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Parazit: VOA Satire for Iran Gets TV Award


Parazit co-creators Kambiz Hosseini and Saman Arbabi on the set of their program.
Parazit co-creators Kambiz Hosseini and Saman Arbabi on the set of their program.
The hit VOA Persian language television program that has delighted Iranians around the world with its irreverent humor, won a Bronze Medal Tuesday night at the New York Festival’s Best Television and Films award show in Las Vegas.
Jon Stewart meets Saman and Kambiz
Jon Stewart meets Saman and Kambiz

Parazit, which has often been compared to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, was honored in the comedy/satire category.

“This show has captured the hearts of our Iranian audience with its honesty, integrity, and humor,” says VOA Director David Ensor. “The fact that Iran’s government goes to enormous expense and trouble to try to jam the program is a testament to its effectiveness. Seeing it honored in a category that included one of the leading comedy shows on US television is just amazing.”

The New York Festivals® International Television & Film Awards represents “The World’s Best Television and Films” and honors programming in all lengths and forms from over 40 countries.

Parazit, which was co-created by host Kambiz Hosseini and executive producer Saman Arbabi, has built a loyal following with its satirical take on Iranian government policies. The show has been profiled by the Washington Post, CNN, Fox News, PBS and a host of international media outlets. During a 2011 guest appearance on The Daily Show, Jon Stewart told the Parazit co-creators, “You’re like our show, but with real guts.”

Kambiz Hosseini and Saman Arbabi
Kambiz Hosseini and Saman Arbabi

The title of the show, Parazit, means static in Persian, a barb aimed at Iranian government efforts to jam satellite broadcasts of the VOA program, which has countered the censorship with a robust social media presence. More than 850,000 Facebook users “like” the Parazit page which serves as a download portal for its media savvy audience. The show, which is currently on season break, is also available on YouTube and the VOA Persian website.

For more information about this release contact Kyle B. King at the VOA Public Relations office in Washington at kking@voanews.com. Visit our main English language website at www.voanews.com for more information about all of our programs.

The Voice of America is a multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. Government through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. VOA broadcasts approximately 1,500 hours of news, information, educational, and cultural programming every week to an estimated worldwide audience of about 141 million people. Programs are produced in 43 languages and are intended exclusively for audiences outside of the United States.

For more information, call VOA Public Relations at (202) 203-4959. Follow us on Twitter @VOABuzz and Facebook at InsideVOA.

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