The Foreign Service Journal, January 2004

20 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 4 he world is in the midst of a communications revolution, with new technologies and delivery systems constantly changing the way people receive facts and information. Yet billions of people con- tinue to be denied access to basic, accurate news about their countries and the world. To fill that gap, the Broadcasting Board of Governors supervises a diverse array of U.S. government-funded, non-military interna- tional broadcasters. These include the Voice of America; Radio/TV Marti; Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty; and Radio Free Asia. An independent federal agency since Oct. 1, 1999, the BBG has about 3,200 employees; its budget was $544 million in FY 2003. (See table on p. 24 for a detailed breakdown.) Previously, the BBG was part of the U.S. Information Agency, which was abolished when the State Department assumed public diplomacy functions in 1999. The BBG is headed by a nine-member Board of Governors, eight of whom are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The Secretary of State is the ninth member, serving ex-officio; Sec. Powell has designated his under secretary for public diplomacy as his representative on the board. By law, no more than four of the appointed governors may belong to the same political party, a limitation intend- ed to reinforce the firewall that insulates broadcasters from political pressures. The Senate confirms a chairman, appointed by the president; Kenneth Tomlinson currently holds that position. All eight governors, many of whom have extensive private-sector media experience, serve three-year terms, on a part-time basis, including regular monthly meetings. VOA, based in Washington, D.C., with bureaus around the world, is the largest and oldest of these broadcasters. Founded in 1942, it is charged with presenting news about the world and the United States, and representing all segments of Ameri- can society in its reports to the rest of the world. (Under the 1948 Smith-Mundt Law, VOA is prohibited frombroadcasting to the United States.) Radio Marti and TV Marti, now based in Miami, have been broadcasting Spanish-language programming to Cuba since the mid-1980s. Like VOA, they are under the aegis of the BBG. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia are known as “surrogate” services, focusing on providing news to countries where the free flow of information is blocked and residents have little or no access to uncen- sored news. RFE/RL, headquartered in Prague, Czech T HE B ROADCASTING B OARD OF G OVERNORS IS BUILDING ON THE PROUD LEGACY OF U.S. INTERNATIONAL BROAD - CASTING , NOT RESTING ON ITS LAURELS . B Y B RIAN C ONNIFF F O C U S O N U . S . B R O A D C A S T I N G T N EW D IRECTIONS IN U.S. I NTERNATIONAL B ROADCASTING