Republished from the Committee for U.S. International Broadcasting (CUSIB) website:
In an article published in American Diplomacy, a quarterly electronic journal of commentary, analysis, and research on American foreign policy and its practice, the Committee for U.S. International Broadcasting (CUSIB) director Ted Lipien warns against diminished public stake in U.S. international broadcasting.
Lipien, a former acting associate director of the Voice of America, argues that de-federalizing VOA and limiting the independence and specialization of the surrogate broadcasters like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty would make them less effective in projecting American opinions and values overseas. Lipien wrote that the current culture at the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which manages U.S. government-funded international broadcasts, at the top executive level favors salesmanship more than hard-hitting journalism in defense of human rights which many broadcasters try to practice.
In his article, Lipien describes the State Department’s interference with VOA radio programs to Poland in the early decades of the Cold War. While opposing any kind of government censorship of journalists, Lipien believes that U.S. international broadcasting can be more effective as part of a broader public diplomacy effort by the U.S. government that reflects long-term American interests, supports media freedom and human rights, and is subject to public scrutiny.
Read the original article here:
Interweaving of Public Diplomacy and U.S. International Broadcasting: A Historical Analysis by Ted Lipien
American Diplomacy also published an article by a former VOA executive Alan L. Heil Jr:
All Quiet on the Western Front? 2012 Challenges and Opportunities in the Five-Year Strategic Plan for U.S. International Broadcasting by Alan L. Heil Jr.
