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[HCDX] BBC VOA
U.S., Britain both fund broadcasts in Iran
BBC Persian and VOA's Persian News Network deny Tehran's accusations of
bias and meddling.
June 19, 2009
The Iranian government has accused the U.S. and Britain of interfering
in its election. Both countries have government-funded broadcasters that
offer Persian-language reports.
British Broadcasting Corp.
BBC Persian launched television programming in January to supplement its
longtime radio and Internet services. The TV service quickly developed a
following in Iran.
Tehran has accused the BBC of contributing to unrest in the country.
Behrouz Afagh, head of the BBC World Service's Asia-Pacific division,
said BBC Persian's transmissions have been jammed on and off for two to
three days.
Afagh said Thursday that the service had found a new satellite that
would not be vulnerable to jamming from within Iran.
He rejected accusations of meddling or bias.
"All we do is to report what's going on [on] the ground. It's factual
reporting of what's happening," Afagh said. "We've had people from all
sides, but it's more difficult to get from [President Mahmoud]
Ahmadinejad's side. But we do reflect their views."
With foreign reporters restricted in their movements, BBC Persian is
relying heavily on videos and photos uploaded by Iranians, which BBC
staff members try to authenticate before posting, the broadcaster said.
It said it also is increasingly airing footage from Iranian state
television.
Voice of America
VOA's Persian News Network offers eight hours of Persian programming
daily. Like BBC Persian, it has been inundated with images and messages
from Iranian civilians.
Last week, it received 2,000 e-mails during a single hourlong talk show,
VOA spokeswoman Joan Mower said. From June 10 to 15, its Internet news
pages saw traffic increase more than 200%.
Though VOA is funded by the U.S. government, Mower said, it takes pains
to steer clear of partisanship.
"We are congressionally mandated to provide balanced coverage," she
said. "We don't have in our charter 'promote democracy,' 'change the
world.' "
The Iranian government has intermittently jammed Persian News Network's
broadcasts, often by using microwave trucks to disrupt signals. In
anticipation of that, the network sought additional satellite paths for
its broadcasts before the election.
The network, which has about 200 employees, operates on a budget of
about $17 million.
-- Henry Chu
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran-broadcast-box19-2009jun19,0,3346998.story
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