Reporting from New York — By the time Iranian authorities drew the curtain this week, it was too late.
Attempts to choke off coverage of massive protests and postelection street battles between dissidents and government forces came well after the American public had reset a nascent and evolving impression of Iran, experts say.
With the cooperation of the government, the global media buzzed in the days before the June 12 election with images of a youthful and exuberant Iran engaged in political debate. Even "The Daily Show" was allowed to profile a lovable, not-unlike-us Iranian family.
It was a far cry from footage from decades ago of fanatics raging against America, more recent focus on Iran's nuclear program, or reports of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's frequent America-bashing as he traveled the world.
That won't be true again, predicts James Rubin, a former U.S. assistant secretary of State for public affairs. "Whether it's in the Arab world or developing world, or even in Los Angeles, the perception of Iran is forever changed as a result of what's happened."
No amount of censorship can eradicate the image of a divided Iran torn by internecine power struggles. Or of a dispute spilling out onto the streets where cosmopolitan-looking young men and women raged at authority.
"They haven't shut down the Internet yet and they won't," Rubin said. "It's a step too far, because they need it for business and other reasons."
First, Iran restricted Western journalists from reporting on the demonstrations, then forced many to leave when their visas expired.
Some foreign reporters were arrested. Officials on Tuesday confirmed the arrest of a reporter working for the Washington Times, Iason Athanasiadis.
The government was able to slow the ability of the mainstream news media to tell the story; by Sunday many news organizations had trouble finding fresh photos and video, and reran old images in a constant loop.
But that didn't shut down the story, because thousands of Iranians, armed with cellphones and video cameras, were providing new material.
"What the Iranian leadership didn't seem to understand, as they went through the traditional methods of censorship, is that everybody is now a reporter," said Jeffrey Cole, director of the Center for the Digital Future at the USC Annenberg School for Communication.
