BBG Watch Media
“Employees and former employees of the board, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said staff members had been caught off guard by the departure of Mr. Lack,” Ron Nixon reported for The New York Times. “Many believed he possessed the clout and experience to help the agency find its footing in the increasingly crowded field of government-sponsored international broadcasting.” The New York Times reporter also noted the role of BBG Watch.
“Critics have long accused it of floundering while other countries have built competing international media outlets. BBG Watch, a blog that is written in part by current and former agency personnel, has said that the agency’s coverage of major news events is mediocre at best.”
Most of the late, superficial and sometimes substandard coverage reported by BBG Watch has been limited to Voice of America (VOA) English news reports. BBG Watch has also praised on occasion other VOA English news reports, as well as news reports by VOA language services and reporting by Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and Radio Free Asia (RFA), the better-managed non-federal entities.
Most of the criticism by BBG Watch commentators has been focused on the agency’s bloated bureaucracy and low employee morale at the federal part of the BBG. The federal part of the agency includes the Voice of America, the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB – Radio and TV Marti).
READ MORE: Andrew Lack Leaves Broadcasting Board of Governors After 6 Weeks, Ron Nixon, The New York Times, March 4, 2015