The Foreign Service Journal, April 2017

18 APRIL 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Media Challenges: The VOA Experience V oice of America Director Amanda Bennett put current challenges to open and free press into perspective dur- ing an event, “Challenges to Media in a Post-Truth World: The Voice of America Experience,” held on Jan. 31 at The George Washington University’s Institute for Pub- lic Diplomacy & Global Communication in Washington, D.C. Bennett argued that we are not yet in a post-truth world, but that challenges to objective journalism remain enduring. This is well understood, she said, among VOA’s diverse workforce of reporters, many of whom could not practice objec- tive journalism in their country of origin and were often the target of retribution. Having fled after fearing for their safety, many VOA reporters now broadcast objec- tive journalismback to their home nations in their native languages, providing a bal- anced perspective in heavily polarized and politicizedmedia landscapes. VOA viewers, whose numbers grew by a record 50 million in a single year from 2015 to 2016, rate its trustworthiness at 86 percent. VOA reaches a total of 236 mil- lion viewers weekly. “Pressure is applied by everyone, this is nothing new in journalism,” Bennett said. Even members of Congress have applied pressure, she states, asking VOA, for instance, to take a tougher line on adversarial nations like Russia. But VOA must be steadfast in adher- ing to its charter, Bennett emphasized. Signed into law more than 40 years ago, that charter states as one of three principles: “VOA news will be accurate, objective, and comprehensive.” Bennett expressed concern over out- lets devoted to disinformation, saying she refers to the phenomenon as “deliber- ately false information” rather than “fake news.” The rise of disinformation, she said, has prompted greater concern for objective journalism and reporting the truth—a good thing. In response to a question on combating misinformation, David Ensor, Bennett’s predecessor at VOA who was in the audi- ence, stated: “Our experience is that the truth is more powerful than propaganda.” —Dmitry Filipoff, Publications Coordinator Lantos Human Rights Prize Awarded to Vian Dakhil O n Feb. 8, the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice presented the 2016 Lantos Human Rights prize to Vian Dakhil, an Iraqi parliamentarian who drew the world’s attention to the genocide of the Yazidi people by ISIS and has been dubbed its “most wanted woman.” Ms. Dakhil’s visa was revoked follow- ing President Trump’s Jan. 27 executive order refusing entry to the United States for travelers from certain countries (including Iraq). However, following a legal challenge which suspended the ban, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson personally reissued her visa on Feb. 4, allowing her to travel to the United States and receive the award in person. Accepting the prize fromHouse Minor- ity Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Ms. Dakhil reminded the audience that, althoughmuch has been done to aid the Yazidi people, there are still more than 3,900 women and girls in captivity. Referring to the executive order ban- ning travelers from seven countries, Ms. Dakhil said that Iraqi citizens have fought and died alongside American soldiers for many years, yet the order did not take in to account that most Iraqis are victims and not perpetrators of terrorism. The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice was founded by the late Congressman Tom Lantos, a Holo- caust survivor and U.S. Representative for 27 years. Previous winners include His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Elie Weisel and Israeli President Shimon Peres. —Gemma Dvorak, Associate Editor Bye-Bye, BBG O n Dec. 23, then-President Barack Obama signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (S. 2943). One of the bill’s many provisions that flew largely below the radar is Section 1288, which is likely to have a profound effect on U.S. international broadcasting, reports Broadcastingcable. com. Championed by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair- man Edward R. Royce (R-Calif.), this provi- sion abolishes the bipartisan Broadcasting Board of Governors that has long overseen government-backed, nonmilitary interna- tional media outlets. These include the Voice of America, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks. The BBG will eventually be replaced by a five-member International Broadcasting Advisory Board, headed by the Secretary of State. The president will select the other LANTOSFOUNDATION/RONSACHS