{"id":9422,"date":"2014-04-28T18:27:21","date_gmt":"2014-04-28T22:27:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=9422"},"modified":"2014-07-03T10:37:52","modified_gmt":"2014-07-03T14:37:52","slug":"draft-bill-outlines-major-changes-to-bbg-and-us-international-broadcasting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/04\/draft-bill-outlines-major-changes-to-bbg-and-us-international-broadcasting\/","title":{"rendered":"Draft bill outlines major changes to BBG and US International Broadcasting"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/BBG-Logo.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-1153\" src=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/BBG-Logo-300x207.png\" alt=\"BBG-Logo\" width=\"300\" height=\"207\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/BBG-Logo-300x207.png 300w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/BBG-Logo.png 650w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Many thanks to Dan Robinson who shares <a title=\"BBG Watch\" href=\"http:\/\/bbgwatch.com\/bbgwatch\/major-reform-of-u-s-international-broadcasting-and-public-diplomacy-to-be-proposed-in-congress\/\" target=\"_blank\">this post on the BBG Watch<\/a> which outlines major changes to US International Broadcasting.<\/p>\n<p>The draft bill, originating in the <em>House Foreign Affairs Committee<\/em>, is known as the <em><a href=\"http:\/\/foreignaffairs.house.gov\/bill\/hr-united-states-international-communications-reform-act-2014\" target=\"_blank\">United States International Communications Reform Act of 2014<\/a>. <\/em>The bill outlines:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;the creation of the <em>United States International Communications Agency<\/em> within the executive branch of Government as an independent establishment&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>creating an <em>Advisory Board of the United States International Communications Agency&#8211;<\/em>as the name implies, this board would serve in an advisory (in\u00a0lieu\u00a0of management) capacity<\/li>\n<li>a new CEO of the <em>United States International Communications Agency<\/em>, who would be &#8220;appointed for a five-year term and renewable at the Board\u2019s discretion. The CEO would exercise broad executive powers.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>the creation of the <em>Consolidated Grantee Organization<\/em>, for the non-federal grantees of the BBG who would be consolidated &#8220;and reconstituted under a single organizational structure and management framework.&#8221; This would affect the following agencies:\n<ul>\n<li><em>Radio Free Europe\/Radio Liberty<\/em> (RFE\/RL),<\/li>\n<li><em>Radio Free Asia<\/em> (RFA), and<\/li>\n<li><em>Middle East Broadcasting Networks<\/em> (MBN)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;The <em>Consolidated Grantee Organization<\/em> would have its own board and its own CEO.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;The <em>Voice of America<\/em> would be placed within the the <em>United States International Communications Agency<\/em>.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Changes to the VOA charter including more freedom and flexibility to report the news. BBG Watch quotes:\u00a0<em>&#8220;The Voice of America\u2019s success over more than seven decades has created valuable brand identity and international recognition that justifies the maintenance of the Voice of America; the Voice of America\u2019s public diplomacy mission remains essential to broader United States Government efforts to communicate with foreign populations; and despite its tremendous historical success, the Voice of America would benefit substantially from a recalibration of Federal international broadcasting agencies and resources, which would provide the Voice of America with greater mission focus and flexibility in the deployment of news, programming, and content.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<li>The new bill also outlines sharing resources between the VOA and the new <em>Consolidated Grantee Organization<\/em> (which currently maintains much of its own network infrastructure)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There are many, many more points to this bill thus I would encourage you to <a title=\"BBG Watch\" href=\"http:\/\/bbgwatch.com\/bbgwatch\/major-reform-of-u-s-international-broadcasting-and-public-diplomacy-to-be-proposed-in-congress\/\" target=\"_blank\">read the BBG Watch post in full for all details<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Many thanks to Dan Robinson who shares this post on the BBG Watch which outlines major changes to US International Broadcasting. The draft bill, originating in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is known as the United States International Communications Reform Act of 2014. The bill outlines: &#8220;the creation of the United States International Communications Agency [&hellip;]<\/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":[56,3,43],"tags":[406,936,2810,3081,3082,1106,1531,2809,2811,10,182],"class_list":["post-9422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-broadcasters","category-news","category-shortwave-radio","tag-bbg","tag-broadcasting-board-of-governors","tag-consolidated-grantee-organization","tag-h-r-4490","tag-hr4490","tag-ibb","tag-international-broadcasting-bureau","tag-united-states-international-communications-agency","tag-united-states-international-communications-reform-act-of-2014","tag-voa","tag-voice-of-america"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-2rY","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10387,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/07\/us-house-passes-h-r-4490\/","url_meta":{"origin":9422,"position":0},"title":"US House passes H.R. 4490","author":"Thomas","date":"July 28, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The\u00a0United States International Communications Reform Act of 2014 (H.R. 4490)\u00a0has just passed the the House today, next it will go before the US Senate. This bill proposes major changes to the overall structure of US international broadcasting. Click here to read previous posts about the bill\u00a0and read the press release\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Broadcasters&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"View of the Capitol Building from the roof of the Voice of America on 330 Independence Ave., S.W.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/K3VOA12-1024x682.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/K3VOA12-1024x682.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/K3VOA12-1024x682.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10156,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/07\/ny-times-journalists-at-odds-with-union-over-voas-role\/","url_meta":{"origin":9422,"position":1},"title":"NY Times: Journalists &#8220;at Odds With Union&#8221; over VOA&#8217;s role","author":"Thomas","date":"July 3, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The\u00a0New York Times, in a \u00a0recent article, describes\u00a0a growing\u00a0split between the VOA Union (American Federation of Government Employees Local 1812) and VOA journalists over the proposed changes to the VOA mission (via H.R. 4490), which would make it an active voice of American policy. (Many thanks to SWLing Post reader,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Broadcasters&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"nytLogo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/nytLogo.jpg?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":9422,"position":2},"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 &quot;Broadcasters&quot;","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":5352,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/01\/smith-mundt-act-eliminated-voa-free-to-broadcast-domestically\/","url_meta":{"origin":9422,"position":3},"title":"Smith-Mundt Act eliminated, VOA free to broadcast domestically","author":"Thomas","date":"January 11, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: VOA News) WASHINGTON, D.C.\u00a0\u2014 Voice of America will soon be able to make its programs available to the U.S. public following passage of new legislation signed by President Obama Wednesday. The legislation, which is part of the National Defense Authorization Act, eliminates the longstanding ban on domestic distribution of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Broadcasters&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"voa logo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/a999voalogo_2050081722-26491.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":19212,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/05\/proposed-amendment-to-national-defense-authorization-act-calls-for-privatization-of-voa\/","url_meta":{"origin":9422,"position":4},"title":"Proposed amendment to National Defense Authorization Act calls for privatization of VOA","author":"Thomas","date":"May 27, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: BBG Watch via Andrea Borgnino) BBG Watch has learned that a proposed privatization of the U.S. taxpayer-funded Voice of America (VOA) is widely opposed by Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) federal employees, their union, the independent Committee for U.S. International Broadcasting (CUSIB \u2013 cusib.org), and numerous foreign policy and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Broadcasters&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"View of the Capitol Building from the roof of the Voice of America on 330 Independence Ave., S.W.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/K3VOA12-1024x682.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/K3VOA12-1024x682.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/K3VOA12-1024x682.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16395,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/bbg-watch-bbg-hit-with-400m-employee-contractors-suit\/","url_meta":{"origin":9422,"position":5},"title":"BBG Watch: BBG hit with $400M employee contractors suit","author":"Thomas","date":"December 23, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: BBG Watch via Dan Robinson) A $400 million class action lawsuit was filed Monday in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims against the Broadcasting Board of Governors over personnel and contracting practices overseen by top agency officials in recent years. The plaintiffs, several Voice of America (VOA) workers, allege\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Broadcasters&quot;","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\/9422","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=9422"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9422\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}