Phil Taylor's papers
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BACK TO : INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING (see also Public Diplomacy)
Voice of America? by Paul M. Weyrich 
Voice of America? By Paul M. Weyrich Cybercast News Service, (CNSNews.com) Commentary August 25, 2004 Teens in the Middle East may be rocking to an American beat, but the news employees at the Voice of America insist that they and their broadcast network with its proud history are getting rolled. Over 450 VOA employees have signed a petition calling upon Congress to investigate the actions taken by the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) that oversees the VOA. One reason for the petition was dissatisfaction over the replacement of the Director of VOA Central News, Andre De Nesnera, allegedly because he was resisting the politicization of news reports. That may not delight all those who support our involvement in Iraq, but the concerns registered by the VOA employees extend beyond one person and should concern all Americans truly interested in developing U.S. influence and goodwill in the Middle East and other important regions. The petition asserts, "At a time when the ability of the United States to speak to the world in a clear, effective, credible voice is more crucial than ever, the United States is broadcasting less news, information and analysis to fewer countries for fewer hours in fewer languages." In danger of extinction is the VOA's "solid journalistic reputation and a widespread audience" because the BBG's "most aggressive efforts have focused on new radio and television services to the Middle East -- services whose slick, entertainment-driven program formats have generated sharp criticism in both Western and Arab news media." The VOA employees have a good case to make. Their broadcasts are important even in this age of global broadcasting corporations. David Burke, the first BBG Chairman, has said: "CNN can be seen in hotel lobbies; VOA can be heard in refugee camps." After all, the VOA charter called for its broadcasts not only to provide "reliable and authoritative" news but to also "present the policies of the United States clearly and effectively." Both reliable news and an effective presentation of U.S. policies are taking a distant second place to the incessant beat of pop music and the glitz of lifestyle programming. VOA's parent agency during the Cold War and up until the late 1990s was the United States Information Agency that, late in the Clinton era, was replaced by an unwieldy structure called the BBG. One of its members, originally appointed by President Clinton, is Norman Pattiz, the founder and Chairman of Westwood One Broadcasting and the driving force behind what is called Radio Sawa and a new 24/7 Arabic television service, Alhurra. It is Pattiz' belief that American rock music will be conducive to winning over young Arabs to a pro-American viewpoint. Forbes journalist Seth Lubove, in his recently published article "Britney Does the Mideast," described Pattiz's mindset this way: "Get the audience first and their minds will follow." The BBG can argue that plenty of people are turning their radios and TVs on to Radio Sawa and its even costlier satellite TV network, Alhurra, to hear the latest pop hits and see programming about sports and travel and celebrities. The programming intersperses news reports in between. VOA programming in the past was aimed at opinion makers of society, including educators and intellectuals, and its unbiased news reports made it authoritative in clear contrast to the propaganda-laden reports issued by Communist governments. The programming included entertainment but never to the point where unbiased news reports and the serious, open discussion of ideas were overshadowed. Lost in the glitz of Radio Sawa, Radio Farda (the Persian version of Radio Sawa) and Alhurra, however, is that commitment to serious programming that VOA was known for and which proved very useful in winning over the minds -- even the hearts -- of many Europeans during the Cold War. Alan L. Heil Jr., former VOA Deputy Director and author of Voice of America: A History (Columbia University Press: 2003) in his supplemental statement to the petition detailed the dismantling of VOA's services as it transforms from a serious news operation into the Arabic version of a 24/7 Top 10 radio network. Not only has the BBG eliminated VOA Arabic but it has reduced their global English service broadcasts from 24 hours to 19 hours daily, with further cuts to come. This winter the broadcasts will be reduced to just 13 hours daily and 10 hours on weekends. The BBG has ordered Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Radio Free Iraq to go dark on September 30, even though the country's first elections are still three months off. Thus, as Heil notes, our government's "last really substantive radio voice in Arabic to the Arab world" would cease. Nor is it just the Middle East. Tensions are growing in South America as Venezuela's Chavez has been able to stay in power, but the BBG has seen fit to halt English broadcasts to Central and South America and the Caribbean and has abolished VOA's Portuguese Service to Brazil as well as 10 language services to East and Central Europe. Africa is likely to be of increased strategic importance in decades to come, but the BBG is reducing its broadcasts of English programs. Perhaps the most serious charge made by the VOA employees' petition is that the BBG is seeking to make an end-run around the VOA's Congressional Charter that is designed to protect VOA from "political interference" and to ensure its broadcasts reach the highest standards of journalistic objectivity and accuracy. "No such editorial protections apply to the new broadcast entities," reads the petition. Neither Sawa or Alhurra use VOA's carefully sourced central news items. At the request of Rep. Henry Hyde, (R-IL), Chairman of the House International Relations Committee, and Rep. Frank Wolf, (R-VA), an advisory group was created to conduct a study on our country's public diplomacy and how it could be improved. Its chairman, Ambassador Edward P. Djerejian, served as our country's representative to Syria and Israel, and was the founding director of the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University, and other members of the 14-member group included Ambassador David M. Abshire, Vice-Chairman of the Board of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, pollster John Zogby, and the American Enterprise Institute's James K. Glassman. The Advisory Group on Public Diplomacy for the Arab and Muslim World released its study, "Changing Minds, Winning Peace: A New Strategic Direction for U.S. Public Diplomacy in the Arab and Muslim World" last fall. The report noted that the Government Accounting Office had asked State Department public affairs officers to rate the effectiveness of our government's international broadcasting, only to find that 32% rated it ineffective; 27% viewed it neither effective nor ineffective; only 27% rated it effective. Commenting on Radio Sawa, the Advisory Group argued that it needs "a clearer objective than building a large audience. To earn continued financial support, it must show, through continuous research, that it can change attitudes of Arab listeners toward the United States, that is, move the needle...Sawa has yet to prove that its strategy can accomplish this goal." The Advisory Group expressed concern that the BBG had failed to establish exacting benchmarks in terms of changing minds and improving attitudes toward our country and its foreign policy objectives. The report was also critical of the television outreach to the Middle East, pointing out its high expense and the significant competition it faces from Middle Eastern broadcasters that are well entrenched. "The question that faces policymakers is whether these funds can be better spent on other public diplomacy instruments, including others involving electronic media." The report suggested forming partnerships with other companies and non-profit agencies and government institutions -- in both Western and Middle Eastern countries -- as a less costly alternative. The Advisory Group concluded its section on international broadcasting by recognizing that "it must be part of the public diplomacy process, not marching to its own drummer with its own goals and strategy, sources of funding and board. Congress needs to reexamine the legislation that created the BBG to ensure that broadcast operations support the strategic mission of U.S. public diplomacy." Former United States Information Agency official William A. Rugh, in testifying before the Senate Committee on International Relations on April 26, 2004, related the substance of the discussions he had with Middle Easterners. Ambassador Rugh conceded that Radio Sawa enjoys listenership only to make clear that the Arab adults he had spoken with "miss the Voice of America's Arabic program because it was better news, better coverage and a broader program." Rugh expressed doubt that Alhurra would be able to reach "important audiences" given the penetration of Arab television channels. He also said: "I would say that Radio Sawa needs to improve its reach and its audibility and it needs to focus more on what important adult audiences want to hear from a U.S. government radio station. If we want to support American public diplomacy, we need to reach movers and shakers, we need to reach policymakers, not just youth." I wholeheartedly agree. A few years ago, Bob Reilly, a conscientious public official and at the time the Director of VOA, found himself at odds with the BBG board and, particularly, Pattiz, based on his concern that the overemphasis on pop culture would present a false image of the United States. Reilly did not oppose having the VOA engage in contemporary programming to obtain audiences, but he had significant concern that the VOA's values were being eroded. He was asked to resign. Polls have shown that the United States image is sagging in Middle Eastern countries. No doubt our problems extend beyond international broadcasting, but it is clear in my mind that we need to discuss in-depth with the Arab and Muslim worlds those qualities that have made our country a leader and beacon of freedom and liberty throughout the world. I believe, and I am sure many other Americans do too, that the true spirit of our country is better exemplified by a VOA that includes an in-depth discussion of the Bill of Rights -- not one that just crams in some news headlines in between playing the latest hits by Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake. Important discussions about freedom, liberty and democracy can only be obscured and distorted by the present formats of Radio Sawa and the Alhurra television network. If we are going to really reach out to Arabic audiences, then the BBG must bring forward better-focused news programs, the kind that the VOA presented during the Cold War adjusted to the Middle East. The VOA has to offer Middle Easterners more than just the hit music of the moment. They must offer discussions aimed at opinion leaders whose influence can bring about the tipping point that might influence long-range attitudinal changes toward our country and the West. That takes more thoughtful programming than the Top 40 hit list. The BBG's desire for shallow programming and disregard for the VOA's reputation for credible programming will not accomplish any favorable, lasting changes in how the Middle East views us. If it takes a congressional investigation to start demanding greater accountability from the BBG and how it manages the VOA then so be it. (Paul M. Weyrich is chairman and CEO of the Free Congress Foundation.) Copyright 2004, Free Congress Foundation |