[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 
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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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