The regime in Iran itself is often responsible for the image that gets presented in the west. They control the image that is sent out.

Plus it is very difficult to cross-check what bloggers say when the whole reason that bloggers can say what they do is anonymity.

And of course I know that tv news is entertainment and has an agenda… But don’t forget that the regime here has an agenda too.

Which, of course, does not excuse the western media (particularly tv).

Jina, when a government limits access to people and resources that can provide alternate stories or even truer stories, they pay the consequences.

Those consequences are that there ARE alternative voices willing to speak and provide information.

I don’t get my information from the IR, I get them from these alternative sources also. Oddly enough, the alternative sources the mainstream media use, for most part, turns out to be lies or gross exaggeration of a truth, while the information I get seem to make sense. No, I don’t get my information from pro-mullah bloggers. Most are pro-democracy, pro-liberalization, pro-secular bloggers.

The truth is, mainstream media has an agenda. In America, it’s aligning themselves with the government to appear all patriotic. Little research regarding a topic they report on google will reveal all the bullshit they are spouting. If the media wants to get information about Iran, they can easily get it. Just read few bloggers from Iran. Make the bloggers and cross reference the story and confirm the authenticity like how ANY journalist should do before airing it. Also get a few translators to translate the material and they won’t make the blunder. Like how CNN got banned form Iran for a while when they reported Ahmadinejad ‘s speech regarding Iran nuclear program’s intentions. Or how they mistranslated the Israel being whipped off of the earth speech.

People on ths part of the world are just stupid. You just need to give hints and they will put together crap based on their already racist views.

This is a side effect of limiting press freedoms and freedom of speech,

I live in Iran and think that the print media is actually kind of fair to Iran.

And I live in Canada and most people don’t read news, they watch it on TV. TV tells me that Iranians are blood thirsty Islamic fundamentalists who wants to blow up us up. It says that they will give their nukes when they get it to Usama and the gang. TV told me similar things before Iraq war about Iraq. People in the American bought it, so did many in Canada. Americans and Canadians are ones again buying the crap the media is telling them about Iran.

When I point out the mistakes the media made, they call me an Islamic fundamentalists… you know… being brown and correcting them equates to me being a Muslim fundamentalist in their views. I wonder where they got that from.

They do not speak openly or honestly with the press. They restrict their access and movements.

Just because the government limits their access doesn’t mean they have to make up stories.

They do not speak openly or honestly with the press. They restrict their access and movements. So what lies are you talking about exactly?

So far almost all the crap that I see on the media about Iran are false and there is absolutely no evidence to back up any of their claims.

Soon people will completely ignore anything, even if it’s the truth that is being reported by the media…

A poll was conducted in Canada to see who the people trust the most, journalists are in a near tie with lawyers. You know journalism is fucked when you are competing with lawyers. Similer polls in the developing countries put journalists on the top.