[Senate Prints 111-49]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




111th Congress                                                  S. Prt.
 2d Session                 COMMITTEE PRINT                      111-49
_______________________________________________________________________


                    U.S. INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING:
                       --IS ANYBODY LISTENING?--
                       KEEPING THE U.S. CONNECTED

                               __________

                                A REPORT

                             TO THE MEMBERS

                                 OF THE

                     COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                     One Hundred Eleventh Congress

                             Second Session

                              JUNE 9, 2010

                                     




                  U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
56-883 PDF                WASHINGTON : 2010
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                     COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS

                 JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts, Chairman
CHRISTOPHER J. DODD, Connecticut     RICHARD G. LUGAR, Indiana
RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, Wisconsin       BOB CORKER, Tennessee
BARBARA BOXER, California            JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia
ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey          JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho
BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland         JIM DeMINT, South Carolina
ROBERT P. CASEY, Jr., Pennsylvania   JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming
JIM WEBB, Virginia                   ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi
JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire        JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma
EDWARD E. KAUFMAN, Delaware
KIRSTEN E. GILLIBRAND, New York
                  Frank G. Lowenstein, Staff Director
            Kenneth A. Myers, Jr., Republican Staff Director

                                  (ii)









                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page
Letter of Transmittal............................................     v

Executive Summary................................................     1

Findings and Recommendations.....................................     2

Introduction.....................................................     4

The Broadcasting Board of Governors: The ``Firewall'' Has Become 
  the ``Football''...............................................     8

Russia--Slowly Strangling the Media..............................    10

Iran--Tough on Journalists and Technology........................    15

China--Ever Expanding, and Now in the USA........................    20

Alhurra TV/Radio Sawa--Finding and Keeping an Audience...........    23

Marketing--A Necessary Component and Cost to Reach New Audiences.    31

The Competition--Broadcasting Throughout the USA.................    35

Short Wave--Last Gasp or the Final Frontier......................    36

                               Appendixes

Appendix A.--Country-by-Country Analysis of the BBG Products.....    43

Appendix B.--BBG Broadcast Languages.............................    75

Appendix C.--Broadcasting Board of Governors Entity Heads........    77

Appendix D.--VOA Persian News Network Schedule (as of 3/30/10)...    81

Appendix E.--Editorials Relating to BBG..........................    83

Appendix F.--Recent State Department Office of the Inspector 
  General (OIG) and Government Accountability Office (GAO) 
  Reports on the BBG.............................................    87

Appendix G.--Chinese Media Outlets Working in the United States..    91

Appendix H.--Alhurra Schedule....................................    93

Appendix I.--BBG/IBB Satellite Coverage (Affiliate/Direct ot 
  Home)..........................................................    97


                                 (iii)







                         LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

                              ----------                              

                              United States Senate,
                            Committee on Foreign Relations,
                                      Washington, DC, June 9, 2010.
    Dear Colleagues: A key component of any nation's public 
diplomacy effort is its ability to communicate with the rest of 
the world--either through people-to-people initiatives or 
through communications such as press briefings and 
broadcasting. Modern-day U.S. broadcasting began with the 
advent of the Voice of America during World War II, beamed 
around the world via Short Wave radio to dissidents, 
underground operatives as well as our allies. The intervening 
years have resulted in a plethora of new forms of connecting 
not only with those living in authoritarian regimes but with 
the rest of the world as well--from FM radio to the latest uses 
of social media tools available on the Internet.
    In addition to multiple commercial and other foreign 
government broadcasters competing with U.S. efforts, with 
different forms of media have also come different methods of 
repressing it. Some nations completely block American 
broadcasting efforts by jamming our radio broadcasts, satellite 
TV or Internet programming, while others imprison, torture, or 
kill both local and international journalists.
    Tasked with ensuring the U.S. message gets through is the 
Broadcasting Board of Governors. The Board oversees the 
operations of the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio 
Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Middle East Broadcasting Network and 
the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, which together broadcast in 
some 60 languages through radio, TV and the Internet. The Board 
consists of eight members nominated by the President (four 
Republicans and four Democrats) with the Secretary of State as 
the ninth member.
    Congress originally established the Board in the mid-1990s 
to ensure our broadcasting operations were free from political 
pressures from either end of Pennsylvania Avenue. After 15 
years, however, it has become clear that the BBG, rather than 
functioning as a political ``firewall,'' has become a political 
``football'' as Board membership nominations have become 
enmeshed and blocked due to partisan politics. The Board has 
not been fully staffed since 2004, and the chairmanship has 
been vacant since 2008. A consequence of this uncertainty in 
leadership and direction, not surprisingly, is that the BBG has 
consistently ranked at the very bottom in surveys of federal 
employees' workplace satisfaction. Yet the need for robust 
leadership has never been greater.






                                  (v)

    Thus, it is my hope that, by the time this report is 
printed, the new Chairman and the other seven members of the 
Board, nominated some 7 months ago in November 2009, will have 
been confirmed by the Senate. Broadcasting issues related to 
Russia, Iran, China, Zimbabwe, North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela, 
where regimes do all they can to prevent our broadcasts from 
getting through, all demand immediate attention, as does a 
critical look at our Middle East broadcasting, where we are 
struggling for market share in a media market that only grows 
more crowded by the day.
    With this in mind, I asked the Foreign Relations Committee 
staff under the leadership of Senior Professional Staff Member 
Paul Foldi to prepare the following report based on travels and 
study of these vital matters. The report addresses both the 
Board's staffing difficulties, as well as the key issues and 
countries of concern that will confront the new Board when they 
are in place. Staff have consulted widely with experts inside 
and outside the government, former officials, public diplomacy 
experts in Washington and around the globe, as well as 
bloggers, journalists and academicians. As the title of the 
report suggests, we must not only work harder at gaining 
broader audiences for our programs, we also face fierce 
competition to keep our listeners, viewers and readers engaged. 
This is the first of several reports I have asked Mr. Foldi to 
initiate this year addressing major Public Diplomacy issues, 
and I hope you will find it valuable as we address these 
concerns.
            Sincerely,
                                          Richard G. Lugar,
                                                    Ranking Member.

 
                    U.S. INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING
                       --IS ANYBODY LISTENING?--
                       KEEPING THE U.S. CONNECTED

                              ----------                              


                           Executive Summary

    American Public Diplomacy has always addressed two 
audiences. One audience views the United States positively, as 
a democracy based on the free flow of information, the freedom 
of expression, civic discourse and active citizen participation 
in government. This group will more often than not be 
supportive of U.S. actions and initiatives, or at least give us 
the benefit of the doubt. Members of the second group believe 
that these strengths are, instead, weaknesses and are 
predisposed to assume the worst about America; they reject--or 
worse, attack--us as a result. Successful Public Diplomacy (PD) 
keeps the first group engaged and increases its numbers while 
reducing the size and impact of the second. Impacting both 
groups are not only the actions, images and words of our own 
Nation, but fierce competition from other nations whose own 
interests may or may not agree with our own. One of our major 
tools for connecting with these audiences is through people-to-
people exchanges; another is international broadcasting.
    Once thought of only in terms of short-wave radio 
broadcasts to dissidents huddled late-night over their radios, 
recent technological advancements and improving standards of 
living have seen a virtual explosion of other communication 
outlets, from the greater use of FM radio to television, the 
Internet, social media and cell phone technology. All this has, 
on the one hand, greatly expanded the potential audience, but 
on the other greatly strained our broadcasters' ability and 
budgets to reach them.
    The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) was created by 
Congress in 1994 to oversee the operations of the Voice of 
America and the so-called surrogate stations: Radio Free 
Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Radio/TV Marti, Radio 
Sawa and Alhurra TV.\1\ The first Board was sworn in on August 
11, 1995, with four Republican and four Democratic Governors 
and the Secretary of State as the ninth member. However, since 
1995, the Board has only been fully staffed for 6 of the 
subsequent 15 years of operations, and has not been so since 
2004. The current Board has only four members (two Republicans 
and two Democrats), each of whom has been serving since 2002. 
While this is well beyond the official 3-year term of office, 
Board members are, by law, able to serve until replaced.\2\ 
Since then partisan politics on both sides have blocked almost 
all further nominations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ ``Surrogates'' is the name given to Radio Free Europe/Radio 
Liberty (founded in 1949), the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (1985), 
Radio Free Asia (1996) and Middle East Broadcasting Network (2004) that 
the BBG oversees. The Voice of America was tasked by Congress in Public 
Law 94-350 to ``represent America, not any single segment of American 
society, and [VOA] will therefore present a balanced and comprehensive 
projection of significant American thought and institutions (and) will 
present the policies of the United States clearly and effectively.'' 
Surrogates are designed to provide the listeners in countries that have 
limited press freedoms with the news from inside their own countries 
and regions. Governments of the nations receiving these transmissions 
are thus very often hostile to this information and often spend 
millions of dollars trying to block or jam surrogate radio/TV and 
Internet.
    \2\ See Title III, Sec 304 (c) of PL 103-236; http://
frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?db
name=103_cong_bills&docid=f:h2333enr.txt.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Board has not had a formal chairman since June 2008 
when the incumbent left to become the Under Secretary of State 
for Public Diplomacy for the remainder of the Bush 
administration. The Obama administration did not formally 
submit candidates for a new Board until November 2009, but 
action on them is still pending as this report was going to 
print. This is especially unfortunate because the changing 
circumstances that have confronted the BBG since the current 
Board members were emplaced in 2002, both technical and 
geopolitical in nature, require immediate attention; attention 
the current Board is understandably reluctant to address given 
the nominations waiting in the wings.
    One of these issues is the growing concern over the ability 
of U.S. broadcasters to reach their desired audiences. 
Sometimes this is due to crowded media markets, such as in the 
Middle East, where our voice is one among many. Other times, 
our voice is silenced or suppressed, including in China, Iran, 
and Russia, which use intimidation to prevent local affiliates 
from carrying U.S. programming or use sophisticated 
technologies to shut down satellites, jam radio transmissions 
or block Internet sites. Each of these issues requires its own 
response, but without a new Board in place providing 
appropriate direction and guidance, these difficulties will 
only grow more pronounced. This report seeks to expand upon 
these issues for consideration by Congress and by the Board.

                      Findings and Recommendations

   The Broadcasting Board of Governors sets the 
        policies and provides necessary oversight of U.S. 
        broadcasting operations. The average vacancy rate for a 
        seat on the Board is more than 470 days (one seat has 
        been vacant for more than 4 years). The Senate needs to 
        confirm the current slate of nominees for the 
        Broadcasting Board of Governors to provide needed 
        leadership and guidance. Going forward, Presidents 
        should move with dispatch to fill vacancies and should 
        prioritize nominees with substantial international 
        broadcasting experience. In the medium term, Congress 
        must decide whether it is time to consider another 
        management structure if Board staffing difficulties 
        persist.
   Alhurra--the U.S. 24-hour Arabic television news 
        channel--is expensive, and with the exception of Iraq, 
        little watched elsewhere in this vital region. 
        Alhurra's budget of some $90 million surpasses the 
        combined budgets of Radio Free Asia ($37 million), 
        Radio/TV Marti ($30 million) and VOA's Persian News 
        Network Television ($17 million). Given the crowded 
        media environment of the Middle East, either greater 
        resources must be devoted to marketing and promotion or 
        additional programming changes must be enacted in 
        pursuit of increasing the channel's market share. 
        Should these efforts fail to improve the overall 
        viewership levels, policy makers will have to decide if 
        continuing Alhurra's operations is worth the costs.
   The Chinese Government has issued only two work 
        visas for Voice of America Beijing-based correspondents 
        since 2009 and, for over a year, has blocked VOA from 
        opening a bureau in Shanghai. By contrast, China's 
        state-run media organization--Xinhua News--has some 75 
        correspondents based in the United States. Since 2007, 
        the U.S. Government has issued some 2,900 press visas 
        to Chinese journalists and media personnel.
   Journalists in Russia are routinely abducted, 
        tortured, and murdered with virtual impunity. The 
        number of Russian radio stations carrying Radio Free 
        Europe's Russian service broadcasting has declined 
        precipitously from over 30 stations in 2001 to 
        currently 5; VOA's dropped from 85 in 2003 to just one 
        by 2009 as the Russian Government successfully silenced 
        most BBG broadcasts by simply refusing to renew Russian 
        radio station licenses unless U.S. programming was 
        dropped. The State Department should raise this issue 
        at the highest levels in its meetings and should 
        monitor closely rising attempts to block BBG Internet 
        sites.
   In Asia, according to the human rights NGO Freedom 
        House, the six countries served by Radio Free Asia are 
        experiencing steadily dwindling levels of press 
        freedom, with none currently ranked higher than 132 out 
        of 195 countries. RFA, set up in 1994 with the hope 
        that the post-cold-war tide of democracy and 
        liberalization would soon sweep Asia, was authorized 
        only on a temporary basis. Congress should permanently 
        authorize Radio Free Asia to recognize the unfortunate 
        reality of press freedom in Asia, and put RFA on a 
        legislative par with Radio Free Europe, Cuba 
        Broadcasting, and Middle East Broadcasting.
   The BBG's Arabic-language Radio Sawa has an hourly 
        format of 45 minutes of music with 15 minutes of news. 
        As a result, Sawa was deemed heretical by many ``news-
        only'' advocates within the BBG when it appeared in 
        2002, yet Sawa quickly became popular with the ``under 
        30'' youth-bulge deemed critical in that region, 
        virtually none of whom had listened to VOA's Arabic 
        radio programming. Over time though, as its format has 
        been copied by local stations, Sawa's listenership has 
        declined by 25 percent. Greater funding for marketing 
        or a change in formats may be needed.
   While Radio Free Asia is tasked with reaching a 
        population of over 1 billion people, its marketing 
        budget for fiscal year 2009 was less than $2,000. The 
        Middle East Broadcasting Network, which oversees 
        Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa, has seen its marketing 
        budget fluctuate wildly from a few thousand dollars in 
        2005 and 2006 to $100,000 in 2007, back to $5,000 in 
        2008 to over $1 million in 2009. Such inconsistencies 
        wreak havoc with any long-term attempts to capture 
        market share and must be addressed.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\ This report was released June 9, 2010; on July 7, 2010, 
following unanimous passage by both the Senate and House, President 
Obama signed S. 3104, sponsored by Senator Lugar, that permanently 
authorized Radio Free Asia.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
   The Government of Iran continues to attempt to jam 
        both VOA's Persian News Network TV (which uses multiple 
        satellite systems to prevent a total shutdown) and 
        Radio Free Europe's Persian-language ``Radio Farda.'' 
        In February 2010, the Iranian Government arrested seven 
        journalists who had merely held job interviews with 
        Farda. Efforts to ensure that our programming gets 
        through should remain a high priority.
   Critics note that some BBG entities have allowed 
        individuals opposed to U.S. policy to air their views 
        without any rebuttal or balanced context. While 
        allowing such vitriol to go uncontested is clearly poor 
        journalism, such occurrences have been the rare 
        exception, not the norm. Nonetheless, in order for the 
        BBG to be credible to its audience and draw in not just 
        those who already agree with U.S. policy, its networks 
        must be permitted to present both sides of an argument.
   Congress should revisit the Smith-Mundt legislation, 
        which was passed originally in 1948 and later amended, 
        which bans U.S. Government broadcasting within the U.S. 
        for fear the government would unduly influence its own 
        citizens. Today, however, Russia and China and other 
        entities currently broadcast in English in the United 
        States. Additionally, recent Arabic-speaking immigrants 
        to the United States are able to watch Al Jazeera but 
        prevented by Smith-Mundt from viewing Alhurra. These 
        realities, coupled with the rise of the Internet, which 
        enables computer users in the U.S. to receive video and 
        audio streams of BBG broadcasts and readily access BBG 
        Web sites, demonstrate that aspects of the legislation 
        are both anachronistic and potentially harmful.
   As part of its FY 2011 budget submission, the BBG 
        has proposed closing its last U.S.-based short wave 
        broadcasting facility, located in Greenville, North 
        Carolina. The Board estimates a $3.2 million dollar 
        savings as a result of this closure. While there is no 
        question that audience for short-wave is decreasing in 
        some countries, policymakers need to decide if 
        shuttering the only remaining SW facility on American 
        soil makes strategic sense. Additionally, while the 
        U.S. has been jettisoning its shortwave frequencies, 
        cutting some 60 stations in the last 10 years, China 
        has been doing the exact opposite, almost doubling its 
        number to 284 in the same period.

                              Introduction

    Greater official U.S. interest in Public Diplomacy began in 
the wake of 9/11 with the rise of the ``Why do they hate us?'' 
introspection. The imperative was to ``move the needle'' as 
quickly as possible from ``Hate the United States'' to, if not 
exactly ``Love'' at least, ``Like'' the U.S. The main vehicle 
was to be Public Diplomacy (PD), defined here as a government's 
attempt to engage the local population of a country directly, 
rather than through official interactions with a host 
government. PD has many facets: from government sponsored 
educational exchanges, cultural events, sports and science 
envoys, to public statements and official actions. 
International broadcasting is an integral part of U.S. PD.
    As the Government Accountability Office charts below show, 
American PD funding is divided between various offices between 
the State Department and the Broadcasting Board of Governors. 
In Fiscal Year 2008, Broadcasting received 43 percent of the PD 
budget, but in FY2010 this figure had fallen to 40 percent, 
though funding for almost all of the individual accounts was 
increased.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\ FY 2008 chart from Government Accountability Office Report 
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09679sp.pdf FY 2010 was prepared for this 
report by the GAO.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In the BBG, there are five main broadcasting entities: the 
Voice of America (VOA) which was established in 1942,\5\ Radio 
Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) in 1949,\6\ the Office of 
Cuba Broadcasting (OCB) in 1983,\7\ Radio Free Asia (RFA) in 
1996\8\ and the Middle East Broadcasting Network (MBN) in 
2004.\9\ VOA is intended to provide its listeners with news and 
information about the United States, the world and the 
particular region to which it is broadcasting. The surrogates 
are intended to focus their reporting on the news from inside 
the countries they are broadcasting to. In reality, each does a 
little of both to the point that some are questioning whether 
one or the other is necessary.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\ VOA was first under the Office of War Information, moved to the 
State Department from 1945-53, and then located in the U.S. Information 
Agency. In 1999 when USIA was absorbed by the State Department, VOA and 
the surrogate stations were kept out of the State Department and left 
under the control of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (which had 
been overseeing U.S. broadcasting from within USIA since 1995) which 
then became an independent entity. BBG and VOA headquarters are in 
Washington, DC, with transmission facilities around the world.
    \6\ RFE/RL, based in Prague, Czech Republic currently broadcasts to 
21 countries in 28 languages, though it is now far afield, with 
broadcasts now also to Iraq and Iran (since 1998), Afghanistan (2002) 
and the Pakistan border area (2010).
    \7\ PL 98-111 The Radio Broadcasting to Cuba Act created ``Radio 
Marti'' in 1983 as a surrogate station, distinct from any VOA 
transmissions to Cuba. Radio Marti went on the air in 1985, ``TV 
Marti'' began operations in 1990. Both services are currently located 
in Miami, Florida.
    \8\ RFA, located in Washington, was created in 1994 by PL103-236 
and began broadcasting in 1997. It currently broadcasts to Burma, 
Cambodia, China, Laos, North Korea, Tibet and Vietnam in major and 
local dialects.
    \9\ The Middle East Broadcast Networks includes Alhurra TV and 
Radio Sawa. Radio Sawa began broadcasting 24 hours a day on March 23, 
2002. Alhurra began transmission on February 14, 2004. MBN is located 
in Springfield, VA a suburb of Washington, DC.
    \10\ Typically, it is the surrogates complaining that VOA's 
language services are focusing more and more on local content. 
Nonetheless, VOA's Afghan service (Radio Ashna) and RFE/RL's Radio 
Azadi work well in tandem, with Ashna broadcasting American and 
international news for 12 hours in the evening, followed by Azadi 
covering 12 hours of local news. See Appendix A for a country-by-
country analysis of the BBG products for each country including the 
number of hours, method of transmission and languages. Interestingly, 
the VOA's main webpage contains links to RFE/RL and RFA, but not Radio/
TV Marti or MBN; RFE/RL links only to the BBG's main page; RFA links to 
VOA and BBG; Marti links to none; MBN's Alhurra links only to Sawa (and 
vice versa). Appendix B lists all the languages BBG broadcasts in.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                       FY 2008 Diplomacy Spending





                   Source: State Department and BBG.

      
      

    
    

    
    As the chart above suggests, funding for U.S. broadcasting 
has seen steady, and in some cases significant, increases.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \11\ Since 2001, the BBG has been the beneficiary of increases in 
funding, with its annual budget rising from roughly $425 million to 
over $750 million. This has come, in large part at the direction of 
Congress, as a result of launching a host of new channels. During this 
same time, BBG believes its global audiences has climbed some 70 
percent from 100 million weekly to over 170 million. The one recent 
exception to these increases is the Office of Cuba Broadcasting's 
Radio/TV Marti as Congressional critics and the General Accountability 
Office have questioned its effectiveness. See: http://www.gao.gov/
new.items/d09127.pdf and http://foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/
56157.pdf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Recent years have also seen a much more harmonious 
relationship between civilian and military Public Diplomacy 
efforts. This willingness to share, rather than stovepipe, 
resources was perhaps best displayed during the aftermath of 
the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti when the military loaned 
one of its Lockheed EC-130 ``Commando Solo'' communications 
planes to the relief operation for four weeks. The plane 
enabled the Voice of America's Creole service to transmit for 
10 hours on 4 FM and 1 AM frequency during the day as virtually 
all of Haiti's radio towers or stations had been severely 
damaged or destroyed.\12\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \12\ See http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TECH/01/26/haiti.flying.radio/
index.html#cnnSTCText. At night, powerful AM transmitters from Florida 
were able to carry VOA throughout Haiti, obviating the need for 
nighttime flights as, due to atmospheric conditions, AM has a much 
longer range after sunset.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    This report will examine what tools the BBG is using to 
accomplish its mission, what the challenges are and what have 
been the latest innovations. At the same time it will examine 
how other countries are approaching these issues in hopes of 
providing policy makers with a better understanding of how our 
efforts compare and compete in the global marketplace of 
information and public diplomacy.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \13\ Appendix C provides a list of current and previous BBG entity 
directors.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                 The Broadcasting Board of Governors: 
              The ``Firewall'' Has Become the ``Football''

    The Broadcasting Board of Governors was created by Congress 
in 1994 as an independent agency to be a bi-partisan buffer to 
potential political interference and to ensure its products 
were objective and balanced. To that end, Congress created an 
eight-member board evenly split along party lines, with the 
Secretary of State as the ninth member and one of the eight 
(from the party in the White House) nominated as Chairman.\14\ 
As then-BBG Chairman Marc Nathanson said in 2001:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \14\ Board members receive no salary, and are only paid for travel 
and per diem expenses while they are on Board business.


          It is our responsibility to serve as a firewall between the 
        international broadcasters and the policy-making institutions 
        in the foreign affairs community, both in here in Washington 
        and overseas. This is a responsibility we take very seriously. 
        Because at the end of the day, it is precisely by providing 
        accurate news and information--sought and trusted by people 
        around the world--that we earn and keep our credibility.\15\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \15\ http://ibb7-2.ibb.gov/bbg/board.html#nathanson

    However vacancies have plagued the Board, and as the chart 
below demonstrates, it has not been at full strength since 
2004. Much of this has been due to both parties in the Senate 
playing politics with Board nominations. Currently, the four 
Board members, each of whom was confirmed in 2002, are serving 
well beyond their three-year term of office; should any one of 
them resign, the Board would no longer have a quorum. In spite 
of this, it was not until November 19, 2009, that the Obama 
administration nominated a full slate of eight candidates to 
form a new Board.\16\ To date, none has been confirmed by the 
Senate.\17\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \16\ The nominees submitted by the White House are listed below, 
confusingly, the party affiliations of each nominee do not always 
correspond with the incumbent; additionally, terms have been staggered 
for terms of one, two or three years in order to maintain continuity:

       Victor H. Ashe (R) (term expiring 8/13/2010) vice James K. 
Glassman (R);
       Walter Isaacson (D) (term expiring 8/13/2012) vice Steven J. 
Simmons (R) (Isaacson also replacing Glassman as Chair);
       Michael Lynton (D) (term expiring 8/13/2012) vice Mark McKinnon 
(R);
       Susan McCue (D) (term expiring 8/13/2011) vice Joaquin F. Blaya 
(D);
       Michael P. Meehan (D) (term expiring 8/13/2010) vice Jeffrey 
Hirschberg (D);
       Dennis Mulhaupt (R) (term expiring 8/13/2011) vice Blanquita 
Walsh Cullum (R);
       Dana M. Perino (R) (term expiring 8/13/2012) vice Edward E. 
Kaufman (D); and
       S. Enders Wimbush (R) (term expiring 8/13/2010) vice Norman J. 
Pattiz (D).
    \17\ This report was initially released on June 9, 2010. The 
nominees were finally confirmed by the full Senate on June 30, 2010.





    As the chart on page 11 shows, as of June 9, 2010, the 
average vacancy for a Board position is over 470 days, with one 
position vacant for over four years. We must acknowledge that a 
structure that was created to be a political ``firewall'' has 
in fact become a political ``football.'' Unless the situation 
changes rapidly, it is time to consider a replacement structure 
to the Board to carry out its vital functions.
    This chronic dysfunction of the confirmation process has 
had a profound impact on our broadcasting efforts. The current 
Board clearly knows that its time is limited and is therefore 
understandably hesitant to make changes that the incoming 
nominees may or may not agree with. Similarly, this lack of 
direction or certainty of leadership has greatly eroded the 
morale of BBG employees.
    A 2008 survey of federal workers in 37 agencies found the 
BBG ranked last in indexes for Leadership and Knowledge 
Management, Results-Oriented Performance Culture, Talent 
Management, and second to last on Job Satisfaction. Perhaps 
even more telling, these results were exactly the same from the 
2006 version of the survey.\18\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \18\ Survey results can be found here: http://
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/
leadership_and_knowledge_index.pdf (Note: RFE/RL, RFA or MBN employees 
were not part of the survey.)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    As detailed below, the plethora of challenges confronting 
U.S. broadcasting are daunting and deserve immediate attention, 
and cannot be allowed to fester. If the Senate truly believes 
that such bi-partisan boards provide an effective management 
and oversight tool, the new Board should be confirmed. If the 
Senate feels otherwise, then perhaps the time has come to 
abolish the Board and create a different entity that will have 
greater Congressional confidence.

                  Russia--Slowly Strangling the Media

    The ever tightening censorship of the Russian media by the 
state has been well documented.\19\ Starting in 1993 under 
Russian President Yeltsin, through Vladimir Putin to Dmitry 
Medvedev, some 200 journalists have been killed, with most 
murders remaining unsolved (including the most infamous cases 
to date, the 2004 murder of American Paul Klebnikov and the 
2006 murder of Anna Politkovskaya), and with many mysteriously 
falling from their windows in alleged suicides or in police 
custody.\20\ Freedom House's Freedom of the Press Index 
downgraded Russia's rank from 147 in its 2004 Index to 174 out 
of 195 in 2009.\21\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \19\ See the recent ``Russia Fears Crackdown on Freedom'' from May, 
6, 2010 http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/05/06/russia--fears--crackdown--
freedom.html; the 2002 International Federation of Journalists 
Condemnation on Russian Crackdown on Media Reporting of Chechen 
Militants http://www.ifj.org/en/articles/ifj-condemns-russian-
crackdown-on-media-reporting-of-chechen-mil
itants- ;
    \20\ ``Russian Journalist Dies After Beating in Police Custody'' 
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jan/21/journalist-safety-russia; 
``Investigative Journalist Killed'' http://www.usatoday.
com/news/world/2006-10-07-russia-journalist--x.htm; ``Forbes' Russian 
Editor Shot Dead'' http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/
news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aBbb15QXw0cE&refer=top_world_news-
redirectoldpage; a comprehensive list can be found here: http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_
journalists_killed_in_Russia
    \21\ http://www.freedomhouse.org/uploads/fop09/FoP2009--World--
Rankings.pdf While some criticize Freedom House as simply an arm of the 
U.S. government and therefore biased, it is worth noting that the 2009 
Index ranked the U.S. #24 on its Press Freedom Index (tied with 
Lithuanian and the Czech Republic) and below such countries as 
Portugal, Jamaica and Germany.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
      
      
      

    
    


    Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty was founded in 1949 largely 
to broadcast to the Soviet Union and its East European 
satellites the news and events going on inside their own 
borders. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, the onset of 
democratic elections and democratic practices--combined with 
mounting budgetary pressures and demands for individual 
language services for many of the former Soviet Republics--much 
of RFE/RL's service in Eastern Europe (with the exception of 
the Balkan nations, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova) has ended. 
Free press issues in the Caucuses (Georgia, Armenia and 
Azerbaijan) as well as the former Central Asian Republics of 
the Soviet Union (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, 
Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) also kept RFE/RL busy and relevant 
throughout the 1990s, as of course, did Russia.\22\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \22\ See http://www.rferl.org/ for further breakdowns on all of 
RFE/RL's language services.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Because of changing Russian consumer tastes, and a brief 
window of press freedoms, RFE/RLwas able to arrange for 
affiliate agreements with a variety of Russian FM channels to 
carry the Russian-language station Radio ``Svoboda'' 
(``Freedom/Liberty''). By 2002, over 30 radio stations 
throughout Russia's nine time zones carried Svoboda, but as the 
chart below demonstrates, the situation rapidly deteriorated. 
Russian officials never banned Svoboda outright. Rather, radio 
stations seeking a renewal of their licenses were simply told 
that the process would transpire much more smoothly if the RFE/
RL's programming agreements were not renewed. Currently, only 
four stations carry Svoboda and most are in marginalized areas. 
Its lone Moscow AM station is hampered by low voltage and the 
prevalence of overhead electric tram lines which create 
significant signal distortions at street level.



             Radio Free Europe's Central Newsroom in Prague



    RFE was not alone in broadcasting to Russia, as VOA's 
Russian service was, for a while, even more successful in its 
number of affiliates than RFE. However, effective efforts by 
Moscow authorities to similarly silence VOA affiliates led to 
VOA canceling its radio service in frustration, relying instead 
only on the Internet.\23\ The fact that the Board did not even 
issue a press release announcing the cancelation galled many. 
The fact that the decision was effected on July 26, 2008, by 
chance less than two weeks before the August 7 Russian invasion 
of Georgia, only made the situation worse.\24\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \23\ The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), too, was forced 
off FM, though a year earlier, in August 2007, see: http://
www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/08--august/17/
moscow.shtml which tells the tale of BBC's Moscow FM station ``Bolshoye 
Radio'' being forced off the air ``The owners of Bolshoye Radio . . . 
have told representatives of the BBC Russian Service that they are 
required to remove BBC programming at the request of Russian licensing 
authorities, or risk the station being taken off-air.''
    \24\ Following the invasion of Georgia, the BBG surged its Georgian 
language broadcasting. Currently, VOA broadcasts 14 hours in SW/week to 
Georgia, while RFE/RL offers four hours of radio/day via satellite, 
with both offering constant Internet updates.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Perhaps the Board decided to let VOA Russian go silently 
into the night in order not to allow the Russians to ``declare 
victory,'' but it was a missed opportunity to call the world's 
attention to a growing threat to a vital component of real 
democracies--a press that is able to tell the truth without 
fear of harassment, suppression or worse.



    Currently, as the chart above shows, VOA is totally 
Internet based. As the chart below from May 2010 of Russian-
language websites indicates, this may not be such a bad 
investment as viewing of VOA's Russian stories on YouTube have 
been strong, and VOA also just launched in March 2010 a website 
for mobile phone users: http://ru.voa.mobi/.\25\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \25\ http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/voa-launches-website-for-
russian-mobile-phone-users.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                         Russian Language Sites


               Iran--Tough on Journalists and Technology

    The U.S. relationship with the Iranian people is a 
complicated one. Personal and professional links and positive 
memories of the United States in the older generations, many of 
whom were educated in American universities, have trickled down 
to Iranian youth, even as official media routinely denounces 
America as ``The Great Satan.''\26\ Nonetheless, with almost 
half of Iran's population having been born since the 1979 
revolution, greater engagement with this segment of the 
population is essential for American Public Diplomacy.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \26\ See ``Iran's Love Affair With America'' http://
www.csmonitor.com/2007/0119/p09s02-coop.html; 77 percent of Iranians 
favor normal relations with the U.S. in June 2009 poll of 1,000 
Iranians in: http://www.terrorfreetomorrow.org/upimagestft/TFT 
percent20Iran percent20Survey percent20Report percent200609.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Without any formal diplomatic relations with Iran, the U.S. 
has nonetheless been engaging in people-to-people diplomacy. 
From 2006-8, using sports such as basketball, ping-pong and 
wrestling, American and Iranian teams have quietly been 
competing internationally but also participating in tournaments 
in each other's country.\27\ (However, since 2009 four similar 
sports exchanges were planned, only to be quashed by the 
Iranian Foreign Ministry.) Similarly, American universities 
have begun to initiate small-scale efforts to try to bring 
Iranian students to the U.S. for long-term studies. 
Additionally, from 2006-8, 18 Iranian university students were 
part of a U.S. government program that brought them to American 
universities to study English, and they served as Persian 
language teaching assistants in U.S. classrooms (more recent 
programs were likewise canceled by Iran). In spite of the fact 
that Iranian youth face prolonged visa processing times, they 
have been eager to re-engage with Americans via such routes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \27\ http://www.america.gov/st/sports-english/2008/July/
200807241441550pnativel0.19125.html; http://www.payvand.com/news/08/
jul/1240.html;http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2007/January/
20070125154816attocnich0.453747.html.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Iran's complex culture is often overly-simplified in 
attempts to isolate a government that bent on acquiring nuclear 
capabilities regardless of the economic and diplomatic costs. 
Iranian love of technology ensured that even software issues 
with Apple's iPhone were quickly resolved when the phone was 
first released, and smuggled phones were fetching upwards of 
$1,400 each.\28\ VOA has recognized this love of technology and 
created an ``app'' for Apple's iPhone as well as the latest 
Android/Google phone that allows Iranians to upload videos from 
their phones directly to VOA's Persian News Network (PNN)--thus 
making anyone with such a device a roving journalist.\29\ This 
is particularly useful for PNN, for it--unlike most of VOA's 
other stations--focuses heavily on TV broadcasts, given that in 
Iran, some 94 percent of the population say they get their news 
from television, while only 35 percent report they use radio 
for news.\30\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \28\ http://www.hadifarnoud.ir/unlock-iphone; http://asia.cnet.com/
blogs/cyberpersia/post.htm?id=
63000621.
    \29\ VOA's PNN was established in 1979 as a radio service, PNN TV 
began in 2007. See PPN's iPhone app here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/
app/voa-pnn/id348178315?mt=8.
    \30\ PNN broadcasts 35 hours of radio a week--one hour original in 
the morning, then four hours of audio stream of PNNTV in the evening--
vice a total of 168 hours of TV a week.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    PNN broadcasts to Iran are currently carried on 7 
Frequencies on 6 different satellites in order to avoid 
complete jamming by the Iranian authorities. Its 24-hour 
coverage is entirely live from 6pm local time to midnight. 
These programs are then repeated from midnight to 6pm the next 
day, except for an additional live hour of morning news from 6-
7am (for a total of 49 hours a week of original 
programming).\31\ The BBG claims that 2009 research shows that 
PNN ``commands a weekly TV audience of 29.9 percent of adults 
in Iran'' (some 13 million people); however a 2010 BBG survey 
now has this number down to 20 percent.\32\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \31\ A complete PNN schedule can be found in Appendix D. To mark 
the one-year anniversary of the June 2009 disputed presidential 
elections, PNN, in conjunction with HBO, is showing the documentary 
``For Neda'' about Neda Agha-Soltan, the young Iranian who became a 
symbol of Iran's post-election protests when images of her dying 
moments were captured on cell phones and shown around the world, as 
well as making the film available on its website. Greater leveraging of 
public-private cooperation would provide U.S. broadcasters with much 
needed content.
    \32\ See p. 16 of the BBG's FY2011 Budget Submission for the 2009 
figure: http://www.bbg.gov/reports/documents/
BBGFY2011CONGBudgetSubmission-ForInternetPost.pdf. The BBG believes the 
decline in 2010 was most likely due to increased jamming and greater 
reluctance on the part of Iranians to admitting to watching foreign 
broadcasts in an ever-increasingly repressive environment. The same 
study, a May 5, 2010 poll conducted by Intermedia and shared with 
Committee staff, shows BBC-Persian at only 10.2 percent. However, BBC 
was the only service in the poll, which included Iranian news media as 
well, that saw an increase from 2009, when BBC was at 2.5 percent. This 
increase suggests that PNN may be facing some stiff competition in the 
future.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    U.S. broadcasting has thus empowered and elevated average 
Iranian citizens by enabling them to share with the world 
Tehran's repression of their democratic efforts. As a result, 
the Iranian regime has gone to great and repeated lengths to 
block not only U.S., but many other western media outlets from 
transmitting into Iran.\33\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \33\ See the BBC's June 2009 complaints: http://www.guardian.co.uk/
media/2009/jun/17/iran-bbc-jamming-bloggers-revolutionary-guard; the 
Broadcasting Board of Governors' December 2009 condemnation of Iranian 
jamming of PNN and Radio Farda: http://www.bbg.gov/pressroom/
pressreleases-article.cfm?articleID=443; the February 12, 2010 joint 
VOA-BBC-Deutsche Welle joint release calling for an end to jamming: 
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2010/feb/12/1132; finally the 
March 26, 2010 call by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) 
for Iran to stop jamming: http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/english/
detail/92866.html.





    In addition to PNN, which broadcasts from Washington, Radio 
Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Persian-language Radio ``Farda'' 
(``Tomorrow'') broadcasts from RFE/RL's headquarters in Prague. 
Farda's programming is a mix of news and entertainment with 
over half the day devoted to news and information programs 
including talk shows and features, with some 45 percent of the 
time devoted to cultural programming and music. Farda reaches 
Iran either through AM radio transmissions from the United Arab 
Emirates (1575 AM) or through numerous shortwave stations, in 
addition to the Internet.\34\ Tehran routinely blocks Farda's 
radio and Internet, with Farda relying on proxy servers to get 
around this where possible.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \34\ PNN is also heavily invested in the Internet, and according to 
the BBG, during the election crisis in 2009, some 400,000 visitors 
viewed their webpages on a daily basis; See page 70 of the FY2011 BBG 
Budget Submission http://www.bbg.gov/reports/documents/BBGFY2011CONG
BudgetSubmission-ForInternetPost.pdf See http://flashvideo.rferl.org/
Flashmaps/en-US/coverageOneWin/default.htm for RFE/RL's excellent 
interactive map which denotes its coverage in each country including 
and from where it broadcasts.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In spite of this clear animosity the Iranian regime feels 
for American programming, critics of U.S. broadcasting have 
expressed concerns that PNN is in fact the ``Voice of Mullahs'' 
for offering airtime to two commentators who were critical of 
U.S. policies towards Iran and for PNN's failure to present 
opposing views.\35\ Other critics of PNN and Radio Farda take 
the exact opposite view, arguing that PNN/Farda, and many other 
U.S. surrogate stations, are simply classic ``emigre media'' 
staffed by those forced out of their homeland, and therefore 
incapable and unwilling to portray anything but the worst 
aspects of their native lands--with the consequence, the 
critics argue, that listeners will quickly turn them off for 
being viewed as ``mouthpieces'' of the U.S. government.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \35\ The VOA responded by noting that they in fact offered equal 
air time to opposing views to each commentator one of whom was an 
opposition journalist and the other a U.S.-based expert who had 
testified before Congress on the effectiveness of sanctions against 
Iran. See Washington Times ``Mouthpiece of the Mullahs'' April 14, 
2010: http: / / www.washingtontimes.com / news / 2010 / apr /14 / 
voice-of-the-mullahs/ and VOA's rebuttal of April 19 http: / / www.wash 
ingtontimes.com / news / 2010/apr/19/voas-persian-news-aims-for-
objectivity/ both of which are printed in full in Appendix E of this 
report. U.S. government oversight of BBG services is extensive and 
conducted by both the State Department's Office of the Inspector 
General (OIG) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the 
latter of which reports directly to Congress. Appendix F has lists and 
links of OIG and GAO reports on the BBG and its services.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The first type of criticism of PNN underscores an issue 
that has bedeviled U.S. broadcasting for years. Some feel that 
our efforts should only be used to tell the U.S. side of a 
story, due in part because most other media outlets in the 
world are heavily biased against the U.S. and its foreign 
policy. Others, most of whom do not dispute the anti-U.S. bias 
charge, believe that in order for U.S. broadcasts to gain and 
retain audiences, they must be true to the Broadcasting 
Standards and Principles and Standards as codified in law \36\ 
including:

    \36\ 22 U.S.C. 6202--The law is even more specific for VOA: ``To be 
effective, the Voice of America must win the attention and respect of 
listeners.These principles will therefore govern Voice of America (VOA) 
broadcasts: (1) VOA will serve as a consistently reliable and 
authoritative source of news. VOA news will be accurate, objective, and 
comprehensive. (2) VOA will represent America, not any single segment 
of American society, and will therefore present a balanced and 
comprehensive projection of significant American thought and 
institutions. (3) VOA will present the policies of the United States 
clearly and effectively, and will also present responsible discussions 
and opinion on these policies.'' http://vlex.com/vid/sec-standards-and-
principles-19202272.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
   News which is consistently reliable and authoritative, 
        accurate, objective, and comprehensive.
   A balanced and comprehensive projection of United States 
        thought and institutions, reflecting the diversity of 
        United States culture and society.

    ``Objective'' news must, by definition, offer both sides of 
an issue, even if the other side runs contrary to U.S. policy. 
BBG Governor Jeffrey Hirschberg responded in an October 15, 
2009 hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when 
asked about the value of U.S. Broadcasting in terms of creating 
positive trends towards the United States and its foreign 
policies:


          The BBG does not do messaging. Our broadcasters do not do 
        messaging. So if you are asking for a one-to-one correlation as 
        to whether or not for every dollar we spend we can change 
        hearts and minds, we cannot do that for you. We cannot give you 
        that. That research is not available to us. But what is 
        available to us is that we know we have an impact. We know that 
        people like our broadcasting. We know that people listen to our 
        broadcasting. We know that people call into our broadcasting. 
        We know that they participate. We know that we are engaging 
        their publics in a way and through targeted research that has 
        never been done before. So from that standpoint, we think that 
        indirectly we do have that kind of impact that you are looking 
        for.\37\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \37\ Full testimony and video of the hearing available here: http:/
/foreign.senate.gov/hearings/hearing/?id=673071c8-9c31-1adf-c848-
9eef0ff7ca92.


As President Kennedy's first director of the U.S. Information 
Service, and noted journalist Edward R. Murrow stated, ``To be 
persuasive, we must be believable, to be believable we must be 
credible.'' Many would also argue to be credible we must be 
willing to air the views of those who do not always agree with 
us.
    The other group of critics charges that, what they perceive 
to be, the very one-sided nature of such services will limit 
the ability of U.S. broadcasting to gain larger audiences as 
only those already pre-disposed against a regime will tune in. 
This is a classic issue faced by surrogate broadcasting 
efforts. Such services are used when a government restricts 
freedom of the media. Any government that does this most often 
represses its citizens in other ways; thus, any such government 
is unlikely to have many praiseworthy qualities. However, some 
say, if U.S. broadcasting only focuses on the negative 
audiences, often tire of this ``Johnny-one-note'' approach and 
turn to other sources instead. Hence the conundrum, how to 
inform listeners and ensure they will keep listening.
    While Farda's almost-half music/entertainment format would 
seem to suggest the opposite, when asked to provide examples of 
stories that would refute this ``preaching to the choir'' 
format, Committee staff were provided with the example of 
Farda's coverage of a recent Tehran film festival--where the 
story's focus was not on the films being shown, but the films 
that had been banned by the government.\38\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \38\ To broaden its audience appeal, Farda launched at the end of 
May 2010 a satirical radio program ``Pas Farda'' (``The Day After 
Tomorrow'') from Prague that will run Saturday-Wednesday (10pm-11pm) 
and be hosted by a former Iranian radio personality who ran afoul of 
the authorities some three years ago for a similar program. ``Pas 
Farda'' has been likened to a ``radio version of the Daily Show.'' RFE/
RL hopes the popular host--Farshid Manafi--will pull in larger 
audiences.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Working for a U.S. broadcasting entity is not without its 
risks. In February 2010 Iran arrested 7 Iranian journalists on 
suspicion of working for a ``counter-revolutionary Zionist 
satellite station.'' \39\ In fact, of those arrested, most had 
only interviewed with RFE/RL and had not even been offered a 
job. However, because those interviews had been conducted 
outside Iran in countries thought to be ``safe,'' the arrests 
sent a chill down Radio Farda's collective spine as it became 
clear that Iranian authorities had been able to access either 
Farda's Internet or phone service. RFE/RL has taken steps to 
address these issues, but no doubt the Tehran government will 
not stop its efforts to infiltrate or hack into U.S. 
broadcasters.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \39\ See ``Iran widens journalist crackdown before demonstrations'' 
in http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2010/0210/Iran-widens-
journalist-crackdown-before-demonstrations
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    As part of its FY 2011 budget submission, the BBG is 
proposing, ``given shifting media consumption towards 
television and the Internet'' ending radio simulcasts/
rebroadcasts of PNN television programming and one hour daily 
of original VOA Persian radio, for a savings of some $1 
million. As of May 2010, both PNN and Radio Farda seem to be 
using social media more effectively than other Persian-language 
sites.

                         Persian Language Sites




               China--Ever Expanding, and Now in the USA

    While the biggest news regarding China in 2010 was the 
January attack on Google's China-based operations and Google's 
eventual decision to relocate its operations to Hong Kong 
rather than abide by Beijing's Internet restrictions,\40\ China 
continued its PD outreach activities apace.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \40\  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/19/technology/
19china.html?ref=world. Secretary of State Clinton's assertion that 
China restricts the Internet access of its citizens and her call for a 
full Chinese investigation into the attack on Google during her January 
21, 2010 speech on Internet Freedom in Washington, DC (http://
www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2010/01/135519.htm) met with a harsh rebuke 
from the Chinese Foreign Ministry which urged the United States to 
``respect facts and stop attacking China under the excuse of the so-
called freedom of Internet.'' See: http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/xwfw/
s2510/t653351.htm. A similar charge by the MFA was leveled at the U.S. 
following the President's May 2, 2010 Statement on World Press Freedom 
Day which stated `` . . . governments like China, Ethiopia, Iran and 
Venezuela curtailed freedom of expression by limiting full access to 
and use of'' the Internet; http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/
statement-president-world-press-freedom-day to which the Chinese MFA 
retorted. ``We urge the U.S. to respect the facts, view China's press 
freedom correctly and stop groundless accusations against China,'' 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-05/07/c_13282468.htm.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    China's ever-expanding PD efforts have deservedly garnered 
increasing attention. Many point to the 2008 Summer Olympics as 
the catalyst for Beijing's efforts. Having spent some $44 
Billion for three weeks of worldwide coverage, China is now 
spending over $50 Billion for six months worth of attention at 
the 2010 Shanghai World Expo.\41\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \41\ The 2010 Shanghai Expo, and its implications and impact of 
such expos on U.S. Public Diplomacy and how the United States 
approaches them, will be the subject of a separate Committee report.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    China's push for greater engagement was also made clear by 
its recent licensing of an AM radio station in Galveston, 
Texas, to broadcast China Radio International. The United 
States, on the other hand, has never been given a license to 
broadcast from within China. As noted in the Washington Post 
article which broke this story, the Chinese government-run news 
agency Xinhua is also in the process of moving its American 
headquarters to a massive office in Times Square in New 
York.\42\ According to the State Department's Foreign Press 
Center in Washington, there are over 160 Chinese journalists in 
the United States with some 75 working for Xinhua.\43\ By 
contrast, according the State Department, there are 
approximately 120 American journalists currently in China, yet, 
of those, the Voice of America has only been issued visas for 
only two full-time correspondents in China, based in 
Beijing.\44\ Recent attempts by VOA to open a bureau in 
Shanghai have been blocked as the Chinese Foreign Ministry has 
refused for over a year to issue any visas for this effort. 
Xinhua has bureaus registered in Washington, DC, New York and 
Los Angeles.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \42\ See ``From China's Mouth to Texans' Ears: Outreach Includes 
Small Station in Galveston'' http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/
content/article/2010/04/24/AR2010042402492--pf.html
    \43\ A list of all the Chinese media outlets registered at the 
Foreign Press Center is located in Appendix G of this report; however, 
because foreign journalists are not required to register at the FPC, 
the 160 figure is likely lower than the total.
    \44\ In contrast, the State Department has issued some 2,900 ``I'' 
visas in the past four years: Fiscal year 2010--389 (as of May 4, 
2010); Fiscal year 2009--783; Fiscal year 2008--848; and Fiscal year 
2007--845.
    The definition of an ``I'' visa recipient is fairly broad, and 
includes foreign nationals working for U.S. media companies as well as 
those engaged in news and documentary production staff, the vast 
disparity in numbers is simply staggering; full details of ``I'' visas: 
http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types--1276.html. A request for 
similar information from the Chinese Embassy in Washington was not 
answered.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Voice of America's 65 hours/week broadcasts in Mandarin 
and 14 hours/week in Cantonese is supplemented with an hour/day 
of TV in Mandarin and 30 minutes/day in Cantonese that is a 
simulcast with radio. There is also a once-a-week, 30 minute TV 
program titled Cultural Odyssey which highlights U.S. culture 
and heritage.
    Additionally, Radio Free Asia broadcasts 12 hours/day in 
Mandarin over SW and satellite radio, 2 hours/day in Cantonese, 
10 hours/day in Tibetan and 2 hours/day in Uyghur. Each 
language has its own website as well as RSS feed, podcast, 
YouTube channel, Facebook page, Twitter account, mobile site 
and numerous in-country alias blog accounts.\45\ RFA has never 
been allowed to have a bureau inside China, and visas for RFA 
coverage of numerous news events in China are routinely denied.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \45\ http://www.rfa.org/english/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    RFA, in particular, has been subjected to hostile Internet 
attacks long pre-dating Google's public protest of Chinese 
cyber-hacking tactics,\46\ whether having its sites blocked or 
its servers hacked into.\47\ (As a result, the BBG has been one 
of the leaders in the use and development of ``Internet 
censorship circumvention'' technology that enables users to 
access its sites through so-called ``proxy servers'' that 
benefit not only RFA and VOA/Mandarin but RFE/RL and VOA's 
Persian language services.) The Chinese government pays close 
attention to these proxies as well, often blocking them on a 
daily basis. The BBG's Engineering Office works equally hard to 
ensure new proxies are created.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \46\ See New York Times article http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/
technology/29spy.html ``[Chinese] sleuthing opened a window into a 
broader operation that, in less than two years has infiltrated at least 
1,205 computers in 103 countries, including many belonging to 
embassies, foreign ministries and other government offices . . . ''; 
see also Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5AI5UZ20091120. 
``The amount of `malicious'[computer] activities against the United 
States increased in 2008 and is rising sharply this year,'' . . . 
adding ``Much of this activity appears to originate in China.''
    \47\ VOA's Mandarin service reports similar attacks, although not 
on the same scale or scope as RFA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    As such, RFA's websites clearly display a ``Getting Around 
Internet Blockage'' button on the first page of each of its 
language pages.\48\ RFA reports that China is not alone in its 
attempt to keep its citizens from accessing RFA's sites, though 
China is by far the most aggressive.\49\ According to RFA 
officials, other nations with aggressive Internet blockage 
include Vietnam and Burma.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \48\ The English version can be found here: http://www.rfa.org/
english/about/help/web--access.html which lists such proxies as 
Freegate, Fire Phoenix, Freenet, Garden Networks, Ultrasurf and Garden 
Networks as well as ``Green Tsunami'' developed expressly to get around 
the Chinese government's Green Dam firewall.
    \49\ See the April 22, 2010 RFA interview with Professor Sun 
Wenguang on the virtual shutdown of Internet access to the Uyghur 
homeland of Xinjiang province in western China: http://www.rfa.org/
english/news/uyghur/internet-04222010123829.html?searchterm=None
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    There are approximately 760 million mobile device users in 
China, representing more than 80 percent market penetration 
among Chinese adults. While this would suggest an enormous 
potential audience to receive SMS/text messages, these devices 
are operated by three major government-controlled or owned 
Mobile phone network companies, China Mobile, China Unicom and 
China Telecom. RFA is not actively pursuing SMS transmissions 
in China in part because the content would easily be subject to 
blocking, monitoring, recording and censoring. RFA has 
considered having a self-selecting ``risk-taking'' group for 
SMS messages, but determined that it would be cost-prohibitive 
at this time. In contrast, the proliferation of 3G and 4G 
capable mobile devices and mobile proxy capabilities, with the 
capacity to have users share videos and MP3 files, represents a 
major area of RFA expansion.
    As shown below, both RFA's Mandarin and VOA's YouTube 
outreach seem to be achieving considerable effect in spite of 
routinely being blocked (albeit relative success, given a 
country of one billion). Because of China's sophisticated 
Internet filtering system, Radio Free Asia engages online 
audiences inside the ``Great Firewall'' through proactive 
blogging and online outreach, making use of a diverse range of 
alias accounts on domestic microblogging platforms, and social 
networking Web sites within the Great Firewall. For example, 
according to RFA officials, on any given day, RFA's Mandarin 
and Cantonese services can have over two dozen alias blogs 
running with an average of 1,300 interactive followers, who 
both use RFA content and provide source material.

                      Chinese Language Sites \50\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \50\ RFA Social media numbers were compiled by RFA staff who 
accessed their numerous proxy sites to collate the final numbers.


         Alhurra TV/Radio Sawa--Finding and Keeping an Audience

    One of the key PD products coming out of the BBG following 
9/11 was a determined focus on the Arabic-speaking world. VOA's 
Arabic service was closed with that funding being used, plus 
substantial new monies from Congress, to create distinct 
Arabic-language radio and television surrogates for the region. 
As the most recent BBG commissioned research below suggests, 
there is both good news and bad news for U.S. government 
broadcasting efforts in the Middle East. Alhurra TV--launched 
in 2004--viewership seems to be on the rise, but it is 
difficult to compare this viewership with total audience 
viewership as the explosion of channels available in the Arabic 
world.\51\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \51\ For a spirited defense of the creation of Alhurra, and the 
need to curtail VOA's Short Wave English service, see former BBG 
Chairman Ken Tomlinson's 2007 article in Arab Media and Society: http:/
/www.arabmediasociety.com/articles/downloads/
20070514205552_AMS2_Kenneth_Y
_Tomlinson.pdf; a lengthy analysis of Alhurra can be found here: http:/
/www.propublica.org/feature/alhurra-middle-east-hearts-and-minds-622, 
and here: http://sites.maxwell.syr.edu/luce/snow.html for another 
perspective.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    President Obama's decision to give his first interview on 
an Arabic station was not to Alhurra, but to one of its rivals, 
Al Arabiya, was brutally symbolic and not unnoticed in the 
blogosphere.\52\ An outside study from 2009 suggests that 
Alhurra is simply marginalized.\53\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \52\ http://lynch.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/01/27/obama--on--
al--arabiya; MBN officials note that in the first five months of 2010 
alone Secretary of State Clinton has been on Alhurra as have a 
multitude of State Department, Department of Defense and National 
Security Council officials as well as four U.S. Senators and nine 
Representatives.
    \53\ From the 2009 University of Maryland and Zogby International 
poll of some 4,000 respondents, the slides of which can be found here: 
http://www.brookings.edu//media/Files/events/2009/0519--arab--opinion/
2009_arab_public_opinion_poll.pdf. The BBG disputes the Zogby poll 
results and contends that viewer habits of watching multiple channels 
negate Zogby's findings. The BBG contends that Alhurra places in the 
top 20 in 14 major markets and is #21 in Saudi Arabia.



              Total Audience of Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       (BBG Global Broadcasting)



                Daily and Weekly Viewership of Alhurra 
                       (BBG Global Broadcasting)



         Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa Weekly Audiences by Country 
                       (BBG Global Broadcasting)





    A 2008 study of Alhurra commissioned by the BBG and 
conducted throughout the Middle East by the University of 
Southern California's Annenberg Center on Public Diplomacy, 
concluded the station's lack of popularity among Arab viewers 
stemmed from a lack of credibility due to:


   Lacked news and programming that distinguished it from 
        other state-funded broadcasts;

   Had weak journalistic skills, particularly technical, but 
        also little balance in story reporting; and

   A perception as biased towards Western slants, with six 
        times more likely to be critical of the Arab 
        perspective than of the Western viewpoint.\53\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \53\ http://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/media/AlHurraReport.pdf


This has lead to the perception of many in the region of 
Alhurra as nothing more than a propaganda tool of the United 
States rather than a go-to source for news and information.\55\ 
The fact that Alhurra is headquartered Springfield, VA, not in 
the region it covers, reinforces this perception.\56\ The lone 
Alhurra studio located outside the U.S., in Dubai, U.A.E., is 
unmarked, even though it is located in a building filled with 
other Arabic channels.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \55\ The BBG disputes many of these claims in its own evaluation of 
Alhurra (http://www.bbg.gov/reports/others/Alhurra-
Sawa_Research_Data_June20-2.pdf ) which suggested that, based on, 
``weekly audiences'' and ``Percent of adults viewing at least once in 
seven days'' a much different picture. Another analysis commissioned by 
the BBG conducted by the Missouri School of Journalism, based on 
English translations of Alhurra broadcasts concluded, ``Alhurra TV does 
most things right most of the time,'' but then proceeded to note that 
``individual stories often lacked sufficient balance and thus could be 
perceived as delivering a biased message.'' See: http://www.bbg.gov/
reports/others/missourireport.pdf
    \56\ For a spirited defense of the creation of Alhurra, and the 
need to curtail VOA's Short Wave English service, see former BBG 
Chairman Ken Tomlinson's 2007 article in Arab Media and Society: http:/
/www.arabmediasociety.com/articles/downloads/
20070514205552_AMS2_Kenneth_Y_Tomlinson.pdf; a lengthy analysis of 
Alhurra can be found here: http://www.propublica.org/feature/alhurra-
middle-east-hearts-and-minds-622



    With a budget of some $90 million, many critics of Alhurra 
say that continued funding will be wasted. They compare Al 
Jazeera's Arabic budget of some $100 million (recently 
increased to some $140 million with the advent of Al Jazeera 
English) \57\ with Al Jazeera's market dominance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \57\ Figures based on interviews with Arabic media experts. Al 
Jazeera budget figures are not publicly available and requests from the 
channel for such information were not responded to. BBG officials 
believe the figure is closer to $400 million.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    To address some of these issues, in March 2009, Alhurra 
began airing what it views as the first-of-its-kind show in the 
region--Al Youm (Arabic for ``Today'').\58\ Al Youm is a daily, 
live three-hour news show, Sunday through Thursday, modeled 
very much on its American namesake, that seeks to present the 
news in a more relaxed, conversational environment. Al Youm 
broadcasts from a professional, modern studio in Dubai (photos 
below). Al Youm is linked to MBN journalists based in studios 
in Cairo, Beirut, Jerusalem, and MBN headquarters in the U.S. 
from where they are projected onto a screen in the Dubai studio 
to interact with the hosts.\59\ While such a program no doubt 
has its merit in providing the station with a valuable product, 
Al Youm's impact on Alhurra's viewership have not yet been 
captured in polling. Additionally, in conversations with Al 
Youm broadcasters concern was expressed regarding their 
journalistic independence. Committee staff heard of incidents 
in which some of the broadcasters were told to ``stay on 
message'' when guests would go off-tangent with their comments, 
``as if they didn't trust us to handle the situation as 
professional journalists.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \58\ Alhurra's weekly schedule can be found in Appendix H.
    \59\ The impact of Al Youm on Alhurra's viewership has, according 
to the BBG, not yet been measured and is not reflected in the earlier 
slides.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    As the 2009 BBG slide above on ``Audiences By Country'' 
noted, Iraq is the one bright spot for Alhurra. A May 2010 poll 
of 3,000 individuals from 18 provinces commissioned by the BBG 
suggests that Alhurra is indeed an important part of Iraqi 
life, with Alhurra now number one in terms of Stations Most 
Watched in the Last Week. The same poll also showed that Iraqis 
do not trust any broadcaster in particular, with Alhurra number 
three.






    In addition to Alhurra's viewership, equally troubling is 
the reduction in listenership of Radio Sawa's audience noted in 
the BBG's earlier chart. Radio Sawa was revolutionary (and even 
considered heretical by some) when it first came on the air in 
March 2002. The Board of Broadcasting Governors decided that in 
order to reach the largest demographic in the Arabic market, 
the ``under 35'' group that comprises more than half the 
population, a break in the traditional Voice of America format 
was necessary. Thus, under the direction of then-BBG Board 
Member Norman Pattiz--founder of Westwood One, the largest 
radio network in the United States--Sawa focused on gaining 
market share through American and Arabic pop music--at the 
expense of VOA's Arabic service, which was terminated.\60\ News 
is given in short 5-10 minute segments twice an hour (at 00:15 
and 00:45) for a total of 7.5 hours of news a day, with the 
rest of the time devoted to music, both local and international 
hits.\61\ The creation of Sawa is a prime example of the value 
and impact the Board plays in the formulation and development 
of U.S. broadcasting policy.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \60\ Critics of Sawa claim it ``dumbs down'' the news and creates 
more problems than it solves (http://arabmediasociety.sqgd.co.uk/
articles/downloads/20070514203154_AMS2_Laurie_Kassman.pdf); while 
others point out that, prior to Sawa, 98% of listeners in the Middle 
East had never heard of the Voice of America (http://www.afsa.org/fsj/
nov02/radio.pdf).
    \61\ To see a full list of Sawa stations and to listen to it live 
over the Internet visit: http://www.radiosawa.com/english.aspx.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Sawa's website, Twitter feed, and Facebook, meanwhile, keep 
its tech-savvy audience connected. Nonetheless, there is no 
avoiding the fact that Sawa's audience numbers have declined 
over time. This is in spite of the fact that Sawa's FM reach is 
impressive: every major metropolitan area from Rabat and 
Marrakech in Morocco to Khartoum, Sudan to Baghdad and Kirkuk 
in Iraq.
    (However, there is no FM coverage in Cairo, the most 
populous city in the Arab world, as the Mubarak government 
prohibits any foreign-owned radio, forcing Sawa to reach Egypt, 
primarily Alexandria in the north, from Cyprus via an AM 
signal.) Some argue the audience decline is due in part because 
of its success, as other Arabic stations have also begun to 
test and cater to listeners' musical tastes and offer the 
latest Western and regional releases.
    A May 2010 analysis of Arabic-language U.S., commercial and 
other foreign, state-owned broadcast organizations suggests 
that Sawa's use of Facebook far outpaces the other major 
players.\62\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \62\ Recent research suggests Internet usage in the Arabic world is 
17%, or some 56 million, see: http://www.khaleejtimes.com/
DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=/data/opinion/2010/May/
opinion_May132.xml&section=opinion
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                         Arabic Language Sites


                   Marketing--a Necessary Component 
                    and Cost to Reach New Audiences

    The Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty 
are long established and their names well-recognized throughout 
the world. However, the proliferation of new services and 
stations, particularly in Iran, Afghanistan and the crowded 
media markets of the Middle East requires spending on 
advertising and promotion. For example, the following major 
satellite services cover all or portions of the Middle East, 
North Africa, and parts of South Asia, with many services 
overlapping and many households accessing multiple systems:


   Arabsat--430 channels (carries Alhurra TV) \63\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \63\ See Appendix I for a map of satellite systems used by the BBG.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Nilesat--470 channels (carries Alhurra TV)

   AtlanticBird--280 channels with 50 Subscription channels

   DigitalSkys--50 channels with 180 Subscription channels

   Hotbird 6--225 channels with 110 Subscription channels

   Hotbird 9--87 channels with 260 Subscription channels


    Many believe that appropriated funds for broadcasting 
should go to just that--broadcasting--and not be spent on 
advertising and promotion, but this is simply not realistic in 
today's saturated media environment. While there was recently a 
significant increase in spending, according to the BBG's FY2011 
budget submission, Marketing and Program Placement will be cut 
by some $314,000.\64\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \64\ See p. 86 http://www.bbg.gov/reports/documents/
BBGFY2011CONGBudgetSubmission-ForInternetPost.pdf.




---------------------------------------------------------------------------
$5,078,000


    Middle East Broadcasting has seen its marketing budget for 
Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa fluctuate wildly:




                        FY2005
                        FY20060
                        FY20071
                        FY 2008
                        FY2009
                        FY2010
                        FY2011 (req.)
$6,000
$4,000
$104,000
$5,000
$1,250,000
$512,000
$521,000


    In the meantime, Radio Free Asia's marketing budget has 
never exceeded $7,000 in spite of the ``billion plus'' audience 
it is tasked with trying to reach. Radio Free Europe's budget 
topped $1 million for the first time in 2010, having averaged 
some $850,000 for 2005-2009, providing far greater 
consistency.\65\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \65\ MBN, RFA and RFE budget figures provided by BBG.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Regardless of their funding levels, each entity has 
established creative methods of promotion and marketing. RFE's 
Radio Azadi promotional efforts in Afghanistan have included 
distribution of radios with their logo and station number, 
billboards and the co-sponsorship of the Afghan Presidential 
debates (along with RTA--Radio and Television Afghanistan). 
RFE's Azerbaijan service has, in essence, gone back to the 
future by publishing a weekly newspaper that is distributed for 
free at subway stations; while its Belarus service publishes 
books and CDs of authors and poets who have been banned by the 
government. RFA has used its limited marketing resources to 
target the impoverished and information-starved northwestern 
Cambodia with school notebooks, raincoats, hats and radios with 
their logo, listening times and frequencies.\66\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \66\ RFA has reported anecdotally that the regimes themselves, 
through government officials or state-controlled media attacks, drive 
audiences to its content.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    VOA's Zimbabwe service had perhaps one of the most creative 
marketing tools in that repressive society--times and 
frequencies were printed on tooth brushes and handed out, thus 
providing both a much needed commodity in that improvised 
country as well as needed broadcast information in a form 
easily concealed from President Mugabe's repressive regime.
      
      
    
    


 Presidential Debate in Afghanistan moderated by Akbar Ayazi, Director 
of RFE/RL's Radio Azadi (with RFE/RL's Torch logo interspersed between 
                          RTA's in background

      
      
    
    


   BBG Marketing and Promotion: VOA's Zimbabwe toothbrush, RFE/RL's 
Belarusian poetry publications, RFE/RL's radio, Alhurra's billboard in 
                                 Jeddah

            The Competition--Broadcasting Throughout the USA

    American consumers have also seen an explosion in the 
number of television and satellite and terrestrial radio 
stations available to them, and foreign governments have not 
hesitated to enter the market. British Broadcasting Corporation 
(BBC) television is available in almost every major market, and 
BBC radio recently crowed about its U.S. audience increasing by 
600,000.\67\ Russia Today's English news is now available on 
cable services in New York City, Los Angeles and Washington, 
DC.\68\ China's largest media corporation, Xinhua announced at 
the end of April 2010, that it is launching a 24-hour English 
news channel, and its CCTV is already available in major 
markets (and as noted earlier has begun to broadcast its radio 
from inside the United States).\69\ France 24's 30 minute 
newscasts are carried on U.S. affiliates in more than 15 states 
from California to Virginia, and Germany's Deutsche Welle 
English news is carried on Time Warner, Verizon FIOS and 
Comcast services.\70\ Al Jazeera English is one of the few 
having difficulty gaining access to U.S. markets, with only a 
handful of cable companies carrying it.\71\ Nonetheless, as 
noted in the May 2010 analysis below, while not all the Channel 
Views and Video Uploads occur in the United States, it is clear 
that Al Jazeera English is a major player in this area.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \67\ BBC May 24, 2010 press release http://www.bbc.co.uk/
pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2010/05_may/24/wsnews.shtml.
    \68\  http://rt.com/USA.html ; New York on channel. 135 (Time 
Warner), in Los Angeles on ch. 236 (Time Warner) and in the Washington, 
DC area on ch. 274 (Comcast),ch. 34 (RCN), ch. 455 (Fios), ch. 474 
(Cox).
    \69\ http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2010-04-30-china-english-
tv--N.htm
    \70\ http://www.france24.com/en/how-to-watch-on-tv; http://www.dw-
world.de/dw/article/0,,1830857,00.html
    \71\ Buckeye Cable (Toledo, OH), Burlington Cable (Burlington, VT), 
GlobeCast World TV Link TV (Direct TV, Channel--375/Dish Network, 
Channel - 9410), Washington Cable (Washington, DC), MHz Networks 
(Washington, DC); see http://english.aljazeera.net/watchaje/
20091022172112636517.html for their locations world-wide.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                         English Language Sites


    Each of these same channels is available online and many 
have live, streaming video. Additionally, Al Jazeera Arabic is 
viewable in the U.S. on various U.S. based satellite 
subscription providers that offer foreign language packages, 
but Alhurra TV is on the two services that are not available 
here--Arabsat and Nilesat (which are also the most popular in 
the Middle East). The Smith-Mundt Act expressly prohibits U.S. 
government programming from being accessed by American 
citizens.
    Originally written in the days before cable television, and 
then amended in the days before the Internet, many argue the 
law is even self-defeating if recent Arabic-speaking immigrants 
to the U.S. have easy access to Al Jazeera but not Alhurra. A 
similar Smith-Mundt objection was made by the BBG when a Somali 
community in the Midwest wanted permission to re-broadcast VOA 
Somali programming to recent immigrants.\72\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \72\ Smith-Mundt information and analysis can be found here: http:/
/mountainrunner.us/smith-mundt.html and http://www.washingtontimes.com/
news/2008/dec/19/persuasive-politics/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Smith-Mundt issues were again raised following the 2010 
earthquake in Haiti when Sirius/XM wanted to donate its radios 
to Haiti and provide an unused frequency to the BBG and the 
Defense Department for broadcasts to the country. Concerns were 
raised that, even though the station would not be advertised in 
the United States and only Creole-speakers would be able to 
understand the information and public service announcements 
should they encounter it, it would violate the law. It is time 
to recognize the anachronistic nature of the legislation in 
light of new technologies and how it hamstrings our own 
government while foreign governments and broadcasters have no 
similar impediments.

              Short Wave--Last Gasp or the Final Frontier

    Advancements in technologies, increased standards of living 
along with higher Gross Domestic Products have all resulted in 
an ever-increasing move away from radio, particularly 
shortwave, and towards more visual mediums of television and 
the Internet.\73\ As such, the BBG is proposing in its FY2011 
budget closing the only remaining domestic, U.S. government-
operated shortwave facility (located in Greenville, NC) for a 
proposed savings of more than $3 million.\74\ The United States 
is not the only service seeing declining shortwave 
listenership; the BBC noted in May 2010 that it ``.lost 20 
million shortwave listeners during the year, reflecting the 
increasing global decline in the medium.''\75\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \73\ Though, the BBG does offer instructions ``Improving Shortwave 
Reception'' on its website http://www.bbg.gov/office/engineering/
reduce-interference.html.
    \74\ See p. 74 http://www.bbg.gov/reports/documents/
BBGFY2011CONGBudgetSubmission-ForInternetPost.pdf; and http://mt-
shortwave.blogspot.com/2010/02/politicans-and-press-react-to-
proposed.html for local impact. The BBG notes that it will retain two 
transmission sites in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
    \75\ The BBC estimated it lost 7 million shortwave listeners in 
Bangladesh and 8.2 million listeners in India, while noting the 
aforementioned increased of 600,000, but also some 1.4 million in 
Tanzania, both as a result of FM or AM broadcasts. http://
www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2010/05--may/24/
wsnews.shtml.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Nonetheless, Radio Free Asia is almost completely dependent 
on shortwave as most nations it seeks to reach have refused to 
broadcast any RFA transmissions from within their borders.\76\ 
Additionally, in January 2010 RFE/RL launched Radio ``Mashaal'' 
(``Torch'')--which, in addition to AM, is a shortwave station 
(beaming into the area on SW from Kuwait, Thailand and Sri 
Lanka) reaching the Pashto-speaking tribes that straddle the 
Afghanistan/Pakistan border. Mashaal currently broadcasts 6 
original hours/day (which are then repeated).\77\ Mashaal also 
shares the same AM frequency with VOA's Radio ``Deewa'' 
(``Light'') which broadcasts the rest of the day. Deewa and 
Mashaal are transmitted from a station in Afghanistan located 
near the border with Pakistan. Opening the station was a 
contentious issue which took years to resolve. A similar 
arrangement with the Pakistani government, to allow broadcasts 
from Peshawar in order to ensure maximum border coverage, was 
equally difficult and resulted in them broadcasting VOA's Deewa 
in AM for only two months (Mashaal was not yet on the air). 
Some say the closure was due to Taliban threats to the station, 
others because the government rescinded the license.\78\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \76\ Cambodia is the one exception, which has allowed RFA an 
internal, FM frequency.
    \77\ Because of the heavily mountainous terrain Mashaal uses SW, AM 
and FM to ensure maximum coverage.
    \78\ http://kimelli.nfshost.com/index.php?id=7964; http://
kimelli.nfshost.com/index.php?id=8304.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Africa is still a major region for shortwave due to vast 
distances and high cost of repeater towers. In 2009, the BBG 
estimated that, in fact, Africa is its largest single audience 
by region, based on the percentage of total unduplicated weekly 
audience among adults.\79\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \79\ Percentages taken from a 2009 BBG Congressional presentation.

                                          Weekly Audience Among Adults
                                                    (percent)
      Africa -- 29
      MidEast/N.Africa -- 21
      West Asia -- 16
      South Asia -- 10
      Former Soviet -- 7
      South East Asia -- 5
      Balkans -- 4
      East Asia -- 3
      Caucuses -- 2
      Central Asia -- 2
      Latin America -- 1








    These numbers are particularly staggering given that Africa 
has no U.S. surrogate dedicated to it, and has virtually no BBG 
TV programming, along with very low Internet penetration. The 
power of VOA radio in Africa is therefore enormous.
    As the broadcast charts located in the Index demonstrate, 
the BBG is still heavily reliant on shortwave in various 
regions throughout the globe. Africa in particular is a major 
region for shortwave due to vast distances and high cost of 
repeater towers. The BBG provided the following information 
regarding its shortwave operations.




                               U.S. Shortwave Stations Closed in the Last 25 years
                                             (Location/Year Closed)
    Dixon, California -- 1988
    Bethany, Ohio -- 1994
    Delano, California -- 2007
    Greenville, NC -- 2010 (proposed)

                                   Current BBG Shortwave Transmission Stations
    Tinang, Philippines
    Saipan, Northern Marianas
    Udorn, Thailand
    Biblis, Germany
    Iranawila, Sri Lanka
    Lampertheim, Germany
    Kuwait
    Greenville, North Carolina
    Tinian, Northern Marianas
    Sao Tome
    Botswana







                    Current BBG Leased Shortwave Transmission Services  from These Countries
    Germany
    United Kingdom
    Palau
    Tajikistan
    Madagascar
    Russia
    Lithuania
    Ascension Island
    Mongolia
    United Arab Emirates
    Vatican
    Bonaire
    South Africa
    Lastly, while the U.S. has been jettisoning its shortwave 
frequencies, with VOA cutting some 60 frequencies in the last 
10 years, China has been doing the exact opposite, almost 
doubling its stations in the same period as indicated in the 
chart below.\80\ Supporters of U.S. shortwave programming 
contend that we are ceding valuable assets to China while 
others contend the frequencies are redundant due to the nature 
of short wave broadcasting methods.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \80\ VOA/CRI data compiled from the World Radio Television Handbook 
for these years http://www.wrth.com/. See also, the Heritage Foundation 
``Don't Silence Voice of America:'' http://www.heritage.org/Research/
Reports/2010/05/Dont-Silence-Voice-of-America.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                    Shortwave Frequencies 2000-2010
             Voice of America and China Radio International




      
      
      
      
      
=======================================================================


                          A P P E N D I X E S
=======================================================================

                    Appendix A.--Country-by-Country 
                      Analysis of the BBG Products

=======================================================================


                                                                   Appendix A (Africa)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      Freedom House     Freedom House
     Country          Population      Press Ranking     Press Ranking           Voices of America (VOA)          Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN)
                                          2004              2009
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Angola               12,799,293               142               132   (Portuguese; SW, satellite: 10.5 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Benin                 8,791,832                71                71   (French; SW, satellite: 24.5 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Botswana              1,990,876                71                78   (English; SW: 9.5 h/wk; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Burkina Faso         15,746,232                88                86   (French; SW, satellite: 24.5 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Burundi               9,511,330               165               163   (Kinyarwanda/Kirundi, SW: 7 h/wk;
                                                                         French, SW, satellite: 24.5 h/wk;
                                                                         Swahili, SW: 7 h/wk; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Cameroon             18,879,301               147               140   (French; SW, satellite: 24.5 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Cape Verde              499,796                80                60   (Portuguese; SW: 10.5 h/wk; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Central African       4,511,488               135               132   (French; SW, satellite: 24.5 h/wk;
   Republic                                                              Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Chad                 10,329,208               161               165   (Kinyarwanda/Kirundi, SW: 7 h/wk;
                                                                         French, SW, satellite: 24.5 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Comoros                 752,438               100               101   (French; SW, satellite: 24.5 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Congo,               68,692,542               173               175   (Kinyarwanda/Kirundi, SW: 7 h/wk;
   Democratic                                                            French, SW, satellite: 24.5 h/wk;
   Rep. of the                                                           Swahili, SW: 7 h/wk; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Congo, Republic       4,012,809               114               109   (French; SW, satellite: 24.5 h/wk;
   of the                                                                Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Cote d'Ivoire        20,617,068               140               148   (French; SW, satellite: 24.5 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Djibouti                516,055               142               160   (Amharic/Tigrigna/Oromiffa; SW: 12 h/    Radio Sawa (Arabic; FM, MW, satellite:
                                                                         wk; Internet)                            24 h/day; Internet), Alhurra TV
                                                                                                                  (Arabic; satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                                  Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Equatorial              633,441               186               187
   Guinea
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Eritrea               5,647,168               186               190   (Amharic/Tigrigna/Oromiffa; SW: 12 h/
                                                                         wk; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Ethiopia             85,237,338               142               165   (Amharic/Tigrigna/Oromiffa; SW: 12 h/
                                                                         wk; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Gabon                 1,514,993               125               153   (French; SW, satellite: 24.5 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Gambia, The           1,778,081               127               172   (English; SW: 9.5 h/wk; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Ghana                23,887,812                64                53   (English; SW: 9.5 h/wk; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Guinea               10,057,975               156               147   (French; SW, satellite: 24.5 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Guinea-Bissau         1,533,964               127               107   (Portuguese; SW: 10.5 h/wk; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Kenya                39,002,772               122               128   (Swahili, SW: 7 h/wk; English, SW: 9.5
                                                                         h/wk; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Lesotho               2,130,819                91                99   (English; SW: 9.5 h/wk; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Liberia               3,441,790               165               138   (English; SW: 9.5 h/wk; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Madagascar           20,653,556                93               106   (French; SW, satellite: 24.5 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Malawi               15,028,757               107               118   (English; SW: 9.5 h/wk; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Mali                 13,443,225                62                53   (French; SW, satellite: 24.5 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Mauritania            3,129,486               135               124   (French; SW, satellite: 24.5 h/wk;       Alhurra TV (Arabic; satellite: 24 h/
                                                                         Internet)                                day; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Mauritius             1,284,264                60                53   (French; SW, satellite: 24.5 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Mozambique           21,669,278               100                86   (Portuguese; SW: 10.5 h/wk; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Namibia               2,108,665                75                66   (English; SW: 9.5 h/wk; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Niger                15,306,252               118               140   (Hausa, SW: 13 h/wk; French, SW,
                                                                         satellite: 24.5 h/wk; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Nigeria             149,229,090               111               113   (Hausa, SW: 13 h/wk; English, SW: 9.5 h/
                                                                         wk; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Rwanda               10,746,311               179               181   (Kinyarwanda/Kirundi, SW: 7 h/wk;
                                                                         French, SW, satellite: 24.5 h/wk;
                                                                         Swahili, SW: 7 h/wk; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Sao Tome and            212,679                64                60   (Portuguese; SW: 10.5 h/wk; Internet)
   Principe
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Senegal              13,711,597                84               109   (French; SW, satellite: 24.5 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Seychelles               87,476               107               125   (French; SW, satellite: 24.5 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Sierra Leone          5,132,138               120               118   (English; SW: 9.5 h/wk; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Somalia               9,832,017               173               180   (Somali; SW: 24.5 h/wk; Internet)        Alhurra TV (Arabic; satellite: 24 h/
                                                                                                                  day; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  South Africa         49,052,489                55                66   (French; SW, satellite: 24.5 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Sudan                41,087,825               184               168   (English; SW: 9.5 h/wk; Internet)        Radio Sawa (Arabic; FM, MW, satellite:
                                                                                                                  24 h/day; Internet), Alhurra TV
                                                                                                                  (Arabic; satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                                  Internet), Afia Darfur (Arabic; SW: 90
                                                                                                                  minutes a day; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Swaziland             1,337,186               169               165   (English; SW: 9.5 h/wk; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Tanzania             41,048,532               106               101   (Swahili, SW: 7 h/wk; English, SW: 9.5
                                                                         h/wk; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Togo                  6,031,808               170               158   (French; SW, satellite: 24.5 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Uganda               32,369,558                98               109   (Swahili, SW: 7 h/wk; English, SW: 9.5
                                                                         h/wk; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Zambia               11,862,740               127               143   (English; SW: 9.5 h/wk; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Zimbabwe             11,392,629               186               186   (Zimbabwe/Shona/Ndebele; English; SW:
                                                                         9.5 h/wk; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


                                                             Appendix A (East Asia/Pacific)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      Freedom House     Freedom House
     Country          Population      Press Ranking     Press Ranking           Voices of America (VOA)                      Radio Free Asia
                                          2004              2009
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Australia            21,262,641                18                38
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Brunei                  388,190               161               163   (Indonesian; SW, satellite: 63.33 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Burma                48,137,741               190               193   (Burmese; SW, satellite: 66.5 h/wk;      (Burmese; SW, satellite: 4 h/day;
                                                                         Internet)                                Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Cambodia             14,494,293               127               132   (Khmer; SW, satellite: 11.5 h/wk;        (Khmer; SW, FM, satellite: 2 h/day;
                                                                         Internet)                                Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  China             1,338,612,968               173               181   (Mandarin, SW, satellite: 91 h/wk;       (Cantonese, SW, satellite: 2 h/day;
                                                                         Cantonese, SW, satellite: 14.57 h/wk;    Mandarin, SW, MW, satellite: 12 h/day;
                                                                         Internet)                                Tibetan, SW, satellite: 10 h/day;
                                                                                                                  Uyghur, SW, satellite: 2 h/day;
                                                                                                                  Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Fiji                    944,720                68                84
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Hong Kong             7,055,071                --                75   (Cantonese; SW, satellite: 14.57 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Indonesia           240,271,522               117               113   (Indonesian; SW, satellite: 63.33 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Japan               127,078,679                33                33
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Kiribati                112,850                62                59
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Korea, North         22,665,345               193               195   (Korean; SW: 35 h/wk; Internet)          (Korean; SW, MW, satellite: 5 h/day;
                                                                                                                  Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Korea, South         48,508,972                68                66   (Korean; SW: 35 h/wk; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Laos                  6,834,345               179               184   (Lao; SW: 3.5 h/wk; Internet)            (Lao; SW, satellite: 2 h/day; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Malaysia             25,715,819               154               143
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Marshall                 64,522                11                21
   Islands
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Micronesia              107,434                37                33
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Mongolia              3,041,142                80                86
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Nauru                    14,019                57                60
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  New Zealand           4,213,418                 8                11
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Palau                    20,796                 9                11
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Papua New             5,940,775                57                53
   Guinea
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Philippines          97,976,603                75                96
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Samoa                   219,998                55                63
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Singapore             4,657,542               135               151
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Solomon Islands         595,613                71                66
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Taiwan               22,974,347                50                43   (Mandarin, SW, satellite: 91 h/wk;
                                                                         Cantonese, SW, satellite, 14.57 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Thailand             65,998,436                88               122   (Thai, SW, satellite: 9.4 h/wk;
                                                                         Burmese, SW, satellite: 66.5 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Timor-L'este          1,131,612                68                78
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Tonga                   120,898                98                73
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Tuvalu                   12,373                37                53
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Vanuatu                 218,519                50                43
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Vietnam              88,576,758               179               178   (Vietnamese; SW: 10.5 h/wk; Internet)    (Vietnamese; SW, MW, satellite: 2 h/
                                                                                                                  day; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


                                                                   Appendix A (Europe)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     Freedom House     Freedom House
     Country         Population      Press Ranking     Press Ranking     Voices of America (VOA)    Middle East Broadcasting    Radio Free Europe/Radio
                                         2004              2009                                          Networks (MBN)                 Liberty
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Albania              3,639,453               104               101   (Albanian; SW, satellite:   Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                        14.48 h/wk; Internet)       satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Andorra                 83,888                15                 8   ..........................  Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Armenia              2,967,004               135               151   (Armenian; satellite: 2.83                              (Armenian; satellite: 5.5
                                                                        h/wk; Internet)                                         h/day; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Austria              8,210,281                50                33   ..........................  Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Azerbaijan           8,238,672               156               168   (Azerbaijani; SW,                                       (Azeri; SW, satellite: 10
                                                                        satellite: 9.66 h/wk;                                   h/day; Internet)
                                                                        Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Belarus              9,648,533               182               188   Internet (Russian)          Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;  (Belarusian; SW, MW,
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;        satellite: 8 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)                   Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Belgium             10,414,336                 4                 6                               Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Bosnia and           4,613,414               104                98   (Bosnian; satellite: 2.75   Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;  (Bosnian; satellite: 12 h/
   Herzegovina                                                          h/wk; Internet)             satellite: 24 h/day;        week; Internet)
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Bulgaria             7,204,687                78                76                               Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Croatia              4,489,409                84                81   (Croatian; SW, satellite:   Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                        6.19 h/wk; Internet)        satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Cyprus               1,084,748                33                38   (Greek; SW, satellite: 3.3  Radio Sawa (Arabic; MW,
                                                                        h/wk; Internet)             satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet), Alhurra Europe
                                                                                                    TV (Arabic; satellite: 24
                                                                                                    h/day; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Czech Republic      10,211,904                50                24                               Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Denmark              5,500,510                 1                 4                               Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Estonia              1,299,371                28                14                               Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Finland              5,250,275                 4                 2                               Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  France              64,057,792                37                38                               Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Georgia              4,615,807               114               128   (Georgian; SW: 14 h/wk;                                 Radio Tavisupleba
                                                                        Internet)                                               (Georgian; satellite: 4
                                                                                                                                h/day; Georgian Public
                                                                                                                                TV: 1 h/week; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Germany             82,329,758                25                18                               Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Greece              10,737,428                64                63   (Greek; SW, satellite: 3.3  Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                        h/wk; Internet)             satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Holy See                   826                --                --                               Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Hungary              9,905,596                45                33                               Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Iceland                306,694                 1                 1                               Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Ireland              4,203,200                25                14                               Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Italy               58,126,212                74                73                               Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Kosovo               1,804,838                --                --   (Albanian; SW, satellite:                               (Serbian, Albanian;
                                                                        14.48 h/wk; Internet)                                   satellite: 14 h/week;
                                                                                                                                Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Latvia               2,231,503                28                43                               Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Liechtenstein           34,761                11                11                               Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Lithuania            3,555,179                33                24                               Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Luxembourg             491,775                11                 6                               Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Macedonia            2,066,718               111                98   (Macedonian, satellite:     Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;  (Macedonian; satellite:
                                                                        0.75 h/wk; Albanian, SW,    satellite: 24 h/day;        radio 12 h/week, TV 10
                                                                        satellite: 14.48 h/wk;      Internet)                   min/week; Internet)
                                                                        Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Malta                  405,165                23                38                               Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Moldova              4,320,748               127               148   (Russian; satellite: 1.25                               (Romanian; SW, satellite:
                                                                        h/wk; Internet)                                         1 h/day; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Monaco                  32,965                15                18                               Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Montenegro             672,180                91                78   (Serbian, 7.3 h/wk;         Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;  (Montenegrin; satellite:
                                                                        Albanian, SW, satellite:    satellite: 24 h/day;        3.5 h/week; Internet)
                                                                        14.48 h/wk; Internet)       Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Netherlands         16,715,999                11                 8                               Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Norway               4,660,539                 4                 2                               Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Poland              38,482,919                37                49                               Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Portugal            10,707,924                18                18                                Alhurra Europe TV
                                                                                                    (Arabic; satellite: 24 h/
                                                                                                    day; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Romania             22,215,421               103                92   ..........................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Russia             140,041,247               147               174   (Russian; satellite: 1.25                               (Russian; SW, satellite:
                                                                        h/wk; Internet)                                         24 h/day; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  San Marino              30,167                18                21                               Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Serbia               7,379,339                91                83                               Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;  (Serbian; satellite: 14 h/
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;        week; Internet)
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Slovakia             5,463,046                47                43                                Alhurra Europe TV
                                                                                                    (Arabic; satellite: 24 h/
                                                                                                    day; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Slovenia             2,005,692                37                49                               Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Spain               40,525,002                37                49                               Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Sweden               9,059,651                 1                 4                               Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Switzerland          7,604,467                 4                 8                               Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Turkey              76,805,524               107               101   (Turkish; SW, satellite:    Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                        6.25 h/wk; Internet)        satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Ukraine             45,700,395               150               115   (Ukranian; satellite: 3.14  Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;  Radio Svoboda (Ukranian;
                                                                        h/wk; Internet)             satellite: 24 h/day;        satellite: 2.5 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)                   Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  United Kingdom      61,113,205                37                27                               Alhurra Europe TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


                                                         Appendix A (Near East Asia/Middle East)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     Freedom House     Freedom House
     Country         Population      Press Ranking     Press Ranking     Voices of America (VOA)    Middle East Broadcasting    Radio Free Europe/Radio
                                         2004              2009                                          Networks (MBN)                 Liberty
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Algeria             34,178,188               127               136   (French; SW, satellite:     Alhurra TV (Arabic;
                                                                        24.5 h/wk; Internet)        satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Bahrain                728,709               155               156                               Radio Sawa (Arabic; FM,
                                                                                                    MW, satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet), Alhurra TV
                                                                                                    (Arabic; satellite: 24 h/
                                                                                                    day; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Egypt               78,866,635               168               128                               Radio Sawa (Arabic; MW,
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet), Alhurra TV
                                                                                                    (Arabic; satellite: 24 h/
                                                                                                    day; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Iran                66,429,284               171               181   Persian News Network        Alhurra TV (Arabic;         Radio Farda (Farsi; SW,
                                                                        (Farsi; SW, satellite:      satellite: 24 h/day;        MW, satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                        175 h/wk; Internet),        Internet)                   Internet)
                                                                        (Kurdish; SW: 28 h/wk;
                                                                        Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Iraq                28,945,569               142               148   (Kurdish; SW: 28 h/wk;      Radio Sawa (Arabic; FM,     *Radio Free Iraq (Arabic;
                                                                        Internet)                   MW, satellite: 24 h/day;    MW, satellite: 17 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet), Alhurra TV       Internet)
                                                                                                    (Arabic; satellite: 24 h/
                                                                                                    day; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Israel               7,233,701                64                71                               Radio Sawa (Arabic; MW,
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet), Alhurra TV
                                                                                                    (Arabic; satellite: 24 h/
                                                                                                    day; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Jordan               6,269,285               127               140                               Radio Sawa (Arabic; FM,
                                                                                                    MW, satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet), Alhurra TV
                                                                                                    (Arabic; satellite: 24 h/
                                                                                                    day; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Kuwait               2,692,526               119               115                               Radio Sawa (Arabic; FM,
                                                                                                    MW, satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet), Alhurra TV
                                                                                                    (Arabic; satellite: 24 h/
                                                                                                    day; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Lebanon              4,017,095               142               118                               Radio Sawa (Arabic; FM,
                                                                                                    MW, satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet), Alhurra TV
                                                                                                    (Arabic; satellite: 24 h/
                                                                                                    day; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Libya                6,324,357               189               190                               Alhurra TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Morocco             31,285,174               123               140                               Radio Sawa (Arabic; FM,
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet), Alhurra TV
                                                                                                    (Arabic; satellite: 24 h/
                                                                                                    day; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Oman                 3,418,085               161               156                               Radio Sawa (Arabic; MW,
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet), Alhurra TV
                                                                                                    (Arabic; satellite: 24 h/
                                                                                                    day; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Palestinian          4,013,126               185               184                               Radio Sawa (Arabic; FM,
   Territories                                                                                      MW, satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet), Alhurra TV
                                                                                                    (Arabic; satellite: 24 h/
                                                                                                    day; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Qatar                  833,285               123               143                               Radio Sawa (Arabic; FM,
                                                                                                    MW, satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet), Alhurra TV
                                                                                                    (Arabic; satellite: 24 h/
                                                                                                    day; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Saudi Arabia        28,686,633               173               176                               Radio Sawa (Arabic; MW,
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet), Alhurra TV
                                                                                                    (Arabic; satellite: 24 h/
                                                                                                    day; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Syria               21,762,978               173               178   (Kurdish; SW: 28 h/wk;      Radio Sawa (Arabic; MW,
                                                                        Internet)                   satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet), Alhurra TV
                                                                                                    (Arabic; satellite: 24 h/
                                                                                                    day; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Tunisia             10,486,339               173               176                               Alhurra TV (Arabic;
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  United Arab          4,798,491               165               153                               Radio Sawa (Arabic; FM,
   Emirates                                                                                         MW, satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet), Alhurra TV
                                                                                                    (Arabic; satellite: 24 h/
                                                                                                    day; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Yemen               22,858,238               147               172                               Radio Sawa (Arabic; MW,
                                                                                                    satellite: 24 h/day;
                                                                                                    Internet), Alhurra TV
                                                                                                    (Arabic; satellite: 24 h/
                                                                                                    day; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


                                                             Appendix A (South Central Asia)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     Freedom House     Freedom House
     Country         Population      Press Ranking     Press Ranking     Voices of America (VOA)    Middle East Broadcasting    Radio Free Europe/Radio
                                         2004              2009                                          Networks (MBN)                 Liberty
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Afghanistan---------28,395,716---------------159---------------162---Radio Ashna (1 hour,--------Alhurra TV (Arabic;---------Radio Free Afghanistan/--
                                                                        Pashto followed by 1        satellite: 24 h/day;        Radio Azadi (Pashto,
                                                                        hour, Dari for 12 total     Internet)                   Dari; FM, SW, satellite:
                                                                        hours/day; SW, AM, FM),                                 12 h/day; Internet)
                                                                        TV Ashna (30 mins Pashto/
                                                                        30 mins Dari; 1 hour/
                                                                        day), Radio Deewa
                                                                        (Pashto; SW, AM, FM: 168
                                                                        h/wk; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Bangladesh         156,050,883               150               138   (Bangla; SW, satellite:
                                                                        11.7 h/wk; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Bhutan                 691,141               150               132   (Tibetan; SW, satellite:
                                                                        70 h/wk; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  India            1,156,897,766                93                76   TV (Hindi, 3 min/wk);
                                                                        Internet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Kazakhstan          15,399,437               161               168   Internet (Russian)                                      Radio Azattyq (Kazakh,
                                                                                                                                Russian; SW, satellite:
                                                                                                                                2 h/day; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Kyrgyz               5,431,747               156               158   Internet (Russian)                                      Radio Azattyq (Kyrgyz;
   Republic                                                                                                                     SW, satellite: 6 h/day;
                                                                                                                                private cable TV: 2
                                                                                                                                weekly shows; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Maldives               396,334               135               118
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Nepal               28,563,377               140               122
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Pakistan           174,578,558               121               136   Radio Aap Ki Dunyaa (Urdu;  Alhurra TV (Arabic;         Radio Mashaal (Pashto;
                                                                        SW, satellite: 96 h/wk;     satellite: 24 h/day;        AM, FM, SW, satellite: 2
                                                                        Internet), Radio Deewa      Internet)                   h/day; Internet)
                                                                        (Pashto; SW: 168 h/wk;
                                                                        Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Sri Lanka           21,324,791               111               155
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Tajikistan           7,349,145               160               168   Internet (Russian)                                      (Tajik; SW, satellite: 6
                                                                                                                                h/day; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Turkmenistan         4,884,887               190               193                                                           (Turkmen; SW, MW,
                                                                                                                                satellite: 6 h/day;
                                                                                                                                Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Uzbekistan          27,606,007               182               189   (Uzbek; SW, satellite: 4.5  ..........................  Radio Ozodlik (Uzbek; MW,
                                                                        h/wk; Internet)                                         SW, satellite: 6 h/day;
                                                                                                                                Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


                                                      Appendix A (Western Hemisphere/Latin America)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      Freedom House     Freedom House
     Country          Population      Press Ranking     Press Ranking           Voices of America (VOA)             Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB)
                                          2004              2009
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Antigua and              85,632                97                81
   Barbuda
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Argentina            40,913,584                78               100   (Spanish; SW, satellite: 39.75 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Aruba                   103,065                --                --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Bahamas, The            307,552                18                32
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Barbados                284,589                28                27
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Belize                  307,899                49                33
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Bermuda                  67,837                --                --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Bolivia               9,775,246                84                89   (Spanish; SW, satellite: 39.75 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Brazil              198,739,269                80                89
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Canada               33,487,208                23                27
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Cayman Islands           49,035                --                --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Chile                16,601,707                50                63   (Spanish; SW, satellite: 39.75 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Colombia             43,677,372               127               125   (Spanish; SW, satellite: 39.75 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Costa Rica            4,253,877                37                27   (Spanish; SW, satellite: 39.75 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Cuba                 11,451,652               192               190   (Spanish; SW, satellite: 39.75 h/wk;     Radio & TV Marti (Spanish; SW, MW: 24 h/
                                                                         Internet)                                day; satellite TV: 8 h/day; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Dominica                 72,660                28                38
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Dominican             9,650,054                88                84   (Spanish; SW, satellite: 39.75 h/wk;
   Republic                                                              Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Ecuador              14,573,101                95                92   (Spanish; SW, satellite: 39.75 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  El Salvador           7,185,218                95                89   (Spanish; SW, satellite: 39.75 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Grenada                  90,739                25                49
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Guatemala            13,276,517               125               128   (Spanish; SW, satellite: 39.75 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Guyana                  752,940                45                66
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Haiti                 9,035,536               171               109   (Creole; SW: 10 h/wk; Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Honduras              7,833,696               107               107   (Spanish; SW, satellite: 39.75 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Jamaica               2,825,928                28                14
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Mexico              111,211,789                80               115   (Spanish; SW, satellite: 39.75 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Netherlands             227,049                --                --   (Spanish; SW, satellite: 39.75 h/wk;
   Antilles                                                              Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Nicaragua             5,891,199                84                96   (Spanish; SW, satellite: 39.75 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Panama                3,360,474               100                92   (Spanish; SW, satellite: 39.75 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Paraguay              6,995,655               114               125   (Spanish; SW, satellite: 39.75 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Peru                 29,546,963                75                92   (Spanish; SW, satellite: 39.75 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  St. Kitts and            40,131                47                27
   Nevis
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  St. Lucia               160,267                 9                14
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  St. Vincent and         104,574                18                21
   the Grenadines
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Suriname                481,267                33                43
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Trinidad and          1,229,953                57                43
   Tobago
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Uruguay               3,494,382                60                53   (Spanish; SW, satellite: 39.75 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Venezuela            26,814,843               150               160   (Spanish; SW, satellite: 39.75 h/wk;
                                                                         Internet)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



                  Appendix B.--BBG Broadcast Languages

Global
    English
    Special English and English to Africa
Eastern & Central Europe
    Albanian
    Bosnian
    Croatian
    Greek
    Macedonian
    Montenegrin
    Romanian
    Serbian
Eurasia
    Armenian
    Avar
    Azerbaijani
    Bashkir
    Belarusian
    Chechen
    Circassian
    Crimean Tatar
    Georgian
    Russian
    Tatar
    Ukrainian
Central Asia
    Kazakh
    Kyrgyz
    Tajik
    Turkmen
    Uzbek
East Asia
    Burmese
    Cantonese
    Indonesian
    Khmer
    Korean
    Lao
    Mandarin
    Thai
    Tibetan
    Uyghur
    Vietnamese
South Asia
    Bangla
    Dari
    Hindi
    Pashto
    Urdu
Africa
    Afan Oromo
    Amharic
    French to Africa
    Hausa
    Kinyarwanda
    Kirundi
    Ndebele
    Portuguese to Africa
    Shona
    Somali
    Swahili
    Tigrigna
Near East/North Africa
    Arabic
    Kurdish
    Persian
    Turkish
Latin America
    Creole
    Spanish
      
      
      
      
      
=======================================================================

      
      
      
      
      
      



       Appendix C.--Broadcasting Board of Governors Entity Heads

      
      
      
      
      
      
=======================================================================


                                                                        International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) Directors
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            IBB Directors                              Dates of Service                              Successor  (w/starting date)                                 Time Served
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Austin, Danforth (Acting Deputy)      Aug 2007 to Present...............................    ................................................  2 yrs 10 mos (as of 6/25/2010)
Moore, George (Deputy)                Jun 2006 to Aug 2007..............................  Austin (Aug 2007).................................  1 yr 2 mo
Cropsey, Seth                         Nov 2002 to Jan 2005..............................  Position Vacant since Jan 2005....................  2 yrs 1 mo
Lieberman, Evelyn S. (Acting)         Dec 1998 to May 1999..............................  Cropsey (Nov 2002)................................  55 mos
Klose, Kevin                          Apr 1997 to Dec 1998..............................  Lieberman (Dec 1998)..............................  1 yr 8 mos
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------






                                                                                Voice of America (VOA) Directors
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            VOA Directors                              Dates of Service                              Successor  (w/starting date)                                 Time Served
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Austin, Danforth                      Oct 2006 to Present...............................    ................................................  3 yrs 8 mos (as of 6/25/2010)
Jackson, David                        Sep 2002 to Oct 2006..............................  Austin (Oct 2006).................................  4 yrs 1 mo
Reilly, Robert R.                     Oct 2001 to Aug 2002..............................  Jackson (Sep 2002)................................  10 mos
Ungar, Sanford J.                     Jun 1999 to Jun 2001..............................  Reilly (Oct 2001).................................  2 yrs
Lieberman, Evelyn S.                  Feb 1997 to May 1999..............................  Ungar (Jun 1999)..................................  2 yrs 3 mos
Cowan, Geoffrey                       Mar 1994 to Nov 1996..............................  Lieberman (Feb 1997)..............................  2 yrs 8 mos
Untermeyer, Chase                     Aug 1991 to Jan 1993..............................  Cowan (Mar 1994)..................................  1 yr 5 mos
Carlson, Richard W.                   Sep 1986 to Jul 1991..............................  Untermeyer (Aug 1991).............................  4 yrs 10 mos
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------






                                                                           Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB) Directors
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            OCB Directors                              Dates of Service                              Successor  (w/starting date)                                 Time Served
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roig, Pedro                           Apr 2003 to Present...............................    ................................................  7 yrs 2 mos (as of 6/25/2010)
Lew, Salvador                         Jul 2001 to Mar 2003..............................  Roig (Apr 2003)...................................  1 yr 8 mos
San Roman, Hermino                    1999 to Jul 2001..................................  Lew (Jul 2001)....................................  2 yrs
Bonachea, Rolando                      1995 to Dec 1999.................................  San Roman (1999)..................................  4 yrs
Lobo, Richard                         1994 to May 1995..................................  Bonachea (1995)...................................  1 yr
Navarro, Antonio                      1990 to Jan 1993..................................  Lobo (1994).......................................  2 yrs
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------






                                                                       Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) Presidents
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
          RFE/RL Presidents                            Dates of Service                              Successor  (w/starting date)                                 Time Served
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gedmin, Jeffrey                       Feb 2007 to Present...............................    ................................................  3 yrs 4 mos (as of 6/25/2010)
Trimble, Jeffrey (Acting)             Nov 2005 to Feb 2007..............................  Gedmin (Feb 2007).................................  1 yr 3 mos
Dine, Thomas A.                       May 1997 to Oct 2005..............................  Trimble (Nov 2005)................................  8 yrs 5 mos
Klose, Kevin                          Jun 1994 to Mar 1997..............................  Dine (May 1997)...................................  3 yrs 1 mo
Marsh, William                         Oct 1993 to Jan 1994.............................  Klose (Jun 1994)..................................  3 mos
Pell, Eugene                          Nov 1985 to Sep 1993..............................  Marsh (Oct 1993)..................................  7 yrs 10 mos
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------






                                                                                Radio Free Asia (RFA) Presidents
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
           RFA Presidents                              Dates of Service                              Successor  (w/starting date)                                 Time Served
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Liu, Libby                            Sep 2005 to Present...............................    ................................................  4 yrs 9 mos (as of 6/25/2010)
Richter, Richard                      Mar 1996 to Jul 2005..............................  Liu (Sep 2005)....................................  9 yrs 4 mos
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------






                                                                            Middle East Broadcasting (MBN) Presidents
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
           MBN Presidents                              Dates of Service                              Successor  (w/starting date)                                 Time Served
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conniff, Brian                        Jun 2006 to Present...............................    ................................................  4 yrs (as of 6/25/2010)
Kleinman, Herbert (Acting)            Aug 2003 to Aug 2005..............................  Conniff (Jun 2006)................................  2 yrs
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As of 6/25/2010



     Appendix D.--VOA Persian News Network Schedule (as of 3/30/10)

                             MONDAY--FRIDAY

Live Broadcasts (Time in Iran)
    6:00p--Newsbrief/History Channel
    7:00p--Newsbrief
    7:10p--Today's Woman
    8:00p--News & Views
    9:00p--News Talk
    10:00p--Straight Talk
    11:00p--Late Edition
Repeats
    12:00a--Newsbrief/History Channel
    1:00a--Newsbrief
    1:10a--Today's Woman
    2:00a--News & Views
    3:00a--Newstalk
    4:00a--Straight Talk
    5:00a--Late Edition
    * 6:00a--Morning Edition (LIVE)
    7:00a--Morning Edition
    8:00a--Morning Edition
    9:00a--Newstalk
    10:00a--Morning Edition
    11:00a--Straight Talk
    12:00p--Late Edition
    1:00p--Newsbrief
    1:10p--Today's Woman
    2:00p--Morning Edition
    3:00p--Newstalk
    4:00p--Straight Talk
    5:00p--Late Edition

                            SATURDAY-SUNDAY

    7:00a--C-Span
    4:00p--Straight Talk/Special Program
    5:00p--Late Edition
Live Broadcasts
    6:00p--Newsbrief/History Channel
    7:00p--Newsbrief
    7:10p--Special Program
    8:00p--News & Views
    9:00p--Newstalk
    10:00p--Special program
    11:00p--Late Edition
Repeats
    12:00a--Newsbrief/History Channel
    1:00a--Newsbrief
    1:10a--Special Program
    2:00a--News & Views
    3:00a--Newstalk
    4:00a Special program
    5:00a--Late Edition
    * 6:00a--Morning Edition (LIVE)


                Appendix E.--Editorials Relating to BBG

                  Editorial: ``Voice of the mullahs''

                    Washington Times, April 14, 2010

    The Voice of America is becoming the Voice of the Islamic 
Republic of Iran. Recent programming choices have revealed a 
creeping bias toward opponents of the pro-democracy movement 
and de facto supporters of the regime. This ill befits the VOA 
mission and the purpose of U.S. public diplomacy.
    On March 17, Rep. Trent Franks, Arizona Republican, sent a 
letter to President Obama signed by 69 members of Congress 
requesting that the White House ``investigate reported 
mismanagement and bias at Voice of America's Persian News 
Network (VOA-PNN).'' The lawmakers expressed concern over ``the 
apparent lack of oversight regarding the management, staffing, 
mission and content of VOA-PNN broadcasting.'' The letter notes 
that the service ``may have harmed the plight of those seeking 
human rights, rather than helping it.''
    Cases in point are two recent VOA broadcasts that gave 
preferred treatment to pro-regime messages. On March 29, VOA-
PNN interviewed Hooshang Amir-Ahmadi, an anti-sanctions 
activist called ``Iran's pseudo U.S. lobbyist'' by Iranian 
democracy groups. Mr. Amir-Ahmadi expressed the view that 
Iran's belligerent posture and nuclear program are the natural 
results of being surrounded by U.S. missiles and bombs; hence, 
progress can come only through the United States softening its 
policies toward Tehran.
    On April 1, VOA gave airtime to Trita Parsi, head of the 
National Iranian American Council (NIAC), which has received 
millions of dollars in federal funds to promote democracy in 
Iran. Mr. Parsi expressed various odd positions, such as that 
Israel prefers to have hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 
in power in Tehran, that members of the Obama administration 
know sanctions won't work but pursue them only as a bargaining 
position, and--most strangely--that even if Iran succeeded in 
establishing a democracy, the United States would nevertheless 
keep sanctions in place. VOA gave Mr. Parsi preferential 
treatment by banning callers while he was on the air even 
though he appeared on a call-in show; those who later took 
issue with his views were quickly cut off.
    Mr. Parsi was the subject of an investigation by the Senate 
federal financial management subcommittee, which revealed that 
most of the federal funds received by NIAC were not used for 
their intended purpose and that he was working with a regime-
controlled front posing as an Iranian nongovernmental 
organization. These and other developments have generated buzz 
in the pro-democracy Iranian blogosphere that VOA has become a 
pro-mullah outlet.
    The rub is that the Iranian people may not even get to hear 
these messages because Tehran routinely jams VOA broadcasts. 
Voice of America recently drafted a strongly worded protest 
against the jamming, but the National Security Council 
intervened in an attempt to block the protest and, failing 
that, to water down the language. Republican Sens. Jon Kyl of 
Arizona, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Sam Brownback of Kansas 
sent a letter to Broadcasting Board of Governors Executive 
Director Jeffrey N. Trimble on March 9 noting that such White 
House intervention constitutes ``serious violations of U.S. 
law, policy and tradition related to the editorial independence 
of the taxpayer-funded'' board of governors.
    These events should be hot topics when the Senate Foreign 
Relations Committee holds hearings on nominations for new 
members of the broadcasting board. Meanwhile, if VOA is telling 
Iranians struggling for freedom that resistance is futile, we 
hope Tehran keeps jamming it.




                              ----------                              



            Letter to the Editor: ``VOA's Persian News Aims 
                           for Objectivity''

                    Washington Times, April 19, 2010

    Your allegation that Voice of America's Persian News 
Network (VOA PNN) ``is becoming the Voice of the Islamic 
Republic of Iran'' is simply not supported by the facts 
(``Voice of the mullahs,'' Comment & Analysis, Wednesday).
    You cite two recent ``cases in point,'' describing 
broadcasts that, in your view, ``gave preferred treatment to 
pro-regime messages.'' There is no preferred treatment of any 
messages in VOA PNN programs. Allowing a wide range of voices 
and opinions underscores VOA's commitment and adherence to a 
congressionally approved charter that requires programming to 
be accurate, objective and comprehensive.
    The two guests you selectively cited represent only a small 
part of what PNN offered its audience that particular week, and 
each has appeared on or written articles for a wide variety of 
media.
    Hooshang Amir-Ahmadi is a prominent professor at Rutgers 
University who also has appeared on CNN, Fox, BBC, ABC and PBS. 
He recently returned to the United States from a trip to Iran, 
where he met with influential contacts, including a member of 
the Guardian Council. On March 29, the same day the professor 
appeared on our broadcast, we also interviewed George Lopez, a 
senior fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace, who testified in 
December before a House subcommittee on the effectiveness of 
sanctions against Iran.
    Trita Parsi, the head of a leading Iranian-American group, 
has written articles for the Wall Street Journal, Financial 
Times, the American Conservative and other publications. On 
April 1, the same day he appeared on our air, we also 
interviewed Taghi Rahmani, an opposition journalist. VOA did 
not ``ban'' callers during the Parsi segment, as you claim. 
Three points of view were offered, and the host took questions 
about the segment during the last 30 minutes of the broadcast.
    The representation of all voices is a critical component of 
PNN's programming, which is driven by the news and events of 
the day. This approach is succeeding--PNN programming draws 
some of the biggest audiences of U.S. international 
broadcasting and is seen weekly by almost 30 percent of Iranian 
television viewers.
    It is important to note that each day, VOA receives 
compelling calls, e-mails and letters from inside Iran or from 
members of the Iranian diaspora. They thank PNN for providing 
information about the world and events in Iran that are not 
covered by their local news media. PNN brought the street 
demonstrations in Iran into homes throughout the country as 
they were happening and provided Iranian citizen-journalists 
and cell-phone videographers with an outlet for airing events 
they witnessed firsthand but that were not publicized by 
Iranian television.
    In order to keep its people from seeing PNN content, the 
Iranian government attempts to block our Web sites and jam our 
broadcasts. And so we ask, would the government of Iran waste 
time and money jamming VOA's PNN if it didn't find the content 
objectionable?
                              Danforth W. Austin, Director,
                                  Voice of America, Washington, DC.


              Appendix F.--Recent State Department Office
                   of the Inspector General (OIG) and
                 Government Accountability Office (GAO)
                           Reports on the BBG


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Number                              Title                                      Link
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2010 
  ISP-IB-10-48               BBG Operations in Afghanistan              http://oig.state.gov/documents/
                                                                         organization/139264.pdf
  AUD/IB-10-19               Independent Auditor's Report on the        http://oig.state.gov/documents/
                              Broadcasting Board of Governor's 2009      organization/140388.pdf
                              and 2008 Financial Statements
  ISP-IB-10-28               BBG's Middle East Broadcasting Networks,   http://oig.state.gov/documents/
                              Inc.                                       organization/140389.pdf
  ISP-IB-10-27               Limited Scope Inspection of Radio Free     http://oig.state.gov/documents/
                              Europe/Radio Liberty's New Headquarters    organization/139263.pdf
                              in Prague, Czech Republic
  AUD/IT-10-09               Review of the Information Security         http://oig.state.gov/documents/
                              Program at the Broadcasting Board of       organization/138085.pdf
                              Governors
================================================================================================================
FY 2009 
  ISP-IB-09-67               Review of the Voice of America's Radio     http://oig.state.gov/documents/
    (July 2009)               Deewa's Journalistic Controls              organization/126646.pdf
  ISP-IB-09-46               Inspection of the Voice of America News    http://oig.state.gov/documents/
    (July 2009)               Bureau London, United Kingdom              organization/128844.pdf
  ISP-IB-09-27               Inspection of the Voice of America's       http://oig.state.gov/documents/
    (March 2009)              Persian News Network                       organization/126688.pdf
================================================================================================================
FY 2008 
  ISP-IB-08-45               Alhurra's Programming Policies and         http://oig.state.gov/documents/
    (May 08)                  Procedures                                 organization/106057.pdf
  ISP-IB-08-12               Inspection of the Broadcasting Board of    http://oig.state.gov/documents/
    (Jan. 08)                 Governors (Oversight Board)                organization/104122.pdf
  ISP-IB-08-07               BBG Operations in Kenya                    http://oig.state.gov/documents/
    (Jan. 08)                                                            organization/128101.pdf
  ISP-IB-08-06               Inspection of Voice of America's Central   http://oig.state.gov/documents/
                              News                                       organization/117823.pdf
  ISP-IB-08-05               Inspection of IBB's Morocco Transmitting   http://oig.state.gov/documents/
                              Station                                    organization/128102.pdf
  AUD/FM-08-07               Independent Auditor's Report on the        http://oig.state.gov/documents/
                              Broadcasting Board of Governors' 2007      organization/124235.pdf
                              and 2006 Financial Statements
  AUD/FM-08-06               Management Letter Related to the Audit of  http://oig.state.gov/documents/
                              the Broadcasting Board of Governors'       organization/117579.pdf
                              2007 and 2006 Financial Statements
================================================================================================================
FY 2007 
  ISP-IB-07-37A              Inspection of IBB's Philippines            http://oig.state.gov/documents/
                              Transmitting Station                       organization/104117.pdf
  ISP-IB-07-35               Inspection of Office of Cuba Broadcasting  http://oig.state.gov/documents/
    (June 07)                                                            organization/89908.pdf
  ISP-IB-07-32               BBG Operations in Russia                   http://oig.state.gov/documents/
    (May 07)                                                             organization/104101.pdf
  ISP-I-07-03                Inspection of the International            http://oig.state.gov/documents/
    (Oct. 06)                 Broadcasting Bureau's Office of            organization/130709.pdf
                              Engineering and Technical Services
  AUD/IB-07-26               Independent Auditor's Report on the        http://oig.state.gov/documents/
                              Review of Middle East Broadcasting         organization/124531.pdf
                              Networks, Inc., Awards to Three
                              Contractors
================================================================================================================
FY 2006 
  ISP-IB-06-37               Inspection of IBB's Office of Performance  http://oig.state.gov/documents/
    (May 06)                  Review                                     organization/121797.pdf
  ISP-IB-06-02               BBG's Operations in and Broadcasting to    http://oig.state.gov/documents/
    (Feb. 06)                 Afghanistan                                organization/104128.pdf
  AUD/FM-06-06               Management Letter Related to the Audit of  http://oig.state.gov/documents/
                              the Broadcasting Board of Governors'       organization/110715.pdf
                              2005 Principal Financial Statements and
                              2004 Balance Sheet
  AUD/SI-06-24               Audit of Emergency Preparedness at the     http://oig.state.gov/documents/
                              Washington Metropolitan Facilities of      organization/131170.pdf
                              the Broadcasting Board of Governors
================================================================================================================
FY 2005 
  ISP-IB-05-67               BBG's Operations in and Broadcasting to    http://oig.state.gov/documents/
    (Sept. 05)                Pakistan                                   organization/124640.pdf
  ISP-IB-05-63               Inspection of IBB's Botswana Transmitting  http://oig.state.gov/documents/
    (Aug. 05)                 Station                                    organization/124641.pdf
  ISP-IB-05-66               Inspection of BBG's Operations in India    http://oig.state.gov/documents/
    (Aug. 05)                                                            organization/104084.pdf
  ISP-IB-05-64               Inspection of BBG's Operations in Hong     http://oig.state.gov/documents/
    (Aug. 05)                 Kong                                       organization/104048.pdf
  ISP-IB-05-69               IBB's Greenville, NC Transmitting Station  http://oig.state.gov/documents/
    (Aug. 05)                                                            organization/104048.pdf
  IBO-I-05-05                Inspection of IBB's Delano, CA             http://oig.state.gov/documents/
    (March 05)                Transmitting Station                       organization/125791.pdf
  ISP-IB-05-65               Review of VOA's Digital Upgrade Program    http://oig.state.gov/documents/
    (Aug. 05)                                                            organization/117824.pdf
  IBO/IQO-A-05-02            Review of Radio Sawa Support to the        http://oig.state.gov/documents/
    (Dec. 2005)               Transition in Post-Saddam Iraq             organization/37864.pdf
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


                          Government Accountability Office Reports on U.S. Broadcasting
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
       GAO Report Number                         Title                                     Link
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  GAO-09-127                    Broadcasting to Cuba: Actions Are        http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09127.pdf
                                 Needed to Improve Strategy and
                                 Operations (January 2009)
  GAO-08-764                    Broadcasting to Cuba: Weaknesses in      http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08764.pdf
                                 Contracting Practices Reduced
                                 Visibility into Selected Award
                                 Decisions (July 2008)
  GAO-06-762                    U.S. International Broadcasting:         http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06762.pdf
                                 Management of Middle East Broadcasting
                                 Services Could Be Improved (Aug. 2006)
  GAO-06-535                    U.S. Public Diplomacy: State Department  http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06535.pdf
                                 Efforts to Engage Muslim Audiences
                                 Lack Certain Communication Elements
                                 and Face Significant Challenges (May
                                 2006)
  GAO-05-323                    U.S. Public Diplomacy: Interagency       http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05323.pdf
                                 Coordination Efforts Hampered by the
                                 Lack of a National Communication
                                 Strategy (April 2005)
  GAO-04-1061T                  U.S Public Diplomacy: State Department   http://www.gao.gov/new.items/
                                 and Broadcasting Board of Governors      d041061t.pdf
                                 Expand Post-9/11 Efforts But
                                 Challenges Remain (Aug. 2004)
  GAO-04-711T                   U.S International Broadcasting:          http://www.gao.gov/new.items/
                                 Challenges Facing the Broadcasting       d04711t.pdf
                                 Board of Governors (April 29, 2004)
  GAO-04-627T                   U.S International Broadcasting:          http://www.gao.gov/new.items/
                                 Challenges Facing the Broadcasting       d04627t.pdf
                                 Board of Governors (April 1, 2004)
  GAO-04-374                    U.S. International Broadcasting:         http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04374.pdf
                                 Enhanced Measure of Local Media
                                 Conditions Would Facilitate Decisions
                                 to Terminate Language Services (Feb.
                                 2004)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



                  Appendix G.--Chinese Media Outlets 
                      Working in the United States
    21st Century Business Herald    Beijing Daily
    Beijing Review                  Beijing Youth Daily
    Caijing Magazine                Caixin Media
    CCTV                            China Business News
    China Central Television        China Central TV America
    CHINA DAILY                     China Economic Daily
    China News Service              China Radio International (CRI)
    China Television Company (CTV)  CHINA YOUTH DAILY
    ECONOMIC DAILY                  Feature Story News (FSN)
    Fortune Times                   Foshan Daily
    Foshan TV                       Geo TV
    Global Times                    GUANGMING DAILY
    Jiefang Daily                   LEGAL DAILY
    Liberation Daily                Oriental Morning Post
    PEOPLE S DAILY                  People's Daily
    Radio Foshan                    Science & Technology Daily
    Shanghai Evening Post           Shanghai Morning Post
    Shanghai Oriental Morning Post  SHANGHAI WENHUI DAILY
    SING TAO CHINESE RADIO/DAILY    Southern Metropolis Daily
    Southern Weekly                 The China Press
    The Economic Observer           Tsinghua University School of
                                     Journalism
    TTV - Taiwan Television         TVBS
    Wen Hui Daily                   Xin Min Evening News
    Xinhua News Agency

                                          Appendix H.--Alhurra Schedule
                                            All times: Cairo, Egypt;
                            Program Premieres are Bold; Live Programs are Italicized  
                                                     SUNDAY
  12:00 am          The World Now News Update             11:00 am          The World Now Newscast
  12:10 am          Very Close (second half)              11:30 am          Inside Washington
  1:00 am           The World Now Newscast                12:00 pm          The World Now News Update
  1:30 am           Documentary                           12:10 pm          Documentary
  2:00 am           The World Now News Update             1:00 pm           The World Now News Update
  2:10 am           Documentary                           1:10 pm           Eye on Democracy
  3:00 am           The World Now News Update             2:00 pm           The World Now Newscast
  3:10 am           Eye on Democracy                      2:30 pm           Inside Washington
  4:00 am           Women's Views                         3:00 pm           Women's Views
  5:00 am           The World Now News Update             4:00 pm           Seven Days
  5:10 am           Very Close (first half)               5:00 pm           The World Now News Update
  6:00 am           The World Now News Update             5:10 pm           Documentary
  6:10 am           Very Close (second half)              6:00 pm           The World Today Newscast
  7:00 am           All Directions                        7:00 pm           Al Youm
  8:00 am           The World Now Newscast                10:00 pm          The Global Newscast
  8:30 am           Inside Washington                     11:00 pm          Free Hour
  9:00 am           The World Now News Update
  9:10 am           Very Close (first half)
  10:00 am          The World Now News Update
  10:10 am          Very Close (second half)

                                    Appendix H.--Alhurra Schedule--continued
                                            All times: Cairo, Egypt;
                            Program Premieres are Bold; Live Programs are Italicized                                                      MONDAY  12:00 am           The World Now News Update            11:30 am            Cinemagazine
  12:10 am           Documentary                          12:00 pm            The World Now News Update
  1:00 am            The World Now Newscast               12:10 pm            Documentary
  1:30 am            Cinemagazine                         1:00 pm             The World Now News Update
  2:00 am            The World Now News Update            1:10 pm             Doors
  2:10 am            Documentary                          2:00 pm             The World Now Newscast
  3:00 am            Al Youm                              2:30 pm             High Speed
  6:00 am            Free Hour                            3:00 pm             Free Hour
  7:00 am            The World Now News Update            4:00 pm             In Iraqi
  7:10 am            Documentary                          5:00 pm             The World Now News Update
  8:00 am            The World Now Newscast               5:10 pm             Documentary
  8:30 am            Cinemagazine                         6:00 pm             The World Today Newscast
  9:00 am            Free Hour                            7:00 pm             Al Youm
  10:00 am           The World Now News Update            10:00 pm            The Global Newscast
  10:10 am           Documentary                          11:00 pm            Free Hour
  11:00 am           The World Now Newscast      
                                                     TUESDAY  12:00 am           The World Now News Update            11:00 am            The World Now Newscast
  12:10 am           Sports Weekly                        11:30 am            Inside Washington
  12:30 am           High Speed                           12:00 pm            The World Now News Update
  1:00 am            The World Now Newscast               12:10 pm            Very Close (first half)
  1:30 am            Inside Washington                    1:00 pm             The World Now News Update
  2:00 am            The World Now News Update            1:10 pm             Very Close (second half)
  2:10 am            Documentary                          2:00 pm             The World Now Newscast
  3:00 am            Al Youm                              2:30 pm             i-TECH
  6:00 am            Free Hour                            3:00 pm             Free Hour
  7:00 am            The World Now News Update            4:00 pm             In Iraqi
  7:10 am            Doors                                5:00 pm             The World Now News Update
  8:00 am            The World Now Newscast               5:10 pm             Documentary
  8:30 am            i-TECH                               6:00 pm             The World Today Newscast
  9:00 am            Free Hour                            7:00 pm             Al Youm
  10:00 am           The World Now News Update            10:00 pm            The Global Newscast
  10:10 am           Gulf Talks                           11:00 pm            Free Hour   
  
                                                    WEDNESDAY  12:00 am           The World Now News Update            11:30 am            Sports Weekly
  12:10 am           Alhurra Presents                     12:00 pm            The World Now News Update
  1:00 am            The World Now Newscast               12:10 pm            Documentary
  1:30 am            i-TECH                               1:00 pm             The World Now News Update
  2:00 am            The World Now News Update            1:10 pm             Gulf Talks
  2:10 am            Documentary                          2:00 pm             The World Now Newscast
  3:00 am            Al Youm                              2:30 pm             High Speed
  6:00 am            Free Hour                            3:00 pm             Free Hour
  7:00 am            The World Now News Update            4:00 pm             In Iraqi
  7:10 am            Alhurra Presents                     5:00 pm             The World Now News Update
  8:00 am            The World Now Newscast               5:10 pm             Documentary
  8:30 am            Sports Weekly                        6:00 pm             The World Today Newscast
  9:00 am            Free Hour                            7:00 pm             Al Youm
  10:00 am           The World Now News Update            10:00 pm            The Global Newscast
  10:10 am           Alhurra Presents                     11:00 pm            Free Hour
  11:00 am           The World Now Newscast                                                      THURSDAY  12:00 am           The World Now News Update            11:00 am            The World Now Newscast
  12:10 am           Special Report                       11:30 am            High Speed
  1:00 am            The World Now Newscast               12:00 pm            The World Now News Update
  1:30 am            Sports Weekly                        12:10 pm            Documentary
  2:00 am            The World Now News Update            1:00 pm             The World Now News Update
  2:10 am            Documentary                          1:10 pm             Special Report
  3:00 am            Al Youm                              2:00 pm             The World Now Newscast
  6:00 am            Free Hour                            2:30 pm             Sports Weekly
  7:00 am            The World Now News Update            3:00 pm             Free Hour
  7:10 am            Special Report                       4:00 pm             In Iraqi
  8:00 am            The World Now Newscast               5:00 pm             The World Now News Update
  8:30 am            High Speed                           5:10 pm             Documentary
  9:00 am            Free Hour                            6:00 pm             The World Today Newscast
  10:00 am           The World Now News Update            7:00 pm             Al Youm
  10:10 am           Final Edition                        10:00 pm            The Global Newscast
  10:30 am           Places                               11:00 pm            Free Hour

                                    Appendix H.--Alhurra Schedule--continued
                                            All times: Cairo, Egypt;
                            Program Premieres are Bold; Live Programs are Italicized                                                      FRIDAY  12:00 am           The World Now News Update            1:00 pm             The World Now News Update
  12:10 am           i-TECH                               1:10 pm             Sports Studio
  12:30 am           Documentary                          2:00 pm             The World Now Newscast
  1:00 am            The World Now Newscast               2:30 pm             i-TECH
  1:30 am            High Speed                           3:00 pm             Free Hour
  2:00 am            The World Now News Update            4:00 pm             In Iraqi
  2:10 am            Documentary                          5:00 pm             The World Now News Update
  3:00 am            Al Youm                              5:10 pm             Documentary
  6:00 am            Free Hour                            6:00 pm             The World Today Newscast
  7:00 am            The World Now News Update            7:00 pm             The World Now Update
  7:10 am            Sports Studio                        7:10 pm             Cinemagazine
  8:00 am            The World Now Newscast               7:30 pm             From Wall Street
  8:30 am            Documentary                          8:00 pm             The World Now News Update
  9:00 am            Free Hour                            8:10 pm             Equality
  10:00 am           The World Now News Update            9:00 pm             All Directions
  10:10 am           Equality                             10:00 pm            The Global Newscast
  11:00 am           The World Now Newscast               11:00 am            The World Now News Update
  11:30 am           Documentary                          11:10 pm            Gulf Talks
  12:00 pm           The World Now News Update
  12:10 pm           Documentary                                                     SATURDAY  12:00 am           The World Now News Update            11:30 am            From Wall Street
  12:10 am           Documentary                          12:00 pm            The World Now News Update
  1:00 am            The World Now Newscast               12:10 pm            Documentary
  1:30 am            From Wall Street                     1:00 pm             The World Now News Update
  2:00 am            The World Now News Update            1:10 pm             Gulf Talks
  2:10 am            Documentary                          2:00 pm             The World Now Newscast
  3:00 am            The World Now News Update            2:30 pm             i-TECH
  3:10 am            Equality                             3:00 pm             All Directions
  4:00 am            All Directions                       4:00 pm             Talk of Two Rivers
  5:00 am            The World Now News Update            5:00 pm             The World Now News Update
  5:10 am            Gulf Talks                           5:10 pm             Documentary
  6:00 am            The World Now News Update            6:00 pm             The World Today Newscast
  6:10 am            Documentary                          7:00 pm             The World Now News Update
  7:00 am            The World Now News Update            7:10 pm             Inside Washington
  7:10 am            Equality                             7:30 pm             30 Minutes
  8:00 am            The World Now Newscast               8:00 pm             The World Now News Update
  8:30 am            Cinemagazine                         8:10 pm             Eye on Democracy
  9:00 am            The World Now News Update            9:00 pm             Women's Views
  9:10 am            Equality                             10:00 pm            The Global Newscast
  10:00 am           The World Now News Update            11:00 pm            The World Now News Update
  10:10 am           Documentary                          11:10 pm            Very Close (first half)
  11:00 am           The World Now Newscast


   Appendix I.--BBG/IBB Satellite Coverage (Affiliate/Direct to Home)

      
      

    
    


                                  
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