Cartoons...on IRINN

It is time for another post about cartoons! I have yet to see cartoons broadcast by IRINN while watching their television broadcast or on their online site. However, after doing some research, I was able to find some old cartoons that IRINN had shown on previous television broadcasts. After viewing many cartoons, it becomes evident that the cartoons are mainly political in nature with a negative take on U.S. foreign policy. Here are two of their cartoons, one titled "Bush is Lying to the World" and the other "Media as Bush Weapon":

Nowrooz on IRINN

Since we have mentioned Nowrooz a few times, I thought I would display some of IRINN's coverage of the holiday. Nowrooz is an ancient Persian pre-Islamic holiday that marks the first day of Spring - or new year, that Iranians across Iran celebrate every year. IRINN marked Nowrooz with a broadcast on television and online.

IRINN's online site had a page dedicated to Nowrooz titled "Spring has come", with pictures of flowers and traditional haft seen's (7 S's) in Iran:

Khamenei Responds to Obama's Nowrooz Overture

The Nowrooz ("New Day") message President Obama directed to Iran for the Persian New Year has not been shown on IRINN or IRIB. Many international broadcasters and outlets are waiting to see whether or not IRIB or IRINN will show Obama's message. It seems that it will not be shown. Instead Iranians in Iran will have to look up the message online or on Persian-language satellite programming from abroad, as The Washington Post reported:

Iranian woman Marzieh Masaebi watches a TV video showing US President Barack Obama's new video message addressed to the Iranian people, and broadcast from the Tapesh Farsi-language satellite TV beamed in from the United States, at her home in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 20, 2009. Obama released the video to coincide with the major Iranian festival of Nowruz, a 12-day holiday that marks the arrival of spring and the beginning of the new year in Iran. Iran authorities played down Obama's video message saying it welcomed the overtures while warning that decades of mistrust can't easily be erased. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) (Vahid Salemi - AP)

Today, however, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei responded to Obama's message. IRINN reported that thousands of people gathered in Mashaad, Iran today to listen to Khamenei. The Iranian leader said that U.S. policy towards Iran has remained the same as it has been in the last 30 years and "as long as these policies do not change, then Iran will not change its policies." IRIB reported Khamenei as saying: "Has your enmity with the Iranian nation ended? Have you released the Iranian assets or cut the sanctions? Have you quit negative propaganda against Iran? Have you ended your absolute support to the Zionist regime?" 

So far, CNN, BBC, and other sources have reported on the Iranian response, citing the upcoming elections in Iran as an important element effecting rhetoric. 

Hollywood Delegation in Iran, Part Deux!

Here is a report by CNN on the Hollywood delegations visit to Iran, the first of its kind since the Revolution in 1979. It mentions the two Iranian government officials asking for an apology for certain Hollywood films in an interview with delegation member Sidney Ganis - President of the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences. Once again, even though television broadcasters IRINN and IRIB failed to mention this delegation or the request for an apology, four online Iranian news sources have reported on it so far: Tehran Times, ISNA, Ayand News, and Press TV.  Perhaps it speaks to distinctive agendas for state news on television vs. online.

"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."

IRINN Coverage of Sudan

IRINN indeed has an English news segment. The English segment comes after the Persian news program has concluded. Among the news covered on the English broadcast (as well as the Persian broadcast) was the arrest warrant issued for Sudanse President Omar al-Bashir. 

The coverage by IRINN of Sudan was titled "Thousands rally in support of al-Bashir in Khartoum", alongside images and video from the protests. Furthermore, Iranian Foreign Minister Motaki met with Sudanese Parliament speaker in Tehran and said the prosecution of al-Bashir was wrong. Motaki said that Iran and Sudan have firm bilateral ties based on mutual interest. 

Coverage then again went to the protests in Sudan and a speech by al-Bashir condemning the warrant and agencies such as the UN Security Council, the International Monetary Fund, and the International Criminal Court as being neo-colonialist.

This coverage was lacking in reporting, as there was no coverage of those who oppose al-Bashir, particularly those Sudanse from that were affected by the years of fighting with Khartoum - such as Darfur, both the east or the south. 

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: 

IRINN's News Scrolls in English

I think it is interesting to note that while IRINN broadcasts in Persian, there is always a news headline scroll at the bottom of the screen running in English. This is not unusual given the fact that English is a lingua franca in many countries. In fact, there are usually  postings in both the Persian and English languages in major public places in Iran. The name of the broadcaster "IRINN" is itself written in English and it is displayed in the corner of the broadcast. On a last point, IRINN replays coverage from a diverse group of international broadcasters during segments of their program. The list of broadcasters includes: BBC, MSNBC, Al Jazeera, and Al Arabiya. News from other media are also referenced, such as the The Economist.

Here is a list of news headlines that have been displayed on IRINN: 

"Haaretz: West Bank settlement gets green light for massive expansion; Senator John Kerry says U.S. eager to talk to Syria; Civilian, solider gunned down in Mosul; Clinton criticizes Bush on N.Korea; Moscow again eyes Afghanistan 20 years after retreat; Hamas: dialogue, only way for internal reconciliation."

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.