Press Coverage of Iran

The chief source of news and opinion on Iran for most Americans throughout this period was the mainstream press. In principle the press was independent of both government policy and popular opinion, and broadly objective. In fact, however, the mainstream press shared the ignorance and the ideological blinders of the government it was supposed to be independent of, and of the public it was supposed to inform.

This study makes a qualitative comparative analysis of official positions on Iran through this period, as drawn from the Department of State Bulletin, with the editorial opinions and columns of The New York Times, the flagship of the American popular press and the closest thing the U.S. has to a national "newspaper of record."

This comparison shows the degree to which the press, as represented by the Times' editorial columns, fell down on the job. The Times devoted almost no editorial attention to Iran during the reign of the Shah before its collapse became evident in the late 1970s. Thus, Times readers were exposed to no critical or analytical views of the Shah's regime or to conditions in Iran. Later, during the revolution and hostage crisis, the Times mirrored the

. . .
imes (17 May 1981), E22. "Hostage Agreements Transmitted to the Congress" (1981). Department of State Bulletin (May, 1981), 5253. "Hostages" (1980). New York Times (4 June 1980), A30. "The Hostages' Bad Deal, Continued" (1979). New York Times (26 February 1980), A24. "HostageTaking as a World Crime" (1979). New York Times (8 December 1979), A22. "Hostages to What?" (1979) New York Times (2 December 1979), E20. "How Tight the Screw?" (1979). New York Times (December 13, 1979), A30. "Human Rights in Iran" (1977). Department of State Bulletin (19 December 1977), 89495. "The Ideal and the Real in Iran" (1978). New York Times (29 December 1978), A22. "Implementation of Hostage Agreements" (1981). Department of State Bulletin (March, 1981), 17ff. "In Cold Iranian Blood" (1981). New York Times (16 June 1981), E20. "The Inevitable in Iran" (1979). New York Times (13 February 1979), A18. "Iran Bombs Iran" (1981). New York Times (3 September 1981), A18. "Iran's Newest Victims" (1981). New York Times (27 April 1981), A22. "Iran's Own Mess" (1981). New York Times (18 June 1981), "Iran's Politics of Death" (1981)
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Approximate Word count = 2017
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

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