WASHINGTON, D.C. —
Voice of America is covering Iran’s June 14th Presidential election with a live television special that includes interviews with members of the U.S. Congress, reaction from voters, and segments from polling stations in London, Paris, New York and Los Angeles.
VOA Persian programs, which reach an estimated one in five Iranians every week, have focused extensively on the run-up to Friday’s vote. The programs have included interviews with leading experts, profiles of all the candidates, and reports on opposition groups boycotting the vote.
“Despite Iranian efforts to block them, these programs are reaching our audience with balanced and comprehensive news that viewers can’t get on domestic television," VOA Director David Ensor said. "They also offer Iranians at home and around the world a place where they can discuss and comment on the issues that matter most to them."
The audience participation program Straight Talk featured a Skype interview with former Iranian President Abolhassan Bani Sadr, who took questions – some directly from Iran. VOA’s in-depth candidate profiles have been airing on VOA Persian programs, which are also sharing photos from the campaign sent in by citizen journalists inside Iran.
Following the vote on Friday, VOA will broadcast a second live TV special on Saturday to discuss the results and the impact of the vote.
The VOA election-coverage website has been providing the Iranian audience with news about the vote and offering daily one-minute video wrap-ups. VOA journalists are also using Twitter and Facebook to keep audiences up-to-date on developments throughout the election, and the VOA Persian website is consolidating and curating information from Iranian media in Tehran and the provinces.
A special file-sharing dropbox has been set up in YouSendIt for Iranians to share video, photos and voice messages with any VOA Persian Service program. The program offers a direct line of communication between viewers in Iran and the special programming.
Voice of America is one of the leading international broadcasters in Iran. The most recent audience survey found 21% of adult Iranians watch a VOA television program at least once a week.
For more information about this release contact Kyle King at the VOA Public Relations office in Washington at (202) 203-4959, or write kking@voanews.com. Additional information can be found at the VOA Public Relations website www.insidevoa.com, or the main news site www.voanews.com.
(This release published originally on www.insidevoa.com)
VOA Persian programs, which reach an estimated one in five Iranians every week, have focused extensively on the run-up to Friday’s vote. The programs have included interviews with leading experts, profiles of all the candidates, and reports on opposition groups boycotting the vote.
“Despite Iranian efforts to block them, these programs are reaching our audience with balanced and comprehensive news that viewers can’t get on domestic television," VOA Director David Ensor said. "They also offer Iranians at home and around the world a place where they can discuss and comment on the issues that matter most to them."
The audience participation program Straight Talk featured a Skype interview with former Iranian President Abolhassan Bani Sadr, who took questions – some directly from Iran. VOA’s in-depth candidate profiles have been airing on VOA Persian programs, which are also sharing photos from the campaign sent in by citizen journalists inside Iran.
Following the vote on Friday, VOA will broadcast a second live TV special on Saturday to discuss the results and the impact of the vote.
The VOA election-coverage website has been providing the Iranian audience with news about the vote and offering daily one-minute video wrap-ups. VOA journalists are also using Twitter and Facebook to keep audiences up-to-date on developments throughout the election, and the VOA Persian website is consolidating and curating information from Iranian media in Tehran and the provinces.
A special file-sharing dropbox has been set up in YouSendIt for Iranians to share video, photos and voice messages with any VOA Persian Service program. The program offers a direct line of communication between viewers in Iran and the special programming.
Voice of America is one of the leading international broadcasters in Iran. The most recent audience survey found 21% of adult Iranians watch a VOA television program at least once a week.
For more information about this release contact Kyle King at the VOA Public Relations office in Washington at (202) 203-4959, or write kking@voanews.com. Additional information can be found at the VOA Public Relations website www.insidevoa.com, or the main news site www.voanews.com.
(This release published originally on www.insidevoa.com)
