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BACK TO : INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING (see also Public Diplomacy)
Voice of America to move part of news division to Hong Kong by S Harris 
13 April 2005 Voice of America to move part of news division to Hong Kong By Shane Harris sharris@govexec.com Voice of America, the international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. government, is shutting down the overnight shift of its central news division in Washington and replacing it with a new workforce in Hong Kong, which will be comprised partly of contractors. News division employees were informed of the decision last Thursday and learned that overnight employees would take new jobs on the daytime and evening rotations, with a considerable decrease in salary, said Ted Iliff, the agency's associate director for central programming. Iliff, who oversees VOA's news operations, said the move was prompted in part by budgetary concerns, and he bristled at the notion that the agency was "outsourcing" jobs to China, as the America Federation of Government Employees, the union that represents VOA, has charged. "Outsourcing means a loss of jobs," Iliff said. "Nobody [on the news staff] is losing a job." He said the agency was eyeing a plan to hire 10 new reporters in Hong Kong, half of whom would be contractors and would receive no federal benefits. The remaining five would have the status of VOA employees, but would receive fewer benefits than full-time workers. VOA could save at least $300,000 annually by moving the night shift to Hong Kong, where the agency has a news center, Iliff said. The transition also would place a contingent of reporters in an area of the world where VOA devotes significant news coverage now, Iliff added. The move will likely prove unpopular with U.S.-based employees on the night shift and others in the VOA news division. The night shift is considered one of the toughest and least desirable slots, because of its unusual schedule, but employees are paid a bonus of approximately 10 percent of their regular salary, Iliff said. VOA employees are reacting "with anger," said one news division staffer, who asked not to be identified. Of the 10 employees who will now have to adjust to lower pay and different hours, the staffer said, "They feel like their world has been turned upside down." Iliff emphasized that the Hong Kong move would free up money for the agency to invest elsewhere, perhaps to beef up VOA's online reporting and television broadcasting. And, he said, the move was motivated in part by the difficulty of filling slots on the overnight shift. But the decision also has exposed the cantankerous relationship between VOA management and employees, some of whom suspect that officials want to scale back the agency's English news operations in favor of other initiatives, the VOA staffer said. "There's a perception here, and it's constantly being denied...that the present management at VOA is trying to do away with the English section," the staffer said. "This really shows me that nothing is sacred." Moving a decades-old and renowned institution such as VOA to a country with no history of a free press and a state-run media is likely to raise questions. "The irony of transferring our operation to a communist country is not lost on anyone," the staffer said. VOA is widely credited as a key instrument in the demise of communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Its programs brought news and Western entertainment to millions behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War. "We're concerned about the credentials of the people who will be hired" in Hong Kong, the staffer said. The Hong Kong writers to be hired must speak English and pass language and writing tests to qualify for the jobs, Iliff said. Their professional backgrounds will also figure prominently in any hiring decisions. "They have to be experienced, talented journalists," he said. While he hadn't ruled out hiring Chinese journalists, Iliff said they likely would not meet VOA's hiring standards if they'd worked only for state-run news organizations. He suggested that a network of British, American and Australian expatriates in China would comprise a likely hiring pool, and he added the agency has already spoken to one of its regular freelance reporters who is interested in working for VOA in Hong Kong. All résumés and writing tests would be reviewed by management in Washington, he said. The Hong Kong staff would be supervised by two American editors, Iliff said. One would be based in the news center and the other would work from VOA headquarters and be present during nighttime hours, he said. That editor would have final say on news content. VOA's "very strict standards...will not in any way be diluted or compromised," Iliff said. Barring any obstacles, Iliff expects to have the new Hong Kong group operational in July. Regarding the animosity between management and the news division, Iliff said he wasn't surprised by the negative reaction to the Hong Kong move. "Any change [in VOA operations] is denounced by a core of VOA diaspora without them knowing the details of what's being planned and without them understanding contemporary media and business circumstances," Iliff said. Iliff didn't know what the reaction of the Chinese government, which regularly jams VOA broadcasts and Internet traffic, would be to the increased VOA presence. He said he presumed that the Chinese would learn about VOA's new plans through the news media. |