The Foreign Service Journal, October 2010

F OCUS ON U.S. -F UNDED I NTERNATIONAL B ROADCASTING U.S.-F UNDED M EDIA AND THE “S OFT W AR ” IN I RAN 26 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / O C T O B E R 2 0 1 0 he main U.S.-funded broad- casters have long battled the misperception that they are anachronisms using an outmoded medium — radio — in a world that increasingly relies on more diverse forms of communication. In fact, organizations like the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty dissemi- nate information through a wide array of new platforms. In few countries are new media efforts more ambitious, and more closely watched, than in Iran. The two primary Persian-language broadcasters funded by Congress —VOA’s Persian News Network satellite TV station and RFE/RL’s Radio Farda — are 24-hour opera- tions. In addition to their core TV and radio services, they stream extensive content onto their Web sites; transmit local, international and U.S.-focused programming via blogs, Twitter feeds and news alerts to mobile phones; up- load videos to YouTube; and manage dynamic Facebook pages. Together with the BBC and other foreign-based media, these stations play an important role as conduits of infor- mation into and out of Iran. The regime denounces these media efforts as a “soft war” waged by outside forces and has responded by mounting one of the world’s most in- tense censorship efforts: jamming broadcasts, blocking Web sites and infiltrating Facebook accounts. A kind of cat-and-mouse game has ensued, with many Iranians keeping a step ahead of the censors, in part with the help of anti-filtering software from U.S. sources that is ex- empted from sanctions by the U.S. government. These media struggles play out at a time of troubling developments in Iran. Chief among them is Tehran’s ura- nium enrichment program, which many fear is a cover for seeking nuclear weapons capability. The Obama adminis- tration’s engagement policy has made little progress, so the White House has lately focused on tightening sanctions aimed at stalling the nuclear program. With military action against the regime still seemingly a remote prospect, the soft power option of stepped-up broadcasts remains at- tractive. In the continuing absence of formal U.S. rela- tions with Iran, social media are more important than ever for connecting with its people. Experts say Iran, with its large, educated, tech-savvy population of people under 30 is fertile ground for this ap- proach. “There’s a huge market [for information] because of the failings of the state, because private media stay away from controversial issues,” says Alex Vatanka, an Iran ex- W ITH ITS LARGE , TECH - SAVVY POPULATION OF PEOPLE UNDER 30, I RAN IS FERTILE GROUND FOR A SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN BY U.S. BROADCASTERS . B Y R OBERT M C M AHON T Robert McMahon is editor of CFR.org, the Web site of the Council on Foreign Relations. He worked for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty from 1992 to 2005 in a variety of senior editorial jobs, including terms as director of central news and United Nations correspondent.