By Sayed Zafar Mahdi
TEHRAN (AA) – Anadolu Agency, which marks its centenary this week, stands out among international media outlets to have earned credibility and respect of Iranians for its impartial and objective reportage.
The agency has, without fear or favor, reported on the Gulf country’s significant political, social and economic issues, while upholding the sacrosanct values of objectivity, neutrality and fairness.
Among the issues it has covered tirelessly include Iran’s nuclear program, U.S. sanctions and its impact on ordinary Iranians, anti-government protests, controversy-marred parliamentary elections, assassination of Gen. Qasem Soleimani and its aftermath, the downing of Ukrainian plane, and the coronavirus outbreak in Iran, among others.
The agency’s coverage of the Middle Eastern country has been trailblazing and balanced, presenting facts as they are and refraining from half-truths, conjectures and sensationalism.
It has reported both on how the U.S. sanctions on Iran are “cruel and illegal,” and also Iran’s interference in neighboring countries such as Iraq and Syria.
It informed on the anger and outrage among Iranians when Soleimani was assassinated, and also when the country’s elite revolutionary guards downed a civilian plane, resulting in the death of 176 passengers.
The news organization covered how the U.S. sanctions were impeding efforts to fight COVID-19, and also reported on the Iranian government’s late response to the crisis and inability to enforce a lockdown.
Vox Populi
As part of the special coverage to mark the centenary celebrations, AA correspondent spoke to a number of political commentators and academics within Iran to understand their views on Anadolu Agency’s coverage of the Islamic republic.
Dr. Mahdi Mohammadi, a university lecturer, historian and political analyst based in Tehran, said western media outlets have become an extension of their governments, when it comes to Iran.
“It is scary to read and watch most of the foreign media news the way they portray Iran and want their readers and viewers to see Iran,” he told Anadolu Agency. “Iran has a myriad of issues, at many levels, and people have their grievances with the government, but a story always has two sides.”
He, however, singled out some international media outlets for their “fair portrayal.”
“It would be fair to say that some have been doing good work, which includes Anadolu Agency that I have been following lately,” he added. “Its reportage is balanced and that’s how it should be.”
Ahmad Shojaee, a strategic affairs analyst and writer from the Iranian capital, says it’s important to focus on the “significant” rather than the “sensational” because “truth is sacred.”
“I follow local and international media very keenly and also regularly check Anadolu Agency’s English and Farsi editions, both of which are of high-quality, specially on their Iran coverage,” he told Anadolu Agency. “I particularly liked the reporting on Gen. Soleimani’s assassination and events that triggered as a consequence, and corona crisis in Iran.”
At a time when Iran finds itself at the crossroads, with growing tensions in the region, and a major health crisis at home made worse by the sanctions, Shojaee says the international media must play its role to diffuse tensions rather than exacerbating them.
“We have grown weary of this war, this economic war,” he said. “There has to be some way out of this dark tunnel, and that’s where I think the international media can play its role effectively.”
Ibnul Hassan, a university scholar, blogger and political analyst, says the coverage of Anadolu Agency on Iran is different for its “humane approach.”
“What I like about Anadolu’s reportage on Iran is that it treats people as humans with dreams and aspirations who can be happy and sad in equal measure,” he told Anadolu Agency. “That humane approach is lacking in western media’s coverage of Iran, and even some regional media.”
The basic idea of journalism, he says, is to make this world a better place to live, and media has a huge responsibility in how it looks at issues and presents them, because it can “influence public opinion.”
“Media has the power and with power comes responsibility,” he said. “Reckless reportage is like an unchained torrent of water that can be devastating. This applies to both sides of the debate and to both the local and international media.”
Anadolu Agency on April 6, 2020, will celebrate its centenary. It was established 100 years ago by Mustafa Kemal, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, to tell the world about the Turkish national struggle for independence.
The news agency currently publishes news stories in Turkish, English, Arabic, Russian, French, Spanish, Kurdish/Kurmanji, Kurdish/Sorani, Persian, Indonesian, Bosnian, Albanian and Macedonian.
As a global news agency, Anadolu Agency is among the ten most influential media outlets in the world, providing its subscribers in 90 countries thousands of news stories, photos, videos, infographics and other information-based content through its global network of correspondents and photojournalists in 86 countries.
