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Iran to launch Press TV next week |
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Wednesday, 27 June 2007 |
Iran's state broadcaster will launch a 24-hour English-language satellite
news channel next week to rival dominant Western services, a senior Iranian
official said on Tuesday.
Tehran-based PRESS TV, staffed by both Iranians and foreigners, is scheduled to
start broadcasting from Tehran on Monday, and will seek to compete against the
likes of CNN and BBC World, Nader Rad, head of live programming, told Reuters.
"The news is mostly covered by the Western media. We would like to have a say in
this," Rad said. "They (Western outlets) don't usually cover the whole story ...
The news about Iraq does not cover all perspectives. The news about Palestine
and Beirut is also like this,"
Rad said Britons and Americans were among those working for the new channel,
some based in Tehran. PRESS TV had journalists in Washington, New York, London,
Beirut and Damascus, and was planning to have staff in Baghdad and Cairo, he
said.
The PRESS TV Web site (www.presstv.ir) said one of the goals was "to break the
global media stranglehold of Western outlets." It also said the channel wanted
to "bridge cultural divisions."
The Iranian channel faces an increasingly crowded field of English-language
satellite channels after last year's launch of Al Jazeera International by the
Qatar-based broadcaster and France 24, which promised a "French vision".
Iran's state broadcaster already runs the Arabic-language satellite channel
Al-Alam and the Persian-language Jaam-e Jam.
Rad said PRESS TV would carry news bulletins, talk shows and documentaries, some
of which would be bought from abroad.
Last Week, Vice President of IRIB in World Service Mohammad Sarfaraz announced
that the English-language Press TV news channel would be officially inaugurated
on July 2, 2007.
“International developments have been gaining pace pursuant to the September 11
tragic incident. Under the pretext of combating terrorism, the US has used the
incident to legitimize its invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq. In the wake of the
incident, the western media have been trying to distort the news about the
Muslim world. So, we thought of setting up an English-language news channel to
counteract the lies of the western media,” Sarafraz said.
He said there are 26 reporters and many stringers all around the globe. He added
that there would be more reporters in the strategically important parts of the
world.
Asked if Press TV was the Persian version of the Al Jazeera, he answered that
such a comparison would be out of place for the Al Jazeera channel has proven to
have duplicitous reactions to international events.
Elsewhere he stated that the idea of an English-language channel grew out of the
need to address an international audience exposed to misinformation and
mudslinging with regard to the Islamic Republic of Iran.
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