Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Radio Free Asia
Wor l d n e t Television and FIlm Servi c e Broadcasting Board of Governors Radio and TV Martí
1 9 9 Annual Report 8 Table of Contents
The Power of Our Ideas ...... ii
Letter to the President and the Congr es s ...... ii i
Su m m a r y & Mission ...... iv
Section 1 Amplifying the Power of Ideas ...... 1
Section 2 Se r ving a Multimedia Wor l d ...... 7
Section 3 Retooling for a Communications Century...... 11
Section 4 Beyond the Millennium ...... 13
Ap p e n d i x e s Br oadcasting Principles (P. L. 103-236)...... 15 Br oadcasting Board of Governo r s ...... 16 Facts About U.S. International Broadcast Networks VO A ...... 17 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty ...... 18 Radio Free Asia ...... 19 Worldnet Television and Film Servi c e ...... 20 Radio and TV Ma rt í ...... 21
Or ganizational Chart ...... 22
Re s o u r ces and Administrative & Managerial Services Expenses ...... 23 The Power of Our Ideas
“The news “OU R gr eatest strength is the power of The nation's civilian, taxpayer-s u p p o rt e d our ideas, which are still new in many lands. overseas networks—the Voice of America, may be good. Ac r oss the world, we see them embraced, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty , Radio Free we rejoice. Our hopes, our hearts, our hands Asia, Worldnet Television, and Radio and TV The news ar e with those on every continent who are Ma r tí to Cuba*—are unfamiliar to many in building democracy and freedom. Their cause a United States awash in all manner of may be bad. is America's cause.” media. But for others in informa t i o n - h u n g r y — Pr esident Bill Clinton societies, these networks are the only consis- First Inaugural Addres s tently reliable, multimedia, public servi c e We shall tell Ja n u a r y 20, 1993 window to the world. In a turbulent and ev e r -changing world, the job of bringing the you the truth.” “B r oadcasting is an important instrument of tr uth in the languages understood by the U.S. foreign policy and should remain so.” people of Siberia, Congo, Afghanistan, Iraq, — William Harlan Hale First VOA Broa d c a s t — Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC) Cuba, Tibet and well over 100 other nations Fe b ru a r y 24, 1942 Ma r ch 10, 1998 is a noble and important task of the United States governm e n t . Each week, more than 100 million listeners, viewers and Internet users experience the The broadcasters are poised, after passage power of American ideas of democracy and by Congress of a landmark reo rg a n i z a t i o n fr ee enterprise. The nation's publicly-funded af fecting all of them, to meet the geopoliti- in t e r national broadcast networks make this cal and technological challenges of the possible via shortwave, AM, FM, TV and a 21st century. On October 1, 1999, U.S. variety of web sites. in t e r national broadcasting assumes full inde- pendence under the Broadcasting Board of The world's consumers of information have a Go v e r nors and becomes separate from the driving drea m : De p a r tment of State or its previous paren t or ganization, the United States Informa t i o n – to get news, balanced analysis, and Ag e n c y . U.S. international broadcasting is insights into what America is thinking guaranteed professional independence, and saying, and news-gathering autonomy, and journa l i s t i c – to get the straight story on what is in t e g r i t y . International broadcasting rem a i n s going on in their own countries, and an essential instrument of U.S. foreign policy. what America and the world think about it.
*VOA, Worldnet, and the Martís, along with an Office of Engineering and other support services, are federal entities under the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB). RFE/RL and RFA are federally-funded, private grantee organizations which, like IBB, are overseen by the Broadcasting Board of Governors. On October 21, 1998, President Clinton signed into law the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act (Public Law 105-277), creating the autonomous broadcasting entity.
ii September 15, 1999 Ma r c B. Nathanson, Californi a Ch a i rm a n To the President of the United States and the Congress of the United States:
As req u i r ed by Section 305(a) of Public Law 103-236, the U.S. International Broadcasting Act Ch e r yl Halpern, New Jersey of 1994, the Broadcasting Board of Governors submits its third annual rep o r t summarizing the activities of the U.S.-funded international broadcasting services—the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty , Radio Free Asia, Radio and TV Martí to Cuba, and Ed w a r d E. Kaufman, Delaware Worldnet Tel e v i s i o n .
The bipartisan, presidentially-appointed Board is fully prep a r ed to assume sole direction of these federal and grantee organizations as of October 1 in accordance with the 1998 Tom C. Korologos, Virg i n i a Fo r eign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act, which establishes the Br oadcasting Board of Go v e rn o r s as an independent entity with supervi s o r y responsibility for all civilian U.S. in t e r national broa d c a s t e r s . Bette Bao Lord, New Yor k
This landmark reo r ganization re- a ff i r ms the independence of U.S. international broadcasting and sets us on a clear course to pursue excellence in news programming and public servi c e Al b e r to Mora, Florida in f o r mation in an increasingly unpredictable world. Mindful of the journalistic integrity essen- tial to cred i b i l i t y , we look forwa r d to continuing to provide accurate information to listeners and viewers around the globe. Carl Spielvogel, New Yor k
U.S. international broadcasters are eager to pursue programming and technical innovations. During this past year, we have expanded and enhanced our delivery systems to provide more Penn Kemble se r vices to listeners via TV, affiliated FM stations and the Interne t . Acting Direc t o r United States Information Agency Ex Offi c i o * We deeply appreciate the support provided by the President and the Congress as we advance the goals of American foreign policy. We see no higher calling than to reflect freedom and democracy in times of rapid global political and technological change. *As of October 1, 1999, Se c re t a r y of State Madeleine Albright will become Respectfully submitted, the ex-officio member of the Br oadcasting Board of Governo r s .
Ma r c B. Nathanson
ii i New Leaders for U.S. Interna t i o n a l Bro a d c a s t i n g
ON November 1, 1998, cable TV pioneer Marc B. Nathanson became the second chairman of the Broadcasting Board of G o v e rnors, succeeding David Burke. Mr. Nathanson told the staffs of U.S. interna t i o n a l bro a d c a s t i n g :
“In the first decade of the new Vice President Gore swears in Marc B. Nathanson as the second chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governo r s . millennium, what you do will be a Mrs. Jane Nathanson is pictured in the center. vital component of America's desire to promote its security and democ - racy in other lands. I salute the men Su m m a r y and Mission and women of international broa d - THIS rep o r t summarizes the mission and achievements of America's essential casting for spreading the news voices to the world in 1998, while looking to the challenges posed—in pro- un i v e r s a l l y , which, in the end, best pr omotes freedom and democracy gramming and technology—in the future. It is organized as follows: ar ound the globe.” On June 1, 1999, the new Acting Director of the Interna t i o n a l Section 1 The Mission Br oadcasting Bureau, Brian Conniff, Amplifying the Power of Ideas The United States Interna t i o n a l said in a newsletter to the staff: “I A glimpse at the critical need for Br oadcasting Act of 1994 (Public Law believe this new organization will st r engthen the erp - in t e r national broadcasting in a 103-236, Section 302), says the ero r - utation for integrity da n g e r ous and unstable world, where ganization and consolidation of the that has character - the spread of democracy is slowing. overseas networks are designed to ized international achieve important economies and to b roadcasting for Section 2 su p p o r t freedom and democracy in a well over a half a Se r ving a Multimedia Wor l d rapidly changing world. The Act cites ce n t u r y…. Our col - lective goal is to People are getting information in two principal purposes of U.S. civilian maintain prog r a m - many ways, posing unprec e d e n t e d in t e r national broa d c a s t i n g : ming excellence, op p o r tunities and challenges for Brian Conniff extend our e ra c h , in t e r national broa d c a s t e r s . – It is the policy of the United States develop flexibility to to promote the right of freedom of respond to ever changing events, Section 3 ex p r ession, including the freedom “to and explore new ways to deliver our message.” Retooling for a seek, receive, and impart informa t i o n On July 17, 1999, Sanford J. Communications Century and ideas through any media erg a r d - Ungar was formally sworn in as What next for the broadcasters in less of frontiers,” in accordance with VOA's 24th direc t o r , succeeding pr omoting democracy and stability, Ar ticle 19 of the Universal Declaration Evelyn S. Lieberman, who was suitable to meet the needs of listeners of Human Rights. recently named Undersecret a r y and viewers in a digital age? of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Mr. Ungar said: – Open communication of informa t i o n “ To do what the Voice of Section 4 and ideas among the peoples of the America and other interna t i o n a l Beyond the Millennium world contributes to international peace br oadcasters did during the erc e n t Priorities for international public and stability and the promotion of such crisis in Kosovo—to keep honest se r vice broadcasting at the dawn of communication is in the interests of the in f o r mation flowing—is an incom - a new information rev o l u t i o n . United States. parable servi c e … . In October, we gain our independence and become that much more credible as an independent and unbiased so u r ce for news and informa t i o n . ” iv Languages of U.S. Interna t i o n a l Bro a d c a s t i n g 1Amplifying the Power of Ideas Afan Orom o Al b a n i a n The need for international broa d c a s t - ing was called into question a decade ago, when the Berlin Wall came tum- Am h a r i c bling down. The Cold War was over. But the world was then, and is now, Ar a b i c a volatile and dangerous place. U.S. in t e r national broadcasting soon demonstrated it was still vital to Arm e n i a n America's security during the Gulf War of 1991. It continued to do so in the Az e r b a i j a n i Th e n - P r esident Michal Kovac of the Slovak Republic speaks at VOA in mid-1990s as Russia's economy Ja n u a r y 1998 about the contributions of VOA’s Slovak Service to his worsened and internal control of its co u n t r y. An interpreter stands to his right. nuclear arsenal seemed to loosen. In Ba n g l a China, as the decade drew to a close, “E V E R Y mo r ning in Dharamsala, after my the crackdown against pro-democracy mo r ning prayer, I always listen to you...So advocates widened. In South Asia, the test- Be l a ru s i a n many people inside Tibet and outside listen to ing of nuclear weapons posed a new peril to the Voice of America. People are almost risking hu m a n i t y , as did the horrors of ethnic cleans- Bo s n i a n their lives to listen.. .ev e r y word is importa n t . ” ing in the Balkans. Hate radio continues to — The Dalai Lama, during a visit to VOA, be rampant in central Africa and elsewhere. November 9, 1998 Bu l g a r i a n But the 1990s also heralded a significant “It is still prem a t u r e to celebrate the victory expansion of electoral democracies or Bu rm e s e of democracy because.. .the adoption of a constitutional ref o r ms in countries of democratic constitution does not constitute Ea s t e r n Europe, the Soviet Union, Africa democracy in itself and many countries use this and East Asia. Ca n t o n e s e me r ely to create an attractive facade. Radio Li b e r ty still has a lot to do in order to prom o t e Cre o l e 'the final victory of the democratic view’.” — Eduard Shevardnadze, Pr esident, Republic of Georgia, Fr eedom House Surve y Cro a t i a n during a visit to RFE/RL, 1993. Tracking Democracy 19 9 8 “Y our voices are our voices. After I've Cz e c h listened to you once, I can't stop listen - Number of democracies among ing. Not only do I listen to prog r a m s the world’s 190 countries Da r i ca re f u l l y , I also love to talk about them, 19 8 8 - 8 9 69 think about them, and tape them.” — Letter to RFA from Shanxi 19 9 3 - 9 4 10 8 English to Africa Pr ovince, China, July 24, 1998 19 9 7 - 9 8 11 7 Es t o n i a n
1 Pa r ticipating in a Ma r ch 1998 symposium, “P r ospects and Challenges for Trade and Investment in Africa,” are (l to r) U.S. Tra n s p o r tation Secret a r y Rodney Slater, Ghanaian Ambassador to the U.S. Koby Koomson, and Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-LA).
Sp r eading Free d o m ’ s which, for many of them, are issues The Broad Reach of Me s s a g e of life and death. Yet in the 1990s, indigenous hate radios have spawned U.S. Governm e n t U.S. overseas broadcasters were cred - mass killings in Bosnia and Kosovo, In t e rn a t i o n a l ited with helping accelerate a tren d Rwanda and Burundi—and continue Bro a d c a s t e r s to w a r d democracy, beaming straight to fan hatred today. 19 9 8 news of democratic change into the inner chambers of the most tightly- In c re a s i n g l y , people worldwide are sealed politburos of Eastern Europ e Estimated direct demanding a voice in choosing their and the former Soviet Union and to br oadcast audiences: leaders and in shaping the policies of the most remote villages and towns those leaders. As witnessed during of Asia and Africa. But the worldwide VO A 1998 in Nigeria and Indonesia, lead- quest for democracy, for stability, 86,000,000 (Wor l d w i d e ) ers who fail to heed the people's for pros p e r i t y , is hardly over. The voices do so at their own peril. world ten years after the end of the RF E / R L Tyrants continue to fear U.S. interna - Cold War still presents challenges 20 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 tional broadcasters, because of the for democracies. (E u r ope, Central Asia and hope they offer to those without the Middle East) access to informa t i o n . Re p re s s i v e Ac c o r ding to Freedom House, in a go v e r nments this past year have: world of 190 countries: Radio Martí – ar rested international broa d c a s t 750,000 (Cuba) – Twenty percent of inhabi- rep o r ters or expanded res t r i c - tants live in countries where tions against them, Estimates to date do not include the press is rated free . audiences of Radio Free Asia, more – imposed new laws to shut – Th i r ty-eight percent live in than 1,400 satellite-fed national net- down local independent lands with “partly free” media. works or local stations which rel a y radio stations, U.S. government radio and television – Fo r ty-two percent of the – closed or destroyed non- p rogramming around the world, world's population live in 65 go v e r nmental local networks di r ect to owners of home satellite TV countries where governments and stations in Africa which dishes, or to website users in a uni- se v e r ely control or suppress br oadcast views of govern- verse of more than 100 million print and broadcast news. ment opponents within personal computers. Access to these their countries, media is growing every year in devel- Mo r e than four billion people are oping nations throughout the globe. thus deprived of complete, balanced – continued to jam RFA or VOA and accurate information. In the di r ect broadcasts in China and Balkans, in China, in central Africa Vietnam, and Radio Martí they continue today to seek the br oadcasts in Cuba, tr uth. They hunger for insights into – blocked access to the public what is going on in their own coun- In t e r net server in the Peoples tries, as well as what America is Republic of China and thinking and saying about issues in Serbia's universities, and
2 – to r n down privately-owned – Launched the first arou n d - t h e - A Bargain in the Global satellite dishes. clock service in Mandarin Marketplace of Ideas Chinese in the history of The world, a decade after in t e r national broadcasting (12 FO R about two percent of the Tiananmen and the Berlin Wall, is hours each by VOA and RFA) . en t i r e foreign affairs budget, VOA, mo r e unpredictable and dangerou s RFE/RL, RFA, the Martís, and – Cr eated two highly-targe t e d than anyone could have imagined at Worldnet Television can operate for new surrogate services within the end of the 1980s. Even two an entire year. This is less than two RF E / R L—Radio Free Iraq and a years ago, who could have fores e e n : hu n d r edths of a percent of federal Persian Service to Iran—to non-defense spending. During the – the first use of force by NATO reach two strategically-impor- past year, U.S. overseas networks in the Balkans to end ethnic tant Gulf countries. have once again proven the old cleansing in Kosovo; – Enhanced and temporarily adage: it's the truth that hurts . – the Asian economic crisis affe c t - expanded broadcasts to the Technical monitoring confirm e d ing South Korea, Indonesia, Arab world (VOA and Radio that China, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, North Thailand and others around F ree Iraq) during the four- d a y K o rea, Tibet, and Vietnam all the globe; U.S./British airstrikes against attempted to jam America's broa d - Iraq in December, 1998. cast voices. – the rival nuclear tests by India and Pakistan and renewed fight- – Dramatically expanded ing in Kashmir; and br oadcasts to the forme r Yugoslavia in response – the expansion of perils such as to the NATO airstrikes te r rorism against U.S. embassies and mass killings of in Africa? Kosovar Albanians by the Yugoslav army and In an unpredictable world, democra- Serb militias: VOA in cy must be strengthened. A better Albanian and Serbian, in f o r med world is a safer one, and and RFE in its South Slavic U.S. international broadcasters are br oadcast servi c e . America's informational trump card in times of crisis. They get America's – Established new services to message into millions of homes the Balkans, RFE in worldwide when the nation most Albanian and VOA in needs to. They offer vital alterna t i v e Macedonian. U.S. interna - ideas and seeds of hope to those tional broadcasters led the su p p r essed in closed societies. way in establishing a ring of FM stations arou n d During the past year, U.S. govern- Serbia broadcasting news ment overseas broa d c a s t e r s : fr om British, German, and While covering the conflict in Kosovo, broadcast journalist Fr ench international broa d c a s t - Ilir Ikonomi of VOA’s Albanian Service uses a satellite phone ers as well as the U.S. networks. to file a rep o r t. In back of him is a NATO tank which has halted in the capital of Pristina.
3 – Founded a network of more than 30 affiliates in Bosnia which carried a two-hour Bosnian language prog r a m . Serbian language newscasts we r e broadcast throu g h o u t the day to update audiences on Kosovo (RFE/RL).
– Inaugurated a global At the ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the new Radio and ar ound-the-clock news TV Martí headquarters in Miami, Florida are (l to r): Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL), and information Se c re t a r y of State Madeleine K. Albright, Rep. Peter Deutsch (D-FL), Rep. Carri e Meek (D-FL), Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex pr ogram in Penelas, and Office of Cuba Broadcasting Director Herminio San Roman. English, VO A News Now, – Expanded Worldnet Television prog r a m - another first of its kind in ming to Africa and Asia from eight to the field. This included a quantum ten hours daily, with new weekly English expansion of live programming on and Arabic public affairs discussion VOA's flagship servi c e . pr ograms to Russia, Europe, the forme r – Gr eatly increased broadcasts to Asia and Soviet republics, and the Arab world. Africa, including a doubling of the Radio Fr ee Asia staff and expansion by 13 1/2 hours weekly of VOA broa d c a s t s to Africa.
– Commissioned a far-re a c h i n g experiment in multimedia with the announce- ment of a VOA-TV and Wor l d n e t pilot program to take advantage of VOA's global network of fo r eign and U.S. co r res p o n d e n t s .
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty ’ s web site
4 “The work of Radio Fr ee Europ e / R a d i o Li b e r ty in prom o t - ing democratic – Dedicated a new headquarte r s VOA Cambodian as "his daily win- values is more im - in Miami for Radio and TV Martí , dow on the world.” po r tant now than with enhanced facilities for • it was even in the br oadcasting to Cuba. days of the Cold At his daily briefing toward the end War . The challenges may be diffe re n t , – Completed conversion to com- of the successful air campaign in but they are tougher than they pr essed digital of satellite circu i t s Kosovo, NATO spokesman Jamie we r e before. ” to Central and South America Shea rep o r ted that two Serb battal- and Africa. —Re p r esentative Harold Rogers (R-KY) ions had deserted their posts in August 13, 1999 – Refined or expanded websites Kosovo. A thousand or more troo p s (RFE/RL, RFA, Radio Martí , left their units to hurry home to the “W e say that pro - Worldnet and VOA) to prov i d e town of Krusevac in Serbia. This, moting democratic In t e r net access to news, infor- Shea said, was in response to rep o rt s values is a corne r - mation and analyses. Combined, they had heard on RFE of Serbian stone of our forei g n these websites (text, audio and police using water cannons to rep re s s po l i c y . If indeed this video) were receiving more than women and children in their home- is so in the world, it 12 million visits monthly at the town who were protesting against must also be in end of 1998. The number of Serbian President Milosevic's war China. Radio Free “hits” to our various web sites is policies. "It is interesting,” Shea Asia is the mechanism to give some in c r easing as the number of PCs added, "that despite media res t r i c - encouragement to those who take gr ows around the world. tions in Yugoslavia, soldiers in the such risks for free d o m . ” field seem to prefer to listen to Wes t e r n broadcasting stations.” —Re p r esentative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) Other Voices, November 9, 1997 Of Those Who Listen… • At the peak of the Kosovo ref u g e e Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge leader, “It is an importa n t crisis, Isabelle Lazzarini of the was responsible for the deaths of a fact of modern In t e r national Committee of the Red million of his countrymen during life that the need Cr oss in Geneva had high praise for the genocide of the 1970s in for freedom VOA's Albanian refugee family reu n i - Cambodia. His widow told the Fa r br oadcasting is as fication message service. (VOA, East Economic Reviewin April 1998, gr eat as ever, not the BBC, and Deutsche Welle of that the infamous Communist leader only in countries Ge r many all worked with the Red died of a heart attack shortly after with totalitarian Cr oss to rec o r d and reb r oadcast tele- hearing a VOA Cambodian newscast regimes, but also in the astounding phoned family messages.) Lazzarini rep o r ting that his own followers 80 percent of the world’s nations cr edited VOA and the other networks would turn him over to an interna - in which, according to Free d o m with helping to reunite hundreds tional tribunal on war crimes. She House, the government still abridges of lost family members. On-site said Pol Pot, who had banned listen- fr eedom of the pres s . ” polling of refugees in Albania and ing to foreign broadcasts when in Macedonia in May and June of 1999 —Re p re s e n t a t i v e Chris Smith (R-NJ) power 20 years ago, had relied on Ma r ch 4, 1999 showed that in Albania, more than
5 83 percent of ref u - • gee adults listened at least once a Th r oughout the 78-day NATO air campaign week to VOA; in over Serbia, and in spite of Yugoslavian army Macedonia, about th r eats to desist, a half dozen Montenegrin two thirds listened. radio stations continued to re- b r oadcast both • VOA and RFE/RL programming. Writing in the New Republic, Anna Husarska rep o r ted that William Zhang, while Milosevic loyalist General Milorad host of a Obradovic had prohibited Montenegrin radio Radio Free Asia stations from broadcasting VOA and RFE, the Worldnet rep o rt e r / p r oducer Jim Bertel (right) interviews refugees in Mandarin lan- Montenegrin Ministry of Information declared a camp in Macedonia. guage call-in the order invalid. pr ogram, Li s t e n e r • Ho t l i n e , received a letter in English which rea d , in part: “Your program has given me much In the April 19, 1999 Boston Globe, Susan in f o r mation and courage during this black Milligan rep o r ted, “Lo c a l l y , although the time. I dare not phone you because I'm afraid (Serbian) army orde r ed the independent of the Communist Party's censorship tool, media to stop broadcasting VOA and RFE, even though I can do nothing against the Aetna M, an independent radio station, Communist Party .... I believe everyone is anx- has so far defied that orde r .” iously looking forwa r d to having a free pres s and information in China.” And a Burme s e college student wrote RFA: “Radio Free Asia's news broa d c a s t s .. . ar e like a pot of pure drink- ing water from which we can quench our thirst for knowledge and informa t i o n . ” • VOA has been cooperating with the U.S. Agency for International Development and Ro t a r y International in an effo r t to eradicate polio everyw h e r e in the next five to ten years. VOA also exchanges children's prog r a m m i n g with 28 other radio stations in Africa, Asia and Latin America and has broadcast a series of Ha rv a r d University-originated programs on refugee child traumas.
6 Fa r s i
Se r ving a Multimedia Wor l d 2 Fr ench to Africa Ge o rg i a n “WITH the advent of the Internet, methods Iran, Libya and Vietnam, listeners continue of accessing and disseminating informa t i o n to tune in to shortwave. have been fundamentally changed, with pro - found implications for individuals, civil society Hi s t o r i c a l l y , programming was and governm e n t s . ” “one way.” It was beamed to — “Regardless of Frontiers,” the ionosphere; it ret u r ned to publication of the Global Internet ea r th after skips and bounces Li b e r ty Campaign, (GILC), to sometimes unknown Se p t e m b e r , 1998 destinations and millions of unknown listeners. But today The ways people get news and informa t i o n because of satellite and ar e multiplying with incredible speed. For computer technology, interna - most of the 57 years since the United States tional broadcasting can be began broadcasting globally on shortw a v e , in t e r a c t i v e — w h e r e audiences respond to Video editor uses an editing radio was king. Its combination of attributes suite to prep a r e Worldnet pr ogramming as well as listen to it. pr ogramming. still remains unmatched: porta b i l i t y , rea c h , diversity of audiences, and an ability to The number of people using the Interne t , of fer a friendly voice in a hectic world at a though growing geometrically each year, still reasonable cost. Gre e k lags well behind those who tune into radio and TV. But at the dawn of what some call But more and more, the planet is being “the communications century,” the Interne t Ha u s a wi r ed with other means of getting news is beginning to penetrate even age-old and information. The challenge for U.S. el e c t r onic Great Walls. in t e r national broadcasters is to expand the Hi n d i traditional radio base, to create new pro- U.S. government international broa d c a s t e r s gramming and build the technical means to ar e moving quickly to make choices about ha r ness the communications rev o l u t i o n . Hu n g a r i a n wh e r e to put res o u r ces, based on grea t l y - Re s o u r ces are finite, so the broadcasters must expanded res e a r ch. They are exploring the make careful choices: which medium—or feasibility of converting existing relay station In d o n e s i a n combinations of media—is best for the transmitters to digital shortwave and medium region they wish to rea c h ? wave. They have been in contact with direc t Ka z a k br oadcast via satellite service providers which In some societies, TV now is on top, as in launch satellites around the globe. the Arab Middle East and soon in China, Kh m e r and the Internet is looming on the horizon. Examples of technical innovations by U.S. National and commercial local FM and TV global broadcasters this past year: networks dominate the airwaves in Europ e , Ki n y a rw a n d a the former Soviet Union and the Americas. – The Office of Engineering of the In much of sub-Saharan Africa, and coun- In t e r national Broadcasting Bureau (see foot - Ki ru n d i tries with tightly-controlled state media note on page ii) began operating the newly such as China, North Korea, Burma, Iraq, co n s t r ucted Tinian shortwave relay station, Ko re a n
7 Satellite dish at IBB’s new Ou t f l a n k i n g Tinian Transmitting Station in Ce n s o r s h i p the U.S. Commonwealth of the No rt h e r n Marianas. A recent U.S. Institute of Peace co n f e r ence in Washington dis- in the western Pacific.VOA and RFA in Eastern Europe and the forme r cussed ways the Internet is being ar e sharing facilities at this site. Soviet Union. used to counter censorship in Monitoring rep o r ts from mainland – Worldnet Television began working countries such as Belarus, China, Asia say reception is excellent. The closely with VOA on a VOA-TV pilot Saudi Arabia, Serbia, and Russia. station greatly amplifies America's pr oject, which has included the pur - A rep o r t read at the conferen c e voices in China at a critical time. chase of 100 hand-held minicameras noted that the Internet lately has – On July 31, 1998, RFA purchased a to be used by VOA corres p o n d e n t s been at the foref r ont of democ- s h o rtwave relay station from the and contract rep o r ters around the ratic uprisings. It cited a rep o r t Christian Science Monitor's Herald wo r l d . St a f f training is underway in fr om Indonesia by David Marcu s B roadcasting Services in Saipan, just this new form of video journalism. of the Boston Globewho wrot e a few miles from Tinian.The site A prototype pilot program was last year that dissidents in the br oadcasts 28 1/2 hours weekly of planned in Russian, incorporating world's most populous Muslim RF A programming to China and VOA-TV features . c o u n t ry knew they couldn't other areas of East Asia, and will be heard on state-contro l l e d – All broadcasting elements expanded expand from two to three trans- media. So they shared informa - In t e r net services in 1998: mitters in 1999. RFA also doubled tion about protests by facilities at its headquarters in • RFE/RL developed a web site e-mail, inundated news grou p s Washington, and completed that provides program text, with stories of President Suharto ' s installation of 11 state-of-the-art pr ogram audio, and informa t i o n c o rruption, and used chat digital production studios and 18 rep o r ts to users throughout the gr oups to exchange tips about mini studios. fo r mer Soviet Union and East resisting troo p s . and southeastern Europe, as well as for those following events in Iran and Iraq. “Although VOA's Serbian radio-TV simulcast, “America Calling,” was banned from independent stations in my • VOA expanded audio services co u n t r y last October, it still is widely watched on direct to available on its web site to 28 home TV via Astra satellite dishes.” languages, and contracted video — Drazen Pantic, Direc t o r , B92 OpenNet Radio se r vice on the web for Serbian web site in Serbia, January, 1999 and Albanian programs when independent media were pro- hibited from using VOA radio-TV simulcasts in Serbia and Kosovo. – RFE/RL became the first U.S. inter - national broadcaster to convert to • RF A rec o n s t r ucted its web site to the use of digital video bro a d c a s t include audio programming, (DVB) channels to deliver pro g r a m s texts of news and features of the highest possible audio quality pr ograms, and a bulletin board to its aff i l i a t e s . It will use the sys- and e-mail capability to foster tem to reach 98 affiliate partn e r s an open, running dialogue and 232 active transmission sites with listeners.
8 Video journalist edits a story using a state-of-the-art digital video editor.
– The IBB Office of Engineering contin - – At VOA, a new master control center ued to refine its satellite distribution became fully operational in January sy s t e m s . This greatly expanded the 1999, and the long-awaited erp l a c e - number of digital radio channels ment of the VOA text distribution available to VOA and RFE/RL in System for News and Prog r a m m i n g Ea s t e r n Europe and East, Central (SNAP), was installed in July 1999. and South Asia, as well as two Pro c u r ement began of video channels. the first digital studio pr oduction equipment – In 1998, a new automated 600-kilo - Since Slobodan Milosevic's crackdown against for VOA headquarters. In watt IBB medium wave transmitter independent Serbian media, RFE, VOA, and the late 1998, VOA's reg i o n - was completed on the Greek island BBC have responded by expanding shortw a v e al London news center of Rhodes. This facility significantly or AM radio broadcasts. They also have added st a r ted using a digital st r engthens VOA's broadcast signal to their news websites or e-mail services in audio workstation net- on the standard (AM) broa d c a s t Serbian, Albanian and English, in combinations work assembled from band in Israel, the Levant, and the of audio, text and video. There are an estimat- of f-the-shelf prod u c t s . Arab world as far east as Baghdad. ed 30,000 PC users in Serbia today.
– IBB Engineering, in mid-1999, began These technical marve l s testing of a new shortwave relay tend to enchant a genera- station in the Indian Ocean island tion of broadcasters and nation of Sri Lanka.The facility will telecommunications specialists. But gr eatly strengthen broadcasts to they recall, as well, that there is a no rt h e r n India and Pakistan, gr eat diversity of populations and Afghanistan, and the former Soviet cu l t u r es in the global electronic republics, and give the U.S. grea t e r village described 35 years ago by di r ect broadcast flexibility there celebrated author and communica- and as far away as East Africa. tions guru Marshall McLuhan. Many in Africa, for example, cannot even
Above, web site for Radio Martí; Left: master co n t r ol room at the Thailand Transmitting Station in Udorn, Thailand. In June 1999, television network executive Lawrence K. Grossman said, “G u t e n b e r g made us all rea d e r s . Radio and television made us all first- hand observers. Xerox made us all publishers. The Internet makes us all jo u r nalists, broadcasters, columnists, commentators and critics.” That’s the ultimate challenge to public servi c e in t e r national broadcasters of the 21st ce n t u r y. In today’s and tomorrow ’ s 500-channel world, broadcast con- tent is what ultimately will count.
Radio broadcast technicians monitor programs in VOA’s new Master Control Center in aff o r d batteries for their transistors. In Washington, D.C. ar eas of the world such as rural India, one telephone or a TV set for 50 people is a luxury. In Africa and the Balkans, tens of thousands of ref u g e e s ar e fleeing war or famine. In all those places, shortwave is king.
On July 20, 1999, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia swore in Sanford Ungar as VOA’s 24th Direc t o r , while Mr. Ungar’s wife, Dr. Beth Un g a r , holds the bible.
10 Ku rd i s h
Retooling for a Communications Century 3 Ky rg y z La o “MANY Serbs—especially in big cities such as Iraq Report, and Caucasus Reportreach an Belgrade, Novi Sad and Nis—openly make fun estimated 50,000 readers a week. of Serbian state-controlled radio and TV. They La t v i a n • In c r eased listenership by lining up new watch or listen to Wes t e r n newscasts such as the af filiates and reb r oadcast arra n g e m e n t s BBC, CNN and Voice of America instead.” via local medium wave and FM stations in — USA Tod a y , July 13, 1999 Li t h u a n i a n Ea s t e r n Europe and the Balkans, working with the IBB Office of Affiliate Relations. “The Tibetan language prog r a m.. .has become Ma c e d o n i a n the listening post and window to the outside world for the Tibetans under the occupation by RFA : China. I know for a fact that the Tibetans inside Tibet listen to your program every day at the • In c r eased hours in gr eat risk of being prosecuted and imprisoned by Tibetan, Cantonese the Chinese authorities.” and added Uyghur “In Soviet times, the broadcasts were a — Excerpt of a letter to Radio Free Asia (spoken in the welcome reminder that the West had not fr om a listener, Wangchuk Tsering, far north w e s t e r n fo r gotten my country. Now, RFE/RL’s obra d - in Nepal, October 1998 autonomous region of casts are helping me and my countrym e n Xinjiang). The increa s - complete the job of building a democratic es mean that RFA has and free society and reintegrating Estonia In the coming year, the principal U.S. fulfilled its commit- back into the Wes t . ” publicly-funded overseas broadcasters will ment to Congres s be heading into what has been called the that it would broa d - — Estonian President Lennart Meri, Ma r ch 1999 communications century. They will be doing cast 24 hours a day so on the programming front and—aided by to China. the International Broadcasting Burea u ’ s Offi c e • Added two new call- of Engineering and other support servi c e s — o n in programs to the Mandarin Servi c e , Ma n d a r i n technical fronts as well. Here are a few exam- Democracy Salonand H e a rt to Heart. ples of their recent accomplishments: Democracy Salonis devoted largely to Pa s h t o questions involving democratic infra- RF E / R L : st ru c t u r e and processes, and H e a rt to • Launched a highly-targeted Albanian H e a rt is geared to women’s concerns and Po l i s h language broadcast to Kosovo, and family issues. continued to add broadcast hours to the Po r tuguese to Africa Radio Free Iraq and Persian Service to Iran • Br oadcast coverage relating to the tenth inaugurated in 1998. an n i v e r s a r y of the Tiananmen Square crackdown. This included live rep o rt i n g Po r tuguese to Brazil • Continued expansion of its presence on fr om the Square on June 4; an ex-PLA sol- the Internet, where RFE/RL now attracts dier phoning one of the call-in prog r a m s 10 million visitors a month. The network’s Ro m a n i a n who described being in the Square in daily Ne w s l i n e and weekly Iran Report, 1989 with orders to “kill without discus- sion;” and a 14-part series of intervi e w s Ru s s i a n
11 “I am in anguish. There is a spiritual hunger in me. I thirst for certa i n i n f o rmation, but given the way things are in China, my thirst cannot be quenched. I can only tune into your program often. I like your pro - gram a lot. Your program moves On a visit to RFE/RL, Rep. Richard Gephardt (D-MO) shakes hands with Radio Free Iraq Deputy Direc t o r Kamran Al-Karadaghi while RFE/FL President Thomas A. Dine looks on. me so much that I have become an insomniac.” — A listener to RFA’s with the victims’ family mem- •In c r eased live VOA Mandarin Voices of the People, a 70-year-old bers—most of whom had never Chinese radio-TV call-in simul- woman from Guangxi Prov i n c e , spoken out—that was turne d casts from two to five days August 6, 1998 into a CD and distributed free to we e k l y , including panels with listeners by req u e s t . Mandarin speaking specialists on Sino-U.S. and American issues. Expanded Tibetan from Defusing Tensions on the Asian Subcontinent two to three hours daily.
In the wake of Indian and Pakistani nuclear tests, the VOA Hindi, •Moved ahead with the VOA-TV Ur du and Bangla Services organized two conferences to explore pilot program in 1999. By train- conflict resolution issues in South Asia. One was co-sponsored by ing journalists in prod u c i n g the Carnegie Corporation. A second, co-sponsored by Peace digital, simple format television, Links, featured former Senator Dale Bumpers as a keynote speak- VOA will have audio/video er . VOA also provided comprehensive coverage in English and jo u r nalists circling the globe, South Asian languages of effo r ts, including those of the U.S., to rep o r ting on radio and TV. end renewed fighting between India and Pakistan in Kashmir in Several hundred field rep o rt e r s the summer of 1999. in more than 40 languages ca r ry out this mission.
VO A
•Expanded broadcasting to Africa. The Africa Division added 13 1/2 hours of new pr ogramming each week in 1998, and 24-hour-a-day multi- language VOA prog r a m m i n g st r eams went on the air via local FM or medium wave net- works in east and central Africa in 1999.
12 Se r b i a n
Beyond the Millennium 4 Sl o v a k Sl o v e n e PU B L I C L Y-F U N D E D U.S. global broa d - principles outlined in the 1994 law governi n g casting cannot affo r d to be all things to all in t e r national broadcasting with the techno- people. Its greatest challenge: narrowing the logical changes of the new century (e.g. new Sp a n i s h field to determine the right audiences at the TV formats digital production and transmis- right times consistent with the best interes t s sion, the Internet in text, audio and video of the United States government. Region by st r eams, and direct broadcast via satellites). Spanish to Cuba region, which are the delivery systems used by the best combination of listeners, viewers, Several priorities seem apparen t : Sw a h i l i and readers? Reduced to its essence, the 1) Ex p l o r e technological advances for new br oadcasters must decide what to say, how to and more effective delivery systems. say it, to whom, and how to get it there. Taj i k Evaluate television, the Internet, and other technologies in addition to radio.What can Since its first meeting on September 6, 1995, the nation affo r d in each of the new Tat a r- B a s h k i r the nine-member bipartisan U.S. Broa d c a s t i n g de l i v e r y systems, and what kind of pro- Bo a r d of Governors has made significant gramming in each best serves the pro g r ess in: Th a i national interest? Is there room for more – Ensuring the journalistic integrity of the diversification without ignoring the needs overseas networks, and securing their of those listeners who can only affo r d a Tib e t a n or ganizational independence, radio, those without accurate sources of information in closed or developing – En f o r cing a legislatively-mandated firew a l l Tig r i g n a societies? How best should the broa d c a s t - to shield the broadcasters from political, ers build on the radio base in the 21st diplomatic, and special-interest pres s u re s , ce n t u r y: television, reb r oadcasting or Tur k i s h – Consolidating the engineering and techni- acquisition of FM frequencies in other cal services and program schedules of VOA, countries, Internet development, digital RFE/RL, RFA, Worldnet and the Martís with satellite transmissions, direct broa d c a s t i n g Tur k m e n millions in cost savings, via satellites?
– Gr eatly expanding audience res e a r ch, by 2) Continue to build on news gathering Uk r a i n i a n adding res o u r ces and coordinating the capabilities of all the broadcasting entities. separate survey work of all the entities, and In t e r national public service broa d c a s t Urd u news is distinct from that to which – Continuing to train journalists from American consumers are accustomed. It ar ound the world, including those from fe a t u r es in-depth rep o r ting, focusing on Uy g h u r potential affiliate stations and in the new global and in-country issues of the day. democracies in Africa, the Middle East and It is a balanced and rapid radio of rec o rd , Latin America. Uz b e k for the voiceless as well as for the establishment. It ranges over politics, No w , the challenge is to build on this base. It economics, science, the arts, offering a Vie t n a m e s e is to draw on the strengths of the res p e c t i v e window on the world where informa t i o n br oadcast orga n i z a t i o n s in order to match the is biased or incomplete. It demands satel- Wu
13 “In a society with gro w i n g (media) choices, and one where the depth of information is poten - tially infinite, the highest value will be given to the source whose lite phones, digital field prod u c - 5) Enhance cooperation and in f o r mation is most dependable. tion, and an ability to mount live c o o rdination between and Ev e r y society throughout history radio broadcasts and interactives among U.S. government inter - has created its own journalism. In fr om anyplace on earth . national broadcasters. R FA and RFE/RL promote each each, history reveals, the form 3) Evaluate programs such as VOA- o t h e r ’s programming on their that has prevailed has been the TV ’ s pilot, RFE/RL’s new services to web sites, and in 1998, began most reliable one.” Iran and Iraq, and all new broa d - regular technical coord i n a t i o n cast initiatives for cost effe c t i v e n e s s — Tom Rosenstiel, meetings. VOA and Wo r l d n e t Di r ector of the Project for and audience reach.Each of the jointly produce a number of Excellence in Journalism, networks has a unique style, and Pew Charitable Trusts, p rograms each week. VOA and the missions of the global broa d - and Bill Kovac, Curator, RFE/RL have a joint aff i l i a t e s Nieman Foundation, casters (VOA and Worldnet) o ffice in Prague, designed Ha rv a r d University, and the regional broa d c a s t e r s to coordinate marketing of Fe b ru a r y 1999 (RFE/RL, RFA, and the Martís) p rogramming thro u g h o u t di f fer somewhat. But all are man- E a s t e rn Europe, the Balkans dated by law to be accurate, ”People have more power to influ - and the former Soviet Union. objective and compreh e n s i v e , ence and change their R e s e a rch is shared between among other principles stated in go v e r nments than ever before.. . . the networks. The Intern e t the 1994 legislation. The Board’ s In a world of more powerf u l o ffers a vast potential for shar- br oad oversight of individual publics, engaging the right audi - ing of programming material pr ogram evaluations and rev i e w s ence at the right moment on and services. in each of the entities will take issues important to the U.S. can these principles into account resolve conflicts that might lead while respecting the networks’ to war, create markets for prof - jo u r nalistic integrity. itable trade, and deal with the transnational problems of terror - 4) Continue the expansion of ism, drugs, crime, disease and the in t e r national broadcasting en v i r onment.... That right audi - audience res e a r ch, and use ence is found everyw h e r e there the results in guiding strategic ar e groups of citizens who have planning and budgetary decisions. or ganized to affect the gover - In t e r national broadcasting needs nance of their nation.” to know its audience—where it is st r ong, where it is weak. This — The U.S. Advisory Commission on Public kind of information is indispens- Di p l o m a c y , “Publics and able in pointing the way to Diplomats in the Global intelligent programming and Communications Age,” 19 9 8 res o u r ce decisions. The radios must find ways to reach the fu t u r e leaders of emerging democratic nations.
14 AP P E N D I X E S
The Broadcasting Principles In t e r national Broadcasting Act of 1994 – P.L. 103-236 Section 304
U.S. publicly-funded civilian overseas broadcasts will include:
(1 ) news which is consistently reliable and authoritative, accurate, objective and compreh e n s i v e ,
(2 ) a balanced and comprehensive projection of United States thought and institutions, reflecting the diversity of United States culture and society,
(3 ) a clear and effective presentation of the policies of the United States and responsible discussion and opinion on those policies,
(4 ) pr ogramming to meet needs which remain unserved by the totality of media available to people of certain nations,
(5 ) in f o r mation about developments in each significant region of the world,
(6 ) a variety of opinions and voices from within particular nations and regions prevented by censorship or rep r ession fr om speaking to their fellow countrym e n ,
(7 ) reliable res e a r ch capacity to meet the criteria under this section,
(8 ) adequate transmitter and relay capacity to support the activities described in this section, and
(9 ) training and technical support for independent indigenous media through government agencies or private United States entities.
15 Ma r c B. Tom C. Ed w a r d E. Carl Bette Bao Al b e r to Ch e r yl Penn Na t h a n s o n Ko ro l o g o s Ka u f m a n Sp i e l v o g e l Lo r d Mo r a Ha l p e r n Ke m b l e Ch a i rm a n
Bro a d c a s t i n g Ma r c B. Nathanson, Ch a i rm a n Ea r l i e r , he was a rep o r ter and columnist at Bo a r d Mr . Nathanson is Chairman and Chief th e New York Tim e s for eight years. Mr. of Executive Officer of Falcon Cable TV, which Spielvogel has been nominated to be U.S. Go v e rn o r s * se r ves in excess of one million subscribers Ambassador to the Slovak Republic. in over 800 communities in 26 states. Mr. Nathanson is a 30-year veteran of the cable Bette Bao Lord TV industry and was elected a member of Ms. Lord is a recognized author and lecturer “Cable Pioneers” in 1982. He also serves on whose works include Legacies: A Chinese the boards of the Annenberg School of Mo s a i c , which was chosen by Tim e ma g a z i n e Communications at the University of as one of the ten best non-fiction books of So u t h e r n California and UCLA’s Anderson 1990, and Spring Moon, a New York Tim e s School of Management and the Center for bestseller and nominee for the American Book Communications Policy. Awa r d. She is also Chair of the Free d o m House Board of Trustees and serves on the Tom C. Korol o g o s Bo a r d of Trustees of the Freedom Forum . Mr. Korologos is the President of Timmons & Company, a government relations Al b e r to Mora consulting firm. A former journalist in Salt Mr . Mora is an attorney in private practice Lake City and New York City, he previously in Washington, D.C., where his focus is served as the Chairman of the United States in t e r national law. From 1989 to 1993, he Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy se r ved as General Counsel for the United and as a member of the Board of Directors States Information Agency. of the International Media Fund. Ch e r yl Halpern Ed w a r d E. Kaufman Ms. Halpern has participated extensively in Mr . Kaufman is President of Public Strategies, community activities on the national, state, a political and management consulting firm in and local levels. She has served on the Wilmington, Delaware. He is the former Chief Executive Board of the Washington Institute of Staff to Senator Joseph Biden and a Senior for Near East Policy and the Executive Lecturing Fellow at Duke University School of Committee of the New Jersey Regional Law and the Fuqua School of Business. Ad v i s o r y Board of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith. From 1990 to 1995, Carl Spielvogel Ms. Halpern served as a member of the Board Mr . Spielvogel is the Chairman and Chief for International Broadcasting, the pred e c e s - Executive Officer of Carl Spielvogel Associates, sor to the Broadcasting Board of Governors. Inc., a global investment and communi- cations company. Mr. Spielvogel is the forme r Penn Kemble Ch a i r man and Chief Executive Officer of Mr . Kemble, who is Acting Director of *The ninth seat on the Bo a r d is currently vacant Backer Spielvogel Bates Worldwide, Inc., the U.S. Information Agency, serves as an due to the resignation one of the world’s largest marketing, ex - o f ficio member of the bipartisan Board. of former chairma n David W. Burke. communications, and advertising companies.
16 Facts About U.S. International Broadcast Networks
Voice of America (VOA) Sa n f o r d J. Ungar Di r ector , VOA
FY 1999 Budget: • Br oadcast the Dalai Lama's first • In c r eased VOA Mandarin to 12 $1 0 6 , 3 7 8 , 0 0 0 ever television interview in br oadcast hours daily, including Tibetan, to the Tibetan people, an English teaching hour, and Total Employment: during a visit to VOA. expanded Tibetan prog r a m m i n g 1, 1 5 2 by one hour. • Br oke the news of Nigerian Number of Languages: opposition leader Chief Abiola's • Expanded Arabic prog r a m m i n g 53 death and of the outbreak of the during successive crises in Iraq. Weekly Broadcast Hours: Er i t r ean-Ethiopian war. Re p o r ted extensively on both 91 2 Clinton administration policy • Began 13 1/2 hours weekly and congressional rea c t i o n . He a d q u a rt e r s : of democracy programming Washington, D. C. to Africa in English, Fren c h , • Br oadcast VOA Serbian and Ki n y a rw a n d a / K i r undi, Amharic, Albanian radio programs and Di re c t o r : Swahili, and Hausa. Hosted two VOA Serbian television via the Sa n f o r d J. Ungar jo u r nalism training programs for In t e r net on Broadcast.com VOA stringers in Abuja, Nigeria, when independent media were “I want to congratulate the Voice of and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. pr ohibited from using VOA America for the tremendous work that in Yug o s l a v i a . you do; you are indispensable.” • In t e r viewed released Chinese — Senator Carl Levin (D-MI), on dissident Wang Dan, who said • Sent VOA rep o r ters to Cuba VOA broadcasts to Bosnia, 1997 that when he was in China, VOA (who received visas for the first was his “only window to the time since 1990) to cover Pope “It is not possible to get the truth ofrm outside world.” John Paul II's visit. domestic Chinese sources. In order to • Piloted VOA-TV to train VOA • Expanded VOA's Dari and get the truth in China, one has no and Worldnet employees as Pashto broadcasts at the time of choice but to become a faithful listener video journalists producing topi- U.S. air strikes against terror i s t to the Voice of America.” cal features and public affa i r s facilities or weapons plants in — Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng materials for use by VOA broa d - Afghanistan and Sudan. Ja n u a r y 19, 1998 cast services to strategically • Gave extensive coverage to the im p o r tant countries. India-Pakistan nuclear detona- 1998 Highlights: • Launched a worldwide public tions. Stepped up conflict • Launched VOA News Now, se r vice campaign to red u c e resolution programming in the VOA's 24-hour live English child morta l i t y . Broadcast child wake of the tests, including the news and information serv i c e , su r vival programming in all 53 summit of the Indian and with First Lady Hillary Rodham languages and gained commit- Pakistani prime ministers. Clinton as the inaugural ments from large and small i n t e rv i e w e e . br oadcasters around the world to air similar messages.
17 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) Thomas A. Dine Pr esident, RFE/RL
FY 1999 Budget: faced with enough insistence and • Sp o n s o r ed a two-day interna - $7 4 , 6 4 7 , 0 0 0 patience. That's what RFE/RL does to tional conference in Prague in (including Radio Free Iraq) them, day by day, year by year.” commemoration of the 50th — Kati Marton, pres i d e n t , an n i v e r s a r y of the Universal Total Employment: Committee to Protect Journa l i s t s Declaration of Human Rights, 45 7 featuring U. N. Human Rights Number of Languages: 1998 Highlights: Commission special rapporte u r 25 Jiri Dienstbier. • Responded to the U.S.-British Weekly Broadcast Hours: airstrikes against Iraq on • Or ganized a well-attended 83 0 December 17, 1998, by immedi- seminar on Capitol Hill on the ately doubling, within three th r eat of anti-Semitism in the He a d q u a rt e r s : hours of President Clinton's post-Soviet states. Prague, Czech Republic announcement of the military • Trained journalists from throu g h - Pre s i d e n t : action, Radio Free Iraq (RFI) out Eastern Europe and the Thomas A. Dine br oadcasts to four hours per day. newly independent states of the • Expanded RFI crisis prog r a m - fo r mer Soviet Union. “For many years, I myself was one of ming through December 21, those who could address their fellow • Launched medium wave servi c e when normal scheduling co u n t r ymen mainly or even solely to Belarus . resumed. RFI's coverage of th r ough the medium of this radio sta - Operation Desert Fox was sup- • Developed a highly successful tion. I am not sure that I would not po r ted with cros s - re p o r ting by In t e r net website that prov i d e s have been in prison for another couple RFE/RL's other servi c e s . pr ogram texts, program audio, of years were it not for a certa i n and information rep o r ts to amount of publicity which I had • Pr ovided balanced, compreh e n - users throughout the broa d c a s t because of RFE/RL. This applies not sive election coverage in Russia, region and the world. The site only to me, but to the whole of the contributing to a respect of is visited nearly ten million opposition in Czechoslovakia.” electoral proc e d u r es by local times a month. — Czech President Vaclav Havel, authorities and a better September 8, 1995 in f o r med Russian electorate. • Published the daily RFE/RL Newsline and weekly RFE/RL Ir a n • Or ganized a symposium in “The hatemongers (in eastern Europ e ) Re p o r t, RFE/RL Caucasus Report, Prague on opening up Serbia's pr osper while the erf o r mers are kept in RFE/RL Balkan Report, RF E / R L media, featuring editors and a very small ghetto. But we mustn't be Watchlist, and RFE/RL Iraq Report, jo u r nalists affected by the media discouraged by the slow pace of which are disseminated both to crackdown in Serbia. The sym- democratization. In one country after the broadcast region and posium led to the creation of an o t h e r , I have seen leaders whose ar ound the world by e-mail, fax, new programming designed to instincts are clearly antidemocratic and via the World Wide Web . help counter the Milosevic take ret r eating steps when they were regime's blackout.
18 Radio Free Asia (RFA) Ri c h a r d Richter Pr esident, RFA
FY 1999 Budget: dialect) for 30 minutes a week to • Was the first news orga n i z a t i o n $2 2 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 the Mandarin Servi c e . to air confirmation of the death of Lao prisoner of conscience Total Employment: • Inaugurated a one-hour-a - Thongsouk Saysangki, who had 22 0 week program in the Uyghur been serving a 14-year sentence language to western China. Number of Languages: for conducting prop a g a n d a 10 • In t e r viewed Khmer Rouge against the Lao governm e n t . leader Pol Pot in Anlong Ven g , Weekly Broadcast Hours: • RF A's Vietnamese Service broa d - Cambodia. RFA's Bangkok 19 7 cast a series of exclusive rep o rt s rep o r ter was the last to inter- about documents of the He a d q u a r ters: view him before his death. pr ominent Vietnamese dissident, Washington, D. C. • Hosted visit to RFA by leading Lt. Gen. Tran Do, the forme r Pre s i d e n t : Chinese dissident Wang Dan. chief of ideology of the Ri c h a r d Richter Signed him on as weekly Communist Party of Vie t n a m . commentator for RFA' s The documents protest govern- “I supported the establishment of Mandarin Service, along with ment actions and call for Radio Free Asia. I talked about it Wei Jingsheng. the democratization of the repeatedly and I’ve done my best to go v e r nment and the party . expand the operations of Radio eFre • Hosted visit by prom i n e n t Asia…to beam honest, open debate Vietnamese dissident Doan Vie t • RF A Vietnamese also aired a into Asia.” Hoat. From Bangkok, RFA aired se v e n - p a r t series on corrup t i o n — President Bill Clinton, first interview with Hoat upon in Vietnam, with names, dates, June 24, 1998 his release from prison. su p p o r ting documents and case studies. • Pu r chased a transmission facility “Radio Free Asia is one of our most on Saipan, an island in the • RF A Cambodian did a lengthy im p o r tant tools to advance the No rt h e r n Marianas, from the series on corruption in cause of human rights and freedom Herald Broadcasting Systems. Cambodia. Interviews ranged in China.” The station’s assets include two fr om a police chief and an — Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. 100 KW transmitters and three ar my general to a prison direc - (D-DE), January 30, 1998 cu r tain antennas. to r , government officials and ord i n a r y citizens. • Re c o n s t r ucted RFA website to 1998 Highlights: include audio programming for • Opened offices in Seoul and all nine language services as well Ba n g k o k . • In c r eased broadcast hours in as daily updates of programs in Mandarin to 12 hours daily. five languages. The new site also In c r eased hours in Tibetan to includes bulletin boards and fo u r . Added two hours daily in e-mail features which foster Cantonese. Added Wu (Shanghai dialogue with listeners.
19 Wor l d n e t Television and Film Servi c e John Lennon, Acting Direc t o r Worldnet Tel e v i s i o n
FY 1999 Budget: • Sustained co-productions with • Launched two successful new $2 2 , 3 3 0 , 0 0 0 VOA of radio-television simulcast pro g r a m s : pr ograms in Arabic, Bosnian, Total Employment: 1) Washington Win d o w , a Farsi, Mandarin, Russian, Serbian 23 4 weekly news and current and Spanish. af fairs program, providing He a d q u a rt e r s : • Expanded a cable block of insight and perspective on Washington, D. C. pr ogramming on the Indian the pressing issues facing Di re c t o r : Ocean Region (IOR) satellite central and Eastern Europ e , John Lennon, Acting fr om eight to ten hours daily in Russia and other forme r Ma r ch 1998. The new hours Soviet republics. Nearly 30 pe r mit broadcasters such as Eu r opean broadcasters 1998 Highlights: Ghana and Gambian TV to carry relay Washington Win d o w , • Pursued a Broadcasting Board Worldnet programming live in including ORT (Russia), TRT of Governors mandate to sepa- prime time. (T urkey), and OBN (Bosnia). rate policy-driven interactive • Beamed another cable block 2) Global Exchange,an hour- Dialogue fo r mats from news pr ogramming stream to Latin long weekly Arabic language and information prog r a m m i n g . America in Spanish, around the in t e r view program designed Held discussions with USIA on clock, seven days a week. for television broa d c a s t e r s reo r ganization of interactives Pr ograms included panel discus- and viewer call-ins. Gl o b a l th r oughout the year. sions about topical issues and Exchange fe a t u r ed top U.S. • Worked with IBB to plan for life in America. newsmakers including U.S. transfer of some interactives Un d e r s e c re t a r y of State • Pr ovided continuous coverage of st a f f to the Department of State, Thomas Pickering, U.S. the House of Repres e n t a t i v e s as prescribed in the Forei g n Deputy Representative to the impeachment proceedings and Af fairs Reform and Restruc t u r i n g United Nations Peter the U.S. and British confron t a - Act of 1998. Burleigh, and Dr. Samir Khleif tion with Iraq. of the National Cancer • Cooperated with VOA and a • In c r eased placement of Ne w s F i l e Institute. Participating broa d - consultant, the former pres i d e n t feeds on overseas TV outlets, casters have included the of New York Times Television, to working closely with VOA lan- Middle East Broa d c a s t i n g pursue the VOA-TV pilot proj e c t . guage services. Regular weekly Ce n t r e in London, Jorda n i a n Those trained as video journa l - feeds are scheduled in Arabic, TV , the Arab News Network, ists will produce topical TV English, Russian, Serbian and Tele Lumiere (Lebanon) and fe a t u r es and public affairs short- Spanish. Other languages are Ege TV (Tur k e y ) . fo r m programs for use by VOA added, as events warra n t . br oadcast services to strategi- cally important countries.
20 Of fice of Cuba Broadcasting (Radio and TV Martí ) He r minio San Roman Di re c t o ,r OCB
FY 1999 Budget: • Fully rep o r ted Pres i d e n t • Co v e r ed the Cuban defectors $2 1 , 9 8 3 , 0 0 0 Cl i n t o n ’ s decision to parti a l l y granted asylum in Costa Rica ease U.S. sanctions against Cuba (Orlando “El Duque” Herna n d e z , Total Employment: and debates on Cuban policy in and six companions). 18 1 the United States. La n g u a g e : • Assigned contract rep o r ters to Sp a n i s h cover the United Nations Weekly Broadcast Hours: Human Rights Commission 162 (Radio), 31 1/2 (TV) (UNHRC) deliberations in Geneva, with a particular focus He a d q u a rt e r s : on Cuba. Miami, Florida • Off e r ed on-scene rep o r tage of Di re c t o r : pr esidential elections in He r minio San Roman Venezuela and Brazil and th r oughout Latin America. 1998 Highlights: • Co v e r ed Secret a r y of State • Completed relocation of its facil- Madeleine Albright’s address ities from Washington, D. C., to the Cuban people at to Miami and is now operating Radio Martí . solely out of Florida. • Co v e r ed the Senate staff study • Re p o r ted on the harassment, on U.S.– Cuba policy and Cuba’s detention, arrest, and incarce r a - in t e r nal situation. tion of independent Cuban • Extensively covered news jo u r nalists, as well as condemna- su r rounding the second tion by international pres s an n i v e r s a r y of the passage of or ganizations of this wave the 1996 Cuban Liberty Act of rep re s s i o n . and Democratic Solidarity Act • Inaugurated a new UHF (H e l m s - B u rt o n ) . transmission system at TV Martí . • Re p o r ted on Secret a r y of State Madeleine Albright’s visit to the • Pr ovided extensive coverage of Vatican on March 24th. Pope John Paul II’s historic trip to Cuba and the resulting rea c - • Extensively covered tensions tion and events including between Nicaragua and Cuba as Pr esident Clinton’s remarks on a result of the deportation of the Papal visit. Cuban rafters in the Bahamas.
21 Br oadcasting Board of Governo r s
22 In t e r national Broadcasting Expenditures on Administrative and Managerial Ser vi c e s IN T E R N A TIONAL BROADCASTING OPERATI O N S 1998 Total Resources and Administrative & Managerial Services Expenses (Funds in Thousands)
Ad m i n i s t r a t i v e Tot a l 1998 Tot a l & Managerial Positions in En t i t y Ap p ro p r i a t i o n s Se rv i c e s Org a n i z a t i o n
In t e r national Broadcasting Burea u $2 8 8 , 8 1 5 $1 8 , 2 5 8 2, 7 5 3 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty 74 , 4 6 9 * 6, 5 5 1 45 7 Radio Free Asia 24 , 1 0 0 3, 6 1 3 22 0
TO TA L S $ 3 8 7 , 3 8 4* * $2 8 , 4 2 2 3, 4 3 0
The U.S. International Broadcasting Act of * This amount includes $5,000,000 1994, Section 305(a) (13) req u i r es the BBG ap p r opriated in P.L. 105-174, the Fiscal annual rep o r t to identify funds expended on Year 1998 Supplemental Approp r i a t i o n s administrative and managerial services by and Rescissions Act. Of this amount, the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) $4,500,000 was allocated to Radio Free and by two grantee organizations, Radio Free Iraq operations within RFE/RL, and the Eu r ope/Radio Liberty (RFE/FL) and Radio Free remaining $500,000 was allocated within Asia (RFA) . the IBB for transmission costs associated with Radio Free Iraq. These funds rem a i n The chart listed above displays the estimated available through September 30, 1999. amounts expended in FY 1998 for administra- tive and managerial services by the IBB, ** The FY 1998 appropriations for both RFE/FL and RFA. operational accounts under the purview of the BBG, the International Broa d c a s t i n g . For purposes of this display, “administrative Operations account and the Broa d c a s t i n g and managerial services” is defined as the to Cuba account, totaled $388,644,000. total amount expended by each entity in The total displayed here does not include FY 1998 that can be related directly to the funds for the Broadcasting Board of following functions: top-level program Go v e r nors ($1,260,000). di r ection, personnel management, administra- tion, budget, financial management, and computer servi c e s .
23 Voice of America 330 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, DC 20547 Telephone: (202) 619-2538 Fax: (202) 619-1241
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty 1201 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20036 Telephone: 202-457-6900 Fax: 202-457-6992 He a d q u a r ters: Prague, the Czech Republic Telephone: 420-2-2112-1111 Fax: 420-2-2112-3013
Radio Free Asia 2025 M Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20036 Telephone: (202) 530-4900 Fa x : (202) 530-7794
Worldnet Tel e v i s i o n 330 Independence Ave., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20547 Telephone: (202) 619-2538 Fax: (202) 619-1241
Of fice of Cuba Broa d c a s t i n g (Radio and TV Martí ) 4201 N.W. 77th Ave n u e Miami, FL 33166 Telephone: (305) 437-7000 Fax: (305) 437-7016
Br oadcasting Board of Governors Staff John A. Lindburg, Acting Executive Direc t o r Br uce Sherman, Re s e a r ch and Program Review Offi c e r Susan Andross, Co n g r essional Liaison Offi c e r Jon Beard, Co n g r essional Liaison Offi c e r Anthony Scardi n o , Budget Offi c e r Br enda Massey Hardnett, Executive Assistant Ca r olyn Ford, St a f f Assistant
Alan Heil, Editorial Consultant Ca r melo Ciancio, Ar t Direc t o r Tuleda Poole Johnson, Graphic Design Patricia Hutteman, Ed i t o r Magda Hishmeh, Lynn Lindberg, Ph o t o g r a p h y