Washington, D.C., November 25, 2009 – A Voice of America (VOA) story about the humorous experiences of two staffers from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart in Iran is enjoying huge online success, with the producer saying it gives viewers a different view of the country.
As described in a VOA story, "The Daily Show Goes to Iran," has been viewed more than 100,000 times across multiple sites, including Vimeo and YouTube, in English and Persian. The Daily Show is a satirical television program that airs on Comedy Central.
Sahar Sarshar, a producer for VOA's Persian News Network (PNN), said she's received comments "from all over the world" about her story in which The Daily Show staffers talk about their trip and the similarities they found between Iranians and Americans.
"Iranians and Iranian-Americans have been particularly pleased, and tell me they have heard many positive comments about it from their friends and family inside Iran," Sarshar said.
"A lot of people have commented on how refreshing it is to see something positive about the people of Iran, versus what can so frequently be seen in the news," she said. "That surprised – and pleased – me the most."
"Truly, some of the most accommodating people I’ve ever met in my life," said The Daily Show's Jason Jones of the Iranians he worked with. Added his colleague Tim Greenberg, "They remain in our minds, and I think the minds of the whole world. They are not forgotten, and we all hope things work out."
VOA's Persian News Network has the largest combined radio and television audience of all international broadcasters in Iran, with one in four adult Iranians tuning in to a VOA program at least once a week. VOA's PNN produces six hours of original news and information television programming daily, repeated in a 24-hour format, along with five hours of radio broadcasts. Programs are available on demand at www.VOAPNN.com.
The Voice of America, which first went on the air in 1942, 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 more than 125 million people. Programs are produced in 45 languages and are intended exclusively for audiences outside of the United States.
For more information, call VOA Public Relations at (202) 203-4959, or e-mail askvoa@voanews.com.
"Different view of the country" enjoying huge online success
