British journalists who work for Ahmadinejad's mouthpiece

Following Nick Ferrari's resignation from Press TV, what do the other British journalists who work for the Iranian government think?

FIRST POSTED JULY 1, 2009

If you worked for the Iranian government, how would you feel about their violent response to the demonstrators who took to the streets of Tehran to protest against the disputed election?

That's the dilemma facing the presenters of Press TV, the curious 24-hour English-language television news channel which is based in an unprepossessing suburb of northwest London, and funded by the Iranian government.

The question has been raised because Nick Ferrari, a popular radio presenter with LBC, styled by his London breakfast show as 'the man that politicians fear', has resigned from his job there.

Press TV said Neda Soltani’s death had been ‘hyped by Western media outlets’

As one might expect, Press TV had refrained from extensively reporting the doubts over the veracity of the election results, or criticising the crackdown. Their latest piece on Neda Soltani's death said that it had been "hyped and dramatised by Western media outlets" and argued that, as she was killed by a pistol with a smaller calibre than that used by the Iranian security forces, it couldn't have been them who killed her.

Their stance is unquestioningly pro-Ahmadinejad; a report today on their website noted that "Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has congratulated President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on his victory in Iran's presidential election".

So Ferrari, who was once courted by David Cameron as a potential Mayor of London candidate, has said he thought that Press TV staff were operating on orders from above, "I imagine they've been told what to do," he said, "and I can't reconcile that with working there." Until the election, Ferrari conceded, the station's coverage had been "reasonably fair".

Ferrari's decision to quit puts Press TV's other presenters on the spot. And they are a peculiarly mixed bunch, which has included both Tories such as Derek Conway and members of the ultra-left.

Ferrari's exit is unlikely to leave George Galloway agonizing over his principles. Galloway, who hosts a show called The Real Deal, has spoken out strongly against British media bias against the Iranian government in the violent aftermath of Ahmadinejad's victory over Mir-Hossein Mousavi.

His target was the BBC, or as he calls it, "the Bush and Blair Corporation". Galloway, the leader of the

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I think money talks and neither Gorgeous 'Meow' Galloway nor money grubbing journalists at Press TV have morality in their career profile - power, publicity and money drive these people. But don't forget the German Technical Company selling the jamming and eavesdropping technology to Iran said it was the same as selling to the US - Business has no morals either. Luckily for us all Israel will take the threats to world peace posed by Iran seriously - soon there will be whirlwind in Iran.

Posted by Philip Gosling at 11:45am on July 2, 2009

Press TV said Neda Soltani's death had been hyped by Western media outlets. IS THAT NOT TRUE?

Posted by famulla at 1:00pm on July 2, 2009

If a teenager protesting for democracy in London had been shot dead by a plainclothes policeman then the story would be all over the media and many embarrassing questions would be asked of the police commissioners and the Home Secretary. What's happening about Neda Soltani's violent death in Iran? If George Galloway and Yvonne Ridley want to do some good for the Middle East, I suggest that they move there to do thier work and stop bad-mouthing the UK. We may not have a perfect society here but it's preferable to the corrupt and repressive regime in Iran.

Posted by Mark Hale at 8:00pm on July 2, 2009

"It's preferable to live in the UK than Iran" quote by Mark Hale shows how low we have sunk in the UK to defend our country and its repressive lifestyle. We live in a dystopian UK and nobody has the cojones to do anything about it! Shame on UK citizens and the highest praise to Iranian citizens in protesting in the most dangerous of circumstances. What will become of the UK in the next ten years it too terrible to contemplate!

Posted by rogeruk at 1:32am on July 5, 2009

"You cannot be serious!" Is there any reason whatsoever to imagine that those who work for Press TV are in any way betraying their ideals or principles? After watching the 'client media' in the UK and the US during the current economic and political crisis, the idea of an independent and free press is laughable!

Posted by Manny Goldstein at 4:53pm on July 5, 2009

I agree with the comment with Manny Goldstein. Any one who works for media outlets like the BBC and CNN is to some extent guilty of helping spread the lies that led to the Iraq war. The same could be said of the British journalists working for Press TV - they are part of a campaign that amalgamates information with disinformation. It is debatable if one side is any worse....or better than the other.

Posted by SAS at 4:14am on July 13, 2009

SAS, how come you didn't mention Fox? Bit partial aren't you? The BBC has spread no 'lies that led to the Iraq war' you may recall, if you were born then, that Andrew Gilligan worked for the BBC when he pissed the British Government off about sexing up phoney dossiers, and the BBC came in for a lot of stick as a result. Why not read your brainwashing soup from Fox like a good neocon and don't stick your nose into British affairs you know nothing about. Manny Goldstein, The BBC was villified for reporting the truth of what Israel was up to in Lebanon and Gaza, in what way does that make them 'client media' whatever that means?

Posted by Peter Simmons at 11:01am on August 20, 2009