Voice of America Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Radio Free Asia Wor l d n e t Television and FIlm Servi c e Broadcasting Board of Governors Radio and TV Martí 1 9 9 Annual Report 8 Table of Contents The Power of Our Ideas . ii Letter to the President and the Congr es s . ii i Su m m a r y & Mission . iv Section 1 Amplifying the Power of Ideas . 1 Section 2 Se r ving a Multimedia Wor l d . 7 Section 3 Retooling for a Communications Century. 11 Section 4 Beyond the Millennium . 13 Ap p e n d i x e s Br oadcasting Principles (P. L. 103-236). 15 Br oadcasting Board of Governo r s . 16 Facts About U.S. International Broadcast Networks VO A . 17 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty . 18 Radio Free Asia . 19 Worldnet Television and Film Servi c e . 20 Radio and TV Ma rt í . 21 Or ganizational Chart . 22 Re s o u r ces and Administrative & Managerial Services Expenses . 23 The Power of Our Ideas “The news “OU R gr eatest strength is the power of The nation's civilian, taxpayer-s u p p o rt e d our ideas, which are still new in many lands. overseas networks—the Voice of America, may be good. Ac r oss the world, we see them embraced, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty , Radio Free we rejoice. Our hopes, our hearts, our hands Asia, Worldnet Television, and Radio and TV The news ar e with those on every continent who are Ma r tí to Cuba*—are unfamiliar to many in building democracy and freedom. Their cause a United States awash in all manner of may be bad. is America's cause.” media. But for others in informa t i o n - h u n g r y — Pr esident Bill Clinton societies, these networks are the only consis- First Inaugural Addres s tently reliable, multimedia, public servi c e We shall tell Ja n u a r y 20, 1993 window to the world. In a turbulent and ev e r -changing world, the job of bringing the you the truth.” “B r oadcasting is an important instrument of tr uth in the languages understood by the U.S. foreign policy and should remain so.” people of Siberia, Congo, Afghanistan, Iraq, — William Harlan Hale First VOA Broa d c a s t — Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC) Cuba, Tibet and well over 100 other nations Fe b ru a r y 24, 1942 Ma r ch 10, 1998 is a noble and important task of the United States governm e n t . Each week, more than 100 million listeners, viewers and Internet users experience the The broadcasters are poised, after passage power of American ideas of democracy and by Congress of a landmark reo rg a n i z a t i o n fr ee enterprise. The nation's publicly-funded af fecting all of them, to meet the geopoliti- in t e r national broadcast networks make this cal and technological challenges of the possible via shortwave, AM, FM, TV and a 21st century. On October 1, 1999, U.S. variety of web sites. in t e r national broadcasting assumes full inde- pendence under the Broadcasting Board of The world's consumers of information have a Go v e r nors and becomes separate from the driving drea m : De p a r tment of State or its previous paren t or ganization, the United States Informa t i o n – to get news, balanced analysis, and Ag e n c y . U.S. international broadcasting is insights into what America is thinking guaranteed professional independence, and saying, and news-gathering autonomy, and journa l i s t i c – to get the straight story on what is in t e g r i t y . International broadcasting rem a i n s going on in their own countries, and an essential instrument of U.S. foreign policy. what America and the world think about it. *VOA, Worldnet, and the Martís, along with an Office of Engineering and other support services, are federal entities under the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB). RFE/RL and RFA are federally-funded, private grantee organizations which, like IBB, are overseen by the Broadcasting Board of Governors. On October 21, 1998, President Clinton signed into law the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act (Public Law 105-277), creating the autonomous broadcasting entity. ii September 15, 1999 Ma r c B. Nathanson, Californi a Ch a i rm a n To the President of the United States and the Congress of the United States: As req u i r ed by Section 305(a) of Public Law 103-236, the U.S. International Broadcasting Act Ch e r yl Halpern, New Jersey of 1994, the Broadcasting Board of Governors submits its third annual rep o r t summarizing the activities of the U.S.-funded international broadcasting services—the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty , Radio Free Asia, Radio and TV Martí to Cuba, and Ed w a r d E. Kaufman, Delaware Worldnet Tel e v i s i o n . The bipartisan, presidentially-appointed Board is fully prep a r ed to assume sole direction of these federal and grantee organizations as of October 1 in accordance with the 1998 Tom C. Korologos, Virg i n i a Fo r eign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act, which establishes the Br oadcasting Board of Go v e rn o r s as an independent entity with supervi s o r y responsibility for all civilian U.S. in t e r national broa d c a s t e r s . Bette Bao Lord, New Yor k This landmark reo r ganization re- a ff i r ms the independence of U.S. international broadcasting and sets us on a clear course to pursue excellence in news programming and public servi c e Al b e r to Mora, Florida in f o r mation in an increasingly unpredictable world. Mindful of the journalistic integrity essen- tial to cred i b i l i t y , we look forwa r d to continuing to provide accurate information to listeners and viewers around the globe. Carl Spielvogel, New Yor k U.S. international broadcasters are eager to pursue programming and technical innovations. During this past year, we have expanded and enhanced our delivery systems to provide more Penn Kemble se r vices to listeners via TV, affiliated FM stations and the Interne t . Acting Direc t o r United States Information Agency Ex Offi c i o * We deeply appreciate the support provided by the President and the Congress as we advance the goals of American foreign policy. We see no higher calling than to reflect freedom and democracy in times of rapid global political and technological change. *As of October 1, 1999, Se c re t a r y of State Madeleine Albright will become Respectfully submitted, the ex-officio member of the Br oadcasting Board of Governo r s . Ma r c B. Nathanson ii i New Leaders for U.S. Interna t i o n a l Bro a d c a s t i n g ON November 1, 1998, cable TV pioneer Marc B. Nathanson became the second chairman of the Broadcasting Board of G o v e rnors, succeeding David Burke. Mr. Nathanson told the staffs of U.S. interna t i o n a l bro a d c a s t i n g : “In the first decade of the new Vice President Gore swears in Marc B. Nathanson as the second chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governo r s . millennium, what you do will be a Mrs. Jane Nathanson is pictured in the center. vital component of America's desire to promote its security and democ - racy in other lands. I salute the men Su m m a r y and Mission and women of international broa d - THIS rep o r t summarizes the mission and achievements of America's essential casting for spreading the news voices to the world in 1998, while looking to the challenges posed—in pro- un i v e r s a l l y , which, in the end, best pr omotes freedom and democracy gramming and technology—in the future. It is organized as follows: ar ound the globe.” On June 1, 1999, the new Acting Director of the Interna t i o n a l Section 1 The Mission Br oadcasting Bureau, Brian Conniff, Amplifying the Power of Ideas The United States Interna t i o n a l said in a newsletter to the staff: “I A glimpse at the critical need for Br oadcasting Act of 1994 (Public Law believe this new organization will st r engthen the erp - in t e r national broadcasting in a 103-236, Section 302), says the ero r - utation for integrity da n g e r ous and unstable world, where ganization and consolidation of the that has character - the spread of democracy is slowing. overseas networks are designed to ized international achieve important economies and to b roadcasting for Section 2 su p p o r t freedom and democracy in a well over a half a Se r ving a Multimedia Wor l d rapidly changing world. The Act cites ce n t u r y…. Our col - lective goal is to People are getting information in two principal purposes of U.S.