The Function of Media Psychological Operations in Tenth Presidential Elections: A Case Study on Persian BBC

Psychological operations refer to a set of psychological and publicity measures taken by a country or group to influence the minds, thoughts, opinions and desires of the target countries or communities relying on political, economic and military tools and backgrounds, and aiming at bringing about the intended changes in the target audience. To explain the role of media in psychological operations, this paper, first, looks into the theories related to the effectiveness of media including the magic bullet theory, limited effects of media, cultivation, McLuhan's media determinism, Neumann's spiral of silence and McGuire's theory. Then, the tactics of media battle from the viewpoint of Toffler are examined and evaluated. At the end, the news deliveries of Persian BBC on the tenth presidential elections in Iran and the manner of utilizing media techniques for manipulating public opinion by this channel are reviewed. The results show that the most important features of effective media (particularly TV) frequently used by BBC News Channel include desirable fulfillment of media functions, observation of news dissemination principles and rules (news engineering), indirect instruction and publicity, making use of attractive and professional reporters and newscasters, interactive presentation of news and news reports, increasing the element of criticism in programs, observation of advertising principles and methods, considering the needs and disposition of the audience and making use of creative individuals in developing and preparing programs. This channel has managed to utilize these techniques to make its programs and news delivery effective.