(Guardian-UK) Patrick Wintour - Presenters working for the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) have announced they have quit their jobs over coverage of the shooting down of the Ukrainian jetliner. Zahra Khatami said: "Thank you for accepting me as anchor until today. I will never get back to TV. Forgive me." Her fellow anchor Saba Rad said: "Thank you for your support in all the years of my career. I announce that after 21 years working in radio and TV, I cannot continue my work in the media. I cannot." Gelare Jabbari, who quit some time ago, posted on Instagram: "Forgive me for the 13 years I told you lies." The Tehran-based Association of Iranian Journalists said: "The publication of false information has had a severe impact on public confidence and public opinion....This incident showed that people cannot trust official data." Reporters Without Borders ranks Iran as 170th in the world press freedom index out of 180 countries.
2020-01-14 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive