BBG Watch Media Commentary
An article by Avideh Motmaen-Far published by the Gatestone Institute think-tank, states that independent dissident Iranian journalist Mohammad Reza Yazdanpanah @MRYAZDAN was fired by U.S. taxpayer-funded Radio Farda, which is managed by Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and given policy guidance by the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), for what, “he believes,” was his refusal “to produce a report painting Israel in an evil light.”
I called khamenei "Mr Regime" on my FB page, #radiofarda_ expelled me. While other Farda journalists Support Ruhani publicly.#ReformBBG
— MR YAZDANPANAH (@MRYAZDAN) July 9, 2017
Many of the tweets highly critical of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, Radio Farda, RFE/RL, and VOA can be found under the hashtag #ReformBBG.
In her article, Avideh Motmaen-Far, a Belgian-Canadian citizen of Iranian descent, also quoted Reza Parchizadeh, an Iranian-born political theorist and activist, who at a forum on Capitol Hill sponsored last month by Congressman Patrick Meehan (R-PA) said that the Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Farda have been “so biased … in favor of the Iranian regime that the people of Iran and the dissidents derogatorily call Voice of America the ‘Voice of Ayatollahs,’ and Radio Farda “Radio Khatami.’”
READ MORE: U.S. Abuses Its Mandate to Spread Democracy and Freedom in Iran, by Avideh Motmaen-Far, Gatestone Institute, July 24, 2017.
Avideh Motmaen-Far published her article critical of the management of Radio Farda and the Voice of America a few days after a longtime VOA guest commentator and contract program host was videoed in New York performing what appeared to be an obscene gesture against anti-Iran regime demonstrators protesting the visit of the Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif.
A few days later, the VOA guest program host sent a tweet with an apology. Later she moderated a Voice of America program with a segment on Iran even though Chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors Kenneth Weinstein @KenWeinstein retweeted a few days earlier the video in which she is seen confronting the anti-Iran regime demonstrators with what appears to be a showing of the finger gesture. Because of the recent change in legislation on the management of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which was signed by President Obama, it is unclear how much influence the current Republican BBG Chairman or the bipartisan BBG Board have over Voice of America director Amanda Bennett and BBG CEO John Lansing, both of them Obama administration holdovers.
This is @barbaraslavin1 showing her fingers 2us. How professional!! @AP @AFP @Reuters @CNN #FreeIran #journalism @FoxNews @CNBC @USATODAY pic.twitter.com/3S3k8whFXg
— Shirin Nariman (@ShirinNariman) July 18, 2017
This is a tweet from the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) Women’s Committee showing the anti-Iran regime demonstrators in New York. The VOA guest program host wrote in a tweet that the anti-Iran regime demonstrators “represent a terrorist organization” and are “nuts.”
#Iran regime's FM was greeted well upon his visit to NY!
The call is #FreeIran pic.twitter.com/RFdPIRfThA— NCRIWomen'sCommittee (@womenncri) July 18, 2017
READ MORE: Reporter who gave anti-Iran regime demonstrators the finger moderates Voice of America program, BBG Watch, July 27, 2017.
Image showing women holding the sign “NO PLACE AT CFR [Council on Foreign Relations] FOR IRAN’S TERRORIST REGIME FOREIGN MINISTER” from: NCRIWomen’sCommittee @womenncri Jul 18 #Iran regime’s FM was greeted well upon his visit to NY! The call is #FreeIran.