美国之音台长回应《华盛顿时报》刊登的有关“波斯语新闻网”的文章

尊敬的《国际在线》网(CRIonline)编辑：

最近，贵网站刊登了一篇题为“美国之音连续犯错 被指对伊朗存在偏见”的文章，文章发表日期2009年4月15号，时间21：26：04 ，来源：国际在线专稿，编辑：唐华。贵网站的这篇文章引用了《华盛顿时报》4月14日刊登的由尼古拉斯·克拉勒夫撰写的一篇报道的部分内容。美国之音台长丹福思·奥斯汀最近对《华盛顿时报》的报道作了书面回应。我们希望贵网站能刊登美国之音台长回应的全文。下面是美国之音台长的英文全文及中文翻译：


It is unfortunate that /The Washington Times/, in an April 14, 2009 story by Nicholas Kralev, chose to selectively quote from and distort the findings of a report by the State Department’s Office of Inspector General that, overall, lauded the Voice of America’s (VOA) Persian News Network (PNN).

“VOA successfully built PNN into its first full-fledged network in an extraordinarily short period of time,” said the report, which is posted on the State Department’s website, http://oig.state.gov/documents/organization/121748.pdf. “Given the U.S. strategic interest in communicating with Iranians, PNN represents a major achievement in setting up a network that reaches approximately 29 percent of Iranians in Iran.”

PNN, the most successful international broadcaster in Iran now reaching more than 13 million people weekly in a country with no press freedom, is “performing a vital function,” the report said. "It is the only platform from which the U.S. Government can reach an Iranian audience with unbiased news and information about U.S. foreign policy and American life," it added.

Like other U.S.-funded broadcasters, PNN’s staff operates under the VOA Charter, which mandates that “VOA will serve as a consistently reliable and authoritative source of news,” and the news will be “accurate, objective and comprehensive.”

Yes, PNN, like many new start-ups, experienced some organizational challenges, as the report points out. But the VOA has embraced the report's recommendations, and has already instituted many of them. The network is embarked on a series of improvements to enhance its appeal to Iran’s majority youth population and to expand PNN’s reach to Farsi speakers in neighboring Afghanistan, for example.

Launched as a network in 2007, VOA’s PNN reaches people by satellite television, radio and Internet. Its programs include a two-hour news show, a talk show aimed at women, a call-in program and a journalists’ roundtable. PNN provided extensive coverage of the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign, along with the election and inauguration of President Obama. Recently, PNN covered Obama’s message to Iranians on the Nowruz holiday. PNN daily receives calls, emails and letters from Iranians who have access to the programs. We look forward to continuing our dialogue with the Iranians people for a long time.

Sincerely,

Danforth Austin

Director, Voice of America


《华盛顿时报》2009年4月14日刊登了由尼古拉斯·克拉勒夫撰写的一篇报道，但令人遗憾的是，这篇报道有选择性地挑选了美国国务院审计办公室发表的一份报告中的内容，并且歪曲了这份从总体上称赞美国之音波斯语新闻网工作的报告结论。

美国国务院审计办公室发表在美国国务院网站(http://oig.state.gov/documents/organization/121748.pdf)上的报告说：“美国之音在极为短暂的时间里成功地把波斯语新闻网建设成第一个全方位的新闻网。”报告说，“波斯语新闻网已经可以覆盖伊朗境内29%的伊朗民众，从美国与伊朗民众沟通这个战略利益来衡量，这个新闻网已经取得了重要成就。”

这份报告说，波斯语新闻网是对伊朗广播的最成功的国际广播电台。在这个没有新闻自由的国家里，波斯语新闻网“发挥着至关重要的作用”，每星期有一千三百多万民众收看、收听它的节目。报告还说，“这是美国政府能够把不带偏见的新闻和有关美国外交政策与社会生活的信息带给伊朗民众的唯一平台。”

象其他由美国资助的国际广播电台一样，波斯语新闻网的从业人员在美国之音宪章的指导下工作。美国之音宪章规定，“作为一个一贯可靠的、权威的新闻来源，美国之音播送的新闻必须准确、客观、全面。”

的确，美国国务院的报告也指出，正象其他新成立的机构一样，波斯语新闻网也遇到一些组织上的问题。但是，美国之音接受了美国国务院报告中提出的建议，并且已经开始采纳其中的很多建议。波斯语新闻网正在着手开始实施一系列改善措施，例如，加强波斯语新闻网对伊朗大多数年轻人的吸引力，扩大对邻国阿富汗讲波斯语人口的广播，等等。

美国之音的波斯语新闻网在2007年开播，通过卫星电视、广播和因特网播送和发送的节目包括一个两小时的新闻节目、一个针对妇女的访谈节目、一个听众观众电话参与的扣应节目和一个新闻记者圆桌讨论节目。波斯语新闻网围绕2008年美国总统竞选、以及奥巴马当选并就任美国总统进行了广泛的报道。最近，波斯语新闻网报道了奥巴马总统就伊朗新年向伊朗人民发出的节日贺词。波斯语新闻网每天都收到能收听收看波斯语新闻网节目的伊朗人民打来的电话、寄来的信件和发来的电子邮件。我们期待着在今后很长时间里继续与伊朗人民对话沟通。

诚挚的：

丹福思·奥斯汀

美国之音台长