The Foreign Service Journal, October 2010

16 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / O C T O B E R 2 0 1 0 The intervening years have re- sulted in a host of new ways to con- nect, not only with those living in authoritarian regimes but with the rest of the world, as well — from FM radio to the latest social media tools available on both the Internet and personal cell phones. In addition to multiple com- mercial broadcasters and other for- eign government entities compet- ing with U.S. efforts, with different forms of media have also come different methods of re- pression. Some nations block American broadcasting ef- forts by jamming our radio broadcasts, satellite TV or Internet programming, while others imprison, torture or kill local and international journalists. The organization tasked with ensuring the U.S. mes- sage gets through is the Broadcasting Board of Governors. The board oversees the operations of the Voice of Amer- ica, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, the Middle East Broadcasting Network and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, which together broadcast in some 60 languages to an estimated audience of 170 million weekly through radio, TV and the Internet. The board consists of eight members nominated by the president (four Repub- licans and four Democrats) with the Secretary of State as the ninth member. One of the four nominated by the president’s party is designated the chairman. Congress originally established the board in the mid- 1990s to keep our broadcasting operations free from po- litical pressures from either end of Pennsylvania Avenue. After 15 years, however, it has become clear that, rather than serving as a political “firewall,” the BBG has often become a political “football” as board nominations have become enmeshed in partisan politics. Until recently, the board had not been fully staffed since 2004, and the chairmanship had been vacant since June 2008. A con- sequence of this chronic uncertainty in leadership and direction, not surprisingly, is that the BBG has consis- tently ranked at the very bottom in surveys of federal em- ployees’ workplace satisfaction. Yet the need for robust leadership has never been great- er. That is one of the main con- clusions of a report that I com- missioned Paul Foldi of my staff to prepare earlier this year. Follow- ing publication in June of that re- port—“U.S. International Broad- casting: Is Anybody Listening?” (http://lugar.senate.gov/issues/for eign/diplomacy/report.pdf) — I was pleased that a new chairman, the noted author and former CNN and Time magazine chief Walter Isaacson, and seven other members of the board were at last confirmed by the Senate in July. The new BBG has a full plate before them, as the re- port documents. Broadcasting issues related to Russia, Iran, China, Zimbabwe, North Korea, Cuba and Vene- zuela, whose regimes do everything they can to prevent our broadcasts from getting through, all demand immedi- ate attention. It is also time for a critical look at our Mid- dle East broadcasting operations, where we are struggling for market share in a media market that grows more crowded by the day. Elsewhere, a headline in the Aug. 24 Washington Post highlights the communication challenge in Pakistan. Even after receiving billions of dollars of American non-military aid in recent years, and additional assistance in the after- math of this summer’s flooding, more than 80 percent of Pakistanis still have an unfavorable view of the U.S. We must not only work harder at gaining broader au- diences for our programs, but also face fierce competition to keep our listeners, viewers and readers engaged. Changing with the Times American public diplomacy has always addressed two audiences. One audience views the United States posi- tively, as a democracy based on the free flow of informa- tion, 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; as a result, they reject — or worse, attack — us. Successful public diplomacy keeps the first group engaged and increases its numbers F O C U S “It is our responsibility to serve as a firewall between the international broadcasters and the policymaking institutions in the foreign affairs community.” — Former BBG Chairman Marc Nathanson Senator Richard G. Lugar, R-Ind., is the ranking minority member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the 2005 recipient of AFSA’s Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy Award.