Broadcasting Board of Governors 1997

U.S. INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING

Working Together to Further U.S. Strategic Interes t s 1997 Annual Report On Cover (from top): First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton at VOA headquarters to inaugurate VO A NEWS NOW. Se c re t a r y of State Madeleine Albright addresses the people of Cuba via Radio Martí . Wei Jingsheng speaks at Radio Free Asia headquarte r s . Health and Human Services Secret a r y Donna Shalala takes part in WORLDNET ‘Dialogue’ with host Diane Butts. Fo r mer Ambassador Richard Holbrooke speaks to an RFE/RL Forum on Bosnia. TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary i Our Impact on the Wor l d ii Su m m a r y of the 1997 Annual Report ii i

I. A Signal That Makes a Diffe re n c e 1 Mission and Audience 1 Making a Diffe r ence in Tar get Regions 3 Measuring Effe c t i v e n e s s 5

II . New Leadership, New Ideas 7 A New Senior Management Tea m 7 Engaging the American People 8 Training and Partn e r s h i p s 9

II I . New Technologies, New Delivery Systems 11 St r engthening Our Technical Competitiveness 11 Af filiates Expand the Audience 14 Television as an Alterna t i v e 15 Use of the Interne t 16

IV . Looking Ahead 17

Appendices 19 Biographies of Members, Broadcasting Board of Governors 19 Voice of America 20 Of fice of Cuba Broa d c a s t i n g 21 WO R L D N E T 22 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty 23 Radio Free Asia 24 To the President of the United States and the Congress of the United States

ON BE H A L F OF TH E BRO A D C A S T I N G BOA R D OF GOV E R N O R S , I AM PL E A S E D TO SU B M I T Br oadcasting Board of Governo r s this rep o r t of the accomplishments of our U.S.-funded international broa d c a s t i n g se r vices—the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty , Radio Free David W. Burke Asia, Radio and TV Martí, and WORLDNET Tel e v i s i o n . Ma s s a c h u s e t t s Th r oughout 1997, we continued to receive strong affi r mation about the neces- Tom C. Korol o g o s sity of our broadcasts from people in the former Yugoslavia, Central Africa, Virg i n i a Cuba, Iraq, and other countries. They told us that U.S. international broa d c a s t i n g

Ed w a r d E. Kaufman pr ovides them with objective and accurate news about events around them. De l a w a r e Indeed, the proliferation of new media notwithstanding, our programs are often among the few ways they can receive this essential informa t i o n . Bette Bao Lord New Yor k Of note in 1997, a new leadership team was appointed in three of our five services, as well as at the head of the International Broadcasting Bureau. These Carl Spielvogel di r ectors have brought new energy and vision to our operations. Among the New Yor k achievements of the past year: enhanced programming to areas of strategic Ma r c B. Nathanson im p o r tance to the United States; expanded service in Arabic, Burme s e , Ca l i f o rn i a Mandarin, and other vernacular languages; increased capabilities in our techni-

Al b e r to Mora cal operations; and a strengthened audience res e a r ch eff o rt . Fl o r i d a The rep o r t is submitted in accordance with the req u i r ement of Section 305 (a)(9) of Public Law 103-236, the U.S. International Broadcasting Act. Beyond this Ch e r yl Halpern New Jersey legal req u i r ement, we have looked upon the creation of this rep o r t as an excellent op p o r tunity to summarize our activities and anticipate new challenges. The Honorable Joseph Duffe y With world events and technology changing continually, the Board and the Di re c t o r United States Information Agency en t i r e U.S. international broadcasting community are committed to seeking ways to improve our content and technical dissemination in 1998 and beyond. We deeply appreciate the support of the President and the Congress in this endeavor and look forwa r d to working with you to further democracy, human rights, and other fundamental freedoms around the world.

Respectfully submitted,

David W. Burke EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

INA PE R F E C T WO R L D , PE O P L E WO U L D tune in their own local radio and television stations to learn the latest regional, national, and interna t i o n a l ne w s . But reality is far diffe r ent. Only about 20 percent of the almost 6 billion people in the world live in countries with a free press. That means that almost 4 billion people hear news that is totally or partially censored by their go v e r nments. The list includes countries in which the United States has a di r ect political, economic, and humani- tarian stake: Bosnia, China, and Iraq, to name but a few. A restricted local press obstruc t s the free flow of objective, accurate in f o r mation. People know only what their government wants them to know— unless they have alterna t e media sources that provide a fuller pi c t u r e of domestic and interna t i o n a l events. Providing that fuller picture is the essential service that U.S. interna - Pr esident Clinton discussed U.S.-China tional broadcasting offers the world. relations at VOA in October 1997, introd u c e d by VOA Di r ector Evelyn S. Lieberma n . As people hear credible and comprehensive news about their own and “I arrived from Cuba on other countries, they become more May 26, 1996, and I aw a r e of the freedoms enjoyed in the listeners in Eastern Europe and the United States and elsewhere. Among fo r mer Soviet Union. Through both can tell you that the audiences who rely on U.S. inter- content and technological innovations, thanks to Radio Martí , national broadcasting are people living we maximized the opportunities to in the Balkans, Central Africa, the reach our audiences at the rel e v a n t the Cuban people keep countries of the former Soviet Union, times, with a relevant message, and on themselves informe d , and other areas where prog re s s the relevant media. The feedback we to w a r ds democracy, freedom, and eco- receive from listeners confirms that fr om all points of view, nomic security is vital to U.S. strategic U.S. international broadcasting contin- about news, art, in t e re s t s . ues to occupy a unique niche in To target our res o u r ces where they sustaining their dreams of democracy, cu l t u r e, and music.” we r e most needed in 1997, we st r uggles for basic rights, and quests in c r eased our programming to Asia, for free societies and economies. ÐLetter to the editor, Diario Las Americas the Middle East, and Africa. Our programming also continued to evolve to respond to events affecting the lives of

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“When the Iron Curtain fell, the Information Curtain did not fall with it....Those who do not know this risk repeating his- to r y....This radio station [RFE/RL] is still needed after the fall of communism because the experience now under way, during the transition to a market economy, is unique in the hi s t o r y of humanity.” —Romanian President Emil Constantinescu

Africa 2000 Symposium panelists included Jo u r nalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault and Nigerian Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka

• As tensions with Iraq grew , VOA in c r eased its Arabic prog r a m m i n g to reach Iraqis during prime time so that they had access to news fr om sources other than throu g h Saddam Hussein. Left to right: Latvian Pres i d e n t Guntis Ulmanis, Lithuanian • Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng Pr esident Algirdas Brazauskas, talked with RFA and VOA Estonian President Lennart Meri, Our Impact on the Wor l d rep o r ters, knowing that only and RFE/RL Pr esident Tom Dine th r ough international broa d c a s t i n g at reception for the signing of the se r vices would the Chinese people U.S. Baltic Charte r Th r ough news rep o r ts, audience le a r n of his release from prison and call-in programs, and issue-oriented his and other dissidents’ continued fe a t u r es, the five services that make st r uggles for democracy in China. “It is a powerfu l up U.S. international broa d c a s t i n g — so u r ce of strength for Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free • When the authorities closed down us to know that a Eu r ope/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), “Svoboda,” Belarus ’ s last indepen- Radio Free Asia (RFA), Radio and TV dent newspaper, RFE/RL stepped in radio station like Ma r tí, and WORLDNET—made key by reading the newspaper’s arti c l e s Radio Free Asia has contributions to U.S. strategic inter- on the air and by posting them on been established to ests in 1997. A few examples, culled the RFE/RL Web site. fr om many, illustrate these contribu- br oadcast with ti o n s — • In Central Africa, VOA served as the absolute freedom the link that reunited hundreds of views of the world as • RFE/RL, WORLDNET, and VOA refugee families and informed count- br oadcast programs in the South less others of the location of United well as those of the Slavic languages to circumvent Nations food and transit stations. people of Burma . ” attempts by hardliners to control —A ung San Suu Kyi the media and derail the democratic 1991 Nobel Prize winner pr ocess in Bosnia.

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• Radio and TV Martí brought to “I listen to your program [VOA] every evening....I’d like to light Cuba’s year-long crackdown use this opportunity to express my gratitude to you on your on dissidents and independent journalists, many of whom risked eff o r t to enforce some light in the dark media skies over harassment and detention to tele- Yug o s l a v i a . ” phone Radio and TV Martí from —Listener in Novi Sad, Se r b i a inside Cuba.

• WORLDNET and VOA’s Farsi-language “Roundtable with You” call-in pr ogram became so important to Su m m a r y of the 1997 Annual Report Iranians that they have re p o rt e d installing home satellite dishes at night to receive the program and This rep o r t summarizes achieve- removing the dishes before dawn to ments in 1997 through which U.S. avoid detection from the authorities. in t e r national broadcasting fulfilled its mandate, as expressed by Congress in Fo r eign and U.S. visitors to our stu- the U.S. International Broa d c a s t i n g dios underscore the value of our Act of 1994 (P.L. 103-236). The rep o r t pr ograms to listeners around the is organized as follows: world. A few of the people we hosted Section I summarizes the mission in 1997 included President Clinton, and audience of each of the five ser- who chose VOA as the site for the vices that make up U.S. interna t i o n a l only address he has made on China, br oadcasting, and highlights how each knowing that his words in support of fu r thers U.S. strategic objectives in The Dalai Lama at Radio Free Asia democracy would reach the Chinese ta r get regions throughout the world. he a d q u a rt e r s . people; the Dalai Lama, who visited RF A’s headquarters to stress the value of its Tibetan service to him and to others within Tibet and in exile; and the presidents of Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria and the chairman of the Lithuanian Parliament, who visited RF E / R L ’s Prague headquarters to re a ff i rm the importance of RFE/RL in stabilizing and encouraging democratic development in former communist countries. Many other leaders in the fields of politics, science, business, and culture were involved in our br oadcasts as a way to communicate with audiences around the world.

Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) and RFE/RL Pr esident Tom Dine listen to forme r Ambassador Richard Holbrooke address an RFE/RL forum on Bosnia

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This section also discusses Although one of the strengths of inter- a priority for the national broadcasting is its flexibility Br oadcasting Board of to respond to events as they happen, Go v e r nors (BBG) in 1997: the Broadcasting Board of Governo r s measuring effe c t i v e n e s s and the individual services must also th r ough program evalua- be proactive and position interna t i o n a l tion and audience br oadcasting to meet the changing res e a r ch. This intensified technical and programmatic needs of res e a r ch effo r t yielded our audiences in the years ahead. This valuable findings that section summarizes new directions to br oadcasters and man- meet these needs. agers are using to improv e This rep o r t melds the effo r ts of the quality and best allocate five services into one narra t i v e . res o u rc e s . Readers are invited to turn to the Section II rep o r ts on key appendices for brief biographies of the Razi Rizvi of VOA’s Urdu Servi c e developments within the members of the BBG and a review of (right) interviewing forme r br oadcasting services, most impor- each individual servi c e . Pakistani President Farooq Leghari tantly the appointment of the senior at the presidential residence in management team who assumed lead- Is l a m a b a d . ership in 1997. This section of the rep o r t also focuses on several new and strengthened initiatives, including a series of grou n d b r eaking fora conducted by the BBG; the training of local media designed to stren g t h e n their news-gathering, production, and media management skills; and innova- tive partnerships forged with public and private sector groups to cover cutting-edge issues. Section III describes the mix of technologies and delivery systems used by the IBB to ensure that programs reach our target audiences, whether they receive transmissions via the latest-model satellite dish or still depend on battery-operated shortwave radios. This section highlights pro g r ess in the development and implementation of digital and other advanced technologies and looks at other delivery systems that complement our longstanding radio eff o rt s : af filiate relationships with local broa d - casters, television, and the Interne t . Section IV pr ovides a look at some of the goals for U.S. interna t i o n a l br oadcasting in 1998 and beyond.

iv A SIGNAL THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE I Mission and Audience Making a Diffe r ence in Tar get Regions Measuring Effe c t i v e n e s s Afan Orom o

THE U.S. GO V E R N M E N T HA S LO N G US E D A Af r i k a a n s mix of diplomatic, military, commer- Mission and Audience cial, and cultural tools to advance its strategic interests. International broa d - Al b a n i a n casting is a crucial part of this mix. As Since 1994, the Broadcasting Board the U.S. International Broa d c a s t i n g of Governors (BBG) has had res p o n s i - Act states, “Open communication of bility for oversight of U.S. Am h a r i c in f o r mation and ideas among the peo- in t e r national broadcasting. The BBG, ples of the world contributes to a bipartisan, nine-member board in t e r national peace and stability and appointed by the President with the Am o y pr omotion of such communication is advice and consent of the Senate, has in the interests of the United States.” taken the lead in ensuring that the U.S. international broa d c a s t i n g individual services consistently pro- An n a m e s e advances this open communication duce and transmit top-quality th r ough the pr ogramming to meet the needs of the pr ograms of United States and of the world. Ar a b i c its five broa d - The five services together rep r esent 2 ca s t i n g pe r cent of the Federal budget spent en t i t i e s — Vo i c e on international affairs and .025 per- Arm e n i a n of America, cent of the entire Federal budget. This Radio Free investment — approximately $425 mil- Eu ro p e / R a d i o lion — pays off for the American Az e r b a i j a n i Li b e rt y , Radio people. U.S. international broa d c a s t - Fr ee Asia, in g ’ s impressive reach is perhaps our Radio and TV co u n t ry ’ s most Ba n g l a Ma r tí, and WORLDNET Film and co s t - e ff e c t i v e Television Servi c e . means of com- Fr om the various crises in China municating with Bo s n i a n and Korea to the tragic ethnic conflicts people at all lev- in the Balkans and Central Africa, els of society in t e r national broadcasting has been worldwide. Our Bu l g a r i a n on the scene to serve the U.S. national global audience in t e r est by rep o r ting and transmitting includes heads Bu rm e s e accurate, balanced news. Tak e n of governm e n t s , to g e t h e r , the programs of our five ser- business leaders, vices are broadcast in English and in educators, jour- By e l o ru s s i a n almost 60 other languages, on radio nalists, and other and on television, over 2,000 hours decision makers. each week, to reach audiences in It includes stu- Ca m b o d i a n some of the most closed societies in dents and Studio engineers working the world today. Moreo v e r , a stren g t h - young prof e s - with broa d c a s t e r s ened res e a r ch effo r t has enabled us to sionals, the future leaders in the Ca n t o n e s e conduct quantitative and qualitative countries in which they study and su r veys with our audiences and to use work. And it includes listeners who the findings to measure and continual- band together in the name of free d o m Ch i n e s e ly improve upon our effe c t i v e n e s s . and democracy, strengthened by the hope and courage they gain U.S. INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING • 1997 ANNUAL REPORT

fr om the voice they hear regular listeners. Its focus is on pro- on a radio. To reach them viding news and analysis throu g h the services have com- su r rogate or home radio services to pl e m e n t a r y, but distinct supplement local media in post-com- roles to play in the global munist Central and Eastern Europ e communications arena, and the former Soviet Union. as described below: • Radio Free Asia (RFA), which •Voice of America launched operations in 1996, broa d - (VOA), official U.S. casts in the seven Asian languages go v e r nment broa d c a s t i n g mandated by Congress when it se r vice, airs global, established the service. Like regional, and U.S. news RFE/RL, RFA is a surrogate broa d - and information in 52 ca s t e r . It communicates news about languages. An estimated and to the countries in the reg i o n audience of 86 million wh e r e the free flow of information is people tunes in to VOA most needed: China, North Korea , “Elected members of di r ect shortwave and medium wave Bu r ma, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, br oadcasts every week, and mil- and to the people of Tib e t . the Duma [Russian lions more hear VOA prog r a m s pa r l i a m e n t ] . . . s a i d : th r ough their local AM, FM, and VOA, WORLDNET, and Radio and cable stations. TV Martí operate under the ‘S e n a t o r , there is over- In t e r national Broadcasting Burea u whelming corruption in • WORLDNET develops, prod u c e s , (IBB) of the U.S. Information Agency and acquires television prog r a m s (USIA). RFE/RL and RFA are private our country, and we for broadcast on more than 500 no n p r ofit corporations funded throu g h have no way of getting af filiated television networks and Federal grants administered by the stations around the world, including Bo a r d of Governors. The five servi c e s our message out successful programs in Arabic, maximize res o u r ces by sharing IBB except Radio Free Farsi, Bosnian, Serbian, Ukrainian, engineering and technical facilities and other languages. In addition, a and by relying on a combination of Eu r ope. Please, we gr owing number of individuals in sh o r twave and medium wave radio, need the radios now such countries as Iran use home di r ect satellite broadcasting, a global satellite dishes to downlink the network of affiliates, and the Interne t mo r e than we did in pr ograms direc t l y . to transmit their prog r a m m i n g . the Cold War. ” • Radio and TV Martí broa d c a s t —Senator Joseph R. Biden news, features, and enterta i n m e n t (D - D E ) in Spanish to the people of Cuba. Independent surveying is impossi- ble within Cuba, but anecdotal evidence indicates an audience of ap p r oximately 2.6 million tune in to Radio and TV Martí .

• Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) broadcasts in 23 languages to approximately 20 million

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Making a Diffe r ence in Tar get Regions

In t e r national broa d c a s t i n g advances U.S. strategic interests and pr omotes the basic rights that all Americans value: democracy, peaceful resolution of conflicts, economic secu- ri t y , and freedom of press and rel i g i o n , to name but a few. Its ability to communicate accurate and objective in f o r mation empowers people to seek the rights due them. Interna t i o n a l br oadcasting today remains what it Wei Jingsheng stressing the value of RFA and VOA to the struggle for democracy in China. has been for more than half a century — an inexpensive, effective means of pr omoting and defending American in t e r ests, while encouraging the evolu- tion of a more democratic, stable, and al broadcasters are to the struggle for “Radio Free Asia peaceful world. democracy in China because “more At the height of the Cold War , our than anything else,” they help the rep r esents a critical e ff o rts emphasized reaching audi- Chinese people “see things clearly.” pa r t of the U.S. ences in the communist world, and On RFA’s inaugural Burme s e - l a n - our reputation was built on our ability guage broadcast in Februa r y, commitment to ending to do so. The 1990s req u i r e not just democratic leader Daw Aung San Suu human rights abuse one target, but many. U.S. and world Kyi publicly acknowledged the impor- leaders call upon us to overcome the tance of providing uncensored news and establishing challenges that inhibit the free flow of and a variety of opinions to the people democracy in Asia.” in f o r mation in Cuba and China, in the of Burma. Similarly, RFA’s intervi e w post-communist societies of Europ e with two high-ranking North Korea n —R e p . John Por ter (R-IL) and Russia, as well as elsewhere in defectors affo r ded their countrymen a Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. In ra r e look at the unscrupulous prac- 1997, U.S. international broa d c a s t i n g tices of the Pyongyang regime. continued to meet these challenges th r oughout the world. Eu r ope and the former Soviet Union With the break-up of the Soviet sys- As i a tem, Radio Free Europ e / R a d i o RF A and VOA fill a critical gap in Li b e rt y , VOA, and WORLDNET have rep o r ting to many countries in Asia, pr ovided those societies in transition such as China, Burma, and North with objective, credible informa t i o n Ko r ea. For example, VOA and RFA about the democratic process and fair, pr ovided extensive coverage of the fr ee-market economic systems. The release of prominent Chinese political se r vices also played a key role in situ- dissident Wei Jingsheng in November. ations in which a governm e n t Wei stressed how essential interna t i o n - attempted to suppress honest, nonvio-

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“...[Y]our program is lent dissent. For example, RFE/RL Af r i c a ameliorating the lives en s u r ed that the political opposition in VOA is a lifeline to people in Africa. Tajikistan and the last independent This programming, transmitted from of Rwandans and newspaper in Belarus could reach the IBB facilities and through a grow i n g Bu r undians who people. As an indication of the value of network of local affiliates, has filled a airing all points of view, the leader of void by rep o r ting critically needed seemed abandoned the United Tajik Opposition cred i t e d in f o r mation on health, economic, and by the whole world. RFE/RL for its contribution to the political topics. Programming to Africa co u n t ry ’ s June 1997 peace agree m e n t . in 1997 included special rep o r ts on Now is the time that El s e w h e r e in the region, in rec o g n i - conflict resolution; HIV/AIDS, polio, America is really tion of the importance that audiences and other infectious disease prev e n - in this region place on obtaining news tion; and refugee trauma. VOA showing its democratic fr om television, the services have established four new indigenous leadership by trying launched telecasts in the South Slavic African language services in 1997, languages, Russian, and Ukrainian. which have countered hate radio and to build a country Bosnia serves as a clear example se r ved large refugee populations, par- that was divided by that enemies of peace and democracy ticularly in Central Africa. can still wield considerable power, and The work of the conflict.” that international broadcasting can Ki n y a rw a n d a / K i r undi service, which help deter them. The director of br oadcasts to Burundi and Rwanda, — Rwandan listener RF E / R L ’s South Slavic servi c e — illustrates the literally life-giving gift which broadcasts daily in Bosnian, that U.S. international broa d c a s t i n g Cr oatian, and Serbian— can make to our audiences. The ser- summed up in one word what vice broadcasts the names and the service attempts to accom- wh e r eabouts of refugees who have plish: tolerance. Since 1994, been separated from their families. To mo r e than 30,000 people from date, more than 800 families have writ- the reg i o n ’ s diffe r ent ethnic ten to give credit for their reu n i f i c a t i o n gr oups have expressed their to VOA. Thousands of others located opinions on the air, an impos- United Nations food and transit sta- sibility on state-control l e d tions with the help of VOA media. “Because the state an n o u n c e m e n t s . media controlled informa t i o n , people did not know what was going on,” said RFE/RL’s Middle East South Slavic service direc t o r . VO A ’s Arabic service has a key rol e “W e have been able to show to play in serving U.S. strategic inter- them that every issue has two ests in the Middle East. It continues to sides.” Prior to the 1997 elec- rep o r t objectively on U.S. and United VOA rep o r ter Cole Mallard on the tions in Bosnia and Serbia, VOA and Nations policy towards Iraq, coverage scene in Ghana. RFE/RL ran extensive radio and tele- which many listeners in Iraq and other vision coverage that gave a forum to countries in the region would not oth- all the major candidates. After hearing er wise hear. In addition, as is the case one opposition leader on a VOA pro- with other language services, VOA gram, a local journalist stated, can increase the number of Arabic-lan- “Ye s t e r day we witnessed an intervi e w guage programming hours if a crisis with a person whom we can never see situation warrants. Indeed, as tensions on our airwa v e s . ” gr ew with Iraq in late 1997, VOA

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stepped up its hours of broa d c a s t i n g ticularly assisting broadcasters with and scheduled them to reach Iraq dur- constrained news-gathering budgets. ing prime time. This ongoing coverage serves as the On both radio and television, VOA underpinning for people to understand and WORLDNET have created inter- our country more fully and deters the active programs in which Arabic and misunderstandings from which crises Farsi-speaking audiences parti c i p a t e . can erup t . In October, for example, the servi c e s celebrated the first anniversary of “Roundtable with You,” a highly popular Farsi simulcast to Iran. Iranians Measuring Effe c t i v e n e s s have gone to great lengths, often at personal risk, to erect home satellite Getting ready to broadcast the dishes to view the show and to phone The U.S. Interna t i o n a l Farsi radio/TV simulcast our studios to comment about human Br oadcasting Act charges the BBG “Roundtable with You . ” rights, the economy, and other topics with ensuring that all interna t i o n a l of relevance in their country. br oadcasting is “designed so as to ef fectively reach a significant audience” and is “based on rel i a b l e Latin America in f o r mation about its potential The fact that people in most of the audience.” Notwithstanding the indi- countries of Latin America now live vidual examples of prog r a m and work in democratic societies impact cited in the previous para- makes the situation of the millions who graphs, the Board made res e a rc h live in Cuba all the more anachron i s t i c . a priority in 1997 in order to Over the past year, Cuba stepped up its gauge the effectiveness of the harassment, arrest, and detention of pr ogramming. Through prog r a m nu m e r ous dissidents and independent evaluation and audience jo u r nalists. Radio and TV Martí rep o r t- res e a r ch, the broadcasting ser- ed on this crackdown and, thanks to vices use both qualitative and im p r ovements in telephone communi- quantitative measures to determi n e cations, strengthened its news how well they are meeting the expec- gathering from independent source s tations of their audiences. within Cuba. Radio and TV Martí also br oadcast accurate accounts of significant U.S. Cuban policy initiatives, Pr ogram Evaluation which Cubans would certainly not VOA and RFE/RL each has an hear from their own media. independent office of program rev i e w , Fo rt u n a t e l y , 1997 was a rel a t i v e l y and RFA’s will be in place shortl y . peaceful year in our hemisphere. Was Th r ough program reviews, each lan- our broadcasting needed? “Esta guage service is evaluated annually for Noche,” produced by WORLDNET for quality in both content and pres e n t a - cable stations throughout Latin tion. Senior management in each America, and other prog r a m s or ganization reviews the rec o m m e n d a - designed for the Caribbean, including tions that result from the prog r a m Haiti, complemented local broa d c a s t - reviews, and follow-up takes place to ers’ abilities to provide full coverage of en s u r e that the recommendations are U.S., regional, and world events, par- im p l e m e n t e d .

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The Board of Governors is rev i e w - most of the countries in its region of ing the proc e d u r es used by each operation where independent opinion se r vice in order to establish a consis- polling is possible. RFA is launching tent, rigorous process. This consis- its res e a r ch program and will initially tency will allow for more meaningful st r ess qualitative res e a r ch to hone the comparisons among the services and content and format of its Mandarin will be an element in ensuring that and Tibetan servi c e s . in t e r national broadcasting as a whole Indeed, in 1997, more qualitative complies with the Governm e n t res e a r ch of U.S. international broa d - Pe rf o r mances and Results Act of 1993. casting took place than perhaps at any other time in the history of the services. With such techniques as focus Audience Research gr oups, listener panels, and in-depth Pr ofessional broadcasting req u i re s in t e r views, qualitative res e a r ch helps co m p r ehensive audience res e a rc h . the broadcasting services gauge their Br oadcasting managers, to assess the ef fectiveness and compare their pro- ef fectiveness of their operations, must grams with those of other local and have reliable data on key perfo rm a n c e in t e r national broadcasters. Knowing indicators. Research also assists in the relative strengths and weaknesses strategic decision making reg a rd i n g of programming contributes to useful the future and direction of the broa d - planning and priority setting. casting services. In 1997, the Board Knowing listening rates sets the lan- expanded the audience res e a rc h guage services’ priorities. In short, e ff o rt. Coordinated by Board staff, a pr ogram evaluation and audience working group of res e a r ch offi c e r s res e a r ch not only help to measure fr om each service now meets monthly ef fectiveness, but also inform the Top, VOA Correspondent to share information and coordi n a t e complex management tasks facing Pu r nell Murdock, and other e ff o rts. An electronic data arch i v e , the Board of Governors and the jo u r nalists, below, rep o r t called the Strategic Audience br oadcasting servi c e s . amid fighting in the streets in Re s e a r ch Archive, was developed to Mo n r ovia, Liberia. pr ovide managers and the Board with instant access to up-to-date res e a rc h findings and other data. In addition, IBB established a res e a r ch office and doubled the funding available for res e a r ch studies. As a result, VOA collected “fresh” (less than one-year-old) quantitative data on th re e - q u a r ters of its language services, up from only one-third of the se r vices just one year ago, and qualitative data on one-third of the servi c e s . Audience res e a r ch was underta k e n for the first time in Cambodia and Vietnam and increased in the Middle East and Africa. RFE/RL worked with the Intermedia Survey Institute to ca r ry out audience measurements in

6 NEW LEADERSHIP, NEW IDEAS II A New Senior Management Tea m Engaging the American People Training and Partn e r s h i p s Cre o l e

TO BR O A D C A S T TH O U S A N D S OF HO U R S A Cro a t i a n week, in dozens of languages and on A New Senior Management Tea m hu n d r eds of topics, req u i r es daily decisions about how most effe c t i v e l y Cz e c h to maximize our human and technical The new team of leaders that joined res o u r ces. The Broadcasting Board in 1997 worked with the more vet- sets overall priorities so that staff with- eran members of our services to Da n i s h in the individual broadcasting entities position U.S. international broa d c a s t - can make these decisions in a strate- ing to respond to the evolving needs gic and efficient manner. New heads of its audiences. These prof e s s i o n a l s Da r i of three of the five broadcasting ser- bring diverse experience in the fields vices, as well of communica- as a new tions, law, and Du t c h di r ector for public servi c e th e to their new In t e rn a t i o n a l posts. In com- En g l i s h Bro a d c a s t i n g mon, however, Bu r eau, were they share a appointed in co n s i s t e n t Es t o n i a n 1997. They co m m i t m e n t ar e offe r i n g with their fr esh perspec- st a f fs and with Fa r s i tives and (Left to Right:) IBB Di r ector Kevin Klose, VOA Di re c t o r the Board to en e r gy to the Evelyn S. Lieberman, and Radio and TV Martí Direc t o r strive for and Bo a r d as it He r minio San Roman. practice the Fi n n i s h sets priorities bro a d c a s t i n g in the changing environment of the st a n d a r ds and principles embodied in late 1990s. the International Broadcasting Act. Fl e m i s h In keeping with the emphasis on collaboration that characterizes suc- • In March, 1997, Kevin Klose cessful organizations today, U.S. became director of the Interna t i o n a l Fre n c h in t e r national broadcasting reached out Br oadcasting Bureau, res p o n s i b l e to new partners in 1997 and gained for VOA, WORLDNET, Radio and Ge o rg i a n new insights as a result. As this sec- TV Martí, and the Office of tion describes, the Board conducted Engineering and Tec h n i c a l two successful fora in which a cros s - Operations. He was president of Ge rm a n section of Americans prov i d e d RFE/RL and director of Radio thoughtful perspectives on the future Li b e r ty before coming to the IBB role of international broadcasting and and previously worked as a national Gre e k its value to the American people. co r respondent and chief of the Si m i l a r l y , the broadcasting servi c e s Moscow bureau for The Was h i n g t o n de l i v e r ed sought-after media training Post. Gu j a r a t i and developed and expanded partn e r - ships that resulted in stron g • In March, Evelyn S. Lieberma n pr ogramming on such topics as con- assumed her duties as director of Ha k k a flict resolution, disease prev e n t i o n , VOA, drawing upon a long career in and entrep re n e u r s h i p . communications within and outside the government. She was deputy U.S. INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING • 1997 ANNUAL REPORT

“...U.S. international broadcasting has consistently served as an inexpensive, effective tool for encouraging peaceful change and democracy....What excites me most about our broa d c a s t entities is that, despite budget reductions of over 30 perce n t over the past four years, U.S. international broadcasting is engaged with its audience.” —K evin Klose, Di r e c t o r , IB B

RF A President Richard Richter chief of staff and deputy press sec- of the new directions described in this ret a r y for operations at the White rep o r t are a result of fresh perspec- House and press secret a r y for Sen. tives of this top-notch senior Joseph Biden. She also served as management team working with their public affairs director for the st a f fs and with the Board. Ch i l d re n ’ s Defense Fund and communications director for the National Urban Coalition. Engaging the American People • In March, Herminio San Roman became director of Radio and TV Ma r tí in the Office of Cuba Th r ough the U.S. Interna t i o n a l Br oadcasting (OCB). He had been Br oadcasting Act of 1994, Congres s an attorney in south Florida work- requested that the Broa d c a s t i n g ing on local, state, national, and Bo a r d of Governors direct, supervi s e , in t e r national government issues and evaluate U.S. international broa d - RFE/RL President Thomas A. Dine and has overseen the completion of casting. In 1997, as part of this OC B ’ s move to its new Miami head- mandate, the Board chose to engage qu a r ters. the American people in prov i d i n g input, as BBG members stated, to • In May, Thomas A. Dine was “assist the Board in focusing its mis- appointed the president of RFE/RL. sion at the dawn of a new century.” Dine had been assistant administra- The Board conducted two public tor for Europe and the New fora in 1997: the first at North Carol i n a Independent States at the U.S. State University in July and the second Agency for Interna t i o n a l at the University of Southern Development since 1994 and headed Ca l i f o r nia in November. At both the American Israel Public Affa i r s events, a cross-section of Americans Committee from 1980 to 1993. le a r ned about international broa d c a s t - ing and, more importa n t l y , conveyed Along with Richard Richter, the to the Board their views on what they pr esident of RFA appointed in 1996, felt our country’ s broadcasting should these top professionals provide U.S. accomplish. Members of the interna - John Lennon, Acting Director of in t e r national broadcasting with experi- tional affairs community, broa d c a s t e r s WORLDNET Tel e v i s i o n enced and visionary leadership. Many and other journalists, students, educa-

8 U.S. INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING • 1997 ANNUAL REPORT

tors, politicians, business leaders, these wide-ranging members of ethnic and emigre to p i c s . gr oups, and others were asked to Consistent with draw upon their expertise and per- their mission to spectives to help chart the direction of work with local U.S. international broadcasting. Sen. media, RFE/RL Jesse Helms in North Carolina and and VOA conduct Re p r esentatives Howard L. Berma n , training prog r a m s Nancy Pelosi, and Ed Royce in for local journa l i s t s . Ca l i f o r nia agreed to take leading rol e s , th e r eby increasing the visibility and success of the two fora.

Above: Bo a r d Members Tom Korol o g o s Training and Partn e r s h i p s (f o re g r ound), Carl Spielvogel, Ch a i r man David Burke, and Chief of Staff Kathleen Harrington. Our broadcasts promote democracy , encourage trade and investment, Left: Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC), educate about health, expose human Ch a i r man, Senate Forei g n rights abuses, and set an example of Relations Committee, at the North the power of a free press for the Ca r olina forum in July 1997. world. More and more, the broa d c a s t - ing services are working with local media and with diverse public and pri- “I can’t imagine a vate sector organizations to cover better privilege than to lead the Voice of America...As [Pres i d e n t The Legacy of Charles Kuralt Clinton] said, the Voice of America has a The BBG’s North Carolina forum took critical role to play in place a week after the death of Charles an ever-c h a n g i n g Kuralt, the beloved journalist who always prized his North Carolina roo t s . world: as a lifeline Indeed, many participants evoked of reliable rep o r ting, Ku r a l t ’ s professionalism in arti c u l a t i n g a wellspring of their views of the goals of U.S. interna - tional broadcasting. Young journa l i s t s cu l t u r e, and a tool for in t e r ested in entering the field will now education. The Voice have a very tangible way of honoring of America is the voice that legacy. At the forum, Sen. Jesse of democracy.” Helms announced the creation of the Charles Kuralt Fellowship in In t e r national Broadcasting, which will be awarded annually to a — VOA Director Ev e l yn S. Li e b e r m a n graduate of Kuralt’s alma mater, the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of North Carol i n a . 9 U.S. INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING • 1997 ANNUAL REPORT

RFE/RL has Another grant from USAID is being developed a used to enhance rep o r ting on polio pr ogram at its eradication and other infectious dis- Prague head- eases that pose threats in the qu a r ters to developing world. And Harva r d work with Un i v e r s i t y ’ s School of Public Health pro m i s i n g contacted VOA’s Kinyarwa n d a / K i r - young journa l - undi service to request that it ists from translate and broadcast a series of th r oughout its twelve features written by a ref u g e e listening area . trauma team. Since the series broa d - The IBB’s cast, several thousand listeners have In t e rn a t i o n a l contacted VOA to request that the Media Tra i n i n g series be rep e a t e d . Center con- VOA rep o r ting has also increa s i n g - Conflict Resolution in ducts both U.S.-based and overseas ly focused on economic and business South Asia forum participants: workshops and coordinated two uni- issues, because listeners around the (left to right) Kevin Clements, Gowher Rizvi, Chief of Urdu versity placement programs for world tell us they look to the United Se r vice Brian Silver, Robert Boggs, fo r eign journalists. Committed to the States to understand the underlying and Walter Andersen development of a free and independent thinking and the how-to skills that media throughout the world, the train- have made the U.S. economy so ing provides practical, non-politicized robust. RFE/RL provides extensive “F r om Central Europ e workshops in English and in local lan- economic coverage to its post-commu- to the Pacific, from guages. And journalists are putting nist audience, who are struggling to their training to use. For example, a institutionalize free and fair market the Baltic to the Black Bulgarian journalist who launched a systems after decades of state control . Sea, from Russia to the gro u n d - b r eaking morning talk show WORLDNET developed a popular on Bulgarian television credited an series called “The Entrep re n e u r s , ” Persian Gulf, RFE/RL IBB workshop with the ideas and tech- which examined how entrep r eneurs in pr ovides objective niques she needed to launch the the United States and in Central pro g r a m . Eu r ope successfully launched and news, analysis, and Pa r tnerships with a range of orga - maintain their businesses. discussion of domestic nizations in 1997 illustrate the changing role and realities of interna - and regional issues tional broadcasting. These new and cr ucial to successful diverse partners — who prov i d e d funding, in-kind res o u r ces and/or democratic and technical assistance — worked with fr ee-market the broadcasting services to extend their reach in terms of both topics and tr a n s f o rm a t i o n s , audiences. For example, money from st r engthening civil the U.S. Agency for Interna t i o n a l Development (USAID) and the societies by proj e c t i n g Ca r negie Corporation funded the democratic values.” work of 20 VOA rep o r ters to rep o r t on conflict resolution in Africa and in — Thomas A. Dine the former Yugoslavia. President of RFE/RL

10 NEW TECHNOLOGIES, NEW DELIVERY SYSTEMS

II I St r engthening Our Technical Competitiveness Af filiates Expand the Audience Television as an Alternative Use of the Interne t Ha u s a

WIT H TH E AC C E L E R AT I O N OF TE C H N O L O - Digital Advances He b re w gy , IBB has looked at the most pr essing technical issue of its future: Mo d e r nization of IBB prod u c t i o n th r ough what medium should we com- facilities is necessary in order to con- Hi n d i municate to the people of the world? tinue to transmit programs to our Digital technology and direct broa d - millions of listeners successfully. The cast satellite enhance the clarity of our Digital Broadcasting Project (DBP) Hu n g a r i a n pr ograms for the growing numbers of ad d r esses this imperative. It brings people able to receive transmissions together all the analog system rep l a c e - th r ough these means. Internet and ment work req u i r ed to bring our Ic e l a n d i c television are providing us with alter- br oadcasting up to world standards . native ways to deliver program content Digital production produces better to our audiences. Yet many people, quality sound, reduces the use of In d o n e s i a n pa r ticularly in the developing world, expensive audio tapes, facilitates edit- do not have access to a telephone, ing, and enhances program storage much less the Internet or a satellite and retrieval. RFE/RL and RFA have It a l i a n di s h . T h e re f o r e, shortwave and long- led the way in this reg a r d. When distance AM play a crucial role in RFE/RL moved from Munich to pr ogram delivery to Africa, South Asia, Prague in 1995 and when RFA Ja p a n e s e China, and rural areas of the forme r launched operations in 1996, they set Soviet Union. Direct broadcasts are up digital audio editing systems, so complemented by the growing num- that their broadcasters now prod u c e Ja v a n e s e ber of local AM and FM af filiates that and rec o r d their own use our programming, expanding our pr ograms. reach to people who tune in to their Co n v e r s e l y , VOA Kh m e r local stations for their news. and WORLDNET still use increasingly obso- lete analog equipment Ki ru n d i and systems, for which spare compo- Ki n y a rw a n d a St r engthening Our Tec h n i c a l nents and Co m p e t i t i v e n e s s consumable items such as tapes are diffi - Ko re a n cult to obtain and The U.S. International Broa d c a s t i n g expensive to buy. As Act consolidated the engineering and just one example, the Ku r dish technical operations of the five broa d - System for News and casting services under the IBB. By Pro g r a m m i n g reducing duplicative services and facil- (SNAP), the central La o ities, consolidation has saved tens of element of VOA’s millions of dollars. For example, it multilingual prog r a m st r eamlined VOA and RFE/RL short- pr oduction, is consid- La t v i a n wave broadcasting to Central and er ed so outdated in Ea s t e r n Europe and Russia and elimi- the industry that the nated redundant transmitting sites supplier termi n a t e d Li t h u a n i a n while using surplus equipment to the service contract. enhance the capabilities of relay sta- Pro g r ess continued in 1997 on the tions around the world. six key elements of the DBP: rep l a c e - U.S. INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING • 1997 ANNUAL REPORT

“Dari [VOA] air shows are received in Kabul loud and clear. receiver available to consumers at a Your scientific, cultural, and informative programs certa i n l y reasonable cost. help us gain scientific knowledge. Your call-in show covers a range of interesting subjects and your broadcast policy is Enhancing the Base ap p r opriate as it contains material fit for the needs of our At the same time as IBB pursues so c i e t y. ” these digital advances, its engineering —Listener in Kabul , Af g h a n i s t a n st a f f maintains and supports an underlying infrastruc t u r e of facilities without which our broadcasts could not rea c h their audiences. This worldwide field st ru c t u r e, which rep r esents a national ment of SNAP, replacement of VOA’s res o u r ce valued at over one billion dol- Master Control routing switcher and lars, includes two U.S. and eleven central rec o r ding facility, conversion of overseas relay station facilities, over VOA to a digital audio editing system, 1,000 satellite earth stations that deliv- upgrading of existing studios to digital er radio and television programs, nine audio, replacement of the in-house radio monitoring posts, and several Mo n i t r on system (through which pro- on-site project construction offices. gram departments can tune in to To further its goal of maintaining br oadcasts), and upgrading of the IBB and enhancing a strong, efficient, and Local Area Network. Successful com- flexible technical network, IBB accom- pletion of the DBP will ensure that plished the following in 1997: VOA production matches the technical st a n d a r ds not only of RFA and • Im p r oved satellite coverage. IB B RFE/RL, but also of most other prof e s - began using the AsiaSatII satellite sional broadcasters in the country. for signal delivery. AsiaSatII is a Digital technology plays a role in widely used, high-powered satellite signal transmission, in addition to pro- that reaches over 60 percent of the gram production. In 1997, IBB wo r l d ’ s population. The IBB also continued to upgrade its satellite cir- began to construct two satellite cuits in 1997 from analog to digital uplink facilities, one in Was h i n g t o n , fo r mat, as described more fully below. DC, and one in Kuwait, which will In addition, IBB has taken a leading replace expensive leased facilities. role in experimenting with digital transmission of shortwave broa d c a s t s . • Upgraded satellite circu i t s . In May, the IBB and engineers from Continuing effo r ts begun in 1996, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory con- IBB converted its interna t i o n a l ducted field trials on a system that satellite circuits to a more economi- uses digital signals to improve short- cal “compressed digital” forma t . Rigger maintains shortwave antenna using an IBB-designed wave perfo r mance. The results were Conversions made in 1997 involved ca g e . pr omising in eliminating the noise and ci r cuits that carry feeds to Central fading associated with long-distance America, Africa, Europe, and por- sh o r twave broadcasting. The test is tions of the Middle East. This pa r t of an overall project to work with conversion increased the capacity the radio industry to produce a digital and quality of our global network co v e r a g e .

12 U.S. INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING • 1997 ANNUAL REPORT

• Upgraded high-power AM transmit- te r s . In 1997, improvements were Ensuring Technical Quality made to transmitters in Greece, the Philippines, and Thailand. Work also began to improve the power effi c i e n - The best programs in the world cy and reliability of our transmitter cannot affect an audience if they can- in Botswana, which serves as an not be heard. IBB deploys a network im p o r tant vehicle for broa d c a s t i n g of monitors responsible for gathering th r oughout Southern Africa. and analyzing data to verify technical reception. If the transmissions are not • Enhanced shortwave coverage. being heard, IBB engineering staff Co n s t r uction prog r essed on a new co o r dinate effo r ts between relay station on Tinian in the Washington and the relay stations to Satellite dish used for high-quality Commonwealth of the North e r n co r rect the problem. In 1997, pr ogram feed undergoes Mariana Islands. When completed, pro g r ess continued on an Interne t - ma i n t e n a n c e the station will strengthen RFA’s based monitoring system that enables and VOA’s reach into vast stret c h e s of China and East and Southeast Asia. In addition, construc t i o n resumed on upgrades to our Sri WHEN TO USE WHAT ? Lankan relay station, after a damag- ing fire halted work in late 1996. Wh y not just use shortw a ve? Wh y not go totally digital? Th e IBB uses different methods of transmission in keeping with the • Obtained ratification of an agree m e n t realities of our listeners and viewe rs . A brief explanation of fou r with Gree c e . In Februa r y 1997, after modes of signal transmission, and the pluses and minuses of years of negotiation, the Gree k ea ch , fol l ow s : Parliament ratified a new country- t o - FM offer s high-fidelity transmission but is limited in range. co u n t r y agreement with the United The maximum range of FM transmission is from the line of States. The agreement allows the IBB to continue radio reb ro a d c a s t - sight to the horizon—about 25 to 125 kilometers, or 15 to 75 ing in Greece and permits us to miles depending on the height of the transmitting antenna. mo d e r nize our transmitting facilities AM transmission can range further than FM—from about 50 th e r e. The Greece Relay Station’s to 300 kilometers (60 to 180 miles)—but has lesser audio quali- AM and shortwave transmitters ty than FM. At night, AM transmissions can increase to deliver programs to key areas in distances of up to 1,500 kilometers (900 miles). Ea s t e r n Europe, Russia, and the Sh o rt w a ve transmissions use the reflective prop e r ties of the Middle East. ionosphere to carry signals over long distances, up to 7,000 kilo- • Reduced operating costs. New solid me t e r s (4200 miles) using a “t wo - h o p ”s h o rt w a ve transmission. state modulators were installed in Although shortw a ve is subject to periodic and often unpre- facilities in California, Germa n y , and di c t a b le atmospheric disturbances, its ability to cover such long the Philippines. These modulators, distance is useful to countries where we do not have clo s e r with their benefits of increased elec- re l a y stations or, even more importa n t l y, ac r oss closed borde rs . trical power efficiency and Direct broadcast satellite uses satellite systems to fee d im p r oved reliability of equipment, audio and video broadcast signals to IBB relay stations and affil- significantly reduce transmitter iates and directly to individual users and cable systems arou n d operating costs. the wor l d . Tec hnical quality is usually exc e l l e n t . Satellite dishes are now relatively small and inexp e n s i v e , wh i c h allows more private homes to have direct access to broadcast signals, but are still unavai l a b le for many members of our target audience. U.S. INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING • 1997 ANNUAL REPORT

IBB to collect data more quickly and efficiently and Af filiates Expand the Audience can include verifying how af filiates are using U.S.-provided prog r a m m i n g . VOA, WORLDNET, and RFE/RL Jamming, in which a coun- have developed a network of affi l i a t e tr y intentionally transmits stations to complement direct broa d - in t e rf e r ence on the same fre- casting. These local radio and quency as one of our television stations use our prog r a m s pr ograms, is unfortu n a t e l y as part of their daily broadcasts, thus still around. During the extending their content to people who height of the Cold War , most tune in to local—rather than, or in jamming took place in the addition to, interna t i o n a l — b ro a d c a s t - fo r mer Soviet Union. In 1997, ers. An affiliate relationship benefits IBB technical monitoring listeners, who have a local outlet on co n f i r med that China, Cuba, which to hear our programs; the sta- Iran, Iraq, North Korea, and tions, which receive high-quality Vietnam attempted to jam pr ogramming at no charge; and the TV monitoring by IBB te c h n i c i a n . our programming. IBB United States, which transmits to mil- responded by changing freq u e n c i e s , lions more people than it could rel y i n g in c r easing signal strength, augment- on its own direct broa d c a s t s . ing transmitter selection, and other The number of local stations “H e r mianchuk [editor me a s u r es to attempt to circumvent the requesting to be affiliates grows each of Belarus’ Svoboda ja m m i n g . ye a r . More than 1,300 local AM and FM stations around the world are newspaper] and his VOA affiliates, nearly 100 of whom colleagues aren ’ t giv- joined on in 1997. RFE/RL affi l i a t e s include nationwide networks in ing up. Their Interne t Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, pr ovider got scared and took away their Web site, but Radio A TWIST ON THE ORAL TRADITION Fr ee Europ e / R a d i o A VOA journalist and a USAID staff member, traveling in Guinea Bissau to Li b e r ty — still essen- cover the two agencies’ polio eradication campaign, went by car, foot, and tial in so much of the canoe to arrive at a small village near the Senegalese borde r . When they world — offe r ed a tem- ar rived, they observed a group of people surrounding an elderly man. He po r a r y cyber home.” was holding a small radio up to his ear, tuned to VOA’s Portuguese to Africa Se r vice. Every minute or so, he would turn to the group and translate what —Op-ed column by Washington Post reporte r he had heard into the local language. New technologies have their place in Fred Hiatt getting the word out to our listeners. But the centuries-old oral tradition, helped with a shortwave radio and a pair of batteries, also has a rol e .

14 U.S. INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING • 1997 ANNUAL REPORT

Slovakia, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, celebrated its first anniversary on the “The fact that Estonia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, air in October 1997 and has been mainland China has Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, ex t r emely well received by the Iranian Russia, and the countries of the for- people. RFE/RL broadcasts a weekly jammed Radio Free mer Yugoslavia. In addition, 525 news program on a Bosnian network Asia in this way rea l l y television networks and stations are once a week during prime time. VOA WORLDNET affi l i a t e s . and WORLDNET launched prog r a m s pr oves that your To support the affiliates’ network, in 1997 that are on local TV in Bosnia st a t i o n ’ s broa d c a s t s the IBB leases satellite circuits and, and Serbia. In all these prog r a m s , wh e r e necessary, has provided satel- br oadcasters provide a voice for those have hit the lite receiving dishes and rel a t e d seeking democracy and peace, often in Communist Party equipment to affiliates to downlink the di f ficult circu m s t a n c e s . pr ogramming. A newsletter and Web WORLDNET also prod u c e s wh e r e it hurts . ” site provide updates to affiliates about “W indow on America,” shown on pr ograms, schedule changes, training prime time on Ukrainian National —Listener from China op p o r tunities, and satellite informa - Television, and “Esta Noche,” a six- tion. These services are a small hour block of Spanish and English investment when measured against pr ogramming carried by cable outlets the millions of additional listeners and ac r oss Latin America. viewers we gain as a result of our affi l i - To facilitate the use of more on-the- ate rel a t i o n s h i p s . scene televised rep o r ts, an IBB engineer developed a video co n f e re n c i n g Television as an Alterna t i v e system that uses a personal computer and a The “radios” are looking at how to video camera to deliver more content via television to cr eate an over- se r ve the needs of their audiences. seas television The Farsi “Roundtable with You ” studio. This radio/TV simulcast, a cooperative desktop system e ff o rt of VOA and WORLDNET, pe r mits a lan-

Above, VOA/WORLDNET simulcast. Left, Thomas F. “Mack” McLarty III and host Mario Martinez discuss the upcoming Summit of the Americas during a WORLDNET Dialogue broa d c a s t .

15 U.S. INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING • 1997 ANNUAL REPORT

guage service to use live video from an Use of the Interne t overseas location at ve r y low cost. In 1997, for the first As it has in many other applications, time, VOA took in the Internet provides U.S. interna t i o n a l and reb ro a d c a s t br oadcasting with a new avenue of real-time video communication, one that complements rep o r ts from Bosnia pr ogram delivery through direct and and Hong Kong. af filiate broa d c a s t i n g . In 1997, VOA and Although far from a universal tech- WORLDNET facili- no l o g y , particularly in the developing ties were world, the Internet gives us new consolidated into op p o r tunities, particularly to rea c h one building with decision makers and other elites. Via RF A Newsroo m sh a r ed studio space. This move has their Web sites, both RFE/RL and meant further opportunities for joint VOA distribute text and audio news television rep o r ting. Moreo v e r , the files that are constantly updated Br oadcasting Board of Governors set th r oughout the day. Although RFA did the tone for development of a wider not have a full Web presence in 1997, strategy for the future of IBB’s televi- it launched a home page with basic sion service through the in f o r mation about its prog r a m m i n g , transfer of WORLDNET’s Dialogues which it will supplement with a more and other policy-oriented programs to co m p r ehensive site in 1998. USIA and encouraging WORLDNET Two illustrations serve to show Be l o w , IBB’s web site and VOA to collaborate more closely how radio and Internet can team up to (h t t p : / / w w w .ibb.gov) provides a on news prog r a m s . ci r cumvent restrictions on the free new means of disseminating flow of information. When VOA in f o rm a t i o n . le a r ned that its Web site was blocked by the Chinese authorities, it res p o n d - ed by announcing on its radio pr ograms that it would establish a Voice of America se r vice to e-mail VOA scripts and texts di r ectly to those requesting them. On the first day that the service was WO R L D N E T announced, VOA received messages fr om 400 Chinese listeners prov i d i n g Radio & TV Ma rt í their e-mail addresses, and the numbers have grown ever since. And Aff i l i a t e s when authorities in Belarus closed down “Svoboda,” the country’ s last IB B Mo n i t o r i n g independent newspaper, RFE/RL br oadcast the newspaper’s articles on the air and posted them on the Of fice of Business Development RFE/RL Web site.

16 LOOKING AHEAD IV

Ma l a y a n

AS TH I S RE P O R T WE N T TO PR E S S , TH E br oadcasting is its flexibility to Ma l a y a l a m men and women of U.S. interna t i o n a l respond to events as they happen, br oadcasting were already deeply indeed almost instantaneously. immersed in covering the events of Nonetheless, the Broadcasting Board Ma n d a r i n 1998. U.S. and other world leaders of Governors and the individual ser- we r e seeking ways to enforce Iraq’s vices must also be proactive and compliance with United Nations position international broadcasting to Ne p a l i req u i r ements; Asian economies were meet changing technical and pro- dealing with deep economic crises; grammatic needs in the years ahead. and the Cuban people were prep a r i n g The broadcasting services will tackle No rw e g i a n for a historic visit by Pole John Paul II. new concerns in the coming year, Peace in Bosnia was tentatively hold- including — ing. In all these situations and more, Pa s h t o the journalists have been out on the • Enhanced programming to China fr ont lines, rep o r ting on the news and Both Congress and the Pres i d e n t sharing their expertise. Their ability to have expressed their desire to Po l i s h communicate accurate and objective expand to 24 hours broadcasting to in f o r mation empowers people to seek China. RFA is expanding its opera- the rights they are due and that all tions to meet this request by Po rt u g u e s e Americans value: human rights, in c r easing daily broadcast hours in de m o c r a c y , peaceful resolution of con- Mandarin and Tibetan and will inau- flicts, economic security, freedom of gurate broadcasts in Cantonese and Po rt u g u e s e pr ess and religion, and the right to a Wu (Shanghaiese). VOA will also healthy future. in c r ease its daily schedule in Mandarin, Tibetan, and Cantonese, Po r tuguese as well as provide other expansions of its curren t se r vice, including original Ro m a n i a n Mandarin television pro- ductions and direct e-mail Ru s s i a n of Chinese language scripts. Se r b i a n • In c r eased television se r vice VOA and WORLDNET Shanghai will continue to coordi - nate and increase the televising of VOA pro- Sl o v a k grams, particularly to ar eas where res e a r ch VOA Chinese-language television simulcast. shows the majority of Slovene people prefer to get their news from TV, The five broadcasting services will rather than radio. For example, a So m a l i continue to make objective, accurate live radio/TV simulcast in Russian news a top priority. By definition, one is planned, which will allow us to of the strengths of interna t i o n a l work with 10 new affiliates with a U.S. INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING • 1997 ANNUAL REPORT

“I welcome your call for increased funding to expand U.S.- an essential part of our effo r ts to su p p o r ted international broadcasting into China....I theref o r e pr omote democracy and advance Am e r i c a ’ s interests abroad. Their pledge to work with you and others in the Congress to ef fectiveness depends up their cred - obtain additional support for Radio Free Asia and the Voi c e ibility with their audiences. My BBG colleagues and I are commit- of America, to provide 24 hours of Mandarin broa d c a s t i n g ted to helping safeguard that se r vices daily to China and appropriate broadcasting in cr edibility and effectiveness in sup- po r t of the Administration’s forei g n other dialects.” policy interes t s . ” —Letter from President Bill Clinton to Speaker of House Newt Gingrich (R-GA) This past year has been an eventful and challenging one for U.S. interna - tional broadcasting. Throughout the world, in a number of critical situations, our rep o r ting has made a potential additional audience of 1.5 decisive diffe r ence. It has made the million people. di ff e r ence between whether people remain in an information vacuum or • Fu r ther application of res e a r ch whether they have access to one of In 1997, we significantly increa s e d their most fundamental rights as citi- the capacity to conduct cutting- zens of the world — the right to edge res e a r ch. The next step is receive a free flow of information in fu r ther application of that res e a rc h or der to determine their own destiny. to improve programming of all s e rv i c e s .

• Im p r oved transmission quality IBB will continue to take advantage of new technologies, including digi- “Since we are almost on the tal circuits and the Internet. Relay stations in Sri Lanka and Tin i a n ve r ge of entering the 21st should be on line in 1998, grea t l y ce n t u r y, there is a great need enhancing RFA and VOA transmissions to Asia, and Radio and TV now for exchange of perce p - Ma r tí operations are scheduled to tion reg a r ding all issues, be consolidated in Miami in spring of 1998. political and cultural. It is only th r ough the news media that Among the guests interviewed in • St r engthened role for the we can keep abreast of all 1997: Gospel singer Cece Win a n , Br oadcasting Board of Governo r s and Donna Shalala, Secret a r y of The Board looks forwa r d to the that is changing so rapidly Health and Human Servi c e s . challenges and opportunities that the future will bring. As stated by ar ound us.” —Listener in Allahabad, In d i a BBG chairman David Burke, U.S. in t e r national broadcasting programs “have been and will rem a i n

18 A P P E N D I C E S

Br oadcasting Board of Governo r s

Sp a n i s h

David W. Burke, Chairma n 1990, and Spring Moon, a New Yor k Sp a n i s h Mr . Burke is a Director and Times bestseller and nominee for the Trustee of various Dreyfus Funds. American Book Awa r d. She is also He is the former president of CBS Chair of the Freedom House Board Sw a h i l i News, and has served as both of Trus t e e s . Vice President and Executive Vic e Pr esident of ABC News. Al b e r to Mora Sw a t o w Mr . Mora is an attorney in private Tom C. Korol o g o s practice in Washington, D.C., where Mr . Korologos is the President of his focus is international law. From Sw e d i s h Timmons & Company, a governm e n t 1989 to 1993, he served as General relations consulting firm. He forme r l y Counsel for the United States se r ved as the Chairman of the United In f o r mation Agency. Tag a l o g States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy and as a member of the Ma r c B. Nathanson Bo a r d of Directors of the Interna t i o n a l Mr . Nathanson is Chairman and Tam i l Media Fund. Chief Executive Officer of Falcon Cable TV, which serves in excess of Ed w a r d E. Kaufman one million subscribers in over 700 Tat a r Mr . Kaufman is President of Public communities in 27 states. Mr. Strategies, a political and manage- Nathanson is a 26-year veteran of the ment consulting firm in Wil m i n g t o n , cable TV industry and was elected Tel e g u De l a w a r e. He is the former Chief of member of “Cable Pioneers” in 1982. St a f f to Senator Joseph Biden and a Senior Lecturing Fellow at Duke Ch e r yl Halpern Th a i University School of Law and the Ms. Halpern has participated exten- Fugua School of Business. sively in community activities on the national, state, and local levels. She has Tib e t a n Carl Spielvogel se r ved on the Executive Board of the Mr . Spielvogel is the Chairma n , Washington Institute for Near East Tig r i g n a Chief Executive Officer of Carl Po l i c y , the Executive Committee of the Spielvogel Associates, Inc., a global New Jersey Regional Advisory Board investment and communications com- of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai Tur k i s h pa n y . Mr. Spielvogel is the forme r B’rith. From 1990 to 1995, Ms. Halpern Ch a i r man and Chief Executive Offi c e r se r ved as a member of the Board for of Backer Spielvogel Bates Wor l d w i d e , In t e r national Broadcasting, the pred e - Uk r a i n i a n Inc., one of the world’s largest market- cessor to the Broadcasting Board of ing, communications, and adverti s i n g Go v e r nors. companies. Earlier, he was a rep o rt e r Urd u and columnist at The New York Tim e s The Honorable Joseph Duffe y for eight years. Dr . Duffe y , Director of the United States Information Agency, serves as Uz b e k Bette Bao Lord an ex-officio member of the biparti s a n Ms. Lord is a recognized author Bo a rd . and lecturer whose works include Vie t n a m e s e Legacies: A Chinese Mosaic, which was chosen by Time magazine as one of the ten best non-fiction books of U.S. INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING • 1997 ANNUAL REPORT

Republic of Srpska, and otherwi s e Voice of America expanded rep o r ting to Bosnia, Cr oatia, and Serbia to support the electoral proc e s s . FY 1998 Budget: $102,478,000 • Increased Arabic programming “My colleagues were Total Employment: 1,143 to Iraq during prime listening congratulating me hours and covered UN sanctions Number of Languages: 52 policy extensively. on working for an or ganization that is Weekly Broadcast Hours: 881 • Through its Family Unification Pr ogram, broadcast names of willing and able to He a d q u a r ters: Washington, DC Central African refugees separated cr oss boundaries in fr om their families, which res u l t e d Di r ector: Evelyn S. Lieberma n in more than 800 people giving Bosnia and bring cr edit to VOA for their families’ people and diffe re n t reu n i f i c a t i o n . 1997 Highlights views together.” • Signed an agreement with the • Hosted President Clinton, who used la r gest private radio network in — VOA St r i n g er in Sarajevo VOA as the site for a major policy Africa, ensuring its preeminence as ad d r ess on China, just before the the strongest international broa d - state visit of Chinese Pres i d e n t caster in Central Africa. Jiang Zemin. • Established an e-mail service to • Broadcast a live interview with China to get around Chinese inter- Miodrag Zivanovic, a moderate fe r ence with VOA’s Web site. opposition leader from the • Interviewed Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng in his first exclusive in t e r national media intervi e w . V O A C H A R T E R • Rebroadcast real-time video from The long-range interests of the United States are served by communicating Bosnia and Hong Kong. with the peoples of the world by radio. To be effective, the Voice of America (the broadcasting service of the United States Information Agency) must win • Pioneered a Russian-language news the attention and respect of listeners. These principles will theref o r e govern pr ogram and signed agree m e n t s Voice of America (VOA) broadcasts. with fourteen local television networks in Russia to take furth e r 1. VOA will serve as a consistently reliable and authoritative source of VOA prog r a m m i n g . news. VOA news will be accurate, objective, and comprehensive. 2. VOA will rep r esent America, not any single segment of American soci- • Established a four-channel, 24-hour- et y , and will theref o r e present a balanced and comprehensive projection of a-day network in English, including significant American thought and institutions. the creation of VOA Express, a co s t - e f fective alternative to VOA 3. VOA will present the policies of the United States clearly and effe c t i v e l y , Eu r ope, which ceased operations in and will also present responsible discussions and opinion on these policies. Ja n u a r y 1997. Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States Signed July 12, 1976 Public Law 94-350 U.S. INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING • 1997 ANNUAL REPORT

• Launched an initiative to enable Of fice of Cuba Broa d c a s t i n g Cubans to participate in live call-in shows to discuss issues on the air, thanks to improvements in tele- FY 1998 Budget: $2 2 , 0 9 5 , 0 0 0 phone communication.

Total Employment: 213 • Obtained special permission from the Cuban government to transmit Language: Spanish game 5 of the World Series in which Livan Hernandez, who defected Weekly Broadcast Hours: fr om Cuba two years ago, was the 90 (radio); st a r ting pitcher for the Florida 31.5 (television) Ma r l i n s .

He a d q u a r ters: Miami, Florida • Pr ovided coverage of the December 1997 defection of Hernandez’ brot h - Di r ector: Herminio San Roman er Orlando, also formerly one of Cu b a ’ s top pitchers.

1997 Highlights • Tested a system that uses a UHF channel to transmit TV Martí into • Developed and broadcast a series of Cu b a . pr ograms to discuss the Clinton ad m i n i s t r a t i o n ’ s January 1997 policy paper “Support for a Democratic Transition in Cuba.”

• Re p o r ted on the harassment, detention, arrest, and incarceration of Cuban independent journalists, as well as on condemnation by interna - tional press organizations of this wave of rep re s s i o n .

• Broadcast other specific cases of human rights abuses in Cuba and condemnation of those abuses by in t e r national orga n i z a t i o n s .

• Pr ovided information and analysis on President Clinton’s public state- ments reg a r ding U.S.-Cuban relations, including a statement that commemorated the first anniver- sa r y of the shooting down of two Br others to the Rescue planes by Cuban MiGs.

21 U.S. INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING • 1997 ANNUAL REPORT

• Provided USIA with interactive WORLDNET Television video conferencing capability, bring- and Film Servi c e ing U.S. officials and private sector ex p e r ts together with their overseas co u n t e r p a r ts and foreign media. FY 1998 Budget: $19,933,000 Guests in 1997 included members of Congress and the Executive Total Employment: 240 Branch, health experts, human rights specialists, and many others. He a d q u a r ters: Washington, DC • Developed special series, including Di r ector: John Lennon, Acting “By the People,” which prom o t e s pa r ticipation in the political proc e s s , and “The Entrep r eneurs,” which 1997 Highlights examines successes in emergi n g fr ee markets throughout Central • Increased to 525 the number of and Eastern Europe and in the af filiates using WORLDNET pro- United States. gramming. These affiliates include 25 stations in Serbia and Bosnia that • Moved operations to the IBB head- reb r oadcast daily VOA-WORLD- qu a r ters building, with no loss of air NET news programs, Ukrainian time, and began cooperating more National Television, and cable net- closely with VOA on radio/televi- works throughout Latin America. sion simulcasts.

• Expanded its broadcast capabilities and products by televising VOA programming in Arabic, Farsi, Serbian, Bosnian, and other languages.

• Celebrated the first anniversary of “Roundtable with You,” a weekly call-in program in Farsi that con- nects viewers in Iran with guests in Was h i n g t o n .

• Partn e r ed with two Egyptian broa d - casters, NILE TV and ART TV, on a si x - p a r t series on topics that ranged fr om U.S./Middle East relations to AIDS. Both television networks ai r ed the show during prime time.

22 U.S. INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING • 1997 ANNUAL REPORT

• Provided balanced, compreh e n s i v e Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty election coverage in Russia, contributing to respect of electoral pro c e d u r es by local authorities FY 1998 Budget: $68,419,000 and to a better-i n f o r med Russian el e c t o r a t e . Total Employment: 440 • Reported extensively on corrup t i o n Number of Languages: 23 in Ukraine and how it deters forei g n in v e s t m e n t . “W e can write or Weekly Broadcast Hours: 700 speak a lot about • Compensated for official censorship He a d q u a r ters: in Tajikistan, allowing the political some very importa n t Prague, the Czech Republic opposition to make its views public issues. But unfortu - and receiving credit from opposition Pr esident: Thomas A. Dine leaders for its role in the June 1997 nately Uzbek offi c i a l s peace agree m e n t . just ignore them.

1997 Highlights • Covered human rights violations in But if RFE/RL’s Uzbek Ky r gyzstan that helped gain acquit- br oadcasts say only • Hosted the presidents of Romania, tals and reductions of prison terms Hu n g a r y, and Bulgaria and the for independent journalists and one word about the Ch a i r man of the Lithuanian opposition leaders. same issues, it will be Parliament in official visits to the Prague broadcasting center, where • Intensified coverage of an increa s - immediately heard and each, in news conferences, rea f - ingly authoritarian situation in taken into account. fi r med the importance of RFE/RL Be l a r us and aired rep o r ts from pr ogramming in stabilizing and “Svoboda,” when this independent So you have a rea l encouraging democratic develop- newspaper was shut down by the power to influence ment in former communist go v e rn m e n t . co u n t r i e s . the decision-making pr ocess in • Pr omoted understanding of the peace process and free and fair elec- Uz b e k i s t a n . ” tions in Bosnia, — Khurshid Dostmuh a m m a d , Se r b i a / M o n t e n e g r o, and Croa t i a Edi t o r- i n - c hief of Tas h k e n t ’ s th r ough its South Slavic servi c e ’ s “H u r r i ya t , ” the only multiethnic prog r a m s . independent newspaper in the country • Cooperated with responsible local br oadcasters in Bosnia, Croatia, and Se r b i a / M o n t e n e g r o to encourage the development of independent media in the reg i o n .

23 U.S. INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING • 1997 ANNUAL REPORT

• Provided extensive coverage of the Radio Free Asia state visit of President Jiang Zemin and of Wei Jingsheng’s release fr om prison and arrival in the FY 1998 Budget: $24,100,000 United States.

Total Employment: 224 • Broadcast exclusive interviews with Choi Joo-Hwal and Ko You n g - K w a n , Number of Languages: 8 two high-level defectors from North “Y ou can say that Ko r ea, who provided North Korea n s your program speaks Weekly Broadcast Hours: 196 with a behind-the-scenes look at how their government operates. to our hearts and in He a d q u a r ters: Washington, DC the middle of the long • Produced special programming Pr esident: Richard Richter to mark the 50th anniversary of lingering night, it lets Bu rm a ’ s independence from us see the hope of a Gr eat Britain. 1997 Highlights fr ee China. History will never forget you— • One year after launch of operations, completed the establishment of ser- Radio Free Asia—and vices in all the languages mandated the Chinese people by Congress—Mandarin, Burme s e , Tibetan, Korean, Vietnamese, Lao, who live under and Khmer. dictatorial rule and • Hosted a visit by the Dalai Lama, long for freedom and who stressed the importance of democracy will thank the Tibetan service to him and to others within Tibet and in exile. yo u . ” • Led the way among interna t i o n a l —M i d dle school history br oadcasters with in-depth coverage te a ch e r ,Yunnan Provi n c e of peasant uprisings in the Thai Binh Province - north e r n Vie t n a m . Only after RFA’s rep o r ts aired did the government admit that the disturbances had occurred .

• Opened offices in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in Dharamsala, India (h e a d q u a r ters of the Dalai Lama), Tokyo, Japan, and Taipei, Tai w a n .

• Reported live on the July 1997 handover of Hong Kong to the C h i n e s e .

24 United States Information Agency

Ra d i o Ra d i o Fre e Br oadcasting Fre e Eu ro p e / R a d i o Bo a r d of Governo r s As i a Li b e rt y (G r a n t e e ) (G r a n t e e )

In t e rn a t i o n a l Bro a d c a s t i n g Bu re a u

Of fice of Voice Of fice of Of fice of Cuba WO R L D N E T Of fice of of Engineering and Bro a d c a s t i n g Television Pr ogram Review Am e r i c a Technical Ops and Film

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25 Kathleen Harrington, Chief of Staff Brian T. Conniff, Di r ector of Evaluation and Analysis John A. Lindburg, Legal Counsel Jon Beard, Co n g r essional Liaison Offi c e r Br uce Sherman, Re s e a r ch and Program Review Offi c e r Anthony Scardino, Budget Offi c e r Br enda Massey, Confidential Assistant Ca r olyn Ford, Of fice Assistant

Ca r melo Ciancio, Ar t Direc t o r Tuleda Poole Johnson, Graphic Design Paula Whitacre, Editorial Consultant Magda Hishmeh, Lynn Lindberg, Judy Gardn e r , Photography Br oadcasting Board of Governo r s United States Information Agency 330 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20547 Telephone: (202) 401-3736 Fax: (202) 401-6605