COVERING THE WORLD FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS I want to thank John Figliozzi and Richard Cuff and others who have organized this event year after year, and made it part of their lives and the lives of all of us, for inviting me to be your keynote this year. My ability to attend the FEST was often dictated by a hectic work schedule. But as you know, I recently retired after nearly 35 years with VOA in assignments from foreign correspondent to covering the White House and Congress...further back, hosting various programs and heading the VOA Burmese Service. Its been a good ride, by and large. Some personal views in a few minutes. First, I want to say -- THANK YOU. Wherever I went in my career...reporting from drought-stricken villages in Ethiopia...from Burma...Vietnam and Laos, to East Timor and Malaysia...and my trips covering President Obama to Africa and Latin America... In all of the long hours I put in, on and off the official clock -- I knew there were those among all of you in the U.S. SWL community who listened or read my work and appreciated it. You were my guiding light, from my late father Sidney who unearthed a 1940s Pilot Radio from my grandmothers basement in The Bronx -- with its large tuning dial marked with city names -- Moscow, Berlin, Capetown, Bombay -- places I tried to picture in my mind . . . to people like Bill Oliver of NASWA who became kind of a replacement Dad for me over the years. . . All of us shared similar experiences -- when we were younger and put our hands on that first radio...what some of us talking this morning recall as that thing -- the experience of first hearing sounds from faraway places . . . marveling at how a piece of wire could enrich our lives with alternate views and ideologies. . .falling in love with a communications medium that had a special place in history. Memories of waiting in our last school class of the day to get home to our Hammarlunds, or Drakes, Hallicrafters, or SONYs . . .walking home in a snowstorm knowing conditions were good for Africa, or Latin America...rising at 4 AM to snag that rarely-heard station. . .relaxing on a summer afternoon as the exotic sounds of Radio Tahiti drifted through the house. . .dreaming of being able to visit all of these places some day. Thanks to shortwave radio, in 1979 when I arrived at VOA I was already somewhat of an expert on global geography. I could instantly recite the capitals of every country, and was familiar with the essentials of various foreign policy issues. In 1983, the opportunity arose to become VOAs bureau chief in East Africa. I covered the Ethiopian famine, upheaval in Uganda and Sudan...and got to live for 3 years in a place we used to hear on shortwave: Kenya, home to Barack Obamas father. Little did I know that years later I would get to cover this nations first African-American president at the White House. Late 1980s found me back in Washington, anchoring radio broadcasts to Africa. In the 90s I was back overseas as bureau chief in Bangkok, covering Burma and Vietnam, East Timor, the Khmer Rouge and the UN-supervised election in Cambodia. Until just after 9/11, I headed VOAs Burma broadcast division, then went to Capitol Hill where I covered Congress until 2010. For decades the main anchor of U.S. government-funded international broadcasting, VOA is now just one among a number of outlets under the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG). VOA and other journalists have over the years taken big risks to cover the news. Some have lost their lives or remain missing. You can see a display of some of these names if you visit 330 Independence Avenue. The news business has been transformed. Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, You Tube and other channels allow us all to basically operate our own personal news agency (and tell everyone what we had for lunch). Associated Press or Reuters news alerts are now relayed instantaneously. The moment a President, or White House spokesman, or a foreign leader say something, the Internet is filled with Tweets and re-tweets, photos that are Instagramed...something someone says or sees amid a gun battle in Syria, or Libya, in whatever language, is all instantly seen. VOA and other government-funded broadcasters have been challenged to adapt to technological changes and the imperative of adapting and maintaining relevance amid shrinking budgets, and questions about usefulness and efficiency. The tensions involved in what John Chancellor, who headed VOA at one point in the mid-1960s, called the crossroads of journalism and diplomacy continue. I was an enthusiastic supporter of international broadcasting . . . but when necessary also a critic, trying to ensure we do the best job possible. Because for me....that kid from Levittown, Pennsylvania with his ears glued to the radio...the job we do and who we are doing it for, always mattered. In a letter to the bipartisan Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) I made some blunt criticisms about news coverage and management issues in a place many Americans, and still many people overseas, dont know still exists, or why. Little reason to wonder why, by the way. VOA lacks a 24 hour live global TV presence, like BBC or CNN. Its unlikely you will see it in your hotel room, and VOA simply does not have the resources to compete on such a scale. Despite recent modifications to a 1948 era law few Americans know exists (the Smith-Mundt Act) government-funded broadcasters still cannot direct their programming at audiences in the United States. Russias military intervention in Crimea, and other major stories laid bare the damage done over the past decade to VOAs news gathering capabilities, especially its central newsroom, from a string of poor management decisions, and deficiencies hobbling its ability to compete. All too frequently VOAs English website has been unable to quickly reflect breaking news about Ukraine and U.S. responses, including statements by President Barack Obama and members of Congress. BBC, al-Jazeera, and Russian government outlets routinely clean VOAs clock even on U.S. domestic news. Chris Christies January news conference was live on the BBC, but not VOA. Indeed, alarms should go off when an American president grants more interviews to foreign broadcasters and social media channels than to something called Voice of America, and officials in such places as the Pentagon bluntly question VOAs reach and effectiveness. VOA White House correspondents used to travel with the president on every foreign trip and years ago on domestic trips as well, but not anymore. VOA veteran reporters shook their heads when managers excluded them from attending the 2012 U.S. political conventions. Because VOA and other U.S. government broadcasters operate under the radar, so to speak, of more intense public scrutiny or congressional attention, other problems continue year after year. These range from the aforementioned failings in breaking news coverage to a multi-million dollar digital production system widely acknowledged as a disaster, and a reputation for poor management, and a hostile working environment that has placed the BBG at or near the bottom of employee satisfaction surveys. Anyone visiting VOAs website will find some superb journalism. But many current and former employees wonder whether money, employee hours, and other resources devoted to TV products moves the meter in measurable ways with verifiable impact of programming and enough engagement with foreign audiences. Another issue involves mission, now being defined ever more unambiguously by the bipartisan Board as a tool for U.S. policy and national security interests. VOA journalists are supposed to be shielded from policy-related interference. But some reporters were admonished last year by one official to ensure that reports support the BBG mission -- differentiated from the VOA Charter which upholds news standards. In the Columbia Journalism Review last year, former VOA correspondent Gary Thomas wrote: The core problem afflicting the BBG and its various entities is institutional schizophrenia. It is simultaneously a news organization trying to be a government agency, and a government agency trying to be a news outlet. . . If the mission of US broadcasting is to be messaging and policy advocacy, then stop hiding behind the label of journalism. Things are at a crucial juncture. At a proposed FY 2015 level of $721 million, taxpayers and Congress should ask: Does the United States still need government-funded broadcasting (here referring also to social media and other methods)? If the answer is yes, can a new international broadcasting CEO, as is planned [with the BBG moving into more of an advisory role] do more to help VOA journalists and support staff undertake consistent, quality work across media platforms, absent action to significantly increase funding? The new BBG chairman, Jeffrey Shell, has carried out some key personnel changes and also identified improving worker morale as a priority. More needs to be done, including identifying bad managers in the International Broadcasting Bureau (under the BBG), and in VOAs central newsroom, which many believe has been permanently damaged as some of its best talent fled. VOA and other U.S.-funded media organizations have many excellent people, and reporters who take big risks to cover the news. But the overall appearance is of something that still just isnt working very well, perhaps unfixable in any short period of time. Decisions Congress makes will determine whether VOA and the numerous brands in the BBG alphabet soup trying to compete with CNN, al-Jazeera, China TV, and RT (Russia) for global audience share will survive the budget axe. These issues may be seen as inside the beltway, but taxpayers across the country deserve at least to be aware of them, and if they so choose, have a voice in what happens next. Ill end it here where I began -- with a tribute to all of you. Through your lives, you have been among people in this country, and around the globe, who took pride in using a technology to expand your personal horizons, and the horizons of your family members and others you came in contact with. Like pilots in the cockpits of airliners, with your hands on the controls of radios you cruised the world. . . like me, a kid from Levittown, Pennsylvania with his ears glued to the radio...who eventually ended up having the privilege of flying on Air Force One among a group of dedicated journalists covering the President of the United States. via DXLD YG with permission from Dan Robinson.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 18:33:09 +0000
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