{"id":6151,"date":"2013-04-09T16:02:52","date_gmt":"2013-04-09T20:02:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=6151"},"modified":"2013-04-09T16:02:52","modified_gmt":"2013-04-09T20:02:52","slug":"heritage-foundation-bbg-is-cutting-the-most-cost-effective-part-of-its-organization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/04\/heritage-foundation-bbg-is-cutting-the-most-cost-effective-part-of-its-organization\/","title":{"rendered":"Heritage Foundation: BBG is cutting “the most cost-effective part of its organization”"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"One<\/a>

One of the 19 curtain antennas on the campus of the Edward R. Murrow Transmitting Site (Click to enlarge)<\/p><\/div>\n

For those of you not familiar, note that the\u00a0The Heritage Foundation\u00a0is a US\u00a0conservative\u00a0think tank\u00a0based in\u00a0Washington, D.C. whose mission is to “formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.”<\/p>\n

(Source: Heritage Foundation<\/a>)<\/p>\n

The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) recently informed its workforce about sequestration cuts to Voice of America\u2019s (VOA) shortwave and medium-wave broadcasting. Ironically, the Board is cutting the most cost-effective part of its organization: radio.<\/p>\n

It would be more rational to cut the bloated management and administration of the International Broadcasting Bureau, which accounts for over 36 percent of the 2013 BBG budget request. Television broadcasting would also be a good place to look for savings, being far more expensive to produce and highly variable in terms of ratings.<\/p>\n

Last year, however, the BBG declared in its \u201cStrategic Plan<\/a>\u201d that radio is a \u201clegacy medium,\u201d a hold over from the past compared to television and the Internet. Now a golden opportunity has presented itself for the BBG staff. Thus, under the guise of complying with sequestration, the board has moved ahead with plans to cut radio, plans that have been fought by Members of Congress<\/a> and heavily criticized by supporters of U.S. public diplomacy for several years.<\/p>\n

One vocal critic was former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, no less. During her Benghazi testimony<\/a> in January, Clinton had harsh words for the BBG. Clinton bemoaned the fact that the U.S. government has \u201cabandoned broadcasting to the Middle East,\u201d and stated that the BBG, which is responsible, is \u201ca defunct agency.\u201d While this is hardly true in terms of budget, it is in terms of leadership.<\/p>\n

Under sequestration, the BBG must cut $37.2 million out of its total budget of $720 million<\/a>. The announced cuts in shortwave and medium-wave broadcasting are a drop in the bucket, a mere $5.3 million. While efficiencies should certainly be part of the budget picture, decimating the agency\u2019s core mission\u2014broadcasting\u2014should not. Moreover, management has made it clear that these cuts are permanent and not reversible.<\/p>\n

[…]It means deep cuts in broadcasting in Cantonese to China, Dari and Pashto to Afghanistan, English to Africa and Asia, Khmer to Cambodia, and English-learning programs around the world. It further means elimination of medium-wave and shortwave broadcasting in Albanian, Georgian, Persian, and Spanish, as well as in English to Afghanistan and in English to the Middle East.<\/p>\n

The document notes that national FM and television affiliates will continue to carry VOA broadcasting. The catch is that local affiliates are subject to the whims of the host countries, with all the vulnerabilities and complications that entails.[…]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read the full article on the Heritage Foundation website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For those of you not familiar, note that the\u00a0The Heritage Foundation\u00a0is a US\u00a0conservative\u00a0think tank\u00a0based in\u00a0Washington, D.C. whose mission is to “formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.” (Source: Heritage Foundation) The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) recently […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8,3,43],"tags":[406,936,1531,10,182],"class_list":["post-6151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-news","category-shortwave-radio","tag-bbg","tag-broadcasting-board-of-governors","tag-international-broadcasting-bureau","tag-voa","tag-voice-of-america"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-1Bd","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6264,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/04\/heritage-foundation-bbg-isnt-listening\/","url_meta":{"origin":6151,"position":0},"title":"Heritage Foundation: BBG isn’t listening","author":"Thomas","date":"April 19, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: Heritage Foundation) U.S. international broadcasting strategy again landed under congressional scrutiny in Wednesday\u2019s House Foreign Affairs Committee\u00a0hearing. Representative Brad Sherman (D\u2013CA) wanted to know why the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) ignored the congressional mandate to keep broadcasting to Pakistan in several local languages. In spite of a specific\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"BBG-Logo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/BBG-Logo-300x207.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2158,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2011\/11\/bbg-meets-to-discuss-strategic-management-of-u-s-international-broadcasting\/","url_meta":{"origin":6151,"position":1},"title":"BBG meets to discuss strategic management of U.S. international broadcasting","author":"Thomas","date":"November 11, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: BBG) The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) will meet on Friday, November 18 at BBG headquarters in Washington, D.C., with a focus on its strategic management of U.S. international broadcasting. The Board will consider recommendations from the BBG\u2019s Governance Committee including the 2012 meeting schedule and receive briefings on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/BBG-Logo-300x207.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3377,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/bbg-watch-ashe-seeks-comments-on-u-s-international-broadcasting\/","url_meta":{"origin":6151,"position":2},"title":"BBG Watch: Ashe seeks comments on U.S. international broadcasting","author":"Thomas","date":"April 23, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"This is a great opportunity to communicate directly with a BBG member who wants your input regarding upcoming changes to US international broadcasting: (Source: BBG Watch) Often referred to as a senior Republican member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), Ambassador Victor Ashe has invited the public, including BBG\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/BBG-Logo-300x207.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":22545,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/breaking-news-beginning-of-the-end-of-the-broadcasting-board-of-governors-bbg\/","url_meta":{"origin":6151,"position":3},"title":"Breaking News: Beginning of the end of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG)","author":"Thomas","date":"December 1, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor\u00a0Dan Robinson--former White House, Congressional and foreign correspondent for the Voice of America--who alerts us to a major development at the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG). Note that the BBG supervises the Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe\/Radio Liberty, Radio y Television Marti, Radio\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"(Photo BBG)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/BBG-Broadcasting-Board-of-Governors.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/BBG-Broadcasting-Board-of-Governors.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/BBG-Broadcasting-Board-of-Governors.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/BBG-Broadcasting-Board-of-Governors.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14434,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/08\/lansing-named-ceo-of-the-broadcasting-board-of-governors\/","url_meta":{"origin":6151,"position":4},"title":"Lansing Named CEO of the Broadcasting Board of Governors","author":"Thomas","date":"August 20, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: Broadcasting Board of Governors Press Release) WASHINGTON \u2013 The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), the independent federal government agency that oversees all U.S. civilian international media, today announced the appointment of John Lansing as Chief Executive Officer and Director of the BBG. Lansing will begin his service at the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"John Lansing (Source: BBG)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/JohnLansing_Headshot-731x1024-214x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":16499,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/bbg-watch-apology-issued-for-digital-media-outages\/","url_meta":{"origin":6151,"position":5},"title":"BBG Watch: Apology issued for digital media outages","author":"Thomas","date":"December 31, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Some of you may have noticed that the Voice of America has been having problems with their online and internal digital content the past few days. The BBG Watch--a watchdog for US government broadcasting--took a very critical look at the recent failures and connects them to a much bigger picture\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"BBG-Logo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/BBG-Logo-300x207.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6151\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}