2019 ANNUAL REPORT INFORMATION AS A PUBLIC SERVICE Cover photo: A man identified as Georgy Oganezov is forcibly detained by Russian riot police in Moscow on August 3, 2019, while being interviewed on Current Time. Photo: Andrei Zolotov (MBKh Media) This report is submitted pursuant to Section 305(a) of the International Broadcasting Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-236). U.S. Agency for Global Media | 2019 Annual Report | 1 Overview and Impact ...................................2 Mission ........................................... 3 Languages ......................................... 3 Audience ..........................................4 Networks ..........................................6 Independence ......................................9 Threats to Our Journalists ............................... 10 Imprisoned and Missing Journalists ..................... 14 Transmissions and Broadcasting ......................... 16 Radio ............................................ 17 TV .............................................. 17 Digital (Web and Social Media Platforms) ................ 18 Affiliates ......................................... 18 Internet Freedom .....................................20 Providing Public Service Media .......................... 22 Impartial News Coverage ............................. 23 Unique Programming ...............................28 A Forum for Discussion .............................. 33 Reflects Underrepresented Voices ...................... 37 Media Development ...................................44 Outreach and Research .................................46 Leadership...........................................50 Chief Executive Officer ............................... 51 Board of Governors ................................. 52 Awards ............................................. 55 Financial Highlights ...................................64 2 | U.S. Agency for Global Media | 2019 Annual Report OVERVIEW & IMPACT U.S. Agency for Global Media | 2019 Annual Report | 3 The U.S. Agency for Global Media is an independent federal agency whose mission is “to inform, engage, and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy.” USAGM was formed in 1999 and oversees all U.S. agency’s journalists and its audiences have the tools they non-military international broadcasting. USAGM’s need to safely access the uncensored internet. networks—Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe/ USAGM’s international operations promote democracy Radio Liberty, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks and press freedom and counter misinformation and (MBN), Radio Free Asia (RFA), and the Office of Cuba propaganda. In doing so, they serve a vital role in U.S. Broadcasting (OCB)—together reach 350 million people public diplomacy and national security. each week in more than 100 countries. USAGM also funds internet freedom technologies to ensure that the Eastern/ Eurasia Central Europe Armenian Albanian Azerbaijani East and Bosnian Bashkir Central Asia Global Southeast Asia Bulgarian Belarusian Kazakh English Burmese Macedonian Chechen Kyrgyz Learning English Cantonese Montenegrin Crimean Tatar Tajik Indonesian Romanian Africa Georgian Turkmen Khmer Serbian Afan Oromo Russian Uzbek Ukrainian Tatar Korean Amharic Lao Bambara Mandarin Latin America French-to-Africa Middle East/ South Asia Rohingya Creole Bangla Hausa North Africa Thai Spanish Arabic Dari Kinyarwanda Tibetan Kurdish Pashto Kirundi Uyghur Persian Urdu Lingala Vietnamese Ndebele Turkish Portuguese-to-Africa Sango USAGM Voice of America BROADCASTS IN Shona Somali Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Swahili Radio Free Asia 61 Tigrigna Ofice of Cuba Broadcasting Wolof LANGUAGES Middle East Broadcasting Networks Left: Khin Phyu Htway of VOA’s Burmese Service reporting on a USAID- and Windrock International-supported development program ringing together 18 coffee-producing local communities in Shan State, northern Burma. 4 | U.S. Agency for Global Media | 2019 Annual Report VOA reporter reports from Srinagar in the Kashmir Valley. Audience In 2019, USAGM networks attracted 350 million people and USAGM global audience is smaller than the sum of weekly worldwide via radio, television, and internet. audiences for all individual networks. In keeping with standards developed by the Conference The audience estimate is based on surveys of International Broadcasters’ Audience Research • conducted within the past five years; Services (CIBAR), USAGM measures and reports unduplicated audience—the number of “unique” • in more than 100 countries and territories; and individuals who access content. In other words, the agency counts a person only once, regardless of how • that represent 3 billion people in markets around many programs they see or hear or how many platforms the globe. they use over the course of a week. This is a conservative More information about the Verification and Validation approach to quantifying audience. of Performance Measures can be found in the 2019 The reported total audience for a broadcaster is often Performance and Accountability Report. smaller than the sum of its audience on each platform, U.S. Agency for Global Media | 2019 Annual Report | 5 WORLDWIDE Nearly USAGM AUDIENCE BY MEDIA OPERATIONS PLATFORM AND PERCENTAGE 200 GROWTH SINCE 2015 1,500 Operational transmitters 50 for TV, FM, MW & SW at Stringers/reporters Overseas bureaus 100 transmission sites in and production centers over 40 countries worldwide +42% 201 MILLION TV AFFILIATES +36% 68 139 MILLION Number of USAGM RADIO affiliates with national reach Over that air custom or interactive segments 3,700 during prime time television, radio, and digital affiliates across the globe 350M +297% 350 Social Media DIGITAL 127 MILLION 300 EXPANSION ANNUAL BUDGET USAGM networks $807.9 million 250 engage with 226M audiences on: EMPLOYEES 200 3,561 Facebook Twitter 150 LANGUAGES YouTube +55% 61 Instagram 100 DIGITAL GROWTH OK.ru 350 MILLION UNDUPLICATED AUDIENCE 23 million VKontakte AUDIENCE 50 350 million Weekly Average WhatsApp ACROSS ALL MEDIA Web & Mobile Visits WeChat 0 15 16 17 18 19 AUDIENCE GROWTH 2015–2019 UNDUPLICATED WEEKLY AUDIENCE 6 | U.S. Agency for Global Media | 2019 Annual Report Networks USAGM networks bring news and information to people around the world in 61 languages. Every week, they together produce more than 3,000 hours of original programming, which is accessed by more than 350 million listeners, viewers, and internet users in more than 100 countries. Each USAGM network plays both a unique and VOA focuses on providing international and regional complementary role. While all five networks offer news as well as in-depth coverage of U.S. affairs to its international news pertinent to their particular audiences. VOA also covers affairs that are domestic to audiences, RFE/RL, RFA, and OCB specifically emphasize overseas audiences to ensure comprehensive coverage, domestic affairs in their programing. More often than especially in areas where it is the only USAGM network, not, these networks are the sole source of unbiased local such as sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. news in their respective regions. MBN provides a full range of international, regional, and local news in Arabic in addition to consistent coverage of U.S. affairs. Reasey Poch from VOA Khmer anchors a Facebook Live segment for audiences in Cambodia from VOA’s Washington studios. U.S. Agency for Global Media | 2019 Annual Report | 7 VOA uses digital content and and fosters responsible discussion and mobile platforms to engage viewers, open debate. In 2019, RFE/RL produced listeners, and users. Its radio and content in 26 languages in 22 countries television programs are distributed across Eastern and Central Europe, Voice of America by approximately 2,600 affiliates and Central Asia, and Southwest Asia. satellite transmissions to countries RFE/ RL also runs Current Time, a 24/7 ANNUAL BUDGET: $250.1 million where free speech is banned or civil TV and digital network for Russian- EMPLOYEES: 1,078 LANGUAGES SUPPORTED: 47 society is under threat. speakers around the world. AUDIENCE ESTIMATE: 280.9 million With the largest audience of all RFE/RL’s programming focuses on local VOA, a USAGM federal network, USAGM networks, VOA continues to and regional developments in places provides trusted and objective news be a beacon of hope for audiences impacted by government intimidation, and information in 47 languages to a who yearn not only for unbiased news censorship, political repression, measured weekly audience of more and information, but also freedom of economic hardship, ethnic and religious than 280.9 million people around the expression itself. intolerance, and violent extremism. world. In 1976, the VOA Charter was RFE/RL operates on TV and radio as well signed into law to protect the integrity as on all digital platforms—matching of its programming and to define the modality to the market. its mission. For 78 years now, VOA The scope of RFE/RL’s newsgathering journalists have delivered news and operations is unmatched in its information to people living in places broadcast regions, with headquarters where information is restricted. Using Radio Free Europe/ in Prague, 20 local news bureaus, and Radio Liberty a wide variety of platforms, VOA an extensive freelance network. This ANNUAL BUDGET: $124.1 million connects audiences on five continents proximity to audiences allows RFE/RL EMPLOYEES: 623 with the people, ideas, and institutions to produce compelling, locally-reported LANGUAGES SUPPORTED: 26 that make America