The Foreign Service Journal, October 2010

36 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 tent, mainly U.S. coverage, to USIB, which, in turn, would provide inter- national coverage and regional ex- pertise to the consortium com- panies. This would not be govern- ment funding of private U.S. news, but a fair trade. Under this scenario, U.S. broadcasters would enjoy the synergy now available to the BBC World Service and BBC domestic as they exchange coverage and re- sources. International Broadcasting vs. Public Diplomacy USIB often is considered part of U.S. public diplo- macy. To succeed, however, the two must be separate, generally complementary but occasionally adversarial, endeavors. A reporter for a U.S. government station, knowing what his/her audience is thinking, will occa- sionally have to ask a U.S. government spokesperson pointed questions and follow up. The spokesperson must, for his/her part, stay on message. These complementary roles were explained in the preface to the 2002 BBG annual report: “It is very important that government spokesmen take America’s message to the world — passionately and re- lentlessly. We should not be ashamed of public advo- cacy on behalf of freedom and democracy and the United States of America. … International broadcast- ing, on the other hand, is called upon to reflect the high- est standards of independent journalism as the best means of convincing international audiences that truth is on the side of democratic values.” Similarly, the writer P.J. O’Rourke, after a recent visit to RFE/RL in Prague, wrote in the World Affairs blog: “[The term] ‘promotes democracy’ makes democracy sound like a commodity, a product, a brand of snack food that RFE/RL is supposed to be selling. And the State Department, the president and Congress can measure how much of this product has been sold. … In fact, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s real mission is nei- ther frighteningly complicated nor terribly simple. RFE/RL delivers information. Information is the essence of what might be called the ‘Attitude of Liberty’ — the feeling of being free. People must, of course, feel free of physical and economic oppression. But first they must feel free of ignorance. … In- formation is the source of citizen- ship. Without information no one can even attempt to build a civil so- ciety.” Another difference between in- ternational broadcasting and public diplomacy is that the former has a finite shelf life. Some target coun- tries have achieved press freedom and media diversity to the point that few people in these countries seek news from foreign sources. This is why VOA and RFE have eliminated their broadcasts in Polish and Czech, among other lan- guages. On the other hand, foreign journalists, re- searchers, government officials and other interested persons will always have a need for official statements of U.S. policy — i.e., the output of U.S. public diplomacy. An already established outlet for such content is the State Department’s public diplomacy Web site, www.America.gov . For reasons discussed above, VOA and the Radio Free stations currently compete in 22 languages. It would make more sense for USIB to consolidate those operations to create a more complete news service, with www.America.gov (now available in seven languages) complementing USIB’s offerings in as many languages as possible. The Communication Process of International Broadcasting The concept of an international broadcasting service funded by the United States government, over which the government has no direct control, is difficult for some to accept. Nevertheless, maintaining and enhancing the present autonomy of USIB is essential for the following reasons: • It will bring a larger audience, because it is a mar- ket-based approach, providing the type of news listen- ers are seeking. • Well-informed audiences can resist the misinfor- mation and disinformation of dictators, terrorists and other international miscreants, and make up their own minds on current affairs. • In the long term, the United States can expect that well-informed audiences, even if they don’t come to agree with our policies, will at least understand why they F O C U S Maintaining and enhancing the present autonomy of USIB is essential for many reasons.