The Foreign Service Journal, October 2010

30 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 is in some ways a throwback to the epic Cold War–era in- formation battles involving foreign-funded media and So- viet-bloc authorities. An array of new media have replaced the reliance on shortwave radio and smuggled samizdat, but the challenges for the U.S.-funded broad- casters have a familiar ring: • Keep a close eye on internal developments in Iran and in the region, and vet reports to keep news stories accurate, not inflammatory. This will require proper journalistic training and, most likely, higher staffing lev- els, especially during dramatic events like the demon- strations that followed the 2009 elections. • Sustain efforts to overcome jamming of core radio and TV services. Soviet-era jamming was relentless, but the multiple options for shortwave broadcasts in that era were credited with providing a lifeline to dissidents. Broadcasting officials have expanded the reach of PNN programs through six satellites with seven different dis- tribution channels to help overcome some of the Iranian jamming. Hoover’s Milani says U.S. government officials should go further, and respond tit-for-tat to Iranian jam- ming by interfering with Iran’s state-controlled media broadcasts. • Pursue a vigorous effort to gather more and better data about how Iranians are accessing information. In- terviewing them in venues like Dubai helps, but the ef- fort should continuously be expanded to reach traveling Iranians elsewhere. Given the country’s importance and the resources going into Persian-language broadcasting, audience surveys should also be expanded beyond one per year. The extra funding needed to maintain high-level media services to Iran could be difficult to obtain in the current U.S. budget environment. But amid the rising call in Congress for economic and political isolation of Iran, U.S.-backed broadcasting initiatives to this key country deserve recognition, support and ongoing atten- tion. ■ F O C U S Buy all your travel guides, language books and pleasure reading through the AFSA bookstore. Buy the Amazon Kindle and download and read first chapters for free before you decide to purchase that new book. When you access Amazon.com through our bookstore all your purchases will benefit AFSA at no additional cost to you. Find State Department and AFSA Reading Lists Online at www.afsa.org/ads/books/ Start your purchase on our site: www.afsa.org/ads/books/