Middle East Media and Book Reviews Online Volume 1, Issue 1 | Page 60

2/2/2016 Middle East Media and Book Reviews Online Pars Times: Greater Iran and Beyond By: Pars Times Pars Times: Greater Iran and Beyond. http://www.parstimes.com/ Volume: 1 Issue: 1 April 2013 Review by Rowena Abdul Razak, ABD Faculty of Oriental Studies, St Antony’s College University of Oxford Pars Times is a non-profit and independent website dedicated to collating news items and useful information from other Internet pages on the Middle East, but with almost exclusive focus on Iran and the Iranian community abroad, particularly in Southern California where many Iranians have settled. From its Home Page, articles are indexed under different tabs, which are in turn, organised by category: geography, news, business, culture, life and style, and weather. Each tab is further divided into subcategories for easier browsing. Besides written pieces, Pars Times also has a dedicated section on videos, featuring interviews and items on notable Persian individuals. The News Section is a central feature. It attempts to gather all items of various issues affecting Iran, the Iranian community or even particular Iranian individuals, taken from other news agencies. This makes it a centralised site for those interested in news on Iran and Iranians scattered throughout the world. Furthermore, as Pars Times is aimed at researchers and analysts, it divides articles into categories that might be of interest to them; for instance, news stories related to oil and gas, or defense and proliferation are listed separately. Since it is updated regularly, it is convenient for the researcher to constantly keep abreast of developments in these areas. The News Section lists headlines and URL links to other major news websites, such as The Economist, The BBC, The New York Times, The Guardian, and The Independent. Additionally, more minor news agencies are also linked: such as those from the United Arab Emirates, Japan, Thailand, New Zealand, and Australia. Essentially, Pars Times gathers all kinds of news items from a wide variety of sources. However, this also means that there is no filter to what is posted, as the articles and websites are unverified by the webmasters for reliability. Additionally, Pars Times is a reliable website for quick referencing for anything Iranian. This makes it a valuable first-stop introduction to those who are interested in Persian history and culture. The great eras, such as the Achaemenid and Sasanian periods, are conveniently listed from Ancient to Modern and everything in &WGvVV