Arianna Discusses How Iranian Election Is Affecting Journalism On BBC's "Newsnight" (VIDEO)

From the BBC News program "Newsnight":

Professional journalists in Iran have been restricted, and some thrown out of the country. In their place amateurs have told their own, unmediated, story to the world.

Arianna Huffington, founder of the influential US website The Huffington Post, and Anne McElvoy of Britain's Evening Standard newspaper spoke to the BBC's Jeremy Paxman about what the reporting of the election in Iran has meant for journalism.

WATCH:

Comments

[Horatiu]

Sure."Educ­ated", "Professional" , "Unbiased" Journalist are angels.

I'm just remembering CNN reports from Bosnia and Serbia in the '90s, where they displayed a masterpiece of manipulation: Serbia - bad, everybody else - good.

Come on...

[GhostwriterDoF]

The MSM people insinuate that the "Educated Journalist" is the only credible source of information, despite decades of highly significant failures and a demonstrated bias serving corporate and political interests. There is no mistaking when they are speaking about "Editing", they are talking about "controlling information", not about "verifying the accuracy" of the information.

[SamEllison]

MSM seems to be trying to pull up the gates, retrenching.
Thinking they can do it without us.
There is more toothpaste than tube......

[awb2116]

These two were seeing the Huffington Post's glass half empty when right now it is over-flowing due to their groundbreaking coverage of the events in Iran.

[hindy]

Me thinks the professional journalists protest too much. They are obviously worried about their jobs so they arrogantly criticize the bravery of people who risked their lives to get the story out. Good for you Arianna.

[lazercat2008]

More like how journalism is affecting the Iran Elections.

[motoGpifupleez]

If you are a "registered journalist" in a country like Iran and a major upheaval occurs, the government can very quickly find and silence you.
The greatest invention, and the invention most feared by governments and their brutalizing agents, is the cell phone camera used in conjunction with the internet. Be it the coverage of demonstrations in the Iranian streets or police brutality in America, the oppressors now have nowhere to hide.
I understand the "old school" thought of verification, but the image never lies. Do you need an editor to know that Neda was murdered for being an innocent bystander?
Arianna is correct in saying that people get over the "either/or". The combination of the two will end up being the most formidable model.

[tbugir]

I agree that verifiability is important - it underpins credibility.

However, is it 'verifiability', or is it the reader's ability to verify?

How many traditional newspapers verify their sources when a deadline looms?

How many journalists take shortcuts, when their editors scream for a rewrite?

Is getting some information, as in the case of Iran, better than no information?

Is getting some information, as in the case of Jeff Goldblum, better than no information?

The web allows users to jump around and immediately find different possible perspectives. Combine this with both professional and armchair blog analyses and it presents a pretty viable capability for the reader to do their 'own editing' or their own 'verification' if they are engaged. If the reader is a passive reader, then perhaps it is better for them to be fed the 'credible' diatribe of the classic press.

[cybogoblin]

Case in point: Here in NZ, the TV news was still reporting incorrect information about Neda (age, details of her death, etc) 4-5 days after she was killed. According to them, she was only 16 when she died.

This is why I've been following Nico's live-blogging since the beginning, and only watching the TV news for local and cute animal stories.