BBG Gone Pravda

  • February 23, 2012
BBG Watch Commentary An old Soviet-era joke went something like this: “This is Armenian Radio; our listeners asked…

Party Line vs. Congressional Hearings

  • February 16, 2012
“What all of this discussion points to every so clearly is the need for overseeing congressional committees to hold comprehensive hearings on the future of U.S. international broadcasting, and do it BEFORE any legislation is able to move through Congress that would simply rubber stamp the BBG’s flim flam strategic plan.” – A comment from an anonymous VOA journalist on an article in MountainRunner.us by Dr. Kim Andrew Elliott

IBB/BBG executives cut and reduce Voice of America English and foreign language programs and positions

  • February 14, 2012
Voice of America (VOA) radio to Tibet and radio and TV in Cantonese to China to be completely eliminated under the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) proposal. As predicted by BBG Watch, in their FY2013 budget proposal, International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) and Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) executives continue their plan to eliminate or greatly reduce numerous Voice of America (VOA) English and foreign language programs and associated jobs serving many critical countries, including China and Tibet. In what could be described as nothing less than an attempt to eliminate Voice of America as the primary source for news about America on radio and television and to reduce VOA brand name presence in many countries, IBB/BBG executives have proposed complete elimination of VOA radio broadcasts to Tibet, both radio and TV broadcasts in Cantonese to China, VOA radio to Georgia, VOA radio to Albania, and all VOA programs to Greece.

Broadcasting Board of Governors: The Good, The Bad, The Nonsensical

  • February 11, 2012
by The Federalist Ted Lipien’s recent op-ed piece in The Washington Times, “LIPIEN: VOA harms Putin opposition in Russia Faked interviews, lax Web security are signs a shakeup is needed,” took the Voice of America’s (VOA) Russian Service to the woodshed for its recent fiasco of posting a fake interview with a leading Russian opposition leader and dissident blogger.
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  • 1 minute read

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen on 70 years of VOA broadcasting to China

  • December 22, 2011
BBG Watch is releasing a full transcript of Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen’s special video statement on the 70th anniversary of Voice of America (VOA) broadcasting to China. While her statement did appear on the VOA Chinese website, the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) Public Affairs Office refused employee requests to issue a press release on the 70th anniversary reception hosted on Capitol Hill by Congressman Dana Rohrabaher on December 6, 2011 and on the statement by the Chairwoman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
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  • 7 minute read

The Broadcasting Board of Governors – Cold Hard Cash

  • December 9, 2011
by The Federalist Once again, senior agency officials stirred up a hornets nest with revelations of cash awards handed out in FY2010, especially to themselves. Cash awards are not uncommon in the Federal Government
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  • 3 minute read

Chairman of House Committee on Foreign Affairs says Chinese people need Voice of America broadcasts – BBG Watch

  • December 9, 2011
In a special video message, the Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, congratulated the Voice of America (VOA) on the 70th anniversary of VOA broadcasting to China. The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), a federal agency which manages VOA, tried to end all VOA radio and television broadcasts in Mandarin and Cantonese on Oct.