{"id":9934,"date":"2014-06-15T07:12:34","date_gmt":"2014-06-15T11:12:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=9934"},"modified":"2014-07-03T10:38:19","modified_gmt":"2014-07-03T14:38:19","slug":"washington-post-voa-needs-to-keep-an-objective-voice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/06\/washington-post-voa-needs-to-keep-an-objective-voice\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington Post: VOA needs to keep an “objective voice”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to Richard Cuff for sharing this editorial from the Washington Post<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\"WashingtonPostLogo\"<\/a>(Source: Washington Post<\/a>)<\/p>\n

AS AUTHORITARIAN states such as Russia and China ramp up well-funded and sophisticated global propaganda operations, U.S. officials and members of Congress fret that the U.S. government\u2019s information operations are lagging behind.\u00a0[…]<\/p>\n

A bipartisan bill headed for the House floor after more than a year of study and drafting would tackle some of these problems. But it also would take a dangerous step toward converting the most venerable and listened-to U.S. outlet, Voice of America, into another official mouthpiece.[…]<\/p>\n

The bill sponsored by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Edward R. Royce (R-Calif.) and ranking Democrat Eliot L. Engel (N.Y.) would refocus VOA on reporting \u201cUnited States and international news and information,\u201d which might eliminate some of the overlap. It also would usefully reorganize the management of the surrogates, combining them into one non-federal entity called the Freedom News Network and creating an independent governing board similar to the one that directs the National Endowment for Democracy.<\/p>\n

However, the bill would define VOA as an instrument of U.S. \u201cpublic diplomacy,\u201d fold it into a new United States International Communications Agency and require programming that \u201cis consistent with and promotes the broad foreign policies of the United States.\u201d Quarterly meetings would be required with the State Department undersecretary charged with directing public diplomacy. This mandate inevitably would conflict with VOA\u2019s historic mission of producing \u201caccurate, objective and comprehensive news\u201d; how could stories about controversial subjects such as the Guantanamo Bay prison or National Security Agency spying be \u201cobjective\u201d and supportive of U.S. policy? The result could be an exodus of VOA\u2019s best journalists and a steep drop in its credibility with international audiences.<\/p>\n

[…]The United States will never beat China and Russia in the game of official propaganda, but it can win the war of ideas \u2014 if it doesn\u2019t lose faith in its own principles.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read the full editorial at the\u00a0Washington Post<\/a>\u00a0website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to Richard Cuff for sharing this editorial from the Washington Post: (Source: Washington Post) AS AUTHORITARIAN states such as Russia and China ramp up well-funded and sophisticated global propaganda operations, U.S. officials and members of Congress fret that the U.S. government\u2019s information operations are lagging behind.\u00a0[…] A bipartisan bill headed for the House […]<\/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":[56,960,3,1850],"tags":[406,936,3081,3082,1106,1531,10,182],"class_list":["post-9934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-broadcasters","category-international-broadcasting","category-news","category-propaganda","tag-bbg","tag-broadcasting-board-of-governors","tag-h-r-4490","tag-hr4490","tag-ibb","tag-international-broadcasting-bureau","tag-voa","tag-voice-of-america"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-2Ae","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":27380,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/07\/editorial-doesnt-mention-rfe-and-voa-audio-broadcasts\/","url_meta":{"origin":9934,"position":0},"title":"Editorial doesn’t mention RFE and VOA audio broadcasts","author":"Thomas","date":"July 31, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ed, who writes: The Washington Post's Editorial Board put out this opinion piece this weekend entitled, \"Russian propaganda has flooded U.S. airwaves. How about some reciprocity?\" I wrote to them at and asked why they didn't mention the U.S. Government's considerable state media\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\/2016\/08\/Grace-Digital-Mondo-Front-Panel-1-1024x678.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Grace-Digital-Mondo-Front-Panel-1-1024x678.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Grace-Digital-Mondo-Front-Panel-1-1024x678.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10387,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/07\/us-house-passes-h-r-4490\/","url_meta":{"origin":9934,"position":1},"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 "Broadcasters"","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":24146,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/02\/voa-museum-celebrates-voa-75th-anniversary\/","url_meta":{"origin":9934,"position":2},"title":"VOA Museum celebrates VOA 75th anniversary","author":"Thomas","date":"February 15, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: Southgate ARC) National VOA Museum to celebrate 75th anniversary of Voice of America There\u2019s an important birthday celebration in West Chester this year: the 75th anniversary of the Voice of America. \u201cWe\u2019re planning a series of events and exhibits this year to celebrate the VOA\u2019s commitment across America and\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\/2015\/05\/VOA-Bethany-1-13-1024x678.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/VOA-Bethany-1-13-1024x678.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/VOA-Bethany-1-13-1024x678.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5352,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/01\/smith-mundt-act-eliminated-voa-free-to-broadcast-domestically\/","url_meta":{"origin":9934,"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 "Broadcasters"","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":3873,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2012\/07\/smith-mundt-is-a-tough-act-to-follow-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":9934,"position":4},"title":"Smith-Mundt is a tough Act to follow","author":"Thomas","date":"July 3, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"May, June and July have been very busy months for me (hence the lack of daily updates). In May, I attended and presented at the North American Shortwave Broadcasters annual meeting in Washington DC, then spent nearly a week in Ohio at the Dayton Hamvention--June and July have been filled\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\/2012\/05\/DC-Capital-Building.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":22769,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/washington-post-a-big-change-to-u-s-broadcasting-is-coming\/","url_meta":{"origin":9934,"position":5},"title":"Washington Post: “A big change to U.S. broadcasting is coming”","author":"Thomas","date":"December 11, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Langley, who shares this editorial from the The Washington Post:\" \"FOR YEARS, members of Congress have fumed about what they regard as ineffective U.S. public diplomacy, including the failure of broadcasting operations such as the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe\/Radio Liberty\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","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":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9934","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=9934"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9934\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}