Following Channel 4 News‘ live interview with President Ahmadinejad of Iran, several Farsi-speaking viewers contacted us to say that the translation the channel had provided had not been very good.
In response, I raised this with the production team, who said that the live interview had given presenter Jon Snow a chance to ask some important questions about Iran’s involvement in the conflict in Iraq, as well as the country’s nuclear ambitions. The interview also provided an opportunity for Jon to quiz the president about controversial comments he has made about both Israel and the Holocaust.
Unfortunately however, there was a technical problem on the night which prevented the audio feed of the president’s replies being relayed back to London. A stand-by translator was used but a delay on the satellite from Tehran meant they were unable to finish translating the president’s replies before the pictures of Jon Snow asking his next question arrived. This resulted in an interview that was difficult to follow, as some viewers pointed out.
Although the live translation at the time was problematic, ITN ensured that a full and accurate transcript of all the president’s replies was published on the Channel 4 News website the next day. The availability of this transcript gives viewers a chance to see all of the president’s replies.
If you watched the interview, or have read the translation on the website, I’d like to know what you think about the way it was handled. Have you got an opinion about translation in news?
