TedLipien.com

Reposted BBG Watch Commentary Former Voice of America (VOA) acting associate director and journalist Ted Lipien wrote in a Washington Times op-ed article that International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) officials in charge of U.S. government-funded broadcasts are losing information war abroad by undermining support for it at home. Commenting on the controversy over the recent lifting of domestic propaganda ban with ... Read More »

DigitalJournal.com - ‎20 hours ago‎ Would government officials resort to deceptive propaganda to help them get Congress to overturn an old law, the Smith-Mundt Act, which prohibited them from distributing government-funded news to Americans? They most certainly did by telling members of Congress that Americans were somehow denied having any kind of access to Voice of America (VOA) news and that great many Americans were demanding that the ... Read More »

DigitalJournal.com - ‎ While I welcome the repeal of the Smith-Mundt restriction on the distribution of  VOA news in the United States, I am at the same time concerned, however, what those in charge of these programs are doing and might do in the future. … As John Hudson correctly points out in his his post, “U.S. Repeals Propaganda Ban, Spreads Government-Made News To Americans,” The Cable, Foreign Policy, ... Read More »

Commentary by Ted Lipien Istanbul, June 8, 2013. Protest signs on Taksim Square in Istanbul say “Coward Media.” The very few acts of vandalism during the initial days of the anti-government protests in Turkey were directed against TV vans of local networks. Protesters in Turkey were especially angry with CNN Turkish and NTV (MSNBC Turkish). Some of these media outlets ... Read More »

In an op-ed in The Washington Times, former Voice of America manager Ted Lipien warns that bureaucratic infighting mustn’t curtail U.S. news and information outreach to Chechnya and other nations where anti-Americanism and jihadist ideology threaten America’s safety. Lipien, who now is a director of the independent Committee for U.S. International Broadcasting (CUSIB – cusib.org) pointed out that the International ... Read More »

BBG Watch Commentary Unique Role of U.S.-Funded Surrogate Broadcasters by Ted Lipien U.S. Government-funded surrogate broadcasting, which started with the formation of Radio Free Europe in the early 1950s, was one of the most successful American inventions of the Cold War. Its effectiveness was undeniable in helping to weaken communist regimes over a period of several decades. Most journalists and ... Read More »

BBG Watch Commentary Kristina Gorelik (Кристина Горелик), fired last September by American taxpayer-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) along with dozens of her colleagues, has received today the Moscow Helsinki Group prize for “journalistic activity aimed at promoting human rights values.” The prize was presented on the International Human Rights Day, December 10. At Radio Liberty, Gorelik specialized in human ... Read More »

As Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, BBG Watch remembers Radio Liberty journalists who were brutally fired without a warning or chose to resign in protest against the actions of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty management. These journalists are facing now an uncertain future in Vladimir Putin’s Russia without any support or protection from their former U.S. taxpayer-funded employer, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and ... Read More »

A very good American diplomat, Steve Mull, was sworn in as the new U.S. Ambassador to my native country, Poland. He served in Poland during the Solidarity and martial law period when I was in charge of Voice of America Polish radio broadcasts. Ambassador Mull has a deep understanding of Poland and its history. He should make a very good ... Read More »

BBG Watch Commentary In an article published in National Review Online, Mario Corti and Ted Lipien argue that Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) executives have mislead the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) and the American public on the circumstances and the reasons for the mass firing of Radio Liberty journalists in Moscow. The authors state that contrary to the assertions ... Read More »