by Kenneth R. Timmerman (January 3, 2018)
U.S. government broadcasting is a powerful tool that can be used to promote freedom and bolster anti-regime protestors in Iran. After all, that’s why Congress has appropriated some $740 million per year to finance it. Promoting freedom and waging an information war on America’s enemies is in our national interest.
But led by a stable of Obama appointees, the Voice of America and the Persian language service at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (Radio Farda) are being used to support the Iranian regime and denigrate the leadership of President Trump.
While the Persian language services, after much public criticism, are now posting cellphone videos of the protests on their social media accounts, their on-air coverage has been tepid, with regular hosts “balancing” coverage of the protestors with coverage of the regime’s lies.
The VOA Central news bureau has been even worse. In a lead on-air “package” on the fourth day of protests, it regurgitated Iranian state media and statements from Iranian regime leaders, putting President Trump’s tweet of support for protestors in the 16th graph.
This was not an isolated example. The next day, VOA central news again parroted the Iranian government line and slammed President Trump:
Rouhani Rejects Trump’s Support for Iranian Protesters
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says U.S. President Donald Trump has no right to express sympathy for the Iranian people after referring to them as terrorists. Trump has praised protesters in Iran for rallying against the government’s economic policy…
As noted by former VOA broadcaster Ted Lipien, who runs the independent BBGWatch, the message was devastating: “Voice of America to Iranians: Government wants you to behave.”
We are in the midst of an anti-regime uprising all across Iran, and U.S. government broadcasting is essentially supporting the dictators, not the people. It’s an absolute disgrace.
VOA Director Amanda Bennett, who is married to the former owner of the Washington Post, clearly lives in a bubble, filled with the voices of Ben Rhodes, John Kerry, and Susan Rice, who have urged the Trump administration to keep quiet, just as Obama did the last time the Iranian people took to the streets en masse.
In a self-congratulatory Facebook post, Ms. Bennett (aka Mrs. Don Graham) said that VOA had launched a “live blog (on New Year’s Eve!) and filled it with original reporting from Iran… Considering that this all happened on a major holiday when we were working with a skeleton staff, I think we’re doing pretty good.”
That was the third day of the protests, which had spread to more than 40 cities. Up until then, there was very little on VOA.
As for all that “original reporting,” you can judge for yourself. Here is a sample of the type of “balanced” reporting that makes Voice of America meaningless:
12/31/17 5:45 p.m. — Iranian callers to the Sunday edition of VOA Persian’s Straight Talk program disagreed about whether foreign intervention in the protests is desirable:
A caller named Farhad from Tehran said, “Right now, we are on the streets for a revolution. (President) Trump — you pledged to help us — please do so.”
But the next caller, named Siamak and also from Tehran, said Farhad was mistaken. “We should take care of our own business,” he said.
There can be no equivalence between supporters of freedom, and the representatives of a repressive regime. When the battle is between tyranny and freedom, America must take sides.
And yet, for the confused souls running VOA’s news coverage of the Iran protests, a tweet or a statement from President Trump must be “balanced” by driven from Ayatollah Khamenei or his puppet, President Rouhani.
Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, now the U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations, understands where America stands. She became (once again) a Trump administration rock star on Tuesday, when she gave a knock-out performance at the United Nations to support the struggle for freedom now underway in Iran.
U.S. government broadcasting is a powerful tool that can be used to promote freedom and bolster anti-regime protestors in Iran. After all, that’s why Congress has appropriated some $740 million per year to finance it. Promoting freedom and waging an information war on America’s enemies is in our national interest.
But led by a stable of Obama appointees, the Voice of America and the Persian language service at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (Radio Farda) are being used to support the Iranian regime and denigrate the leadership of President Trump.
While the Persian language services, after much public criticism, are now posting cellphone videos of the protests on their social media accounts, their on-air coverage has been tepid, with regular hosts “balancing” coverage of the protestors with coverage of the regime’s lies.
The VOA Central news bureau has been even worse. In a lead on-air “package” on the fourth day of protests, it regurgitated Iranian state media and statements from Iranian regime leaders, putting President Trump’s tweet of support for protestors in the 16th graph.
This was not an isolated example. The next day, VOA central news again parroted the Iranian government line and slammed President Trump:
Rouhani Rejects Trump’s Support for Iranian Protesters
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says U.S. President Donald Trump has no right to express sympathy for the Iranian people after referring to them as terrorists. Trump has praised protesters in Iran for rallying against the government’s economic policy…
As noted by former VOA broadcaster Ted Lipien, who runs the independent BBGWatch, the message was devastating: “Voice of America to Iranians: Government wants you to behave.”
We are in the midst of an anti-regime uprising all across Iran, and U.S. government broadcasting is essentially supporting the dictators, not the people. It’s an absolute disgrace.
VOA Director Amanda Bennett, who is married to the former owner of the Washington Post, clearly lives in a bubble, filled with the voices of Ben Rhodes, John Kerry, and Susan Rice, who have urged the Trump administration to keep quiet, just as Obama did the last time the Iranian people took to the streets en masse.
In a self-congratulatory Facebook post, Ms. Bennett (aka Mrs. Don Graham) said that VOA had launched a “live blog (on New Year’s Eve!) and filled it with original reporting from Iran… Considering that this all happened on a major holiday when we were working with a skeleton staff, I think we’re doing pretty good.”
That was the third day of the protests, which had spread to more than 40 cities. Up until then, there was very little on VOA.
As for all that “original reporting,” you can judge for yourself. Here is a sample of the type of “balanced” reporting that makes Voice of America meaningless:
12/31/17 5:45 p.m. — Iranian callers to the Sunday edition of VOA Persian’s Straight Talk program disagreed about whether foreign intervention in the protests is desirable:
A caller named Farhad from Tehran said, “Right now, we are on the streets for a revolution. (President) Trump — you pledged to help us — please do so.”
But the next caller, named Siamak and also from Tehran, said Farhad was mistaken. “We should take care of our own business,” he said.
There can be no equivalence between supporters of freedom, and the representatives of a repressive regime. When the battle is between tyranny and freedom, America must take sides.
And yet, for the confused souls running VOA’s news coverage of the Iran protests, a tweet or a statement from President Trump must be “balanced” by driven from Ayatollah Khamenei or his puppet, President Rouhani.
Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, now the U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations, understands where America stands. She became (once again) a Trump administration rock star on Tuesday, when she gave a knock-out performance at the United Nations to support the struggle for freedom now underway in Iran.
First published in Frontpage.