PressTV: Backed by Iran "All the News Iran Sees Fit To Broadcast"

[MDresden]

All the News Iran Sees Fit To Broadcast Is Aired on Press TVIt is the news Americans seldom encounter: a lead news brief about a U.S. Army captain convicted of theft in Iraq; a study showing an increase in child-abuse cases in America, and an otherwise unreported offer from Iran to help the United States contain the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.The media outlet behind these reports is Press TV, an Iranian government funded English-language news organization with a stated mission of “heeding the often neglected voices and perspectives of a great portion of the world.” The network, available on satellite, cable and Internet, prides itself on taking “revolutionary steps as the first Iranian international news network, broadcasting in English on a round-the-clock basis."

[MDresden]

Press TV’s support for Ahmadinejad following the elections, and its refusal to give voice to dissenting Iranians, led to the resignation of British anchor Nick Ferrari and, according to several reports, brought about the departure of one of the network’s top Iranian directors, based in Tehran.With a reported annual budget of only $25 million, Press TV has managed to set up an impressive network of global bureaus spread throughout the Middle East, America, Asia and Europe. Due to American sanction laws against Iran, Press TV has its official American bureau at the United Nations in New York and rents studio services from production companies in Washington. Employees outside the U.N. and contributors are hired through third companies.“I had no illusions regarding the nature of Press TV and the government of Iran, so I asked them if they’d censor me. They promised they would not,” Levine said in an interview. But when he put together a panel discussion to talk about a September 2007 speech given by Ahmadinejad at Columbia University, the editorial freedom he enjoyed came to an end. “I thought I had a fair and balanced panel,” he said, but the show was called off 10 minutes before recording.“Their purpose is to have pro-Iranian, anti-American propaganda,” Levine concluded. He speculated that the reason he was asked to join the network was that Iranians interpreted his criticism of then-president Bush as being anti-American.