BBG? Obvious to employees the beginning of the end. They’ve destroyed what VOA stood for. Too bad, the hard working employees know, but the public isn’t educated enough to know what VOA even is. And Congress really doesn’t care about this subject … too small … back home. So China suffers, VOA gets whacked, and THESE “one percent” have meetings around the world on our dime. Good luck folks.

And wow, this Sherman guy sounds full of himself! … Too bad.

So where does all the money go at the BBG from destroying radio if not to the bureaucrats and their big contractors.

The people who most desperately want to listen to uncensored radio broadcasts from America in their own language are neither free nor rich. They often can’t afford the Internet. If the can afford it, they may not use it to access Western news sites out of fear of being discovered, or their Internet access is effectively censored by the cyber police in countries like China.

Radio can be jammed but never with complete effectiveness. Radio is free and listening to radio is both anonymous and safe. The poor and the oppressed will rely on radio to overcome censorship and be assured that America has not forgotten them.

But being poor and living under an oppressive regime is not something that Broadcasting Board of Governors and International Broadcasting Bureau bureaucrats worry on a daily basis.

So where does all the money go at the BBG from destroying radio if not to the bureaucrats and their big contractors.

The people who most desperately want to listen to uncensored radio broadcasts from America in their own language are neither free nor rich. They often can’t afford the Internet. If they can afford it, they may not use it to access Western news sites out of fear of being discovered, or their Internet access is effectively censored by the cyber police in countries like China.

Radio can be jammed but never with complete effectiveness. Radio is free and listening to radio is both anonymous and safe. The poor and the oppressed will rely on radio to overcome censorship and be assured that America has not forgotten them.

But being poor and living under an oppressive regime is not something that Broadcasting Board of Governors and International Broadcasting Bureau bureaucrats worry on a daily basis.

This word resonates sharply with what has been an ongoing activity by the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) in its efforts to decimate U.S. broadcasting to many countries of the world, among them Tibet and China. Anyone who has a modicum of interest or understanding of what it means to live under an oppressive regime would be appalled by the direction in which the BBG is taking the Voice of America.

The explanations given thus far that the Internet is a more useful tool for addressing America’s public diplomacy are lacking in truth and common sense. Everyone knows that totalitarian regimes and their leaders are aggressive players in boycotting and in censorship of any Western influence or talk of freedom, human rights, living and breathing with dignity.

In spite of Congressional budget allotments for specific broadcasting, the BBG has acted in direct opposition to what Congress has dictated that must be done.

It would seem that the Executives leading the BBG do not agree with what Congress stipulates and are actively pursuing their own inexplicable agenda, which is even more worrisome. It appears that advancing the humanitarian goals of American public diplomacy abroad is not required by those in charge of the BBG. They are quite content to throw billions of people under the bus, deny them access to news from America and prevent them from learning that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights also applies to those souls who live under repressive and communist regimes.

With the advent of a new President in 2008, the activity and misdirection by the BBG has multiplied and moved quickly in spite of what Congress has said and done. They are behaving like autocrats themselves and influencing the editorial of direction of the Voice of America. They are exercising judgement that lacks humanity or compassion for the unfortunate people around the world who yearn to listen to VOA.

President Obama has shown his disdain for the relevancy of the three branches of government. The BBG executives are acting in the same manner and obviously are taking lessons from their patron. How disheartening for all those selfless persons who for seventy years made a huge difference in the lives of billions around the world. A bunch of highly paid wonks want to destroy the bedrock of American public diplomacy around the world to people who really need to hear its message of freedom and hope.

No matter what the issue, current Central News management’s solution is always to add another manager to the mix. They seem to want to continually increase their numbers to put as much insulation between themselves and the real producers and journalism. They talk mainly with each other and other managers. It’s all about meetings and process and chain of command, never about the content of our journalism, which they basically ignore.

Do the current managing editors even read the web site? Do any of them know anything about the world other than what they quickly scan in a couple of newspapers and see on TV? VOA deserves much, much better.

Nobody should miss the key point in the letter to Congress: The IBB — International Broadcasting Bureau as an element of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) — exists solely to provide administrative support to broadcasting.

Yet the IBB is getting bigger — at the same time that broadcasting units are being decimated. As the letter states, “Broadcasting should be the last thing to be cut. It makes little sense to grow the bureaucracy while cutting that which it is meant to support.”

Spelling it out in numbers: If the fiscal year 2013 proposal is enacted, Voice of America (VOA) staff levels will be cut 13.2%. But just 3.3% positions will be cut from the IBB. 

In fact, the IBB’s full-time equivalent (FTE) positions will increase by 85 new position, for a total of 678 . At the same time, VOA will LOSE 121 positions. 

It’s a crazy, upside-down agency run by managers intent on lining their own pockets while driving the mission into the ground. 

How about RIFing the illiterates in administration, and saving the jobs of people who can write and think?

The continued flow of information from people in the know concerning the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) and concurrently the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) is cause for grave concern about continued American strategic, public diplomacy and humanitarian interests in various countries in the world especially, countries like Tibet where wanton desecration of its people is the cultural genocidal policy of China as well as China itself, where human rights and freedoms are denied in every part of one’s existence.

For these active efforts on the part of the BBG to decimate the Voice of America (VOA) and its other offshoot broadcasting entities one is reminded of there being something rotten in the state of the BBG. It isn’t just a lack of vital knowledge or even understanding about what the VOA and the BBG’s surrogate broadcasting grantees are all about, it seems more to be a contrived effort to eliminate America’s influence and presence around the world and especially in those countries where it is the sole light in people’s lives.

It is becoming clearer by the day that in spite of the simple fact that the BBG is completely out of touch and worse, has no real interest in knowing what, who, how and why the VOA has operated so successfully for seventy years. Its strange actions would appear to be herded from some other source which has a vested interest in eliminating American influence.

There is considerable evidence provided by the Obama administration that America has many things it should apologize for but rarely mentions those which have provided millions of people with hope , inspiration and a belief in liberty, freedom and justice for all — the bedrock of America’s dreams and accomplishments.

It is of deep concern that Congress has not acted in a more rapid process to stop what the BBG is doing in its tracks, completely, not just for the short term.

Whenever there has been a consolidation of entities such as for instance what the BBG wants to do, place Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) under one umbrella — ostensibly to save money and end duplication, supposedly — it becomes very clear in short order that what was intended is an unwieldy bubble with no direction. Incapable bureaucrats with even less information upon which to make decisions take over and for all intents and purposes the fundamental reason for the whole operation is lost and done away with entirely.

This is the track that the incompetents at the Broadcasting Board of Governors and the International Broadcasting Bureau seem to be on and America will definitely regret the day that these individuals were in a position of authority to exercise such insane judgement in a world where freedom, liberty and human rights are being torn apart.

One only needs look at the horrible attacks on Jews and Christians in many parts of the world and their right to exist being driven off the map of humanity. At no other time in America’s history, except for during the Second World War, has its influence, care, generosity and hope been more necessary than now. So the question remains, and it requires a very solid response. Why is the BBG attempting to tear down what has been operating exceptionally well for over seventy years?

The namby pamby answers from the BBG, such as saving money and eliminating duplication, just don’t answer the question and in no way are even reasonable or sound. While some may believe that the Cold War is over, most know that in a different form it is just heating up in many parts of the world. It is a frightening thought to realize that Christians and Jews are being killed just for the heck of it, without a viable response by radio broadcasts from America.

Now is the time — not later, or sometime in the future, but now — for Congress to act in a direct, concise and patriotic manner to save the agency and the Voice of America from demolition by a group of know nothings, care nothings, who themselves are so self-absorbed they have no idea what is required of America in order to maintain its influence and humanity for millions around the world.

It would be nice if BBG would return to its basic mission of broadcasting to the world. Does anyone know about the (mostly ignored) VOA Charter? The Charter’s language is specific: “… communicating directly with the peoples of the world by radio.” It doesn’t say “the current hot spot” or “the countries that BBG and IBB managers want to visit next” or even “selected parts of the world.” But the Charter is just a silly U.S. Public Law and BBG is above the law. They’re the Government.

BBG’s only important “audience” is within their own building and within eyesight of their building. Their audiences overseas are just incidental, judging by the Board’s actions, and their employees overseas are considered as unwanted nuisances. How much better the world will understand things when all BBG components become poor imitations of YouTube with unverified “news” and garbage from school kids and government propaganda bureaus around the world.

Funny thing is … BBG’s employees have many years of experience and expertise. They know their audiences and they know what’s important. It’s the Super Executives who are completely out of touch with reality. Oh, they have their own “realities” of course: bonuses, fund-raising for a politician, setting up high paying jobs they can step into in a year or two. It’s good to be best friends with deep-pocket contractors and, of course, the President.

If anyone ever wants to actually go back to the Charter, they might consider talking with BBG employees, including those overseas, and State Department and Military members who have lived overseas and know the peoples of various countries.

It suggests a way ahead, one that would preserve shortwave for the tens of millions of listeners in countries that lack reliable free media — and that at the same time, would grow the Internet — because that is where present and future thought-leader and elite audiences will be.

It would eliminate the real dinosaur: the paradigm of broadcast and cable TV.

Because, after all, why IS VOA currently so focused on television?

Could it be simply because the agency is now run by people who used to work in commercial TV — and who lack the vision to see that the very reason they’re not working at CNN or ABC News now is because TV is not where the future is?

The internet is making broadcast and cable TV news obsolescent everywhere.

So, maybe what VOA needs to do is:

1) Preserve and grow the 100-million strong shortwave audiences by offering both short-form and long-form radio news and features, plus music, arts and science programs — not based on TV new’s dumbed-down, ever shallower formulas, but on NPR’s (and the old VOA’s) intelligent, absorbing, engaging, and often deeply rewarding programming — where stories were as long as they needed to be. Or as short.

2) Focus equally on the Internet. Make VOA web sites the platform for magazine and newspaper-style stories, video interviews and features of any length, and five- and ten-minute documentaries, both radio and video.

and:

3) Discontinue the expensive and wasteful emphasis on making each and every story a narrated TV package of three minutes or less. (See the recipe here: http://tinyurl.com/y8ff5nu) Some stories should be text with video. Some should be non-narrated video. Some should be slide shows with text. Some stories should be interviews. All should be on the web.

Reaching hearts and minds with important ideas and valuable culture — not just disposable spot news — used to be VOA’s mission. But the shallow, content-light, formula-driven TV packages that VOA increasingly specializes in must barely register across different cultures, much less reach hearts and minds.

“When one knows the truth, it is not difficult to discern what is false”. While there are a few Congressmen and Senators who are showing concern, there should be a much larger brouhaha about what is transpiring with the BBG and ultimately that guardian of freedom and dignity displayed by the Voice of America around the world.

Wake up and smell the coffee BBG members. You have a duty to perform that involves the lives of millions of people. When are you going to get serious about your mandate and protect the VOA and those millions the world over who need to hear what America has to say about freedom and religion and a free market economy?

Have you fallen ill and vaulted into President Obama’s deep cellar of iniquity? So far, his talk has been cheap and not worthy of acceptance. Do you view yourselves any better? The disgust and deep worry for those who live under horrific conditions without hope creates a distinct distaste for what you Board members are doing and how you are doing it!

American citizens deserve better from those who are receiving large amounts of tax-payer dollars and get nothing in return………not them or the people for whom you are commissioned to act and make viable VOA broadcasts around the world to those in need.

Shame on you! For your incredible hypocrisy and role-playing and for what you are inclined to do to millions who need our help to enjoy some dignity and light in their lives, whether it is interesting information or beautiful music. The medicine you choose for others, you should be able to take yourselves.

Not just the new clan of former CNN/Al-Jazeera employees who arrived in the last few years, but some entrenched bureaucrats on the 3rd floor trade high fives at the prospect of the oncoming process of evisceration. BBG/IBB officials hold a self-congratulatory ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary, while the halls are awash with conversation about the hypocrisy of it all.

No escape for former VOA directors brought in for the ceremony. Any joint statement about the blood on the floor? Not so far. What an embarrassment. One wonders about the conversations in the Cohen building amid the happy talk about VOA’s wonderful accomplishments.

A tragedy.