    [United States Government Manual]
    [June 01, 2006]
    [Pages 362-365]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    BROADCASTING BOARD OF GOVERNORS

    330 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20237

    Phone, 202-203-4545. Internet, www.bbg.gov
    Chairman                                          Kenneth Y. Tomlinson
    Members                                           Joaquin F. Blaya,
                                                              Blanquita
                                                              Walsh Cullum,
                                                              D. Jeffrey
                                                              Hirschberg,
                                                              Edward E.
                                                              Kaufman,
                                                              Norman J.
                                                              Pattiz, Steven
                                                              J. Simmons
        (Secretary of State, ex officio)              Condoleezza Rice
    Executive Director                                Brian T. Conniff
        Legal Counsel                                 Carol M. Booker
        Chief Financial Officer                       Janet Stormes
        Congressional Coordinator                     Susan Andross
        Communications Coordinator                    Larry Hart
        Strategic Planning Manager                    Bruce Sherman
        Policy and Program Coordinator                John Giambalvo
        Special Projects Officer                      Oanh Tran
        Chief Information Officer                     Ronald Linz, Acting
    General Counsel                                   Carol M. Booker,
                                                              Acting
    Director, International Broadcasting Bureau       (vacancy)
        Chief of Staff                                Janice Brambilla
    Director, Office of Civil Rights                  Delia L. Johnson
    Associate Director for Management                 Stephen S. Smith
    Associate Director for Program Support            Gary Thatcher
    Director, Office of Engineering and Technical     George A. Moore
            Services
    Director, Voice of America                        David S. Jackson
        Chief of Staff                                Marie Lennon
        Associate Director for Language               Kelu Chao
                Programming
        Associate Director for Central                (vacancy)
                Programming
        Associate Director for Operations             Mark L. Prahl
    Director, Office of Cuba Broadcasting             Pedro V. Roig
    President, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty        Jeffrey Trimble,
                                                              Acting
    President, Radio Free Asia                        Libby Liu
    President, Middle East Broadcasting Networks      Bert Kleinman

    [[Page 363]]

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    The Broadcasting Board of Governors' mission is to promote freedom and
    democracy and to enhance understanding by broadcasting accurate,
    objective, and balanced news and information about the United States and
    the world to audiences abroad.
    The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) became an independent agency
    on October 1, 1999, by authority of the Foreign Affairs Reform and
    Restructuring Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6501 note).
        The BBG serves as the governing body for all nonmilitary U.S.
    broadcasting and provides programming in 56 languages via radio,
    television, and the Internet. The BBG broadcast services include: the
    Voice of America (VOA), the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB), Radio
    Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Radio Free Asia (RFA), and the
    Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN).
        All BBG broadcast services adhere to the broadcasting standards and
    principles of the International Broadcasting Act of 1994, which include
    reliable, accurate, and comprehensive news; balanced and comprehensive
    presentations of U.S. thought, institutions, and policies, as well as
    discussions about those policies; information about developments
    throughout the world; and a variety of opinions from nations around the
    world.

    Activities

    Voice of America  The Voice of America (VOA) broadcasts on radio,
    television, and the Internet (www.VOAnews.com) in 44 languages. The VOA
    Charter requires that broadcasts be accurate, objective, and
    comprehensive; that they represent all segments of American society and
    present a balanced and comprehensive view of significant American
    thought and institutions; and that they clearly present the policies of
    the United States. VOA broadcasts more than 1,000 hours a week and
    includes U.S. and international news, features, call-in shows,
    roundtable decisions, and other programming that is delivered directly
    or through affiliated stations to audiences around the world.
    Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc.  The Middle East Broadcasting
    Networks, Inc. (MBN) is a nonprofit corporation that is financed by the
    U.S. Government through a grant from the Broadcasting Board of
    Governors. MBN operates the Arabic-language Radio Sawa
    (www.radiosawa.com) and Alhurra television networks (www.alhurra.com).
        --Alhurra  Alhurra, Arabic for ``The Free One,'' is a commercial-
    free Arabic-language satellite television channel in the Middle East
    devoted primarily to news and information. In addition to reporting on
    regional and international events, the channel broadcasts a diverse
    schedule of news, talk shows, debates, documentaries, and entertaining
    information programs on a wide variety of subjects from sports to
    fashion to technology, to millions of viewers every day.
        --Radio Sawa  Radio Sawa is the popular radio network that provides
    news, information, and a mix of Western and Arabic popular music on its
    24-hour, 7-day-a-week FM and medium-wave radio stations throughout the
    Middle East. The Arabic-language network broadcasts objective, balanced,
    up-to-the-minute news and news analysis along with interviews, opinion
    pieces, sports, and features on a wide variety of political and social
    issues.
    Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty  Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/
    RL) is a nonprofit, international communications organization
    broadcasting to Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus,
    Central Asia, the Middle East, and Southwestern Asia. Listeners rely on
    RFE/RL's daily news, analysis, and current affairs programming to
    provide a coherent, objective account of events in their region and the
    world. RFE/RL broadcasts in 27 languages with more than 1,000 hours of
    radio programming a week from its operations center in Prague, Czech
    Republic, and 23 bureaus in its broadcast region. Its corporate
    headquarters are located in Washington, DC. All RFE/RL broadcasts are
    also
    [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T206692.028

    [[Page 365]]

    streamed live and on-demand over the Internet; audio, video, and text in
    English and the broadcast languages are available from its web site at
    www.rferl.org.
        RFE/RL also broadcasts Radio Free Iraq and Radio Free Afghanistan.
    In a joint effort with the Voice of America, RFE/RL broadcasts a
    Persian-language radio service called Radio Farda, which means ``Radio
    Tomorrow.'' Operated from Washington, DC, and Prague, Czech Republic,
    Radio Farda produces current news and information at least twice an
    hour, with longer news programming in the morning and the evening. Radio
    Farda also broadcasts a combination of Persian and Western music. The
    station operates 24 hours a day on medium wave (AM 1593 and AM 1539),
    digital audio satellite, and the Internet, as well as 21 hours a day on
    shortwave. Radio Farda complements the VOA's Persian-language radio and
    television broadcasts in Iran.
    Radio Free Asia  Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a private, nonprofit news
    organization providing daily broadcasts in nine languages to listeners
    in Asia whose governments restrict freedom of information and
    expression. RFA broadcasts accurate and timely news and information,
    along with a range of voices and opinions from within Asia, with the aim
    of demonstrating freedom of expression over the airwaves and online.
        RFA focuses primarily on news and features of unique and specific
    relevance to its target countries. Through shortwave transmission and
    the Internet at www.rfa.org, RFA broadcasts in Mandarin, Cantonese,
    Uyghur, three dialects of Tibetan, Burmese, Vietnamese, Korean, Lao, and
    Khmer. All broadcasts originate from RFA's Washington, DC, headquarters.
    Office of Cuba Broadcasting  The Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB)
    oversees the operations of Radio Marti and TV Marti from its
    headquarters in Miami, Florida. In accordance with the Broadcasting to
    Cuba Act of 1983, Radio Marti follows Voice of America journalistic
    standards and guidelines for presenting a variety of news and
    information in an accurate and objective manner and is guided by the
    standards and principles of the U.S. International Broadcasting Act.
        Radio Marti broadcasts 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. TV Marti
    produces 8 hours of original programming daily, including a 30-minute
    newscast each day. Primary areas of coverage include the Cuban economy,
    news relating to the independent human rights and dissident movement,
    U.S.-Cuban relations, and international stories such as elections around
    the world.
        In addition to broadcasting via shortwave, AM, aerostat, and
    airborne transmissions, OCB broadcasts TV Marti on HispaSat, a direct-
    to-home satellite television service, and is working to establish a
    permanent airborne platform for TV and Radio Marti. Radio and TV Marti
    programming can also be accessed on the Internet at
    www.martinoticias.com.

    For further information, contact the Office of Public Affairs,
    Broadcasting Board of Governors, 330 Independence Avenue SW.,
    Washington, DC 20237. Phone, 202-401-7000. Fax, 202-619-1241. Internet,
    www.bbg.gov.

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