The Foreign Service Journal, October 2010

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 0 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 19 international broadcasters so that this important tool of public diplo- macy gets the consistent manage- ment and oversight it deserves. Pressing Matters One of the issues confronting the new board is the limits on 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. Sometimes our voice is silenced or suppressed — as in China, Iran and Russia, which use intimidation to prevent local affiliates from carrying U.S. programming or employ sophisticated technologies to shut down satellites, jam radio transmissions or block Internet sites. My staff’s report on the BBG highlights a number of concerns: • Alhurra, the 24-hour Arabic television news channel, is expensive and little-watched in this vital region outside of Iraq. Its $90 million budget surpasses the combined costs of Radio Free Asia ($37 million), Radio/TV Martí ($30 million) and VOA’s Persian News Network Television ($17 million). Given the crowded media environ- ment of the Middle East, either greater resources must be devoted to marketing and pro- motion, or the programming must be changed. Should these efforts fail to improve viewership levels, policymakers will have to decide if continuing Alhurra’s operations is worth the high cost. • 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, since 2007, the U.S. government has issued some 2,900 press visas to Chinese journalists and media personnel. China’s state-run F O C U S A lack of direction and uncertainty over leadership has greatly eroded the morale of BBG employees.