Send an email to BBG member Victor Ashe

At the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) meeting in Miami, FL on April 20, 2012, BBG Governor Ambassador Victor Ashe has asked for public comments on important U.S. international broadcasting issues. He disclosed his personal email address, vhashe@aol.com, and said that he would share comments with other members of the BBG if members of the public, including BBG employees and contractors, would like him to do so. As a public service, BBG Watch provides a link for sending emails to Ambassador Victor Ashe.

Send an e-mail to BBG member Victor Ashe

Governor Ashe with VOA reporting team in Phnom Penh

The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) senior Republican member Ambassador Victor Ashe is visiting Asia where the BBG is planning major reductions in Voice of America broadcasts. Ashe is believed to be opposed to some of these cuts and reductions already approved by the majority of BBG members in their FY2013 budget plan. These plans also face a stiff bipartisan opposition in Congress and among human rights organizations and media freedom groups.

Ashe is visiting Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos. The Communist Party in Laos has been in power since 1975 and tightly controls the local media. The BBG wants to reduce the Voice of America Lao Service to two staffers by cutting four broadcasting positions and eliminating shortwave radio programs.

During his current trip to Asia, Ashe is not visiting Vietnam, where the BBG plans to eliminate 17 and a half hours of weekly VOA Vietnamese radio broadcasts, leaving only Internet VOA news service to a country where all the media are controlled by the Communist Party. The VOA Vietnamese Service will lose 10 broadcasting positions under the BBG proposal.

At the last BBG open meeting, Ashe questioned the wisdom of the most controversial among recent BBG proposals which calls for the elimination of all Voice of America Tibetan radio broadcasts at the time when more and more Tibetan monks are setting themselves on fire to protest increasing repression of the Tibetans by the communist regime in Beijing. The BBG wants to eliminate seven VOA Tibetan broadcasting positions. It also wants to eliminate one broadcasting position in the VOA Burmese Service and six positions in the VOA Bangla Service.

The BBG is also proposing halving Voice of America radio broadcasts to Afghanistan from 12 to 6 hours daily and eliminating 10 broadcasting positions. The same BBG budget proposal also calls for completely abolishing the Voice of America Cantonese Service, which has seven full time broadcasters and serves Cantonese speakers in China where they face increasing Chinese Communist Party restrictions on their language and culture.

The Voice of America English Newsroom and VOA English radio broadcasts which are heard in Asia are set to lose 71 journalistic and broadcast support positions. VOA English radio broadcasts on shortwave, AM and FM would be silenced to all areas of the world except Africa. That includes strategically important broadcasts to China and Tibet where VOA English is the only USG broadcast service that is not jammed.

It is not clear to what extent Ashe’s Asian trip and his opposition to some of the BBG proposed cuts in broadcasting services to Asia may influence further discussions among BBG members about these controversial reductions. He faces an uphill battle against an alliance of BBG and IBB bureaucrats and several BBG members, including some of Ashe’s Republican colleagues

Critics of this plan accuse the BBG, and particularly the International Broadcasting Bureau executive staff under the leadership of IBB director Richard Lobo of ignoring strategic US interests in the region and cutting critical programs while expanding the IBB bureaucracy. There is a bipartisan effort in Congress to stop at least some of the proposed BBG program cuts in Asia.

A letter addressed to Congresswoman Kay Granger (R – TX), Chairman of the Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs of the House Committee on Appropriations and to Ranking Member Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D – NY) criticizes the Broadcasting Board of Governors for expanding their bureaucracy at the expense of critical overseas broadcasts and U.S. strategic interests:

The proposed reductions are driven not by a considered strategic world view, but by bureaucratic expedience and a fundamental misunderstanding of the mission of VOA. If the fiscal year 2013 proposal is enacted, the staff level for VOA will be reduced by 13.2% from the current year. In contrast, only 3.3% of the positions from the International Broadcasting Board (IBB), which provides administrative support to the BBG, will be cut. If the fiscal year 2013 proposal is enacted the number of full time equivalent (FTE) positions for the IBB will rise from 593.2 in fiscal year 2011 to 678.2. In the same time period VOA will lose 121.2 FTE positions. The general trend of the IBB has been to grow larger while the number of language services they support is being reduced. Broadcasting should be the last thing to be cut. It makes little sense to grow the bureaucracy while cutting that which it is meant to support. The eliminations and reductions in broadcasting to Tibet, China, Laos, and Vietnam alone will cut 28 positions from VOA.

Link to the Letter

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The following press release is from the official BBG website.

For BBG Gov. Ashe, A Busy SE Asia Agenda

BBG Governor Victor Ashe is in Southeast Asia, visiting BBG facilities, meeting with agency staff and holding talks with U.S. embassy officials and local authorities in Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos.

In the Udon Thani province of northeast Thailand, Ashe toured a BBG transmission facility and presented 30-year and 20-year service awards to staff members.

He spoke about the BBG’s mission and praised staff for its work in support of U.S. international broadcasting.

Ashe, a former U.S. ambassador to Poland, took particular interest in the activities undertaken by BBG officials to build and maintain relationships with local communities.

Ashe also met with Michael Honnold, acting public affairs officer at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok.

At Voice of America offices in Phnom Penh, Ashe met toured the facilities and met with staff, including Poly Sam, director of the RFA’s Cambodian Service.

He heads now to Laos for further consultations on RFA and VOA operations.

Link to Video

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From the official BBG website:

Michael Lynton Becomes The BBG’s New Interim Presiding Governor

FEBRUARY 11, 2012

Washington, DC – Following the departure of Chairman Walter Isaacson, the Broadcasting Board of Governors today unanimously approved BBG member Michael Lynton as its new interim presiding governor.

“It is a pleasure to work with this multi-talented, bipartisan board, and an honor to be elected to help lead the organization,” Lynton said.  “We are each committed to the cause of making this agency the best it can be.  And with our various strengths and diverse backgrounds, we all bring something to the table.”

Lynton is the Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment.  He is the former CEO of AOL Europe and Chairman and CEO of Pearson PLC’s Penguin Group.  A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Mr. Lynton and also serves on the boards of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Rand Corporation.  He is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School and is proficient in French, German and Dutch.

Lynton serves on the BBG Governance Committee. 

The Senate confirmed him and all the other appointed Governors in the summer of 2010.The Governors noted that Mr. Isaacson provided an inspiring example, and they acknowledged his “great efforts and tremendous contributions … during his tenure as BBG Chairman from July 2010 until January 2012.

The Board extends its deepest gratitude for his service to the BBG and to United States international broadcasting.“Inspired by Chairman Isaacson’s example, the Board reaffirms its unqualified and ongoing commitment to fostering and promoting high-quality, independent and objective journalism by all BBG broadcasters.  The Board rededicates itself to pursuing the mission adopted during Chairman Isaacson’s tenure:  ‘To inform, engage, and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy.’ “

The Board designated Lynton to serve as presiding Governor on an interim basis until such time as it selects an alternate presiding Governor, Governor Lynton chooses to step down as presiding Governor, or a new Chairman is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

The Broadcasting Board of Governors is an independent federal agency, supervising all U.S. government-supported, civilian international broadcasting, whose mission is inform, engage, and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy. BBG broadcasts reach an audience of 187 million in 100 countries. BBG networks include the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa), Radio Free Asia, and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (Radio and TV Marti).

Contact: Lynn Weil, lweil@bbg.gov

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From the official BBG website:

Michael Lynton Becomes The BBG’s New Interim Presiding Governor

FEBRUARY 11, 2012

Washington, DC – Following the departure of Chairman Walter Isaacson, the Broadcasting Board of Governors today unanimously approved BBG member Michael Lynton as its new interim presiding governor.

“It is a pleasure to work with this multi-talented, bipartisan board, and an honor to be elected to help lead the organization,” Lynton said.  “We are each committed to the cause of making this agency the best it can be.  And with our various strengths and diverse backgrounds, we all bring something to the table.”

Lynton is the Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment.  He is the former CEO of AOL Europe and Chairman and CEO of Pearson PLC’s Penguin Group.  A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Mr. Lynton and also serves on the boards of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Rand Corporation.  He is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School and is proficient in French, German and Dutch.

Lynton serves on the BBG Governance Committee. 

The Senate confirmed him and all the other appointed Governors in the summer of 2010.The Governors noted that Mr. Isaacson provided an inspiring example, and they acknowledged his “great efforts and tremendous contributions … during his tenure as BBG Chairman from July 2010 until January 2012.

The Board extends its deepest gratitude for his service to the BBG and to United States international broadcasting.“Inspired by Chairman Isaacson’s example, the Board reaffirms its unqualified and ongoing commitment to fostering and promoting high-quality, independent and objective journalism by all BBG broadcasters.  The Board rededicates itself to pursuing the mission adopted during Chairman Isaacson’s tenure:  ‘To inform, engage, and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy.’ “

The Board designated Lynton to serve as presiding Governor on an interim basis until such time as it selects an alternate presiding Governor, Governor Lynton chooses to step down as presiding Governor, or a new Chairman is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

The Broadcasting Board of Governors is an independent federal agency, supervising all U.S. government-supported, civilian international broadcasting, whose mission is inform, engage, and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy. BBG broadcasts reach an audience of 187 million in 100 countries. BBG networks include the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa), Radio Free Asia, and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (Radio and TV Marti).

Contact: Lynn Weil, lweil@bbg.gov

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Absentee member Michael Lynton pushed to become temporary Broadcasting Board of Governors chair

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CUSIB Statement on the Resignation of BBG Chairman Walter Isaacson

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Have a backup plan: VOA Director David Ensor on satellite TV signal jamming

IBB Director Richard Lobo

Having kept in place (true: some even got promoted) the worst management team (true) in the federal government, you would think that the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB – part the Broadcasting Board of Governors – BBG) Director Richard Lobo would be constantly checking on his managers to make sure they don’t screw up again. Lobo, however, does not seem to be too worried.

Sure, his managers can’t pay government bills on time (contract employees have to wait sometimes several months for their checks), but Lobo thinks they are doing just fine. He likes them so much in fact, that he recently defended his decision to give them large bonuses. He does not seem to be too worried about employee morale at the IBB/BBG, even though it is at the lowest level within the federal government.

Just to show that things are going extremely well, Lobo now decided that he can turn his attention elsewhere and let his excellent management team prove that they can function well even when he is busy somewhere else. Director Lobo has accepted an appointment from the U.S. ambassador to Germany, Philip Murphy, to serve on the RIAS Berlin Commission, a bi-national organization that promotes German-American understanding in the field of broadcasting. Forgive us for not rejoicing.

We wonder how much of his time will this job take? Who will respond to Governor Ashe’s request for a report on the treatment (or should we say mistreatment) of contract employees? Who will make sure that contractors and invoices are paid on time?

Will it be the same managers who have created these problems in the first place? Remember, Director Lobo kept the same management team rated by their own employees as the worst in the federal government.

We also wonder who will pay for his travels to Germany? Will it be RIAS, IBB or Director Lobo himself? We would be greatly surprised if he uses his own money.

But the main question is who will be minding the store when Director Lobo goes to Berlin or immerses himself in the RIAS issues? BBG employees deserve better managers and a more engaged IBB Director.

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BBG Press Release

Friday, 20 January, 2012

Richard Lobo joins RIAS Berlin Commission

January 20, 2012, Washington, DC — Richard Lobo has been appointed by the U.S. ambassador to Germany, Philip Murphy, to the RIAS Berlin Commission, a bi-national organization that promotes German-American understanding in the field of broadcasting.  With historic roots tied to “Radio in the American Sector” of Berlin following World War II and founded in 1992, the Commission’s mission today is to promote the exchange of persons and information in the field of broadcast journalism between Germany and the United States. 

“I am honored to join this bi-national commission which fosters excellence in our profession of broadcast journalism as well as transatlantic understanding,” Lobo said. “The great history of RIAS reinforces the undeniable value of balanced news and information historically in Germany as well in today’s volatile international climate,” he added.
The Commission consists of ten members, five from Germany and five from the U.S.  

Since 1994, a total of 1,201 American and German journalists have participated in RIAS’s unique transatlantic professional exchanges.  In addition, the RIAS Berlin Commission annually presents awards for radio, TV and Internet productions that make special contributions to mutual understanding between the people of Germany and the United States. 

Lobo is the Presidentially-appointed, and Senate-confirmed Director of the International Broadcasting Bureau, and operates as an extension of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) in its oversight of U.S. international broadcasting.  He provides day-to-day management of BBG operations including oversight of the technical, professional, and administrative support as well as strategic guidance and management of other programs. Additionally, Lobo serves as the principal liaison for the Board with other U.S. government agencies, foreign governments and private-sector organizations.
For more information about the RIAS Berlin Commission visit http://www.riasberlin.de/

The Broadcasting Board of Governors is an independent federal agency, supervising all U.S. government-supported, civilian international broadcasting, whose mission is inform, engage, and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy. BBG broadcasts reach an audience of 187 million in 100 countries. BBG networks include the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa), Radio Free Asia, and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (Radio and TV Marti).

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VOA Reporter Killed In Pakistan, BBG Watch urges BBG to do more to take care of contract and overseas-based employees

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FedSmith.com links to Lobo-bonuses story, offers salary search

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Leader of federal agency with lowest leadership ratings justifies cash awards for executives

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BBG Watch most popular posts focus on mismanagement at Broadcasting Board of Governors

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Victor Ashe Annoys Peers, says Knoxville’s Metro Pulse, quotes from BBGWatch.com

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Broadcasting Board Governor Victor Ashe praised for listening to employee concerns

BBG Governor Victor Ashe and VOA Director David Ensor meeting with VOA China Branch employees - BBG photo

A Knoxville magazine website Metro Pulse quoted from BBGWatch.com in its report about Broadcasting Board Governor Victor Ashe’s unprecedented one-man campaign to reform the federal agency in charge of U.S. international broadcasting.

Metro Pulse reported that “A blog [BBGWatch.com report: U.S. official Victor Ashe calls for keeping a radio facility capable of reaching China] that covers the BBG called Ashe’s public dissent ‘unprecedented’ by a member since the members, appointed by the president, do not publicly criticize the running of the agency.” Metro Pulse pointed out that Ashe, who is a former mayor of Knoxville and former U.S. Ambassador to Poland, has been visiting various BBG broadcasting entities and meeting with employees. The report suggest that Ashe “can be expected to continue to be a thorn in the side of his colleagues.”

The article mentions Ashe’s statement in support of keeping open a radio transmitting facility on U.S. territory capable of broadcasting to China.

Metro Pulse also noted Ashe’s successful intervention to make flu shots available to contract employees working at the Voice of America (VOA). “Ashe said the flu does not discriminate between civil service and contract workers. So the flu shots were extended,” Metro Pulse reported.

Read full Metro Pulse story.

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‘Old white guys’ – National Review links to BBG Watch discrimination and mismanagement story

The “old white guys” comment attributed to a former CNN associate of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) Chairman Walter Isaacson will just not go away. Nor should it until officials who make such comments are forever banned from U.S. international broadcasting.

Jay Nordlinger, a senior editor of National Review, has linked his recent “Impromptus” column to the BBG Watch story. Nordlinger does not focus on the BBG, but his commentary deals with people who make broad charges based on race, age, and gender.

Interestingly, Nordlinger mentions John O’Sullivan, “who is just leaving Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty.” Could O’Sullivan be one of those “old white guys” being pushed out from U.S. international broadcasting prior to the proposed merger and de-federalization so that former CNN executives can give high paying BBG jobs to other former CNN employees and to promote their favorites?

BBG Watch thinks this is exactly what’s going on and we have facts and documents to prove it: BBG executives who have developed the merger/privatization plan are already treating U.S. international broadcasting as their personal fiefdom.

Brazen sexist and racist comments go unpunished, broadcasts to strategically important countries and regions are being cut (China, Russia) while BBG executives give themselves $10,000 bonuses on top of their $170,000 salaries, plans are developed to bureaucratize the surrogate broadcasters and to undermine their independence and effectiveness, and the Voice of America’s unique claim to represent the views and values of the American people and the American government is being threatened by a corporate privatization at U.S. taxpayers’ expense.

BBG executives will no doubt claim on Capitol Hill that their plans and actions are designed to save money and to make U.S. international broadcasting more effective. As to saving money, we hope no one in Congress is foolish enough to believe such claims. They will hire more of their friends and associates and give money to private contractors whom they know because there would be less scrutiny, less transparency and less accountability. U.S. international broadcasting will no longer belong to the American people. The BBG might as well remove the U.S. from their agency’s name.

As to the effectiveness, perhaps if you think that CNN International should be the standard of U.S. public diplomacy, then you might get your wish. Those of us who have lived abroad and watched CNN International think that it is one of the reasons the world needs the Voice of America. To correct the anti-American bias.

As for the “old white guys” of U.S. international broadcasting — don’t count on the Broadcasting Board of Governors to protect you. Some BBG members reportedly wanted to fire the executive who made the offensive comment but in the end they did not get the majority to support them. No doubt employment anti-discrimination lawsuits will follow and the BBG would have no choice but to settle them because of the “old white guys” comment and other examples of discriminatory behavior, with the American taxpayers picking up the tab.

While we are still checking out some details, sources have told BBG Watch that the official who made the “old white guys” comment is a lawyer by training. This certainly adds insult to injury. He must have not been practicing law in the United States for quite some time. We are also told that the BBG paid thousands of dollars to a recruiting firm and by some strange coincidence the firm found a former CNN associate of the BBG Chairman.

If this is the best CNN talent they can get as managers to be in charge of the merged and privatized future corporate BBG entity, then U.S. international broadcasting is indeed in big trouble — that is true whether there is a merger/privatization or not. David Ensor, the new Voice of America director, who is a former CNN correspondent, seems to be an exception and is being praised by some for his independent leadership, but it remains to be seen how far he can go against the BBG bureaucrats who still seem to have Isaacson’s ear when he can get away from promoting his recently published biography of Steve Jobs. BBG’s senior Republican member Victor Ashe is waging a lonely fight against mismanagement and corruption. At least for now, however, the open season for “old white guys” at the Broadcasting Board of Governors seems to be still on.

Also see a BBG Watch report on Ashe’s statement.

Statement from BBG Governor Victor H. Ashe

I hope that 2012 sees a new era of employee-management relations for BBG. I feel the Governors are becoming increasingly aware that having 45 percent of all VOA employees as contract employees presents major issues of fairness, concern and accountability. It creates two classes of employees for a single work force.

I hope BBG director Dick Lobo will appoint a broad based committee representing all groups to review the issue and make recommendations to the Board. The BBG governance committee must take a hard look at this. The recent flu shot issue which was favorably resolved highlights how foolish the two classes of employees had become as it made no sense to deny contract employees flu shots while offering them to federal employees all working in the same building and office space. How this ever occurred in the first place surprised me.

Surveys have consistently shown bad morale. We must turn this around. Contract employees are not surveyed by OPM. Recently, IBB sent out a limited survey on the contracts themselves but not on general work place issues. While well intended, that attempt falls short of what is needed to gauge employee thoughts. We must make a New Year’s resolution to do better in this area. We must walk the walk and not just talk the talk.

We must also ring the bell that boorish behavior in the work place will not be tolerated. We must be open and transparent in how we deal with it. I am confident that the new engaged leadership of David Ensor will prevail and create a new climate in this field. He is implementing new procedures.

I felt my visit to the Edward Murrow Transmission facility in Greenville, NC on December 7 was a good one and I learned a lot. I am convinced it is a serious mistake to close this facility which is the only one on American soil where the American government has jurisdiction. The station in the Philippines is barred from transmissions to China due the Philippine government’s reluctance to upset the Chinese government. That could not happen on American territory. 

The Murrow facility has been hidden from public view and I urge it to be more visible. Its name had become Site B which is effectively nameless. However, President Kennedy had participated in 1962 naming it for Edward R Murrow, one of our nation’s most respected newscasters. The signs should be re-erected in North Carolina and the public of Pitt County invited to visit. We should be proud of the Murrow facility.

On December 14, I spent most of the day visiting and meeting employees of MBN in Springfield, VA and was deeply impressed by Brian Conniff and his dedicated staff. They are outstanding. In March the full Board plans to meet there.

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Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen at 70th Anniversary of Voice of America broadcasting to China

The Broadcasting Board of Governors announced that BBG Governor Victor Ashe toured the last remaining U.S. –based international broadcast facility recently, noting the historical significance of the base which is named for an icon of U.S. international broadcasting. BBG Watch reported earlier that the BBG executive staff tried to discourage Ashe from visiting the Edward R. Murrow Greenville Transmitting Station in North Carolina. BBG executives want to close the station down as part of their plan to limit Voice of America radio broadcasting, eliminate several language services, and to switch most of the remaining ones to Internet-only program delivery.

BBG announcement notes that during his December 8 visit to the Edward R. Murrow Greenville Transmitting Station in North Carolina, Ashe met with employees and discussed the installation’s mission, which includes shortwave broadcasting to Latin America, Cuba, the Caribbean, and Africa.

Ashe has been meeting with BBG employee and raising employee morale issues in open BBG meetings to the dismay of BBG executives. They have been rated in government-wide employee surveys as being among the worst managers in the federal government.

Ashe has also raised questions about BBG staff’s plans to privatize Voice of America and Radio and TV Marti and to merge Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa into a large corporate bureaucracy. A former Republican mayor of Knoxville and former U.S. Ambassador to Poland, Ashe is known to be concerned about the BBG staff’s eagerness to eliminate radio and television VOA broadcasting services and jobs in the United States.

BBG announcement states that Ashe said he was impressed with the professionalism and dedication of the staff of the transmitting station in North Carolina, particularly their ability to maintain aged broadcast transmitters and related equipment.

While BBG public affairs staffers tried hard to focus the announcement on the historical aspects of the visit, sources told BBG Watch that Ashe also said that employees of the Edward R. Murrow Greenville Transmitting Station are “performing a valuable service.” Ashe also called for using the official name of the station rather than referring to it as a transmitting facility. Edward R. Murrow, a famous broadcast journalist during World War II and post-war director of the United States Information Agency, was a native of North Carolina.

Sources also told BBG Watch that Ashe is concerned how BBG executives deal with the American public and members of Congress. While BBG public relations staffers posted online a short announcement about Ashe’s visit to North Carolina, they refused to issue a press release about a Capitol Hill reception to mark the 70th anniversary of VOA broadcasting to China, which was hosted by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher.

The BBG wanted to end radio and television broadcasts to China but their plan was blocked in Congress thanks to an amendment introduced by Rep. Rohrabacher. His amendment received full bipartisan support. Rep. Illeana Ros-Lehtinen, the Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, attended the reception and recorded a special video message in support of VOA broadcasting to China.

It is not known whether the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has approved Lynne Weil appointment to a career SES position at the BBG. She is a Senior Advisor for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. She was previously Press Director and Spokeswoman at the U.S. Agency for International Development; Communications Director at the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, and Press Secretary at the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

BBG Watch believes that eventually this appointment is likely to contribute to closing down of yet another Voice of America broadcasting service. BBG executives have never been known for reducing their own ranks when budgets are cut. In fact, they have been hiring right and left as well as giving themselves large bonuses, some as high as $10,000.

It’s a great job if you can get it, said one BBG Watch source. Being a Voice of America broadcaster preparing radio and TV programs to countries like China is another story. BBG executives wanted to fire 45 such broadcasters but Congressional committees intervened and stopped the planned dismissals. One source told BBG Watch that perhaps with the experience she required working in Congress and at the State Department, Lynne Weil can have some positive impact on the BBG executive staffers who — in addition to being voted by BBG employees as being among the worst managers in the federal government — also lack political sense and appreciation of U.S. foreign policy and public diplomacy needs abroad.

Weil’s job, however, will be to sell to Congress the plan to de-federalize and privatize the Voice of America and Radio and TV Marti. The plan was developed by the same bureaucrats who wanted to end VOA radio and TV broadcasts to China. This did not go very well with members of Congress and they may also not like the BBG merger plan that would limit the administrative independence of the surrogate broadcasters like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia. These broadcasters have enjoyed considerable support in Congress and their independence from central bureaucratic control is viewed as essential to their success in promoting democracy and human rights abroad. One BBG Watch Source expressed hope that perhaps Lynne Weil can explain these basic facts to the BBG members.

Additional new details of this story can be found here.

Jianglin Li is a researcher and writer, focusing exclusively on the history of Tibet after 1950. She has conducted research in Tibetan refugee camps in India and Nepal and interviewed hundreds of refugees. Since 2004, Jianglin Li has met regularly with the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama and interviewed him many times. She is the first Chinese-speaking writer born in mainland China to be his authorized biographer. She has published more than 30 articles on Tibet and a book on the 1959 Lhasa event. She is currently writing a book on the secret war in Tibet from 1956-1962.

The Committee for U.S. International Broadcasting said it will benefit from Jianglin Li’s scholarship and her knowledge of Tibet and China. CUSIB works to expand the flow of uncensored news and information from the United States to countries without free media.

CUSIB will benefit from Dr. Lenczowski’s public diplomacy expertise and his advice on international broadcasting issues.

As President Reagan’s Soviet affairs adviser, John Lenczowski was instrumental in increasing funding for Voice of America and Radio Free Europe broadcasts to Poland during Solidarity’s struggle for democracy.

He is author of “Full Spectrum Diplomacy and Grand Strategy” (Lexington Books, 2011).

The Committee for U.S. International Broadcasting (CUSIB) describes itself as a nonpartisan, nongovernmental organization working to strengthen free flow of uncensored news from the United States to countries with restricted and developing media environments. Its website states that CUSIB supports journalism in defense of media freedom and human rights and works closely with the executive branch, Congress, and media to promote effective multi-channel delivery of news and information to overcome press censorship.

RFE/RL analyst Charles Dameron took issue with another of Putin’s claims in the same interview. Putin said that NTV’s Vladimir Kulistikov’s move to state television from Radio Svoboda is evidence of Russia’s liberalization. Kulistikov was one of the reporters asking questions.

The RFE/RL analyst pointed out that dozens of journalists in Russia have been killed during Mr. Putin’s rule because they offended the authorities.

Ted Lipien said that there was a clear purpose to Vladimir Putin’s comments linking Radio Svoboda to spying on the USSR during the Cold War. Such comments, Lipien said, are designed to intimidate both journalists and Radio Svoboda’s potential audience in Russia, in addition to reassuring Prime Minister’s Putin’s nationalistic supporters.

Read more on CUSIB:

Follow this link to BBG Watch:
Putin goes after Radio Svoboda on Russian TV — CUSIB

Robert Reilly, Senior Fellow for Strategic Communication at the American Foreign Policy Council (AFPC), has taught at the National Defense University, and served in the Office of The Secretary of Defense, where he was Senior Advisor for Information Strategy (2002-2006). He participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, as Senior Advisor to the Iraqi Ministry of information. Before that, he was director of the Voice of America, where he had worked the prior decade. Mr. Reilly also served in the White House as a Special Assistant to the President (1983-1985), and in the U.S. Information Agency both in DC and abroad.

The Committee for U.S. International Broadcasting (CUSIB), a recently-formed NGO, works to improve the free flow of uncensored news and information from the United States to countries with restricted and undeveloped media environments.

Read more on CUSIB.org

Link to the BBG Watch website report:
Former VOA director joins Committee for U.S. International Broadcasting

RFE/RL analyst Charles Dameron took issue with another of Putin’s claims in the same interview. Putin said that NTV’s Vladimir Kulistikov’s move to state television from Radio Svoboda is evidence of Russia’s liberalization. Kulistikov was one of the reporters asking questions.

The RFE/RL analyst pointed out that dozens of journalists in Russia have been killed during Mr. Putin’s rule because they offended the authorities.

Ted Lipien said that there was a clear purpose to Vladimir Putin’s comments linking Radio Svoboda to spying on the USSR during the Cold War. Such comments, Lipien said, are designed to intimidate both journalists and Radio Svoboda’s potential audience in Russia, in addition to reassuring Prime Minister’s Putin’s nationalistic supporters.

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Robert Reilly, Senior Fellow for Strategic Communication at the American Foreign Policy Council (AFPC), has taught at the National Defense University, and served in the Office of The Secretary of Defense, where he was Senior Advisor for Information Strategy (2002-2006). He participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, as Senior Advisor to the Iraqi Ministry of information. Before that, he was director of the Voice of America, where he had worked the prior decade. Mr. Reilly also served in the White House as a Special Assistant to the President (1983-1985), and in the U.S. Information Agency both in DC and abroad.

The Committee for U.S. International Broadcasting (CUSIB), a recently-formed NGO, works to improve the free flow of uncensored news and information from the United States to countries with restricted and undeveloped media environments.

Read more

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BBG executives unnerved by Ashe’s interest in employee morale