Thursday
Sep032009
MediaFail: How (Not) to Approach Iran's Nuclear Programme
Thursday, September 3, 2009 at 11:09
The Latest from Iran (3 September): Ahmadinejad Gets His Cabinet
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Al Jazeera English are usually at the forefront of international media, both for analysis and crisis coverage, but they let viewers down with Riz Khan's discussion yesterday of the Iranian nuclear programme.
Part 1 (Part 2 after the rest of the analysis)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsRwFY3YSDg[/youtube]
Dr Martin Navias of King's College London had an abundance of cliches about "the West" and "wiping Israel off the map" but a scarcity of knowledge about Iran. Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich was more lucid but, working from Navias' opening remarks, used her time to punch him (and "the West") on the nose rather than advance the conversation.
Predictably, the chatter soon descended into who is worse with its real or alleged nuclear weapons, Iran or Israel, and whether "the West" and/or Iran is valiant or dangerous. Beyond this, there was no consideration of the "5+1"talks in Germany yesterday on the Iranian programme, no attention to the complexities of Iran's current foreign policy, and no comprehension of the relationship between that policy and internal events. (Attention to this internal situation was limited to the hyperbole-stirring, "Should the West intervene?", which brought a predictable denunciation from Sepahpour-Ulrich.)
As my grandmother would have advised, "If you can't say nothing good, don't say nothing at all."
Receive our latest updates by email or RSS SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEED
Buy Us A Cup of Coffee? Help Enduring America Expand Its Coverage and Analysis
Al Jazeera English are usually at the forefront of international media, both for analysis and crisis coverage, but they let viewers down with Riz Khan's discussion yesterday of the Iranian nuclear programme.
Part 1 (Part 2 after the rest of the analysis)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsRwFY3YSDg[/youtube]
Dr Martin Navias of King's College London had an abundance of cliches about "the West" and "wiping Israel off the map" but a scarcity of knowledge about Iran. Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich was more lucid but, working from Navias' opening remarks, used her time to punch him (and "the West") on the nose rather than advance the conversation.
Predictably, the chatter soon descended into who is worse with its real or alleged nuclear weapons, Iran or Israel, and whether "the West" and/or Iran is valiant or dangerous. Beyond this, there was no consideration of the "5+1"talks in Germany yesterday on the Iranian programme, no attention to the complexities of Iran's current foreign policy, and no comprehension of the relationship between that policy and internal events. (Attention to this internal situation was limited to the hyperbole-stirring, "Should the West intervene?", which brought a predictable denunciation from Sepahpour-Ulrich.)
As my grandmother would have advised, "If you can't say nothing good, don't say nothing at all."