The Press TV Pantomime

Seth Freedman has written a great piece for Comment is Free. In it he demolishes any lingering shreds of an argument that Press TV could be described as anything other than a propaganda mouthpiece for the Iranian state. In the line of fire is anybody who continues to defend that sorry shoddy station.

When Press TV was launched two years ago, Yvonne Ridley, one of the station’s presenters, was effusive in her praise of her paymasters: “I see it as an antidote to Fox TV that will give a different perspective to the coverage that you get from the mainstream media. It’s not shock TV, tabloid TV or propaganda promoting reactionaryism.”

While Press TV is clearly light years away from Fox in political terms, the channels could be described as simply two sides of the same coin when it comes to the way they manipulate their viewers. Ridley’s line of defence, that Press TV is neither a propaganda machine nor a proponent of shock or tabloid broadcasting, hasn’t really held up since the station’s launch – all the more so in the wake of its coverage of the Iranian elections.

He also destroys Press TV’s credibility argument by argument.

Of course, there are those defenders of Press TV who believe that only those free from sin ought to cast the first stone – including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who claims there is “scarcely … a media that does its duty correctly”, and that “our media should be a standard bearer of peace and stability”, as well as a counterweight to the “propaganda” of western news outlets.

I’ve seen for myself the major discrepancies between reporting on western stations and some of their counterparts in the Middle East. While I don’t have a problem with the markedly different terminology employed by, for example, al-Aqsa TV and the BBC, it is the underlying editorial line that can make a channel unpalatable and untrusted by viewers.

And

Press TV surrounds itself with controversial presenters and guests, to the discredit of both the individuals and the station as a whole. George Galloway’s pathetic performance against Dispatches’ David Henshaw was laughable in itself, but more disturbingly characterised Press TV’s worrying trait of obfuscation surrounding Muslims accused of wrongdoing, a habit its presenters can team with shifting blame on to Israel and supporters of Zionism.

Freedman also discusses his own experiences of appearing on Press TV.

I have had several dealings with Press TV, agreeing to be interviewed by various reporters in the belief that dialogue with interlocutors of any persuasion could only be a positive move: that as long as I was not coerced or censored in what I said, my input could prove useful to those watching the channel or reading the site. However, when I appeared on Lauren Booth’s weekly show, the blinkers came off and I realised quite how counterproductive playing any part in the Press TV pantomime actually was.

I had written an op-ed piece for the Jewish Chronicle, and Booth relayed her admiration of my article by telling me she was “surprised to read something that was true” in the Jewish Chronicle. The implication was clear: the Jewish Chronicle is full of lies.

She then proceeded to ask me, along with two other panellists, about our opinions on the viral email comparing photos of children in Gaza to Nazi-era photos of children in the Warsaw Ghetto. While we three guests roundly condemned the employment of such disingenuous analogies, she stuck to her guns, defending the email author’s right to draw such parallels – again, leaving the viewer in no doubt that to compare the situation in Gaza to the Holocaust is a perfectly acceptable way to view events in Israel and the occupied territories.

And his conclusion should be read by anybody vaguely considering having dealings with Press TV.

Booth is as entitled to her views as I am to mine. But for Press TV to claim impartiality and independence on one hand, yet toe the Iranian government party line and employ biased presenters and reporters on the other, gives the lie to any of their supporters’ statements that they are in any way reputable or to be taken seriously.

For all that there are clearly occasions when unacceptable bias pervades western media outlets and news organisations, such occurrences pale in comparison to the unabashed partisanship pumped out by Press TV round the clock. It can only be hoped that the actions of Kamm, Ferrari and others will be emulated by the station’s army of viewers around the world.

Amen.