VOA English has a staff reporter in Istanbul, finally

BBG Watch Commentary

(Advisory: This commentary refers only to Voice of America (VOA) English-language coverage of the protests in Turkey. VOA Turkish Service has been providing comprehensive and balanced coverage despite having a very small staff and inadequate resources. One could argue that VOA English Service has even fewer and constantly shrinking resources to cover news worldwide and it is also victim of more mismanagement from top officials.

Voice of America journalists and other rank and file employees are not at fault here. The fault lies entirely with the entrenched executive staff of the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) and several top level Voice of America executives who have been eliminating journalistic positions (a cut of four positions for VOA Turkish proposed for FY 2013 and more than 20 positions for VOA English Newsroom to remain unfilled and eliminated in FY 2014). A decision not to send staff reporters to Turkey was made by top VOA executives. Rank and file VOA journalists did whatever they could to cover the story. The management set them up for failure, but tries to present it as a great achievement.)

After strong criticism from BBG Watch and others for inadequate and one-sided coverage of the Turkish anti-government protests, Voice of America English Service finally sent an experienced staff video-journalist to Istanbul.

In a well-done, comprehensive and balanced video report, VOA’s Scott Bob pointed out that “anti-government protests continue in Turkey, but the methods have changed.”

On the ground presence makes an enormous difference in how a news organization covers a news story. The only comment one could add to the VOA report is that even though it talks about the protest being directed against the Turkish government for restricting citizen’s rights, it does specifically mention Prime Minister Erdogan, against whom most of the anger of the protesters has been directed.

The name “Tyyip” spray painted all over the city refers to Erdogan. He is viewed as the chief enemy of democratic freedoms, which is what the protest is now all about. There are some other members of the current Turkish government who are not viewed by the protesters as being anti-democratic.

But keep in mind that Scott Bob has just arrived in Turkey. He needs a little time to get a feel for the place. Having failed to pay sufficient attention to the story when it blew up, you can’t make up for it in one day. It may be too late. VOA should have had Scott Bob or someone like him in Istanbul weeks ago.

But sending a staff reporter to Turkey even this late (better late than never – BBG Watch hopes it had something to do with it) is still a great improvement over VOA English Service coverage of the protests until now. Such VOA coverage was almost nonexistent in May and very limited in early June. In those early weeks, BBC, and even Al Jazeera, Russia Today and Chinese CCTV English News, each, despite their own biases, provided much better reporting and a far better presentation of the nature of the protests than VOA English. That is a sad fact.

CCTV, Al Jazeera, Russia TodayAl Jazeera reported extensively on the protests and media censorship in Turkey.

Was this Turkish game show censored?, Al Jazeera, June 6, 2013.

“Though Turkish news channels have mostly stayed silent about the country’s widespread protests, a game show broke that barrier not once, but 70 times. On Monday’s episode of “The Word Game”, every clue tied in to Turkey’s protests, seemingly touching on everyone from members of the media (“brown-nosers”, “false news”) to the prime minister (“despot”, “hubris”).”

Al Jazeera included a video from the Turkish TV show. This kind of reporting was simply not available on the VOA English website.

The failure of VOA’s English coverage of the Turkish protests was made even more objectionable by the fact that mainstream Turkish media, including local television partners of MSNBC and CNN, were not reporting on the story in the early days, as Al Jazeera report pointed out. Signs “Coward Media” and “Revolution Will Not Be Televised” were seen all around Taksim Square in Istanbul.

Self-censorship by local media was noticed by other international broadcasters, but not by VOA’s leadership.

You can judge for yourself whether this Russia Today report, dated June 5, “Turkish activists rail against media for ignoring protests, police brutality,” is not vastly better, more comprehensive and far more interesting than anything Voice of America English Service was providing in early June.

Voice of America Director David Ensor, his Executive Editor Steve Redisch and other top VOA executives need to wake up. As it pains us to say this, at least this Russia Today video report puts top VOA leadership to shame. Members of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) should all watch it and start asking Mr. Ensor some questions. Members of Congress should watch this video as well.

Empty IBB and VOA Claims of Digital Prowess

The Russia Today video on media censorship in Turkey has 597 Facebook “Likes” and 355 “Tweets” as of today. Voice of America English reports and news items on the same date, June 5, had at most 25 Facebook “Likes.”

One short VOA English video report on the protests in Turkey was filed from Washington on June 5. It had 18 Facebook “Likes.” Three other short VOA news items on Turkey on the same day had no more than eight (8) Facebook “Likes.”

Again, it’s time to wake up for VOA Director and for BBG members to ask questions. VOA can’t cover major news events in Turkey from Washington. Russia Today and Al Jazeera know this. David Ensor should know it as well.

He and IBB Director Richard Lobo claim that they are doing wonders in expanding digital and social media. But has the elimination of language services and VOA English reporting positions — which is what they have been doing — resulted in any significant achievements for VOA in new media, as they want BBG members and members of Congress to believe?

The answer is obvious. The money went to IBB bureaucracy and to their favorite contractors while VOA has lost its ability to report news and to be competitive. All one has to do is to look at these numbers:

Russia Today Video about Turkey from Istanbul – 597 Facebook “Likes”

Al Jazeera Report “Was this Turkish game show censored?” – 513 Facebook “Likes”

VOA Video about Turkey from Washington – 18 Facebook “Likes”

Need we say anything more.

Keep in mind that the VOA video with 18 Facebook “Likes” was one of the most popular reports on Turkey on the VOA English website.

Perhaps VOA Director Ensor and IBB Director Lobo should also look at these numbers and think about resigning. If they don’t, they should be barred for at least a year from using such words as “digital innovation,” “new media” and “engaging audiences.”

[aside]

VOA TURKISH SERVICE

IBB managers have been trying for years to shut down various VOA language services, including the Turkish Service. Their FY 2013 proposal called for eliminating four journalistic positions in the Turkish Service, but this management initiative was not approved in Congress and the positions were kept for the time being.

While the VOA Turkish Service was forced to work with very limited resources, it managed to save Voice of America’s reputation in Turkey with its far more comprehensive reporting on the protests.

VOA Turkish delivers its programming through a TV affiliation, Internet and social media. The TV affiliate is TGRT Haber, one of the five major news networks in Turkey.  Recently, the network went on cable, increasing its nationwide viewership.

VOA Turkish provides the TV affiliate with daily news bulletins through webcam, a live 15-minute news show (four days a week), and a weekly 30-minute feature and culture magazine. Special reporting is also done frequently as events in Washington warrant.

The Service also acts as a “Washington bureau” to other TV networks in Turkey whenever they request coverage of major developments in the United States. The other component of VOA Turkish programming includes web and mobile sites, a Facebook fan club, Twitter and YouTube accounts, five blogs and a daily newsletter emailed to hundreds of subscribers.  Turkish domestic media often reprint VOA Turkish major stories.

[/aside]

Failure of Leadership

VOA English coverage in June, which consisted of very short, (under one minute) re-written and condensed wire service reports and a few reports from a local stringer. Most of this coverage leaned heavily toward reporting on statements from Prime Minister Erdogan. While these individual reports were each balanced with some mention of the protesters’ agenda, VOA English headlines and the majority of the text created an overall impression of a lack of balance and a pro-government bias. It could be a good topic for a any student of journalism to explore.

We want to point out again that those at fault were not VOA English news writers, who added whatever balance they could find and could include in short news items. The fault lies entirely with top VOA executives who have failed to plan for proper coverage. They are at fault for not sending experienced staff reporters to report on such a major news story, or at least for not compensating for the lack of on the scene presence.

As one veteran international journalist pointed out to us, “unless a news organization has someone on the scene to cover a diverse group of protesters without single leadership and with different agenda, government officials will always have an advantage in getting their point of view across because of their easy access to the media. An executive of a news organization must be aware of it and plan for it.”

VOA executives failed to learn this lesson, and the end result was inadequate coverage by VOA English Service and an overall lack of balance — a bad thing for long-term U.S. public diplomacy interests in Turkey.

Failure to Counter Anti-American Propaganda

While VOA is not in the public diplomacy business, bad journalism associated with VOA equals bad public relations, i.e. public diplomacy, for the United States.

An uninformed observer or a protester in Turkey might conclude that until now VOA English website coverage was under the control of the U.S. State Department, which was definitely NOT the case. For many years now, VOA has enjoyed editorial independence under its VOA Charter. In this case, only VOA and IBB executives can be blamed for inadequate coverage and for any mistakes that were made.

Rather than being subjected to outside political pressure from anyone else, one can argue that at least in this one instance, the U.S. State Department, specifically the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, did a better journalistic job than Voice of America. What it means is that some VOA and IBB executives are a greater danger to the organization’s reputation than any State Department or White House officials who generally ignore VOA and do not interfere with its editorial decisions. It would be against the law.

Here is an example where State Department did something right, and VOA didn’t.

American taxpayers, who pay for VOA, expect that at the very least Voice of America would set the record straight when anti-American propaganda is being spread abroad. In his “Postcard From Turkey,” op-ed columnist Tom Friedman wrote for The New York Times:

In today’s flat world, nobody gets to have one-way conversations anymore. Leaders are now in a two-way conversation with their citizens. Erdogan, who is surrounded by yes-men, got this lesson the hard way. On June 7, he declared that those who try to “lecture us” about the Taksim crackdown, “what did they do about the Wall Street incidents? Tear gas, the death of 17 people happened there. What was the reaction?” In an hour, the American Embassy in Turkey issued a statement in English and Turkish via Twitter rebutting Erdogan: “No U.S. deaths resulted from police actions in #OWS,” a reference to Occupy Wall Street. No wonder Erdogan denounced Twitter as society’s “worst menace.”

The U.S. Embassy in Ankara reacted immediately to Erdogan’s outrageous propaganda claim. Later, the Embassy deleted the tweet, although Embassy officials still insisted that they stand by their initial response.

But did Voice of America English website include a news report on this flagrant example of cheep anti-American rhetoric?

We did various searches of the VOA English website and could not find anything on this story. (We could not check the VOA Turkish website, but Erdogan’s false claim should have been countered in English since it was reported internationally.) Perhaps VOA should put Tom Friedman on its payroll. Normally, U.S. diplomats are extremely cautious in these kinds of situation, but they reacted far quicker and far better than VOA English Service.

Lack of On The Ground Presence Equals Poor Coverage and Poor Balance

A quick look at a long list of short VOA news reports in early June shows that many of them led with statements from Prime Minister Erdogan. These were mostly re-written, short wire service reports. Voice of America English Service should have done much better. Its experienced reporters like Scott Bob were nowhere near Turkey.

There was, however, at least one early example of in-depth, excellent original VOA reporting on the Turkish protest. It came from another experienced VOA correspondent Al Pessin. But he was analyzing the protests not from Istanbul or Ankara, but from London. Nevertheless, his reporting and the analysis he provided were right on the mark.

Sources tell BBG Watch that Voice of America Director David Ensor is telling has told various people in Washington that there was absolutely nothing wrong with VOA coverage of the Turkish protests and the decision not to send a staff correspondent to Turkey. Various sources quoted him as saying that VOA coverage was: “objective,” “responsible” and “balanced.” He was also telling people that Erdogan is not some kind of dictator but a democratically elected leader who enjoys substantial support in Turkey, a country which remains a close U.S. ally.

But, of course, that was not at all the point of criticism, not just from BBG Watch but from many others. Erdogan is not at issue here, although his statements did receive a lot of play on VOA’s English website. The issue is whether David Ensor and his top deputies arranged for proper and objective coverage of the Turkish protests worthy of a serious news organization, this one funded by U.S. taxpayers. The answer is, in our view, they did not.

If there was no need for sending a VOA English Service correspondent to Turkey when pro-democracy protesters were being gassed by the police and people were dying and when Al Jazeera and Russia Today were providing on the ground coverage and Voice of America was not, why send a VOA correspondent now?

Perhaps it is an admission from Mr. Ensor that the critics were right, and he and his top deputies were wrong. Let’s hope they will change their ways, but we are not holding our breath.

By the way, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), a surrogate broadcaster also funded by U.S. taxpayers through the Broadcasting Board of Governors, but specializing in reporting on mostly local developments and human rights issues in several countries without free media, did report on Prime Minister Erdogan’s bogus claim about 17 people dying in the occupy Wall Street protests and the U.S. Embassy’s rebuttal of his claim. It was an international news story of some importance, and RFE/RL also reports such news, as any international news organization in that category would. But RFE/RL is not charged with “represent(ing) America” and “present(ing) the policies of the United States clearly and effectively.” The Voice of America has that obligation, which is spelled out in the VOA Charter.

We also could not find on the VOA English news website any substantive reporting on solidarity protests by Turkish Americans and others in the United States. Isn’t it Voice of America’s job to report in English on such actions by Americans?

Dismal performance of VOA leadership vis a vis Turkey also brings us at last to some broader issues in U.S. international broadcasting. We hear that Mr. Ensor together with top IBB officials is a strong advocate of merging BBG’s surrogate broadcasters, such as RFE/RL and Radio Free Asia (RFA), into one large bureaucracy.

All we can say to that is “God Save Them” if they should ever fall under the control of central bureaucracy run by IBB executives. And “God Save VOA” if it should be merged with the surrogate broadcasters under the central control of the current IBB management.

Voice of America has its own very important mission. It needs new leadership, while IBB should be completely dismantled and its resources put to a better use in the hands of program producers. Surrogate broadcasters can do very well on their own, as can Voice of America. That is our final word.

List of Recent Voice of America English News Reports on Turkey Compiled by VOA Management

Much of VOA English coverage consisted of short news times, condensed wire service reports, some Reuters video, and a few short reports from a stringer. Headlines and overall coverage gave a lot of play to Erdogan’s statements. VOA English Service had no staff reporters in Turkey during that time.

Turkey Warns It May Use Army to Quell Protests
http://www.voanews.com/content/turkey-warns-it-may-use-army-to-quell-protests/1683170.html

Turkish Protesters March Ahead of Planned Strike
http://www.voanews.com/content/protesters-march-in-turkey-ahead-of-planned-strike/1683036.html

Erdogan Says It Was His ‘Duty’ to Evict Protesters
http://www.voanews.com/content/protesters-gather-at-istanbul-bridge-as-erdogan-supporters-plan-for-rally/1682704.html

Turkey Cracks Down on Istanbul Protesters – CN Feed 
http://www.voanews.com/content/turkey-cracks-down-on-istanbul-protesters/1682757.html

Turkish Riot Police Storm Istanbul Park in Bid to End Protests – Reuters
http://www.voanews.com/content/turkish-riot-police-storm-istanbul-park-protests/1682644.html

Turkish Riot Police Move to Quash Protests – CN Feed
http://www.voanews.com/content/turkish-riot-police-move-to-quash-protests/1682649.html

Turkish Protesters Vow to Continue Park Sit-In
http://www.voanews.com/content/turkish-protesters-vow-to-continue-park-sitin/1682359.html

Turkish Protesters Vow to Continue Park Sit-In – CN Feed
http://www.voanews.com/content/turkish-protesters-vow-to-continue-park-sitin/1682437.html

Dozens Detained in Turkey Despite Negotiations  – CN Feed
http://www.voanews.com/content/dozens-detained-in-turkey-despite-negotiations/1682314.html

Turkish PM Agrees to Postpone Park Redevelopment
http://www.voanews.com/content/final-warning-looms-over-turkish-protesters/1681617.html

Turkish PM Appeals to Protesters to Evacuate Park – CN Feed
http://www.voanews.com/content/turkish-pm-appeals-to-protesters-to-evacuate-park/1681954.html

Protesters say Turkish PM Pledges to Hold Off on Park Project  – CN Feed
http://www.voanews.com/content/protesters-say-turkish-pm-pledges-to-hold-off-on-park-project/1681638.html

Erdogan to Meet With Second Group of Protesters  – CN Feed
http://www.voanews.com/content/erdogan-to-meet-with-second-group-of-protesters/1681385.html

Turkish PM Issues Final Warning to Protesters
http://www.voanews.com/content/turkish-pm-warns-protesters-to-leave-park/1680839.html

Officials: Turkey Protests Will Not Affect 2020 Olympic Bid – Reuters
http://www.voanews.com/content/officials-turkey-protests-do-not-affect-olympic-bid/1680681.html

Erdogan: From ‘Rock Star’ to Mixed Reviews From Arabs – Reuters
http://www.voanews.com/content/erdogan-from-rock-star-to-mixed-reviews-from-arabs/1680671.html

Turkey Offers Possible Referendum on Public Park
http://www.voanews.com/content/turkey-offers-possible-referendum-on-public-park/1680586.html

Turkey Protests Symptomatic of Deeper Problems
http://www.voanews.com/content/turkey-protests-symptomatic-of-deeper-problems/1680527.html

Lawyers Protest Government Crackdown in Turkey
http://www.voanews.com/content/lawyers-protest-government-crackdown-in-turkey/1680473.html

Turkish Prime Minister Meets Park Protesters
http://www.voanews.com/content/turkish-prime-minister-meets-park-protesters/1680237.html

Turkish Police Clear Taksim Square
http://www.voanews.com/content/turkish-police-clear-taksim-square/1680032.html

Turkish Riot Police, Protesters Clash  – CN Feed
http://www.voanews.com/content/turkish-riot-police-protesters-clash/1680016.html

Turkish Riot Police Overrun Taksim Square
http://www.voanews.com/content/turkish-police-enter-taksim-square/1679261.html

Turkish Riot Police Overrun Taksim Square – CN Feed
http://www.voanews.com/content/turkish-riot-police-overrun-taksim-square/1679372.html

Protesters are Part of Conspiracy Against Government  – CN Feed
http://www.voanews.com/content/protesters-are-part-of-conspiracy-against-government/1679301.html

Turkish Police Enter Taksim Square  – CN Feed
http://www.voanews.com/content/turkish-police-enter-taksim-square/1679255.html

Erdogan Agrees to Meet with Turkish Protesters
http://www.voanews.com/content/erdogan-agrees-to-meet-with-turkish-protesters/1679162.html

Erdogan Agrees to Meet with Turkish Protesters  – CN Feed
http://www.voanews.com/content/erdogan-agrees-to-meet-with-turkish-protesters/1679174.html

Erdogan’s Rule at Center of Turkey’s Mounting Protests
http://www.voanews.com/content/erdogans-rule-at-center-of-turkeys-mounting-protsts/1678946.html

Turkish Troubles Highlight Cultural Divide – Reuters
http://www.voanews.com/content/turkish-troubles-highlight-cultural-divide/1678625.html

Turkish Opposition Calls on PM to End Tensions
http://www.voanews.com/content/turkish-protesters-clash-with-police/1678483.html

Turkish Opposition Calls on Erdogan to End Tension  – CN Feed
http://www.voanews.com/content/turkish-opposition-calls-on-erdogan-to-end-tension/1678610.html

Erdogan ‘Losing Patience’ With Protests
http://www.voanews.com/content/erdogan-defiant-as-protesters-call-for-more-rallies/1678212.html

Erdogan ‘Losing Patience’ With Protests  – CN Feed
http://www.voanews.com/content/erdogan-losing-patience-with-protests/1678421.html

Erdogan Defiant as Protesters Rally – CN Feed
http://www.voanews.com/content/erdogan-defiant-as-protesters-rally/1678316.html

Turkish Demonstrations Enter 10th Day
http://www.voanews.com/content/turkey-protests/1677796.html

Turkey Protesters Clash with Police as Demonstrations Enter 10th Day  – CN Feed
http://www.voanews.com/content/turkey-protesters-clash-with-police-as-demonstrations-enter-10th-day/1678101.html

Thousands Hold Anti-Government Protests in Turkey  – CN Feed
http://www.voanews.com/content/thousands-hold-antigovernment-protests-in-turkey/1677879.html

Turkey’s Erdogan Rejects EU Criticism – CN Feed
http://www.voanews.com/content/turkeys-erdogan-rejects-eu-criticism/1677620.html

Turkish PM Demands End to Protests
http://www.voanews.com/content/turkish-pm-demands-end-to-protests/1676996.html

EU: Turkish Police Should Avoid Excessive Force
http://www.voanews.com/content/eu-turkey-should-avoid-use-of-excessive-police-force/1677342.html

Thousands Welcome Back Turkish PM, Protests Continue  – CN Feed
http://www.voanews.com/content/thousands-welcome-back-turkish-pm-protests-continue/1676937.html

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