EBU President tells Tehran conference free media essential to development

EBU President Fritz Pleitgen spoke in Iran this weekend of the importance of free media and the free flow of information. He said journalists must be independent of government and avoid propaganda for the sake of the public they serve. 

"Self-confident societies should trust their people," he told a Sunday session of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union's General Assembly in the Iranian capital."... In Europe, freedom of speech and free media have been essential to the development of our societies."

The session, attended by numerous Iranian officials, was also addressed by Hasan Khojasteh, Vice-President of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, who urged  Asian broadcasters to balance a global news agenda he said was biased and dominated overwhelmingly by a small number of [Western] broadcasters.

Despite differences of views between the main speakers and several delegates, the discussion took place in an open and constructve atmosphere, as did a discussion between Mr Pleitgen and IRIB President Ezzatollah Zarghami in a one-hour meeting on Saturday.

"Journalists should keep their distance from governments because we have to serve the public," the EBU President told Mr Zarghani, while at the same time stressing the need for tolerance and cultural diversity. "People want reality, not propaganda."   Mr Zarghani called for concrete collaboration between the EBU and IRIB, an associate Member of the EBU.