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Middle East Review of International Affairs
The Arrival of Radio Farda: International Broadcasting to Iran at a Crossroads
by Hansjoerg Biener
*
Abstract
On December 19, 2002, Radio Farda, the new U.S. external service in Persian, officially started regular broadcasts on shortwave, mediumwave and satellite. With the reformatting of existing services into a 24-hour news and entertainment channel, external broadcasting to Iran has recently received more attention. Iran, however, has always been the target area of various international broadcasting services.(1)
In its first worldwide press-freedom index published on October 23, 2002, Reporters Without Borders ranked Iran 122nd among 139 countries surveyed.(2) So, the need for independent reporting seems obvious, while some question the need for embedding news and information in a music and entertainment format. This article examines the question in the broader context of international broadcasting to Iran, including clandestine and even religious stations.
Full PDF Document, 10 pages, 64 kb
Endnotes
Note *: Having studied theology, philosophy and sociology, Dr. Hansjoerg Biener, served in several positions at the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Bavaria (1987-2000) and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (2000-). Dr. Biener has published in several fields including international broadcasting since 1981. In 1991, he earned his doctorate writing on “International Christian Broadcasting.” Recent publications in English include “Radio Broadcasting and [former Soviet] Central Asia,” in Central Asia Monitor, volume 10, number 1 (Institute for Democratic Development, Vermont: 2001) pp. 17 - 23, and “Radio for Peace, Democracy and Human Rights,” in Johannes Laehnemann (ed.), A Soul for Education, (Nuremberg: Athmann, 2002). Back