BBC Persian: Just in Time?

So far, nothing but praise for BBC Persian, unless of course you ask the Iranian government. Here is a good article outlining how the strength of BBC Persian will likely be its higher level of professionalism (also, the article has an interesting take on the overly political nature of US broadcasting into Iran):

Mehrdad Khalili, a journalist and university lecturer, told state-run Radio Goftogu that the BBC Persian TV employees belong to a post-revolutionary generation of journalists who aspire to a higher level of professionalism than currently exists in the domestic media.Khalili said some of the TV journalists now working for BBC Persian were active during what he calls the "golden era" of Iranian media that followed the election of reformist president Mohammad Khatami in 1997. Others come from state radio and television. "These journalists cannot tolerate [working under] very tenuous and frustrating financial conditions and the tremendous pressures coming from inside and outside the media," he said. "Nor can they forget the media's golden era". During the Khatami years, an era of growing political freedoms, dozens of newspapers were published, employing hundreds of young journalists.

And, here is an article outlining how BBC Persian was received amongst Iranian bloggers (keep in mind the source!). Not much of a shocker here -- most of the bloggers surveyed think that BBC Persian is a breath of fresh air:

The absence of a [Persian-language] media outlet [outside Iran] which can disseminate news professionally can be felt. For the past few days I've been thinking about why the BBC can't fulfil this role. The British know exactly when to do something. The BBC Persian TV has been launched at a time that the Iranian people are tired of the Los Angeles-based [Persian-language] TV channels, the Iranian Voice and Vision, and the VOA. Have no doubt that BBC Persian TV will have a bigger impact than one can expect.