$157,500 Managing Editor job at Voice of America

BBG Watch Commentary

The management of the U.S. taxpayer-funded Voice of America has announced recruitment for a Managing Editor position, which pays from $124,994 to $157,500 per year in salary plus all the benefits of permanent federal government employment.

The job announcement on USAJOBS.gov was posted on Thursday, September 11, 2014 and will remain open until Tuesday, October 14, 2014.

The position’s series and grade is: GS-1082-15

The incumbent serves as Managing Editor of the VOA News Center with responsibility for news produced in the English language that is used in programs, affiliate feeds, or published online by the Voice of America.

Internal and external critics say that the Voice of America is in the midst of a major management crisis. The organization already has numerous executives, advisors, managers, program coordinators and senior editors holding SES or GS or GM 15 and 14 positions, yet VOA English news reporting, its main website and social media outreach have been a disaster, with important news, often from Washington, not being posted, posted late or not updated.

Because of job security that comes with federal employment and poor senior management, failed executives and managers are moved from position to position and new job openings are created. The agency has the lowest employee morale among federal government agencies of similar size. Instead of carrying out reforms and making changes, VOA’s upper management organizes Bingo Nights and Ice Cream Socials for employees and themselves. These efforts are not working and some of the most talented VOA correspondents have left the organization in frustration despite good pay.

READ: Former VOA WH reporter comments on Andy Lack’s appointment to BBG, BBG Watch, September 24, 2014

Andy Lack, Chairman of the Bloomberg Media Group for the past year, has just been named by the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) to become the BBG’s first CEO with management responsibilities for the Voice of America. But his appointment has not been finalized and he had nothing to do with the posting of this VOA Managing Editor position.

While VOA does not have enough journalists to cover news, many former VOA journalists now occupy high-paying bureaucratic and program support jobs. VOA and the entire federal part of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) agency have experienced a tremendous growth in the number of bureaucratic positions in recent years while numerous journalistic positions and media programs were cut by the management. The BBG’s International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) has seen a 37 % growth in its bureaucratic positions in the last seven years.

Positions and salaries at the Broadcasting Board of Governors can be checked at this database. (For agency, type Broadcasting Board of Governors.)

The Voice of America Managing Editor position was posted several days before the Broadcasting Board of Governors announced Tuesday that it intends to hire respected journalist and media executive Andrew Lack as Chief Executive Officer of the federal agency that oversees the five networks and broadcasting operations of U.S. international media. Those networks include Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio and TV Martí, Radio Free Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks.

Presumably, Andy Lack would want to have something to say about who would fill the $157,500 Managing Editor job at Voice of America, but government regulations may prevent him from actually making the selection. At this point, he is not even a government employee as his appointment has not been finalized. The sooner, the better.

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Managing Editor