The allegation that Press TV serves as the "mouthpiece
of Iranian government" deserves scrutiny. Every media outlet around
the world endeavors to satisfy its owner and serve-or at least not undermine-its
interests, especially when the owner is a government. Press TV is going
to grow professionally, and become more like an Iranian BBC. I personally
oppose Press TV serving as a mouthpiece for any power, including the Iranian
government; however, the problem is that we don't know of any international
news outlet that doesn't often serve as a mouthpiece for its respective
government.
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- Recent pressure on Press TV also transmits a clear message
to officials in Tehran complaining of the double standards of Washington,
London and Paris while themselves rejecting free speech. Once Jon Leyne
of the BBC was expelled from Tehran on charges of "supporting the
rioters" in the post-election crisis, Iran should have expected Ofcom's
retaliatory reaction three months later: they're now pondering the renewal
of Press TV's London headquarters. This would be an unfortunate consequence
of Iranian government officials' decisions.
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- Kourosh Ziabari is an Iranian freelance journalist and
media correspondent. His articles have appeared on a number of media outlets
and newspapers including Tehran Times, Salem News, Palestine Think Tank,
Press TV, Foreign Policy Journal, Islam Online and Middle East Online.
He is a member of Tlaxcala Translators Network for Linguistic Diversity.
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