If you are following the amazing events currently unfolding in Iran in the wake of their turbulent election, then YouTube will give you a much better sense of what is happening than the mainstream media. Yesterday, while the dramatic protests were unfolding, CNN held an extended forum on healthcare. The other cable news channels weren't much more enlightening in their coverage of events from Iran.
Where does a web surfer go to find out about the turbulence taking place there? For me, and a lot of other people, the natural gathering place for a video view from Iran is YouTube where many Iranian bloggers have been uploading their highly interesting videos some which you can see, along with a sampling of the accompanying commentary, below the fold. So turn away from those cable news networks which are only giving relatively shallow coverage of the turbulence in Iran and welcome to the Brave New World of Web video reporting from bloggers on the scene of the action.
Please don't waste this chance. Be strong, have faith, have courage and fight. Our thoughts & our hearts are with you. Please post more videos. We need to know what is happening.
I am ashamed I cannot be a part of this. I pray these brave Iranians do not let this one slide. Fight on!
Free Iran! They may try to counterfeit the election but not the will of the people!!!!! May the people of Iran fight for their freedom and win! To cherish it they must earn it! Go get it people of Iran!!!!!!
LIBERATE IRAN FROM MULLAHS!!!
FIGHT FOR FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY ! ! !
This is why the U.S constitution allows us to have guns. This way, the power and control is not one sided.
My heart goes out to all the Iranians on the streets. We support you, your fight is brave. Hugs from Sweden.
Tehran - Strikes are continued - motorized police is everywhere...you see a girl trying to fight with police in this video
Protests in Tehran after election - Riot police caught by crowd
It is touching to see the protesters offer care to an injured member of the police. Fight the good fight.
UPDATE: It seems that your humble correspondent is not the only one who has noticed the rather lackadaisical coverage of the Iranian protests by the cable news networks. The New York Times is now running a story on the same theme:
Cable news normally serves as the front line for breaking news, but the channels largely took the weekend off as Tehran exploded in protests after Iran’s presidential election.
The performance of the American cable news, especially CNN, spawned an online protest by thousands on Saturday and Sunday, showing that viewers can try to pressure news organizations about their coverage in real time via the Internet. Fox News Channel and MSNBC also were said to have covered the protests in limited ways.
Protesters’ comments on Twitter were quickly noticed by CNN, which defended its coverage. The social networking blog Mashable said Twitter was acting as a “media watchdog.”
CNN had reports from Tehran throughout Saturday, including some from Christiane Amanpour, its chief international correspondent. But it did not provide the kind of wall-to-wall coverage that some had expected.
Untold thousands used the label “CNNfail” on Twitter to vent their frustrations. Steve LaBate, an Atlanta resident, said on Twitter, “Why aren’t you covering this with everything you’ve got?” About the same time, CNN was showing a repeat of Larry King’s interview of the stars of the “American Chopper” show. For a time, new criticisms were being added on Twitter at least once a second.
It was a departure for CNN, known for its breaking news coverage, including its celebrated reporting during the Tiananmen Square crackdown 20 years ago. But the Tehran protests were not covered with rolling live coverage for hours at a time.
