Testimony of Joaquin Blaya
Broadcasting Board of Governors
Before the Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia
Committee on Foreign Affairs
May 16, 2007
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, we appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the programs of the Broadcasting Board of Governors as they relate to the Middle East and South Asia. You have also asked us to talk about our strategic goals and objectives, so I will begin with some remarks to illustrate our challenges and the tools and strategies we employ to address them.
Following the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the President and Congress called on all elements of our country's public diplomacy to do more to reach out and communicate with the world. Within public diplomacy, a critical component is international broadcasting that we on the Broadcasting Board of Governors supervise, including the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Radio and TV Marti, and our most recent networks, Radio Sawa and Alhurra TV.
Our broadcasters are diverse in size and focus but share the same mandate from Congress: to use the tools of objective journalism to promote freedom and democracy and enhance understanding about the United States and the world to audiences overseas.
Since 9/11, our strategy has been to create credible new channels of communication capable of reaching significant audiences in regions and countries critical to U.S. efforts to counter extremism. Accordingly, with support from Congress, we have launched 24/7 radio and TV channels for the Middle East, Iran, and Afghanistan; boosted broadcasting in key countries such as Indonesia and Pakistan; and, most recently, initiated service for strife-torn Somalia and Sudan.
As a result, we have grown our global audiences from 100 million in 2001 to 140 million today. Almost all of that growth has come in countries with Muslim majority populations. In the Middle East and South Asia - the epicenter of the war on terror - we now reach over 60 million people each and every week. While audience numbers may not be a clear measure of success in reaching hearts and influencing minds, it is a measurable index to see if audiences repeatedly tune in to the objective news and information we offer. Over time, we believe that exposure to official U.S. views, and free debate will influence thinking about freedom, democracy and tolerance. We also ask those audiences whether they believe the programming is credible. In most cases, our credibility index is high.
Central to our new five-year strategy is supporting the struggle against extremism. We pursue this struggle through the broadcast of fact-based news, objective analysis, and comprehensive ideas. We represent America - our government, society, and culture - in all its complexity. And we consistently present and responsibly discuss U.S. policy.
Our ultimate goal is change on the ground - the establishment of free, open, and democratic countries around the world. We aim today for the same result in combating extremism and authoritarianism that we achieved in the Cold War in fighting global communism. But today's global environment is not that of the Cold War. We cannot simply copy what worked then. Our strategies have to accommodate new realities.
We face today a daunting set of challenges. Governments continue to jam us on radio and television, block us on the Internet, or deny us access to local broadcasting. Deepening anti-U.S. sentiment hurts our credibility. Media outlets proliferate, fragmenting market share and offering consumers abundant alternatives. Audiences now expect product on multiple media platforms. Networked information flows grow daily, empowering citizens who increasingly demand dialogue and interactivity everywhere. In other words, they want to drive the agenda.
How do we maximize fulfillment of our mission in the new global environment? That is the broad question that we address in our new global strategy. A top priority is to enhance how we deliver programming across all media platforms. We have to ensure audiences have access to our content on the media and the channels they use most.
Coupled with better distribution, we have to continue to leverage the techniques and technologies of 21st century communications. This means refining our audience targeting, optimizing our mix of media, and modernizing our broadcasting facilities to drive multi-media products. Achieving these two priorities - first-rate distribution and communication - is fundamental to ensuring that our content finds an audience.
As major content initiatives, we are calling on our broadcast organizations to broaden and deepen the coverage of Islam and to foster intra-Islamic dialogue. Our strategy is to stimulate debate and discussion within Islam on the range of issues that concern Muslim audiences, including Islam and modernity and Islam and democracy. We can set an example of public discourse on critical, sensitive subjects and convene discussions in a host of vernacular languages that might not otherwise take place. This, we believe, will be critical to countering extremism.
We are mindful, however, that Islam is not the first concern to non-Muslim audiences. Rather, for many people in our target areas the issue is living under authoritarian regimes that censor information, deny human rights, and repress the citizenry. We have an abiding need in our programming to help our audiences understand the principles and practices of democratic, free, and just societies.
Enhancing program delivery across all relevant platforms
The BBG has been very successful in recent years in securing effective program delivery for new broadcasting initiatives in Iran, the Middle East, and elsewhere. But doing so for all language services remains a significant challenge. We must ensure across the board that our content is available via the media, bands, networks, channels, and stations our audiences actually use. There is no one solution - i.e., satellite TV or the Internet alone. And even as take-up rates increase for newer media and technologies in remote corners of the world, shortwave radio remains a valuable delivery means. In short, the right distribution is a market-by-market determination, and we must be prepared both to deploy traditional delivery means and cutting-edge technologies.
Building our reach and impact in the Islamic world
Under the 2002-2007 strategic plan, the BBG took significant steps toward this goal. We launched, among many other smaller initiatives, 24/7 broadcasting valued at more than $100 million annually for Iran (expanded VOA TV and Radio Farda), the Middle East (Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa), and Afghanistan (RFE/RL's Dari and Pashto, then meshed with VOA's Dari and Pashto in a coordinated programming stream), and Pakistan (Aap ki Dunyaa and BTH). These initiatives have gained us some 40 million additional weekly listeners and viewers, boosting the BBG's global audience from 100 to 140 million weekly. However, we know we must do more to broaden the substance of our services to meet our national security needs and the needs of our audiences not only for news and information but also for debate, discussion, and dialogue.
Using modern communications techniques and technologies
Congress has stipulated that our broadcasts "be designed so as to effectively reach a significant audience." We must continue to employ modern communications techniques and technologies in order to carry out this goal. Reaching a significant audience in 2008 is a far different proposition than it was in 1998 or 1988, as media competition continues to diversify and intensify, and broadcast and computer technologies leap forward. Over the next five years, audiences will be increasingly using mobile phones, podcasts, and other (as yet unnamed) means of receiving news and information. We must not just stay abreast of the emerging technologies but strive to be on the cutting-edge. At the same time, we must continue to differentiate across markets, as every market is different.
Facilitate Citizen Discourse
While many governments continue to stifle freedom of expression in all forms (and specifically seek to block U.S. international broadcasting), technology is nonetheless empowering unprecedented participatory discourse among ordinary citizens. We must continue to encourage and advance these discussions. BBG services have a special role to play by helping to open up new channels of communication in the relatively less well-developed information environments of our broadcast regions. We also have an important comparative advantage by often being among the few, credible news sources in many vernacular languages. Thus, we see a growing opportunity to fulfill our core mission - by not only expanding information access, but also by democratizing information exchange and discourse.
Engage the World in Conversation about America
The position and policies of America in the world today inspire strong international reaction. International opinion polls and our own research suggest that dialogue, not monologue, will be among our best means of reaching people. Meeting this demand for dialogue is thus a strategic opportunity and a mission imperative. We know from the success of our call-in shows how readily our audiences respond to opportunities to talk to America. However, the strategy needs to go well beyond one particular program format and seek every opportunity possible to prompt two-way communication. At the same time, helping audiences understand clearly what America stands for, our principles, and our people is essential. Continuing to present accurate and comprehensive information to counteract misinformation and disinformation is critical. But we must also do so through improved web site interactivity, town hall exchanges linking America communities with counterparts abroad, and the use of English instruction as a unique means of engaging audiences.
Rationalize the Broadcasting Enterprise
Rationalizing U.S. international broadcasting following the end of the Cold War was an impetus behind the 1994 U.S. International Broadcasting Act. The Board has acted to consolidate global transmissions and program delivery and has eliminated or reduced lower priority language services and expanded higher priority services. The Board recognizes the necessity of continuing to evaluate options to realign the agency's resources to meet the Agency's mission most effectively and efficiently. We will continue to work toward a more unified broadcasting system that honors statutory mandates. Already, VOA and RFE/RL are producing coordinated program streams in Dari/Pashto for Afghanistan and in Farsi for Iran, while VOA and RFA are proposing a combined program stream for North Korea. RFE/RL and VOA also now share a bureau in Kabul.
Our most precious commodity is our broadcast credibility and program excellence. Credibility is key to success in broadcasting, and it is our greatest asset. If our audiences do not find our broadcasts to be credible, they will tune us out. If they tune us out, we sacrifice our mission. We know the value of our legislative mandate to broadcast accurate, objective, and comprehensive information. We must safeguard these concepts that underlie the integrity and impartiality of broadcast content. In recent weeks there has been great concern expressed regarding the quality of a number of programs broadcast by our Arabic television network, Alhurra. I will address some of these concerns later in my statement. But they emphasize our continuing need to update and enforce journalism standards on a regular basis across our broadcast spectrum, and not only sustain program reviews of all broadcast services, at least annually, to gauge overall programming quality and impact, but also to undertake ad hoc programming assessments as warranted to assess whether specific content areas are measuring up to the broadcasting principles applicable to all our broadcasts - the requirement that they be reliable and authoritative, accurate, objective, and comprehensive.
Research
Underlying the BBG's strategic process and decision-making is the rigorous use of research, both to evaluate program performance and to inform the development of more compelling broadcast formats that will resonate in competitive, but critical, international markets.
The BBG surveys every target country each year, where feasible, to ascertain audience levels, current media usage, and audience views of the credibility and quality of our programming. Research also aids broadcasters in determining the kinds of programs that resonate with audiences, and presents audience feedback for program improvement. On an annual basis, research typically takes the form of a national survey, monitoring panels consisting of both experts and audience members, on each of the broadcasters' programming in the country, focus groups and/or in-depth interviews on issues of market penetration.
Since 2002 BBG research has been managed through a single contract to encourage cost efficiency and cooperation between the IBB Office of Research and the research offices of RFE/RL and RFA, and has doubled its budget from about $4.3m in FY02 to about $8.5m today. Private research organizations such as AC Neilson conduct the samples or panels and focus groups on subcontract. These organizations follow the same procedures for BBG as they do for other U.S. government and non-governmental firms who do research in these target countries. But underlying these techniques, the journalistic product and integrity remain the same. BBG broadcasters provide accurate, objective, and comprehensive news and information in 57 languages around the world.
Programming
As BBG resources have shifted from areas of the world where the local media are increasingly free and robust to the Middle East and South Asia, the profile of U.S. international broadcasting has changed. A new grantee, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, carries Arabic language broadcasts to the Middle East. RFE/RL is now a major broadcaster to Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. RFE/RL reaches audiences in the Muslim countries of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Azerbaijan as well as the majority Muslim populations of Tatarstan, Bashkortostan and the North Caucasus. VOA has similarly enhanced its broadcasts to Iran, Afghanistan, Indonesia, a country with the world's largest Muslim population, Pakistan, and other critical nations.
Our audiences include large percentages of opinion-makers and "elites." As important, majorities of our audiences find the news we air to be reliable. Reliability and credibility are linked to our ability to consistently provide an authoritative source of news that is accurate, objective, and comprehensive.
Our continuing challenge is to ensure the highest degree of journalistic integrity, and to leverage the news and information power of our new channels to deepen our reach and impact with key audiences, particularly those in the Muslim world.
Let me highlight just one recent example of success. On April 12, Alhurra TV had exclusive, live coverage of the bombing inside the Iraqi Parliament. Alhurra had the story because it was already on the scene interviewing a member of parliament - something few networks do. Indeed, Alhurra in past months has stepped up its news coverage across the board, while also increasing its discussion of U.S. policies and actions.
As a member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, I believe this is the kind of effort the Board expects and that goes to the heart of what Congress calls on U.S. international broadcasting as a whole to do.
Arabic Broadcasting
To effectively communicate with the predominantly young audiences in the Middle East, the BBG created Radio Sawa, a 24/7 network of stations specifically designed to reach the large segment of the Arabic-speaking population under the age of 35. Radio Sawa went on the air in March 2002, attracting and sustaining a loyal audience throughout the Middle East as new transmission sites were added throughout the region. In 2007, Radio Sawa continues to offer discussion and informational programs such as the popular "Sawa Chat" interactive feature and the "Free Zone," a weekly review and discussion of democracy and freedom as they relate specifically to the Middle East.
Radio Sawa broadcasts on FM in Morocco (Rabat, Casablanca, Tangier, Meknes, Marrakesh, Agadir and Fes), Jordan (Amman and Ajlun), the Palestinian Territories (Ramallah and Jenin), Kuwait (Kuwait City), Bahrain (Manama), Qatar (Doha), U.A.E. (Abu Dhabi and Dubai), Iraq (Baghdad, Nasiriya, Basra, Mosul, Kirkuk, Sulimaniya and Erbil), Lebanon (Beirut, North Lebanon, South Lebanon and Bekaa Valley) and Djibouti. Radio Sawa broadcasts on medium wave to Egypt, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Sudan. However, Radio Sawa recently received permission from Sudan to expand its reach in that country and broadcast Radio Sawa on FM transmitters throughout Sudan.
The BBG launched Alhurra Television on February 14, 2004, covering 22 countries in the Middle East via the same satellites used by major indigenous Arabic channels. In the three years Alhurra has been broadcasting, the channel has provided in-depth coverage of historic events, such as elections throughout the Middle East including Iraq, Palestinian Territories, Egypt, U.A.E., Kuwait, Bahrain and Israel. Alhurra has been a consistent leader reporting on and analyzing new democratic trends in the Middle East, and has become a trusted source of news for its estimated 20 million weekly viewers.
Alhurra also gives its audience insights into life in America and the American system of government. During the U.S. electoral campaign in 2004 and the midterm elections in 2006, Alhurra provided daily in-depth coverage of the candidates and the issues that impacted the U.S. elections. Alhurra also dramatically increased its live news coverage of events and speeches by President Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and members of Congress. Additionally, Alhurra has reporters that cover the White House, Congress, State Department and the Pentagon. Alhurra's current affairs programs also highlight the U.S. Inside Washington takes viewers behind the scenes of the political process in Washington with guests such as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Alexander Haig and Members of Congress. The network also produced a documentary series on American culture and values. Americans proved to be a popular program with audiences and the Arabic press.
Current affairs programs such as Alhurra's Equality continue to be unique in the region's media, due to the limitations imposed by the countries that finance regional television networks. Hosted by a Saudi journalist, the program discusses the rights of women and tackles subjects such as young girls being forced into marriage, the right of women to drive and the rights of women in Islam. There has been remarkable feedback on this program and others, some praising the courageousness of this program and others condemning Alhurra for discussing these topics. In 2006 Alhurra also launched Eye on Democracy, focusing on democratic efforts throughout the Middle East and human rights abuses in the region.
Surveys show that, despite high levels of anti-American sentiment throughout the region, both Alhurra and Radio Sawa are regarded as credible sources of news and information by their audiences.
Alhurra Iraq, a special television stream containing more concentrated news and information to and about Iraq, began broadcasting in April 2004. Alhurra produced and broadcast the first televised electoral debate in Iraq's history, featuring six candidates representing the major political parties. This historic debate brought about a candid discussion among the candidates and provided a forum for the viewers to be able to compare and contrast each of the parties' candidates.
Alhurra Iraq is dedicated to challenges facing present-day Iraqis, with more than a third of its schedule devoted to issues in Iraq. Many of Alhurra Iraq programs and news reports originate from Alhurra's Baghdad bureau. Discussion programs such as "Talk of Two Rivers" give a voice to a wide range of Iraqis, from members of the government to everyday people concerned about the safety of their family. Additionally, Alhurra Iraq broadcasts two daily newscasts, "Iraq Today" and "News in Iraq," directed to the Iraq viewer.
RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq continues to provide the Iraqi people with breaking news and in-depth coverage of developments in Iraq and the Middle East. RFI appeals to a wide spectrum of listeners in Iraq, covering the most significant political issues in the country through its extensive network of stringers reporting through its Baghdad bureau. During 2006, the editors in Prague continued to develop thematic programming focused on democracy-building, and an enhanced website has shown strong growth topping more than 170,000 page views in December. A December 2005 survey showed listening rates for RFI at a weekly level of 21.6%. VOA's Kurdish service, which has quadrupled its radio broadcasts to four hours a week since 2002, reaches an estimated 31% of the Kurdish audience in Iraq.
BBG employees and stringers working for Alhurra, Sawa, and Radio Free Iraq face dangerous duty as journalists in Iraq. In 2006, for the fourth straight year, more journalists died in Iraq than in any other country in the world. Throughout 2006, Khamail Khalaf, a popular Radio Free Iraq broadcaster with a background in television journalism, gave back to the Iraqi people with sensitive, informative reports on the culture and history they nearly lost under the brutal regime of Saddam Hussein. In early April, 2007, Ms. Khalaf was abducted, tortured and murdered in Baghdad. She is survived by three children.
On February 9, 2005, Alhurra correspondent Abdul-Hussein Khazal and his 3-year-old son Mohammed were shot outside of their home in Basra by an unknown number of gunmen. Abdul-Hussein was killed immediately. He had been a correspondent for Radio Sawa for nearly two years and joined Alhurra in April 2004.
Iran
Broadcasting to Iran remains a key BBG priority. Pursuant to increased funding, VOA Persian television to Iran by June 2006 had essentially doubled its broadcast hours over 2005, and expanded fourfold by October 2006. This programming has been received in Iran with open arms. A December 2006 survey measures the total VOA TV audience in Iran at over 20 percent. VOA's current television lineup includes: NewsTalk, a discussion program with a panel of experts who examine the day's headlines; News and Views, VOA Persian's flagship program featuring live news coverage of the latest headlines from Iran and the world; Roundtable, a call-in and discussion program on politics and current affairs; Late Edition, a daily nightly wrap-up of the day's news, targeted to a younger demographic; and Newsbrief, the newest offering, featuring each day's headlines followed by History Channel documentaries highlighting the events and people who have shaped the U.S. cultural and political landscape. Over the summer, VOA Persian will launch two more hours of daily TV programs, including another News and Views program and A Woman's View, a talk show that discusses issues of interest to Iranian women.
Programming on human rights, democratic governance, freedom of speech, the rights of women and ethnic minorities, the issue of nuclear energy vs. nuclear weapon development, and news and analysis are constant features of our programming.
In the past year, Persian television featured an impressive array of prominent guests, including Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, Ambassador James Jeffreys, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, jailed journalist Akbar Gandji, Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, and many U.S. senators and representatives, and covered Senate and House hearings on Iran. In February, the Persian service's A Roundtable with You ran a month-long series exploring the impact and legacy of the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, with programs that featured interviews with prominent journalists, historians, scholars and others, including the late Shah's son, Reza Pahlavi.
Programming has included a range of topics including the role of religion in society; perversion of religion by the Islamic Republic in pursuit of political totalitarianism; discussions of the use of Islam to justify the oppression of women, free speech, free association and freedom of religion and culture, generates emails and other feedback from Iran as well as from Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Lebanon.
Radio Farda is another success story. In just four years since its launch in late 2002, Radio Farda has become the most popular international radio broadcaster in Iran with a 10.3 percent weekly listenership. Radio Farda's weekly reach compares very favorably with that of Radio Liberty to the USSR during the Cold War: under conditions of heavy jamming, Radio Liberty's weekly reach in the Soviet Union oscillated around 10 percent from 1985 until jamming was ended in November 1988. In 1989-1990 it rose to 16.8 percent, its highest recorded rate.
As Radio Farda has matured, and as funding has supported the addition of larger blocks of news and information, it has done so in its tradition as a "surrogate" broadcaster, presenting news about the country to which it broadcasts. Radio Farda finds direct sources of information from within Iran in spite of the challenging environment for journalism. Radio Farda carries more news and information daily than any other international broadcaster, about nine hours daily. This includes three 30-minute daily newsmagazine programs and one daily 60-minute newsmagazine program. Programs are produced in Washington and in Prague.
Because it is a 24/7 station, Radio Farda can interrupt programming at any time to cover breaking news or carry live, extended coverage of events such as U.S. presidential press conferences where Iran is discussed. Such programming is followed soon after by analysis and discussion of the news.
The Internet will become increasingly important in the lives of Iranians seeking objective news and information about Iran and the world. Since the launch of the new Radio Farda web site, with its enhanced news and analysis and increased interactivity, there has been a 77 percent increase in page views (5,687,821 in January 2007, compared to 3,218,127 in November 2006).
Radio Farda provided thorough news coverage and analysis of the December 15 municipal elections held throughout Iran, widely considered a setback for conservative forces aligned with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In addition to pre-election analysis and hour-by-hour coverage of the voting from correspondents in all provinces on Election Day, Radio Farda broadcast comments from both Iranian party leaders and international experts on Iran. In its human rights reporting, Radio Farda covered government attacks against women, including the Tehran police dispersing a gathering to mark International Women's Day by beating the assembled women. On December 11, within minutes of receiving word that students at Tehran's Amir Kabir University were heckling President Ahmadinejad during a speech he was giving, Radio Farda reported the news to its listeners around the country and featured photos, taken by the demonstrators, on the Radio Farda web site.
Pakistan
VOA introduced a new, youth-oriented, 12/7 radio station, Radio Aap ki Dunyaa (Your World) in 2004. The station has continued to attract a growing number of listeners to its news, information, roundtable discussions, call-in shows, interviews, features, and music. Research indicates that Radio Aap ki Dunyaa's listenership has doubled since its debut.
Stories of interest to VOA's Muslim audience are a central part of the Urdu Service's programming on radio, the Web, and television. The Service provided detailed coverage of the 2006 U.S. mid-term elections, with a particular focus on the perspectives of American Muslims, both Republican and Democratic. VOA followed the campaign and successful election of Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN), the first Muslim member of Congress, as well as his oath-taking on Thomas Jefferson's Qur'an. A five-part interfaith discussion underscored the freedom of religion in the U.S.
VOA's Urdu Service entered the television market in November 2005 with a 30-minute program, Beyond the Headlines, a news magazine featuring current affairs, discussions of issues behind the news, and feature stories illustrating shared values between Pakistanis and Americans. The show airs every weekday during prime time on GEO, Pakistan's most widely watched satellite TV channel. The program includes in-depth reports from VOA's Islamabad bureau on Pakistani politics and cultural issues; hard-hitting interviews with newsmakers, policy experts, diplomats and journalists; and stories examining the similarities between life in Pakistan and the United States, including Pakistani-American life and its contribution to both cultures. According to GEO-TV's market research, Beyond the Headlines is the most widely watched program in Pakistan during the 7:30 to 8:00 p.m. local time slot.
Afghanistan
Pursuant to the Radio Free Afghanistan Act, the BBG has increased broadcasting to Afghanistan. Together, RFE/RL and VOA provide a 24-hour daily radio service in the Dari and Pashto languages that has a vast audience reach in Afghanistan. In addition, VOA provides a one-hour daily television program to state-owned Kabul TV. An Intermedia survey in September, 2006, found RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan to have the highest weekly reach of any communications medium in Afghanistan, including domestic radio and TV, at 58.0%. Afghanistan is the only country in the RFE/RL broadcast region where a U.S. government-funded broadcaster is the dominant media. With its wide audience and high level of public trust, Radio Free Afghanistan is a key media outlet in Afghanistan for both U.S. and Afghan officials.
VOA shares the 24-hour radio broadcast clock with RFE/RL, providing up-to-the-minute news and information to large Afghan audiences and achieving a 40% weekly reach. In addition, VOA has also launched new television programming to engage broad Afghan audiences. In September, VOA launched TV Ashna, a Saturday through Thursday 60-minute TV news program (30 minutes each in Dari and Pashto), broadcast directly to viewers nationwide via satellite and its affiliate Radio and TV Afghanistan (RTA). This coverage now complements VOA's 12 hours of extensive radio programming to the country. TV and Radio Ashna feature regular segments on American Muslims and Civil Rights, Islam in America, and Islam and Democracy through the segment's interviews and daily live call-in programs.
Pakistan-Afghanistan Border Region
In August, VOA introduced Radio Deewa (Light), a new broadcast stream aimed at the 40 million Pashto-speaking people living in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region. On March 25, VOA's Deewa Radio successfully expanded its broadcast schedule from three to six hours a day, including two new 60-minute talk shows and a 60-minute entertainment program that includes features and music. This program offers local, regional, and international news as well as features on Islam in America, including interviews with prominent Muslim leaders. VOA Pashto Deewa Radio features a daily segment called "Islam in America," and recently had live reports from Eid Celebrations by Muslims in America. Additionally, Deewa Radio focuses on the Islamic world through its daily call-in shows.
Conclusion
Let me conclude with some remarks on the recent controversy regarding certain Alhurra broadcasts during the period of November 2006 to February 2007. We acknowledge Alhurra's error during this period in airing several reports that lacked journalistic or academic merit. These were a very small fraction of the networks' broadcasting output, but nevertheless are unacceptable. As a result of these errors, Alhurra is expediting the establishment of enhanced editorial structures to centralize editorial control and to ensure that programming adheres to the standards under which all BBG broadcasting entities operate.
Upon his arrival at Alhurra in November 2006, the new Vice President for News, Larry Register, was given the mandate to increase Alhurra's news output. Despite reports to the contrary, he has made no significant change in the editorial policy at Alhurra.
Within these first months of transition, there were significant and unprofessional breeches in Alhurra's editorial policy on thr part of both contractors and employees. It is intolerable to any of us, including Mr. Register, that existing internal controls were not sufficient to prevent them. With these program errors standing as painful indicators of the need for additional controls, we are moving forward to shore up our management structure to better ensure journalistic accountability and professionalism for all programming.
Alhurra management has initiated managerial and procedural changes to centralize editorial control. A central Assignment Desk has been established to provide quality control and communicate more effectively on existing reports and plans for future coverage. The Assignment Desk instills a workflow that makes editors accountable for monitoring news items before, and while, they are delivered. It creates a central point of communication in the newsroom and links the news producers and the teams working in the field.
The Desk monitors and flags material as it is ordered and received from correspondents in the field. Staffed by three Assignment Editors and a Chief Editor, this desk is the first line of editorial control in the newsroom for field coverage.
The VP for News is also creating News Teams to improve consistency of reporting and a sense of mission. Comprised of Senior Producer, Producer, Writers, Associate Producer, Production Assistants, and News Presenters, these teams will increase cohesiveness and shared common standards among the staff. They will also foster consistent evaluation and monitoring throughout the news staff and facilitate identification of individual standards or agendas that could allow substandard or agenda-driven material to make it to air.
Recruitment of key managerial personnel and quality journalists is ongoing. Positions have been filled that directly affect internal editorial controls. Mr. Register has appointed a Chief Editor of News and a Senior Coordinating Producer to train and monitor staff. Both new hires are Western trained journalists. (One is American, fluent in Arabic, the other Egyptian.).
Staff training is an activity that should be ongoing and rigorous. A training plan for Alhurra that will enhance the skills of our employees and the quality of our programming is underway. It will stress a common understanding of production and editorial expectations. Training will be implemented by the end of the fiscal year through a series of mandatory workshops.
In addition to the steps above being taken at Alhurra, the BBG will contract for an objective, independent review of Alhurra programming to examine its journalistic integrity and adherence to the standards and principles of the U.S. International Broadcasting Act. Our expectation is that the study will be conducted by an impartial U.S. center of learning with specialties in Middle Eastern studies and the field of journalism, with particular focus on the media environments and the practice of journalism in the Middle East. We are in discussions with a number of U.S. universities to pursue this.
It is the intention of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, not only to conduct a thorough and independent evaluation of Alhurra broadcasts to the Middle East and to seek guidance and recommendations for improvement - but also, to put in place a more robust process for regularly evaluating the content and production values of broadcasts on both Alhurra television and Radio Sawa. Such a process already exists for other entities of the BBG, and it is our intention to ensure that broadcasts to the Middle East - no less than those to any other part of the world - are rigorously evaluated through our own internal quality control methods, so that it can be reaffirmed on a regular basis that MBN programming meets the requirements of our legislatively mandated mission. We believe such independent analysis will provide guidance on the need for further training and program monitoring at Alhurra, and help us take further actions to renew confidence in our ability to reach Middle East audiences with original broadcast programming that will reflect the highest standards of American journalism.
Let me stress that the program segments at issue, while egregious examples of what we do not want to broadcast to the world, are not representative of our overall programming. They are anomalies in the thousands of hours of Alhurra's accurate, comprehensive, objective, and professional coverage. The staff at Alhurra, from top to bottom, are devoted to their broadcast mission and are anxious to work to restore confidence in all of its programming.
Recently, Alhurra has significantly increased its news coverage, including of U.S. policy developments, congressional hearings, and regional news, as well as commentary and analysis. Our expanded programming goes beyond covering American policy to include insightful coverage of events and people not found elsewhere on Arabic language television, such as live coverage of a press conference of a delegation of Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious leaders following their meeting with Secretary Rice (Jan. 29); a report of a visit to the Holocaust Museum by members of the Washington, DC Muslim community (Dec. 20); live coverage of Secretary Rice presenting International Women of Courage awards to three Arab women on International Women's Day (March 7); and an original weekly series on Islam in America which reports on topics such as the International Museum of Muslim Culture in Mississippi.
Alhurra is the only channel in the region that has programs dedicated to the discussion of the rights of women and human rights. "Musawat" (Arabic for "Equality") has recently tackled topics such as the rights of women in politics, the impact of divorce on women in the Gulf, abusive relationships and the debate over whether women should have to wear veils. Another unique talk show is "All Directions" which is a weekly round-up of the most prominent events in the Middle East and discusses these issues with guests that can give the American perspective.
In my letter to the editor of the Wall Street Journal, I noted the feedback I received from Israeli and Arab leaders, inside and outside of government. I was told consistently that Alhurra is filling a void in the Middle East by providing accurate and objective information about America, and by addressing issues absent on other Arab news stations including; free speech, human rights, women empowerment, and government accountability - all building blocks for freedom and democracy.
Alhurra is gaining respect in the region and is starting to make a difference. We are all committed to Alhurra achieving its important mission of allowing America to communicate directly to the people of the Middle East, and we want to work with you to ensure that the network is successful in accomplishing its mission.
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