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forensix

Listed below are comments made by forensix between Monday, 15th June 2009 and Friday, 19th June 2009.

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What really happened 11:51pm on 19 Jun 2009 "we have been careful to report what both Ahmadinejad and Mousavi supporters are saying. Similarly, we have taken care to label the pictures we use"....

"What really happened is", perhaps, that you didn't take care and you were not very careful at all. Is this a first, or simply, because the "mistake" was spotted by a reader, the first time you have noticed or been made to take notice?

Do you check ALL the photos used in story lines for authenticity and copyright or have complaints been made in the past about using "unauthorised" material?
Reporting restrictions in Iran 07:22am on 19 Jun 2009 With BBC journalists "trapped" in their offices it is a great chance for them to get down to serious hard work again - like investigating and developing stories. I am afraid that "instant news making" is the stuff of tabloids who rely on sensation to sell.

Iran has many facets not just the ones lovingly presented by those who just don't like the smell of the leadership. With some positive journalism for a change who knows - maybe we can all find some understanding of why many Iranians do not like or trust western media. The BBC Persian branch should understand that better than anyone else.
MPs' expenses: Your e-mails 10:58pm on 18 Jun 2009 As much as the expenses scandal has angered me I do not like the "grass up your MP" approach any more than I liked the "grass up your neighbour" campaign so beloved by benefit deliverers and local authorities.

The place to deal with misappropriation of public funds is via an audit, then the police or, if need be, the fraud office. As #7 indicates there are various laws in place precisely to prevent public servants (such as MPs) from stealing.

What is crucial in the campaign to STOP MPs claiming inappropriately is a tightening up and simplicity of rules, in addition to making an example of sufficient numbers of them via criminal action. This exercise, if it fails to deliver justice, will simply indicate to MPs that our anger is not enough to stop them doing precisely what they please.
Reporting restrictions in Iran 10:23pm on 18 Jun 2009 In my view the restrictions are simply the Iranian authorities way of telling people just who is in control. Restricting the collection and exposure of information in conjunction with basic censorship are easy ways of frustrating and irking people as well as indicating who has control (as the BBC already knows).

The main thrust of the protest has still to prove how successful it has been in changing the outcome of the Iranian election; that outcome is not going to be affected by the restrictions on the media now in place.
Social media in Iran 5:03pm on 17 Jun 2009 #19

Thank you Mr Herrmann, but my earlier comment stands. The use of instant media was indeed used in G20 after protracted protest by demonstrators and AFTER people dispersed. On the afternoon after the protest I made a blog entry having heard a first hand account of what happened but there were no official stories about heavy handed police tactics until well after my blog entry was made.

My point about Iran is that the BBC intermixed mobile phone footage in the Simpson report and there was much more in evidence on Persian TV and on the Internet. None of this originated from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's support as the BBC has clearly stated elsewhere.

In a protest wherever it may occur it is expected that the protagonists will be central to the news and the pictures in Tehran were no different. What may have been different was the commentary. One of the "motorcycle police" was "captured" with his bike which was set on fire whilst he was "ushered to safety by protesters" (BBC commentary) when the pictures showed him being pushed and shoved around and eventually led to safety clearly terrified.

In the UK G20 much of the BBC footage covered raids on a bank not the penning and detention of crowds by police. You also used police spokespeople reporting on "how the demonstrations went" remembering that three separate groups were involved.

The difference between the two demonstrations was marked both in complexity and depth of coverage and in the applied commentary.

Thank you for responding to me; that alone is very refreshing and most unexpected.
Radio 1 and 1Xtra Drugs Week 07:46am on 17 Jun 2009 So you like to be non-judgemental? So you want to study the habits of your audience and get to know who they are? But hey, you have already assumed that your 15 to 30 year old audience is representative of ALL 15 to 30 year old people before you even begun your study!

How do you know what happens in the "no-go" areas where young people are much more likely to make their own music than listen to the "uncool" BBC? Has the use of crack and heroine really dropped off or isn't it likely that these young people are just a touch more savvy than you think and were not the biggest risk takers on the planet anyway? Or is the BBC admitting that the biggest drug problem the UK faces is amongst its middle classes with fairly hefty disposable incomes?

But, of course, there is a recession and drug habits (especially those that use chemicals not noted for addictive value - alcohol perhaps) become a little more geared towards reality. If Radio One really wants to perform a service shouldn't it at least try to treat its audience as if it has a modicum of intelligence?
Social media in Iran 06:44am on 17 Jun 2009 To echo some of the more thoughtful comments in this blog and to pick on your use of the term "social media" as a heading I just wonder what the BBC's attitude would be were this whole process transported to the UK.

It would appear that the use of electronic media to "incite or encourage protest" may be a breach of the Terrorism Act. Are the BBC easy with this?

So what is different about Iran where western media seem much less intent on reporting fact and much more concerned with being a part of the protest in order to obtain "scoops" by exacerbating the unrest? Could it be that the BBC is partial to a regime change regardless of what the consequences for Iran may be? Is that impartial?

Your excited chatter brims over Mr Herrmann, a bit like an acned youth carried by the passion of protest but never quite understanding where the demands for change may end or even what he or she is doing in the first place - the BBC not just in a "war zone" but actually a part of the "war".

I wonder how that squares with the comments on Bush's election in 2000 which ignore the premise that around 44,000 key votes in Florida decided the election. Clearly these contributors were not acquainted with real fact by the media (only the spin put on it by a pro-Bush media perhaps). Does that not make you a little red faced about the power the media seem to have over impressionable people? Should you not be a little more responsible about Iran then?
Stop the blocking now 6:26pm on 16 Jun 2009 From #81

"So what? You didn't see the U.S. blocking BBC satellite transmissions. It's the mark of a free country, confident in its people, that free opinion (whether biased or not, whether by an individual or an organization) be allowed."

And so, in the interest of "free opinion" the US should not have entered either Iraq or Afghanistan as it is none of their business what goes on in another country? And, in so far as the election of Bush in 2000 was concerned, the alleged vote rigging and disputed outcome did not concern those "confident in their people" enough that a re-run was preferable to the messy option actually chosen? So far as Obama is concerned should any broadcasting channel have made a meal of the fact he was black (in the interests of "free opinion")?

However you put the points up on the board they'll come straight back down unless you actually practice what you preach. Iran has issues not least with the constant pestering of a western media that has so many angles on the place I am surprised anyone knows what the original problem with Iran was. If the Iranian authorities detest western influence then it is up to them how they deal with it.
Stop the blocking now 09:20am on 15 Jun 2009 I trust that your colleagues in BBC Persian TV are in dialogue with the relevant Iranian authorities over just what has upset them about the output. I also look forward to a report about the Iranian response.

I would also like to complain about the withdrawal of entries on this blog euphemistically stated as "breaking house rules". Is the BBC prepared to open a public dialogue about these removals?
Stop the blocking now 09:07am on 15 Jun 2009 #17

Perhaps you should reflect that the majority of people in Iran are a little more discerning than those who fight in the streets and would not wish to watch US outlets for their information. The election in Iran is an internal matter. The blocking of the satellite broadcasts a matter to be raised with the Iranian authorities through diplomatic channels I would suggest. However the overt censorship of material on the BBC website is much closer to home.

I consider that the BBC is not exercising anything like the balance required of a neutral broadcaster in its affairs with Iran and has not be doing so for a long time. It is common knowledge that the core support for the President was rural rather than urban and so do these demonstrations reflect anything of what most Iranian's think?

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