BBG Watch Commentary
The dysfunctional management of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) is trying to lift the sagging employee morale at the agency due to the management’s many failures with yet another poetry contest. Even with the disclaimer that “This event is not sponsored by the BBG,” everyone knows that these events have been going on for so long that the agency leadership’s ultimate initiation and blessing of them cannot be denied. The previous poetry contest one was held in 2016. There was also a Bingo Night and an ice cream social.
BBG employees, including Voice of America journalists, are not easily fooled. They are well aware of the management’s recent hiring frenzy to fill more management positions, the announcement of important VOA TV assignments, which included a senior manager accused in the past by agency women of having anger issues, as well as the recently revealed embarrassment of managers who for years had followed a fake VOA Persian Service Twitter account. These BBG and VOA managers had contributed to one of the most incredible cyber deceptions that affected VOA journalists, other journalists (BBC, MBN, Washington Post) and hundreds of Twitter users, including Iranian human right activists.
The BBG/VOA management responded to the long-lasting fake Twitter account incident, which it helped to promote by following the fraudulent feed, by failing to acknowledge its own fault and shifting the responsibility for protecting cyber identity instead onto the rank-and-file employees. This has been the usual BBG management practice for years. BBG employees are also concerned that the upper management is allowing serious violations of the VOA Charter to continue at the Voice of America, thus endangering the jobs and future funding for VOA.
BBG employees tell us that they were offended by the newest poetry contest and by being treated by the management like elementary school children. They say that they won’t forget the management’s failures when the time comes to respond to the 2017 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS), especially to the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) confidential survey questions on rating the performance of the agency’s most senior leaders.
A reporter still working for VOA told us: “I wish I could write about the ridiculousness of this event.” One former BBG employee noted: “It’s an example of how out of touch with reality the place has become – not that the conclusion in that regard hasn’t already been reached. They’re just playing in their world of make-believe until the new administration rolls in and gets serious.”
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From: IBB Notices Admin
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2017 10:00 AM
To: IBB Notices Administration
Subject: World Poetry Day – Tuesday, March 21
Greetings to all!
The Funfest Team will be co-sponsoring a poetry contest with Team Catalyst (BIG) to celebrate World Poetry Day, which occurs on March 21st, a special day initiated by UNESCO in Paris in the year 1999. As in the past with other Funfest activities, we would greatly appreciate your participation. We will be accepting poems up to mid-day (12:00 noon) of Monday (March 20, 2017). Poems are a way of sharing one’s thoughts, ideas, emotions and sensations. As well as evoking them in others. Your poems can express your deep feelings toward a significant other, your love of the Arts, your job, sports, a pet or something you experience, an event, a vacation, a moment in time etc.
In addition, we will have a little game called “who said it” utilizing words from two well-recognized names, one an actual person and the other a fictional character. I’m sure with your involvement it will be a memorable occasion. Please submit all poems via email to funfest@bbg.gov. The winners will received our immense gratitude for their literary flair as well as a box of fine chocolate candy and/or a bottle of non-alcoholic sparkling grape juice cocktail. The event will be held on March 21st, in the Briefing Room (1528A) from 2:00pm to 3:00pm. Please submit your poems and please join us for this fun event.
This event is not sponsored by the BBG and participation is not required. If you choose to participate, it is at your own risk and the BBG is not liable for any physical or other injury resulting from your participation in this event.
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Reposting from February 13, 2016
BBG Watch gets BBG love poems for Valentine’s Day
February 13, 2016
BBG Watch Commentary
In the category of weird government management news, here is one from the dysfunctional Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), a federal agency at the bottom of employee satisfaction ratings:
Broadcasting Board of Governors
Valentine’s Poetry Contest
Greetings to one and all! As you know each year we celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14, which is less than two weeks away. The Funfest team would like to invite you to participate in a Valentine’s Day Poetry Contest. We will be accepting not only the traditional love poems usually given to a significant other (wife, husband, girlfriend, boyfriend, etc.) but it can be for the love of a pet, sports, the Arts, your job or anything you feel passionate about. There will be three judges, not actively connected with Funfest making the decisions as to the top three poems collected. They will not see the names of the authors so that we can preclude any unintentional bias.
Also we will have a little game called name that love song on the day of the reading. Please submit all poems via email to Funfest@bbg.gov by close of business day, Wednesday – February 10th, 2016. All we ask is that you remain mindful of the setting and keep it clean. The winners will received our immense gratitude for their literary flair as well as a box of fine chocolate candy or a bottle of sparkling wine. The event will be held on February 17th, in the Briefing Room (1528A) at 2:00pm. Please submit your poems and please join us for this fun event.
Treating BBG journalists like little children has been a constant theme of BBG management for years. No wonder, Employee morale is low.
Perhaps by mistake, the following poems have been submitted to BBG Watch by BBG staffers.
On the taxpayer’s dime
On February 17th at 2pm at VOA
In lovely, enchanting Room 1528A
We’ll all gather to hear
Poems and goofy love songs
Composed on federal time
Just one of many agency wrongs
We’ll get candy and such
Maybe a bottle of sparkling wine
For composing doggerel
On the taxpayer’s dime
You want poems about pets,
sports, the arts and our job
Special advisors have time
They’re task-less, that mob
Will the judges of the poems
Work on VOA time?
Is that what they’re paid for
To judge silly little rhymes?
Boy are you clueless, pal
To improve our morale,
We should write poems about Cupid?
This proves what we suspected:
Boy are you stupid
Who cares about morale
When we can write poems?
Things like this make me wonder:
What’s under your domes?
Spend work time on poems
Praising St. Valentine?
I think not, and here’s why:
We’re on the federal dime
So your big idea
to improve our morale
Is to have us write poems?
Boy are you clueless, pal
You decided that a poetry contest
Would improve our morale
Proves to me as a manager
You’re guilty of practice-mal
Dead wrong, pal
I love VOA
This much is true
Its the leaders I hate
Roses are red
Violets are blue
Why sponsor a poetry contest
When there’s real morale work to do?
Roses are red
Violets are blue
A poetry contest? Hah!
Proves you don’t know what to do
Roses are red
Violets are blue
Sponsoring a poetry contest
Makes me lose confidence in you
I love VOA
This much is true
Its the leaders I hate
They really stink. Pfew!
VOA’s mission is important,
The work delightful
But the agency’s senior leaders?
One word: frightful
(…)
You think a poetry contest
Will increase our morale?
You’re wrong about that,
Dead wrong, pal