Channel 4 News in Iran
In the week when the crisis over Iran's nuclear programme is likely to come to a head, Jon Snow and the Channel 4 News team have been given unprecedented access to transmit Channel 4 News from Iran in a week of live broadcasts beginning on Monday 6 March, 2006.
Hossein Derakhshan (Creative Commons rights-protected)
No international news broadcaster has been granted such access to Iran and the Channel 4 News team intend to use this opportunity to offer a unique insight into the country, its rulers and its people. 121 is complementing this broadcast activity by launching a series of Iran-UK online dialogues, co-authored ‘blogs’ running for at least 3 months and bringing together pairings of individuals from a variety of backgrounds, ranging from engineers to photographers to medical students.
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Presenter Jon Snow heads a team of a dozen journalists, cameramen and technicians who will be broadcasting from a number of different locations, including the capital Tehran. The Channel 4 News technical team will be assisted by the Iranian state broadcaster IRIB.
Jon Snow said: "I am so excited about going back. I have only been to Iran once since I left in 1981. It's a fantastic country, vibrant, huge population, rich in mineral resources with amazing potential - yet if the relationship with Iran can be got to work then all sorts of things fall into place. If it doesn't, the consequences will be felt across the Middle East".
Jon Snow will be joined by Channel 4 News' International Editor, Lindsey Hilsum, and Science Correspondent, Julian Rush, in compiling nightly location reports.
© Alireza Najafian
A series of films has been commissioned, with independent Iranian film-makers and journalists playing a significant role in opening up aspects of the country not seen on British television before. These will examine how the world looks through Iranian eyes, exposing some of the myths perpetrated about Iran, and offering reports on politics, identity, youth, industry, technology, culture and power. Crucially, the programme will look at the danger of war, exploring and challenging Iranian perspectives on the nuclear dispute.
More4 News, sister programme to Channel 4 News [which is broadcast at 8pm on More4], will offer its own distinctive contributions to the coverage.
In addition, Jon Snow will be podcasting from Iran, giving a daily insight into the challenges of reporting from the country. He'll also be writing his daily Snowmail (which you can subscribe to from here).
The Channel 4 News website will offer a video archive of reports from Iran.
