Tuesday, February 14, 2012

RFE/RL's Radio Farda


Fast Facts

  • RFE/RL's Radio Farda is one of the few remaining sources of uncensored news and information for people in Iran. Despite severe censorship, Radio Farda's website receives 20 million page views every month.
  • Language: Persian
  • Coverage: 24 hours daily
  • Established: December 2002
  • Distribution: Radio (SW, MW, Satellite), Internet (news site, social media)
  • Location: Prague headquarters, Washington; no local bureau
  • Staff: 52 (Prague), 4 (Washington), 26 stringers

Media Environment

  • Freedom House Freedom of the Press Index, 2010: Not Free (187th/196)
  • Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index, 2009: 172nd/175
  • Reporters Without Borders states that in Iran, “Free expression continues to be no more than a dream” and that Iran is “the world’s biggest prison for the media.”Those who speak out against the current regime are routinely imprisoned, during which time they are often beaten and tortured. All media is tightly controlled, and Internet access is filtered. During the unrest following the June 2009 presidential election, all foreign journalists were ejected from the country.
  • In an unprecedented crack-down on independent media, Iranian authorities have closed dozens of newspapers and arrested over a hundred journalists and bloggers since protests broke out in the country following the disputed presidential elections in 2009.

History

  • Radio Farda was established in 2003 as a joint effort of RFE/RL and Voice of America (VOA). In 2007, the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) decided to consolidate all of Radio Farda's operations under RFE/RL. Then in July 2008, RFE/RL assumed sole responsibility for all Radio Farda programming.

Highlights

  • Despite heavy censorship, Radio Farda’s website receives close to 20 million page visitors every month – many of them via proxy sites. Farda also maintains one of the most popular Iranian Facebook pages with more than 80,000 fans.
  • In March 2011, Radio Farda celebrated Nowruz – the Persian New Year – with its audience by airing live broadcasts from a special three-day series of concerts in Dubai featuring banned Iranian musicians.
  • In 2010, Radio Farda launched “Pas Farda”, a satirical radio talk show which has quickly become very popular. The show’s host Farshid Manafi is a well-known Iranian media personality whose lively programs on state television and radio were shut down by censors five years ago.
  • During the protests following the disputed 2009 presidential elections, traffic to Radio Farda's website increased by 400 percent.
  • Radio Farda receives over 100,000 email, voice, and SMS messages per year.
  • In 2009, Radio Farda’s web editor, Fred Petrossians, was awarded the new media award from ThinkSocial for “demonstrating truly innovative and courageous leadership in the use of social media for public purposes” for his project aimed at  spreading awareness of bloggers’ rights in Iran.

Service Snapshot: Farshid Manafi

Pas Farda's Farshid Manafi at the helm.

Service Snapshot: Farshid Manafi

Radio Farda's Farshid Manafi talks about his popular satirical talk show "Radio Pas Farda." More

Facts & Stats

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Population
72.9 million (World Bank estimate, 2009)

Most Common Languages:
Persian, Turkic dialects, Kurdish, Luri, Balochi, Arabic

Press Freedom Index (Freedom House):
Not Free, ranked 172 out of 175.

Press Freedom Index (RSF):
175 out of 178

Corruption Index (Transparency Int.):
146 out of 178

Global Peace Index (IES):
104 out of 149

Human Rights Watch:
Report on Iran (2010)

Amnesty International:
Iran Report (2009)