FreeMediaOnline.org & Free Media Online Blog QuoVadis Commentary, October 31, 2008, San Francisco — Free Media Online Blog welcomes a new guest contributor who provides a unique perspective on U.S. international broadcasting and public diplomacy. We invite your comments. The Great Pumpkin — A Halloween Look At U.S. Public Diplomacy and International Broadcasting QuoVadis It’s Halloween time when shadowy figures and…
FreeMediaOnline.org and Free Media Online Blog October 22, 2008, San Francisco — Voice of America (VOA) has taken a small step to restore radio broadcasts to Russia which were terminated by the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) shortly before the Russian military attack on Georgia. Responding to criticism from Congress and media freedom organizations, the BBG staff has allowed VOA to start…
FreeMediaOnline.org & Free Media Online Blog The Federalist Commentary, October 16, 2008, San Francisco — U.S. public diplomacy and international broadcasting have become a fool’s paradise, putting the “ugly American” stereotype on display. One example has been discussed at length…the strategic “vision” of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) to adopt an all-or-nothing Internet strategy for its media. No other international…
FreeMediaOnline.org & Free Media Online Blog The Federalist Commentary, October 16, 2008, San Francisco — “May you live in interesting times.” No one knows with certainty if this proverb is a famous Chinese curse or not. However, one can certainly accept the fact that these times are indeed interesting…meaning troubled…in many spheres including economics and international broadcasting. While the fine points…
FreeMediaOnline.org and Free Media Online Blog October 8, 2008, San Francisco — Unlike the Voice of America (VOA), which had eliminated radio broadcasts to Russia shortly before the Russian invasion of Georgia, the BBC has decided to continue producing Russian-language radio programs while also expanding its Internet and video production. FreeMediaOnline.org has obtained the details of the new British broadcasting strategy for Russia, which was announced by…
FreeMediaOnline.org and Free Media Online Blog Commentary by Ted Lipien, October 7, 2008, San Francisco — U.S. public diplomacy is in crisis, as is U.S. international broadcasting. Officials in charge of both, including James K. Glassman, the current Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, put their hope in the Internet, other new media platforms, and heavy marketing to help…
Window on Eurasia, Vienna, October 4 –- Three leading figures of the Russian opposition are calling on Washington to reverse its decision to reduce Radio Liberty’s Russian-language broadcasts next year, lest Russian citizens, at a time when Moscow has established “practically complete control” over domestic radio and television lose a vital source of “objective information.” State Department, the foreign affairs…
FreeMediaOnline.org & Free Media Online Blog Commentary by Ted Lipien, October 4, 2008, San Francisco — James Glassman, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, gave incomplete and misleading answers when asked Friday whether the elimination of vernacular broadcasts to Georgia, Russia, and India is going to hurt his “war of ideas” effort. Speaking in Washington at a National Press Club…
FreeMediaOnline.org & Free Media Online Blog September 30, 2008, San Francisco — Sources say that the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) tried to recruit John Cochran of NBC, then ABC News, as their high profile public relations guru. According to earlier reports, the BBG also tried to recruit Paula Zahn, who turned them down. The yearly cost of such a position is well over $100,000. The same bipartisan Board, which…
FreeMediaOnline.org & Free Media Online Blog Commentary by Ted Lipien, September 29, 2008, San Francisco — The Broadcasting Board of Governors’ decision to prevent the Voice of America from being a broadcaster in Russia has destroyed VOA’s ability to have any significant impact on the Kremlin and the Russian public opinion. With its radio broadcasts silenced by the BBG just 12 days before the…