Head of Iran’s Press TV Says It Has “Given a Voice” to Hezbollah, Iraq’s Sadr

Text of report in English by Iranian news channel Press TV website on 2 July

The following is an interview with vice-president of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) in World Service Mohammad Sarafraz on the occasion of the Press TV’s first anniversary.

Q. When was the need for setting up a TV channel like Press TV first felt?

A. The idea of setting up an Iran-based English-language news channel had been circulating for years. However, when the US took up a military presence in the Middle East the need for such a channel was felt even more. Therefore, necessary preparations were made and Press TV was launched this time last year.

Press TV was born out of the need for an outlet that could reflect our true outlook toward regional issues when covering news, political developments and expert opinions on events that take place in neighboring countries like Afghanistan and Iraq as well as those matters related to Middle Eastern states like Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria, countries where Iran has an active role.

Now after a year of broadcasting, it can even be said that Press TV should have been launched much earlier.

Q. Do you think that Press TV will be able to fill the void that was felt before its launch?

A. Well, English-language media can be categorized into two groups, those that produce news content and those that use other sources.

Britain and the US almost hold a complete monopoly on productive news media. Reuters and AP are two organizations that gather visual content for media and distribute it among thousands of news channels worldwide.

News channels need visual content and currently AP and Reuters are their main source. Other news agencies that have emerged have been either unsuccessful or unable to reach their full potential.

When it comes to networks that only broadcast news, American and British networks are once against stronger than the rest.

However, recently we have witnessed the emergence of new English- language news networks in the Middle East, such as Al-Jazeera English. Other countries that want to have a voice like Russia, France, and other European states, have also launched English- language news channels

We still felt that there was a need to set up an Iran-based English-language news network because British and American sources were almost the sole news producers and all the broadcasters that televised news on the Middle East and Iran had to rely on them for their information.

Press TV has tried to open a new window for the English-speaking viewers, particularly American and European audiences and to deliver the news from a new perspective, and to some extent, it has been successful.

Previously, most of the news on Iran and particularly the views of the leader of the Islamic Revolution (Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamene’i), who is the highest decision-making authority in the country were censored.

Press TV has now made possible for viewers to receive this kind of news.

The same is true about the developments in the Arab world. For example, Hezbollah is a very influential Lebanese group. According to various polls, the secretary-general of Hezbollah, Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, is also one of the most popular figures in the Middle East.

Despite all this, media outlets did not televise his speeches or censored most of it. However, Press TV has conducted live broadcasts of all his speeches along with simultaneous translation and given a voice to Hezbollah.

The same goes for Iraq. No-one gives any coverage to the Sadr movement, which believes in resistance against occupation. However, Press TV has been able to provide this kind of coverage.

We believe that Press TV has opened a new window for viewers who are thirsty for news which incorporates diverse views and perspectives.

Originally published by Press TV website, Tehran, in English 2 Jul 08.

(c) 2008 BBC Monitoring Media. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.