BBC Faramework and Iran News

BBC Framework in General:

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is an independent news corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is one of the world's largest broadcast news organizations and generates hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online news coverage. The website contains international news coverage, as well as British, entertainment, science, and political news. Many reports are accompanied by audio and video from the BBC's television and radio news services, while the latest TV and radio bulletins are also available to view or listen to on the site together with other current programs.
The service maintains 44 foreign news bureaus and has correspondents in almost every country. Within the BBC construction, the term “correspondent” is referred to a journalist or commentator in an area of specialty who contributes reports to this news agency to be appeared on radio, television news or BBC News Online or it refers to another type of company, a foreign correspondent , from a remote, often distant, location stationed in a foreign country.
Depending on unfavorable situations to the ruling governments, BBC news reporters and broadcasts are now or have been banned in several countries; and, Iran isn’t an exception of this category. Even though BBC news online and BBC television are currently banned from broadcasting in Iran, BBC still has a correspondent in Tehran who observes and monitors news stories.

Source of News:

The BBC is required by its royal charter to be free from both political and commercial influence and to report news stories impartially; and, the BBC's Editorial Guidelines on Politics and Public Policy state that while "the voices and opinions of opposition parties must be routinely aired and challenged", "the government of the day will often be the primary source of news" (from "Editorial Guidelines Extracts", BBC)

It is also said that “BBC Monitoring”, with an increasing number of international offices in Europe, Russia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and Africa, provides open source news and information to a range of clients, including in government, academia and the media, based on its continuous (round the clock) monitoring of TV, radio, press, internet and news agency sources worldwide and then translates the reports into English from more than 100 languages. This service believes that it focuses on “the words as spoken" - accurate and impartial translations of what happened, plus understanding how the media reported an event.

Having the above brief framework of BBC in mind and a general consideration of those news stories from Iran related to presidential election of 2013 covered by BBC News Online showed that BBC News Online doesn’t usually mention from which news agency inside or outside of Iran, the stories are reported or translated. It doesn’t also cite the name of the reporters or commentators on news.
Based on this observation, the assumption of that BBC may translate all or a remarkable part of its news coverage from inside Iran’s news agencies is denied because it cannot be said clearly that if BBC publishes a specific piece of news from what its reporters’ or correspondents’ observe or if it publishes the news stories based on a translation from Farsi; and to what extent it may be a combination of both.

In continue, the same is considered on CNN and Aljazeera News coverage on Iran presidential election 2013; afterwards, the interpretation and the reflection of this specific event on these three media will be focused.  

Rapid Adoption of Emergent Norms

The global economic depression that developed following World War I challenged the intent of the League of Nations. Given the desperations, anxieties, and frustrations (especially in Europe), the potential for conflict was inevitable if examined retrospectively.  Following the conclusion of the Great War, many nations turned their focus internally and adopted an isolationist stance.  Moral and governmental reform, such Prohibition in the United States and Communism in Russia, indicated a philosophical approach designed for societal benefit.  However, these reforms were not universal within the community of nations at large.  Furthermore, this isolationist stance undermined the capabilities of international relief organizations to provide a stabilizing effect, which had an unfortunate consequence of amplifying existing angst.

The drums of war once again sounded in Europe with Germany’s aggression against her neighbors.  Soon, annexation and invasion became commonplace, but true horror manifested with genocide.  The international community was perplexed by this conduct – and this shock prevented any action beyond international condemnation.  However, once Germany was defeated in combat, the international community reevaluated its position and convicted participants and antagonists of the “Final Solution” with Crimes against Humanity.  Although crimes against humanity had been discussed before, the importance of the Nuremberg Trials has been underestimated in importance of shifting an international norm.

One might argue that the Nuremberg Trials were an extension of the surrender of Germany.  That oversimplification is possible, given the military nature of conduct as well as the nature of accusations.  However, a deeper exploration exposes the international cooperation that underwrote the legitimacy of this prosecution.  An international sense of justice (outside of armed conflict) was transitioning from concept to codification.  As further evidence of this codification, the international community proposed and endorsed the following instruments:

• The Genocide Convention of 1948; 
• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948;
• The Nuremberg Principles of 1950 (Officially qualifies War Crimes);
• The Convention on the Abolition of the Statute of Limitations on War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity in 1968; and 
• The Geneva Convention on the Laws and Customs of War first adopted in 1949 and updated with supplementary protocols in 1977.

 The rapid adoption of these protocols, resolutions, and conventions indicates two possible rationales.  First, the collective guilt of inaction during the genocide of World War II suggests that a mechanism of prevention required international agreement.  Second (and more simplistic) – that the overall tone and norm of the global population had shifted to amplified awareness and a willingness to hold each other accountable.  Granted, this instruments of accountability, as well as ways, were far from solidified – this approach demonstrates that notions of sovereignty were being challenged.  Additionally, a degree of responsibility was beginning to collectively be imposed on protecting civilians from atrocities.

IRAN DAILY, A Direct English Translation of IRAN in Farsi?

Following the research on Iranian newspapers and considering if the English IRAN DAILY is the translation of IRAN from Farsi, what comes hereafter is the result of first analysis which has been done so far:

All the pieces of news, reports and analyses about the 2013 presidential election printed on IRAN newspaper in Farsi and IRAN DAILY in English are considered and compared. The data pieces are retrieved from the archives of these two papers available online and on their website. The pieces of news and reports are all related to a specific period of time, i.e. 10 days, from 7 days before election to 3 days after that. Then, through a day-to-day comparison of headings and body of the news and the reports in both Farsi and English, the process of translation, if any, is considered.

A.      IRAN Newspaper and 2013 Presidential Election

IRAN newspaper is the Farsi newspaper published in Iran in 32 pages and covers all aspects of society including politics, social affairs, economics, culture, sport, cinema, art, etc. Each page is devoted to one of the above aspects and on each page various sections are appeared. Although the front page structure differs from one issue to another based on the amount and also the importance of news and reports, the general format of the front page is a combination of large, bold headings and small headings usually in black in addition to a part or the whole part of the body of news pieces. On most of the issues, there’s no large image related to a specific report and there are only small images appeared beside each frame, most of which are from special figures the heading or the quote is related. It seems that the headings are usually picked up from the quotes of important figures of the society. On page 2 and 3, the detailed political issues are appeared and during some days before the presidential election, a special page called “Toward the Epic” was added to the paper on page 29, in which the news, reports, analyses and opinions about the election were covered. All the pieces of news and reports related to the election were printed on the front page, page 2, 3 and 29. After the election, the page “Toward the Epic” was removed and for two days, another page called “Image Frame” was added to the paper on which the images from the election and people turnout in different sizes were put together.

IRAN newspaper is not published on Fridays as it is the weekend in Iran; therefore, on the day of the election that was on Friday, 14 June 2013, no issue was published.

Sources of Data, the Election Issues Mostly Covered and its Orientation

In analyzing ten issues of IRAN newspaper, published before and after the presidential election, it was noticed that most of news pieces or reports related to the election are derived from Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Raja News, Jahan News and in some cases from Fars News. On those pieces which were directly reported by IRAN, there was no name of the author or reporter and it was mentioned at the top of each piece, that it was produce, for example, by the paper politic group.

The analysis of ten issues generally demonstrated that IRAN newspaper has not covered the subject of the election very hot and in detailed. On the issues before the election, most of the news and reports concentrated on encouraging and advising people to participate in polls, mostly from the outstanding figures of the government and religious leaders; that is completely usual and it is considered as a method of unity in the society between the government and people in the life of Islamic republic. Although IRAN newspaper had tried to cover the election process, the debates, the campaigns, the candidates’ plans and objectives in an all-aspect real neutral way, it seemed that in most of news pieces, it was affected by the current government. It had referred to most of the candidates criticisms against the current government as being unfair and not appreciated. The number of news related to the reformist was much less than those related to conservatives and fundamentalist, and it could be seen that those issues related to the reformist candidates were not only highlighted but also were printed on the bottom corners of the pages.

On the issues after the election, although the election itself was considered as a unique event among Iranians and also outside the borders of Iran, IRAN newspaper had not reflected so much surprising happiness about the result of the election and the victory of reformists through headings, news bodies and even images. The major news sections were circled around praising people who participated in polls and created the political epic and some congratulation messages from government figures and religious leaders.
 

B.      IRAN DAILY Newspaper and 2013 Presidential Election

IRAN DAILY is the English newspaper published in Iran mostly for foreign speakers. It is in 12 pages and covers all the aspect of society in the areas of politics, culture, art, economics, and science in two parts of domestic news and foreign news. It is much more colorful than IRAN in Farsi. IRAN DAILY general structure seems more systematic than IRAN in Farsi and in all the issues considered for this study, the structural frame was the same. On Front page, the headings related to the most important issues and in some cases a part of the news are also appeared, the important headings are larger than the others and the images related to highlighted news are printed in large size too. The important headings related to the presidential election were printed on the front page and the whole details had come on page 2 and 3 under the National section.

Sources of Data, the Election Issues Mostly Covered and its Orientation

After studying all the sections reported by IRAN DAILY in English on ten issues related to before and after election, it was obvious that the major source of news was Press TV which is an English media inside Iran. There were also some citations from IRNA, ISNA and Fars news within the body of the news. On most news sections, the name of author, reporter or translator was not mentioned. It seemed that there were no clues of translation process except for the specific quotes from people. All the news parts were in a clear and systematic way which was easy to find what is looked for.

On the issues before the election, the election and all the noticeable events related to that including the candidates’ plans, debates, campaigns, etc were covered in a neutral opinion and without any orientation to any political party. The headlines were usually bold and large and highlighted the most important part; and, beside the important sections, an attractive image was attached. There was also a column on left hand of page 2, on which the most important plans, objectives and/or quotes from candidates were highlighted and this section devoted at least one part to each candidate. The order of presenting news from each candidate was from top to down and the order based on the candidates’ names fairly varied in each issue.

On the issues after the election also, the results of the election, the percentages of votes from the highest to the lowest, the images of the candidates with a large heading stated the victory of Rouhani as the president of Iran in the first pace were reflected. They also contained numerous congratulation messages to the future president and special thanks to Iranian people who created the year political epic.

C.      Is IRAN DAILY a Direct English Translation of IRAN in Farsi?

Reading through all the news sections related to the presidential election and a one-to-one comparison of headings and bodies of news pieces in IRAN with the English version on IRAN DAILY, shows that English pieces of news in IRAN DAILY are not a translation from the Farsi version of IRAN and each piece of news is derived from a report by a reporter or from English news agencies like press TV. Through comparing both English and Persian issues on the same day, it was cleared not only the headings are not the same, but also each of these newspapers took different topics into account and had different reflections on each topic.

Although the English version was shorter in length, it covered more issues in the format of news and not political opinions.

The Change of Global Perception

- The Shift in International Norms -

The conclusion of World War I did not decrease the humanitarian philanthropy outcry.  Although the battlefields of France drew silent, the toll of war continued to affect the population of Europe during the interwar period.  Depression, hyperinflation, and extreme economic woes – coupled with governments that were unable to meet the needs of their citizens - cemented the welcomed benefit associated with humanitarian associated interventions.  This need was highlighted by two important events, which embedded the importance of international organizations:  The formal recognition of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the establishment of the “League of Nations”.

Having had practical application in the battlefields of World War I, the International Red Cross continued aid in the relief of suffering experienced after the war.  The philanthropy exhibited on the battlefield was welcomed by those in need and encouraged openly by governments, such as France and Germany.  From these experiences, acceptance of third party assistance began to infiltrate international political discourse and set the conditions for the emergence of a new international norm.

  The establishment of the League of Nations was an attempt to construct a forum for “international conversation” that would foster an atmosphere of everlasting peace.  Unfortunately, history demonstrates that this first attempt at an international forum of resolution conflict could not meet its goals – the League of Nations ultimately folded as nations' began to mobilize for a new war.  Despite dissolution, this efforts initial adoption indicates that the concept of individual national sovereignty was being redefined and that interpretations of accountability within the community of nations was shifting.

It is important to highlight that the interwar period was not absent of military intervention.  In particular, the United States was involved significantly within Latin America and the Caribbean during the so-called “Banana Wars”.  While the deployment of military forces engaged in latent nation building, their true purpose was to safeguard United States’ economic interests and corporations.  These business-focused interventions were mired with intergovernmental interaction, corporate interests, and unfair economic practices.  Due to this, the worldwide perception of the rationale of intervention was becoming openly challenged – which also signified a changing dynamic of global norms.

These events may seem insignificant within a historical narrative; they appear isolated and without relation.  However, they are indeed deeply intertwined and indicative of shifting beliefs, privilege, and responsibilities.  The League of Nations was first tested by Germany’s aggression and military expansion in the late 1930’s.  While the global community wrestled with diplomatic solutions, the inability to arrive at consensus was stymied by the accepted boundaries of sovereignty. When the global war machine began to march – this lesson was not forgotten and was incorporated into future discussions regarding responsibilities to protect countries and the citizens within.

Iran Presidential Election in 2013: Electoral System, Candidates and the Results

Iran Presidential Election in 2013: Electoral System, Candidates and the Results

Electoral System

         The President of Iran is the country's highest official person directly elected by Iranian citizens. He is the chief of the executive branch, and the second most important position after the Supreme Leader. Duties are similar to heads of governments in other countries, except that the armed forces, Chief judiciary system and state television  are under the control of the Supreme Leader of Iran.
         Any Iranian citizen born in Iran, believing in God and the Islam religion and who has always been loyal to the Iran Constitution may register as a presidential candidate. An institution called the Election Monitoring Agency (EMA) and managed by the Guardian Council vets registered candidates and selects a handful to run in the election. The Guardian Council does not announce publicly the reason for rejections of particular candidates although those reasons are explained to each candidate. Registered candidates qualifications are then reviewed by the Guardian Council and after the final approvement, they are placed on the ballot.

          In addition to expressing their future presidential goals and objectives on fliers, posters and banners for the purpose of propogation, each of the final approved candidates has the right to use National TV and Radio (IRIB) for their presidential election campaigns in a specific period of time before election. In total, each candidate will use 405 minutes on Public TV and 285 minutes on Public Radio. This time comprises the candidates' own campaign programs as well as participation in the specific discussion shows. In addition, there are three main live group debates on TV. The debates are held in three chapters between candidates.
         There are also opinion polls in three main groups of field polls, telephone polls and online polls which begin after the announcement of candidate’s final list. IPOS which is one of the Iranian Election Tracking Polls and it is said that it is the only official one runs a daily poll system for the election. This poll is based on the daily phone interviews with a sample size of around 1000 people per day.
         24 hours prior to the election day, the candidates are not authorized to have any propagation on their campaigns and on the day of election, the polls begins in numerous centers all over the country and various countries for Iranian citizens living outside the boundaries of Iran. Meanwhile, an electoral commission, consists of eleven persons including three legal, seven experts and one from the parliament, supervises polling and the process of counting the votes after the election. The electoral commission will announce the results after the Ministry of Interior confirmation.


Iranian Presidential Election in 2013, the Candidates and the results

         The eleventh presidential election was held in Iran on 14 June 2013. Among all 680 registered candidates, the Guardian Council approved eight ones to run in the election. They were as the followings:

-          Hassan Rouhani (from Combatant Clergy Association, Moderate Reformist)

-          Mohamad Reza Aref (Reformist – withdrew his candidacy and endorsed Hassan Rouhani)

-          Mohsen Rezaee (from Moderation and Development Party, Conservative)

-          Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (from Islamic Society of Engineers, Fundamentalist)

-          Saeed Jalili (from Front of Islamic Revolution Stability, Fundamentalist)

-          Ali Akbar Velayati (from Islamic Coalition Party, Fundamentalist)

-          Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel (Fundamentalist – withdrew his candidacy)

-          Mohammad Gharazi (Independent)

         Among all the above mentioned candidates, Hassan Rouhani was the victorious and elected in the first round of voting with 50.88% of the votes. Mohamad Bagher Ghalibaf was the next candidate after him who achieved the majority of votes with 16.46% of the total votes.

                           Results of the election: the candidate with the plurality of votes in each districts (from Wikimedia)


         Hassan Rouhani is the seventh president of Iran and he was officially inaugurated on 3 August, 2013. He began his presidency with the slogan “Government of Prudence and Hope” on 4 August 2013.