BBG Watch Commentary
BBG Watch reported two weeks ago that Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) Chairman Jeff Shell had visited the Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) headquarters in Prague in early September. Two weeks after the fact, the BBG public relations office issued a press release.
Perhaps BBG’s public relations office, which is part of the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) management operation, works at its own pace, but we have seen numerous examples of important news stories being posted late or not posted at all on the Voice of America (VOA) English news website.
New to his job at the BBG, Mr. Shell and his colleagues on the Board have a lot of work to do to get this organization moving again in the right direction.
BBG Press Release
BBG Chairman Shell Visits RFE/RL In Prague
SEPTEMBER 17, 2013
BBG Chairman Jeff Shell visited the Prague broadcast headquarters of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on September 3. This was Chairman Shell’s first visit to RFE/RL since his appointment as head of the BBG in early August.
During his visit, Shell met with RFE/RL corporate and editorial leadership and management of RFE/RL’s services for Afghanistan and Pakistan (Radio Azadi, Radio Mashaal), Iran (Radio Farda) and Russia (Radio Svoboda).
Shell also addressed an all-staff Town Hall meeting, where he announced that Acting President Kevin Klose had accepted the BBG’s offer to serve as President of RFE/RL. Klose had been serving as Acting President and CEO since January of this year.
“Kevin Klose’s seasoning in international media — here and over his entire career — makes him the right person to carry out this critical mission,” Shell said. “His stewardship has brought steady progress. We look forward to working with Kevin and the talented team at RFE/RL to bring news and information to priority countries from Iran to Russia and across Eurasia.”
The press release includes a slide show.