Parazit

Parazit
Presented by Kambiz Hosseini
Saman Arbabi
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) Persian
No. of seasons 3
Production
Executive producer(s) Saman Arbabi
Location(s) Washington, D.C.
Running time 30 minutes
Release
Original network VOA Persian Service
Original release 2008 – February 2012
Chronology
Followed by OnTen
External links
Website

Parazit (Persian: پارازیت, pārāzit, meaning "static") was a weekly half-hour Persian-language satirical television show broadcast on Voice of America's Persian service.[1] The show pokes fun at Iranian politics. Kambiz Hosseini and Saman Arbabi, Iranian expatriates living in Washington, DC, started the show as a 10-minute segment in another show influenced by the American satirical news show The Daily Show.[2] Parazit was launched before the June 2009 presidential elections in Iran. It became very popular in Iran, reaching its audience via illegal satellite dishes, the internet, or bootleg DVDs.[3] Its name is a reference to the Iranian government's repeated attempts to jam foreign satellite programming. Because it is distributed through unofficial channels, it is impossible to determine the audience. However, as of January 2011, the show's YouTube channel is viewed 45,000 times a week, while their Facebook page is visited 17 million times a month.[3] A new season was reported to begin on 17 August 2012 after a 6 month hiatus, but did not resume broadcasting.

The program and its presenters have been subject to significant criticism in Iranian state media, described by some as "character assassination".[4]

Hosseini and Arbabi appeared on The Daily Show on January 20, 2011.[5]

References

  1. "Meet the Duo behind Iran's 'Daily Show'", PBS Frontline Tehran Bureau, August 13, 2010, accessed January 21, 2011.
  2. Bahrampour, Tara (December 31, 2010). "Expats' 'Daily Show'-style VOA program enthralls Iranians, irks their government". The Washington Post.
  3. 1 2 Bahrampour, Tara (21 January 2011). "Iranian Daily Show, Meet 'The Daily Show'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
  4. "Satire in Iran: Mocking the mullahs". The Economist. 5 November 2011. Retrieved 2011-11-06.
  5. Daily Show: Exclusive - Kambiz Hosseini & Saman Arbabi Extended Interview

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, March 15, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.