"Media and the Economy" Conference in Iran

The third conference on "Media and the Economy" was held in Tehran, Iran on Monday. It was a one day conference attended by President Ahmadinejad and Mr. Zargami, the head of Iran's state media. IRINN reported that Mr. Zargami said that the country is at a very sensitive historical turning point, where certain lagging sectors of the economy need to be strengthened in order to move towards a bigger economy. Interestingly, Mr. Zargami also said that this approach was supported by the Leader of the Revolution (Khameinei).

The overall message of the conference was that political and side issues should not be brought to the table when discussing the economy.  And that the focus needs to be on the economy alone and this is a responsibility experts and of the media. The media should talk about the ideas and opinions of experts, to be supportive and bring attention to the lagging sectors of the economy.

This conference was not mentioned by other broadcasters outside Iran, except for China View:

"At a seminar on media and economy, Ahmadinejad said he believed Iranian scientists possess the capability to do so and called on them to start working on a global economic models based on ethical and humanitarian values. 

'The Iranian scientists would focus on schemes leading to elimination of poverty,' Ahmadinejad 

said, hoping that 'Iranian scientists would embark on the task the soonest possible.' 

Ahmadinejad's statements come amid the domestic concerns over the steady rise of the country's inflation since he took office in summer 2005."

Hollywood Delegation in Iran

                                                                                                                              

It seems that IRINN has failed to mention the visiting delegation of Hollywood actors and movie industry officials. This is even after an art advisor to Iranian Presdient Ahmadinejad spoke out about the delegation and requested an apology for films insulting to Iranians. After watching for any announcement of the visit or the request for an apology on IRINN, I came to the unfortunate conclusion that it will not be covered. A sad realization for a student of public diplomacy.

According to an AP article, "An adviser to Iran's presdient on Sunday demanded an apology from a teacm of visiting Hollywood actors and movie industry officals, incuding Annette Bening, saying films such as '300' and 'The Wrestler' were 'insulting' to Iranians. Without an apology, members of Iran's film industry should refuse to meet with representatives from the nine-member team, said Javad Shamaqdari, the art and cinema advisor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad." 

The article goes on to say: "Most ordinary Iranians were not aware of the visit since state radio and television did not widely report it. But those who had heard said they hoped it would improve relations between the two countries. 'The two countries have tried to wrestle in many ways,' said Mahrokh Razani, a self-described movie fan who said he found out about the trip on the Internet. 'I hope they can have better ties through movies.'" 

I think that the lack of coverage by IRINN displays the clear state line that the broadcaster walks. It is interesting, though, that the Iranian film industry and Hollywood delegation have met and carried on their meetings and seminars - even when Shamaqdari (art and cinema advisor to Ahmadinejad) said there should be an apology and and a refusal to meet. It reveals the inner complexities within Iran, such as the divergences between Iranians themselves and government rhetoric.

Furthermore, an interesting report on the "Iranian art boom" was recently shown on CNN on February 27, 2009 that discusses what's really going on in Iran's art scene: 

Coverage of Germany's Schroeder in Iran

This week former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was in Iran for a four day visit. During his visit he met with Iranian President Ahmadinejad and IRI's parliament speaker Ali Larijani in Tehran. 

The IRINN coverage of the meeting between Ahmadinejad and Schroeder was a positive one. The IRINN said that Schroeder emphasized Iran's importance to the region [Middle East] and that Europe and Iran should work well together. Furthermore, there was an emphasis on the need for energy and solving the current global problems.  This story was also covered by the IRIB, another Iranian news agency. 

The IRIB covered the meeting between Schroeder and Larijani, and it was affirmative of Iran as well, "Schroeder lauds IRI's positive role in the region." The report goes on to say, "Former German chancellor, for his part, called Iran an important and influential country in the regional and international equations adding, 'if we would not appreciate Iran's role in Afghanistan it would not be fair.' Gehrard Schroeder also said Iran's huge energy capacities can provide ripe grounds for development of trade ties with the European Union."

The meeting was described differently in a report by Reuters, however. The report said: "'The Holocaust is a historic fact and there is no sense in denying this unparalleled crime,' Schroeder told the Iranian Chamber of Commerce. 'Iran needs to take responsibility and respect international rules, if it wants to be taken seriously as a regional power.'"

The Reuters report goes on to say that "the head of Iran's Chamber of Industry and Commerce Mohammad Nahavandian said it would be wrong to 'measure the developments in the Middle East with two yardsticks. We shouldn't forget the recent massacre of people in the Gaza strip and should internationally condemn Israel for it.'"

Also, China View reported that Schroeder called for talks between the U.S. and Iran. He is quoted as saying, "'We need dialogue at the highest possible levels' to resolve the discords between Iran and the United States.'"  

Clearly, the coverage by Iranian broadcasters IRINN and IRIB excluded Schroeder's criticism of Iran and any recommendations regarding U.S.-Iran relations. Also, the Reuters report did not discuss any of the positive exchanges that took place in the meetings, particularly the emphasis on trade cooperation between the EU and Iran. It is more important however, to note the lack of self-critical reporting by IRINN or IRIB, since both are the central news broadcasters of Iran. This lack of self-criticism is evident in regards to the nuclear issue as well.

Welcome to IRINN

All during the second week of February 2009, the television broadcast by IRINN (Islamic Republic of Iran News Network) was focused on the 3oth Anniversary of the Iranian Revolution. The programs included footage of the Revolution (such as Khomeini arriving in Iran) and interviews with Iranians about the Revolution and what they experienced. One particular interviewee was a lady who recalled her 3 1/2 year imprisonment before the Revolution, during the time of the Shah. What became clear was that the angle of this interview, and all the others, was in clear support for the Revolution. Although an interesting note is that this particular lady said she was not fully aware that the Revolution was actually taking place and did not know the full scale of the events.  

Another topic during last weeks broadcast was on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the launch of the first Iranian satellite. First, Ahmadinejad was shown giving a talk given to diplomats in Tehran. Ahmadinejad said that "the time for force is over", referring to Israel and the conflict in Gaza. Right after that, the program diverted to the launch of the first Iranian satellite, Omid ("hope"). An Iranian state web address all about the satellite was then given and can be found here: www.omid-sat.ir/. This launch has been argued by some as a way for Ahmadinejad to sway voters in his favor in the upcoming presidential elections that will be held on June 12, 2009. There is probably a substantial amount of validity to this argument, given that Ahmadinejad has not lived up to the reason he was elected - his promise to improve the economy. Adding further pressure to Ahmadinejad's re-election bid is the fact that Khatami, a reformist and former Iranian President, has announced he will be running for President as well. 

Ahmadinejad: 'Obama unlikely to succeed with his changes'

From Iran's PressTV:

"Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says it is unlikely that US President Barack Obama will be allowed to bring change to the US." In a telephone conversation with his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez on Wednesday, Ahmadinejad said 'change' has been the motto of the new US President but it is unlikely that Zionist leaders and the main players in the world power structure would allow Obama to bring any change to the United States.

Does this mean PressTV does not think Obama is a main player in the world power structure?

UPDATING the UPDATED: Press TV Warms up to President Obama?

'Nother UPDATE (1:24 PST Feb 11): CBS news is reporting that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "has officially asked for an interview with President Barack Obama as a direct response to Mr. Obama's call for opportunities to engage" via the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA). Turns out Press TV's coverage was an accurate and early barometer of Iran's intentions. Who knew?

UPDATE (4:30 PST Feb 10): AJE's coverage of President Ahmadinejad's call for dialogue adds an interesting layer of depth to the story. Apparently Ahmadinejad "said Iran is ready for dialogue with the US provided the talks were based on mutual respect" in front of a crowd of "thousands of Iranians chanting anti-US slogans," with "many in the crowd carrying placards reading "Death to America" and set alight US flags." Interesting that Press Tv left out the part about the crowd burning American flags, no?
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Similar to Press TV's coverage of last week's elections in Iraq (see previous post here), today's coverage of the Obama administration is, well, kind of like watching MSNBC. In response to President Obama's repeated overtures to engage in dialogue with President Ahmadinejad, Press TV reported:

The new US president had earlier told the Arabic-language television station Al Arabiya that, "if countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from us." President Obama's new tone for trying to engage Tehran has drawn a sharp line between his foreign policies regarding Iran and that of his predecessor George W. Bush.

Sharp line? This is the same broadcaster that was, as of last week, proclaiming that the Obama administration's policies would be no different from those of President Bush. I can't help but think that Pres. Ahmadinejad, via Press Tv, is hedging his bets in the run up to Iran's elections in June. It is also helpful to note that Islamic Revolution resolution for 2009 (published today on Press TV) reiterates that the United States is indeed "great satan," mocks the concept of "change," and suggests that dialogue can only occur "if occupation and tyranny come to an end in the world and the rights of the people of Iran including their nuclear rights are recognized, its assets are unfreezed, all sanctions are lifted and political pressure eased." Ouch. Those seem like preconditions, which, Iran has repeatedly said were bad for negotiations.

My guess is that the Islamic Revolution resolution for 2009 was written mostly for domestic audiences, while the "Iran ready for talks with 'changed' US" article was written more for foreign readers. Oh, the dilemmas of controlling the flow of information in a world of the WWW and google translate!