By Ted Lipien Published May 2, 2014 by Digital Journal Washington – Mismanagement by senior executives threatens journalistic independence of Voice of America (VOA) much more than the bipartisan bill in Congress designed to reform U.S. international media outreach. There will be no government propaganda from VOA. One advantage of being my age (60) is that I have a longer view…
By Ted Lipien Published January 29, 2014 by Digital Journal Washington – Mismanaged and underfunded Voice of America failed to highlight in English and most other languages Obama’s State of the Union remark on Ukraine. Its oversight board needs to reform the taxpayer-funded media outlet and get more money from Congress. As a former Voice of America (VOA) journalist and acting associate director,…
By Ted Lipien Published January 14, 2014 by Digital Journal David Satter, an American journalist and advisor at U.S. taxpayer-funded Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), has posted a statement on his website rejecting official Russian explanations for the denial of his journalist’s visa to work in Russia. Satter said that he had complied completely with all instructions from the…
By Ted Lipien Published January 14, 2014 by Digital Journal Unlike some Voice of America (VOA) executives in the U.S. who seem to think that cultural differences can be ignored, (everybody wants to be like Americans after all), Radio France Internationale (RFI) reporters generally do an excellent job of explaining France to international audiences. My congratulations today go to RFI’s Angela Diffley who gave…
By Ted Lipien Published November 7, 2013 by Digital Journal Murmansk – Wife of Polish Greenpeace activist was allowed a short visit with her husband in a Russian jail. Natalia Bajorek-Dziemianczuk told Polish TV that Tomasz Dziemianczuk does not regret having taken part in a peaceful pro-environmental protest. Natalia Bajorek-Dziemianczuk saw her husband Tomasz Dziemianczuk Wednesday in a Russian jail in…
By Ted Lipien Published November 5, 2013 by Digital Journal Washington – U.S. taxpayer-funded Voice of America (VOA) repeats Putin regime’s propaganda against Greenpeace, ignores American activists jailed in Russia, and misleads world on how U.S. legal system deals with peaceful protesters who trespass. BBG Watch volunteer-run watch dog website reported that U.S. taxpayers’ money was used by the Voice of America…
By Ted Lipien Published October 14, 2013 by Digital Journal Washington – Voice of America (VOA) and U.S. public diplomacy failed to take full advantage of President Obama’s meeting Friday with teenage Pakistani campaigner for girls’ education Malala Yousafzai. But Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) did a good job. If web users around the world went to the Voice of America…
In an article for the Winter 1984/1985 issue of Foreign Affairs, “A Divided Europe: The Future of Yalta,” Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski wrote that “Yalta is unfinished business. Forty years after the fateful Crimean meeting of February 4-11, 1945, between the Allied Big Three of World War II, much of our current (1984/1985) preoccupation with Yalta focuses on its myth rather…
The audio report is in Polish and English. Link to audio. In 1987, the U.S. Department of State upgraded the status of the Consulate in Krakow, designating it as a Consulate General. On September 29, 1987, visiting U.S. Vice President George H.W. Bush led a designation ceremony and spoke about the strength of U.S.-Polish ties, especially ties with Southern Poland.…
Poland’s communist regime organized a referendum on political and economic reforms, which was held on 29 November 1987. Around a third of eligible voters did not participate, defying the regime. It was the first time that Communist authorities in Eastern Europe had lost a vote. I covered the referendum for the Voice of America (VOA) Polish Service. After the vote,…
“Nie wyobrażalne jest by mogło to mieć miejsce tak szybko i tak skutecznie gdyby nie Głos Ameryki.” — Lech Wałęsa, 2002. “It is not conceivable that it would have happened so quickly and so effectively if not for the Voice of America.” — Lech Wałęsa, 2002. October 5, 2013 will mark the 30th anniversary of the Nobel Committee announcement that…
In a March 1989 Voice of America-Worldnet-Polish Television program moderated by Ted Lipien, then director of the Voice of America (VOA) Polish Service, Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski discussed historic political changes, which were taking place at that time in Poland and throughout Central and Eastern Europe. Dr. Brzezinski was being interviewed by journalists in Poland which was still under communist rule…
Link to audio. The interview (in Polish – po polsku) with Czesław Miłosz was recorded in Oxford on September 19, 1984 at a conference on Polish-Jewish relations. Miłosz talks about Poland’s multicultural traditions, Polish-Jewish relations in the 19th century, during the interwar period, and under communism. He discusses anti-Semitism, Polish-Jewish relations in his home city of Wilno (Vilnius – now…
“There’s great affection from the American people for the people of Poland.” – Vice President George H.W. Bush, September 24, 1987 Voice of America correspondent Wayne Corey and VOA Polish Service director Ted Lipien recorded the interview at the White House on September 24, 1987 shortly before Vice President George H.W. Bush left on his trip to Poland. The…
Vice President George H.W. Bush began a four-day visit to Poland on Saturday, September 26, 1987. His visit facilitated talks between Solidarity and the communist regime and eventual peaceful fall of communism in Poland. I interviewed Vice President Bush at the White House before the trip and accompanied him as Voice of America Polish Service correspondent. I filed this report…