Top News Outlets Scramble to Get Full Story Out of Iran

By: Joe Strupp Having reporters in Iran prior to last Friday's disputed elections -- which sparked days of violence and protest that have followed -- has apparently paid off for several news organizations.

In another twist, New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller has been analyzing the developments directly from the scene, thanks to his visit that began a week ago.

But the chaos that is occurring since the vote makes a complete picture that much more difficult, editors said. Still, they contend trying to jump into the story from outside now is nearly impossible. It may be one reason that Web reports from Iranians, including Twitter feeds, have outflanked much of print and certainly cable TV.

"This is a very hard story for any news organization outside Iran to get its arms around," said John Walcott, Washington bureau chief for McClatchy, which has one reporter in the country. "It is also very hard for one reporter operating under government restrictions to take in the whole picture."

The New York Times, meanwhile, remains somewhat mum on the reporting being done by Keller in Iran.

Spokeswoman Diane McNulty, in an e-mail, said Keller had flown to Iran last Monday, but had no information on when he would leave: "He went because he had long wanted to visit Iran and the occasion of the election seemed like a great time to do so, accompanying our reporter, Robert Worth. Bill had not planned to write articles but when the story got so big, he did so." He wrote or co-wrote front-page pieces both Sunday and today.

Walcott says his lone reporter there, Warren Strobel, arrived more than a week ago and has been able to send stories via e-mail without government interference. But he says there is a need to get numerous reporting sources from various parts of Iran, and even various parts of Tehran.

Because of that, McClatchy is planning to launch a rare online aggregation of different reporting outlets, likely later today. "It is fairly unusual, but we can give our readers a more complete picture," Walcott said. "I wouldn't ordinarily feel the need to do that. But what is going on within our site and hearing [in Tehran] can be completely different from what is happening a mile or a half mile away."

Walcott did not have specifics on what would be aggregated, but said, "We are going to exercise the same editorial judgment we do with everything."

David Hoffman, The Washington Post's assistant managing editor/foreign, says his decision two years ago to station a reporter permanently in Iran is also proving worthwhile this weekend.

Thomas Erdbrink, who is reporting for both the Post and and a Dutch newspaper, has been on assignment in Iran for the Post since 2007, Hoffman said: "He did not have to parachute in. For a long time we had to parachute into Iran. We now have a base there. That is an accomplishment."

Erdbrink, who is Dutch, also covers Iran for the Dutch publication NRC Handelsblad.

Hoffman notes that even with someone stationed in Iran, the restrictions on reporting and violence in the country since last week's disputed election have been difficult -- but the paper has been able to cover events properly.

"It is always a highly regulated place to work. We try to work within the regulations and get the story out," Hoffman said, declining to comment on specific restrictions or security measures being taken. "We are able to get the story and be able to get enough to get it on the front page."

Hoffman added that Erdbrink, a six-year veteran of Iran coverage, had extensive pre-election coverage and is able to get around enough to report the aftermath: "We can see things on the street. We can interview people. We are able to talk to people."