U.S. Agency for Global Media: Background, Governance, and Issues for Congress

U.S. Agency for Global Media: Background,
November 17, 2021
Governance, and Issues for Congress
Matthew C. Weed
Since the beginning of modern U.S. international broadcasting during World War II, debates over
Specialist in Foreign Policy
the effectiveness, strategic direction, and necessity of broadcasting activities have persisted.
Legislation
Longstanding arguments over the structure and operation of the United States Agency for Global

Media ([USAGM] formerly the Broadcasting Board of Governors [BBG]), have added to these
debates, prompting recurring efforts to reform the organization and its programs. Many Members

of Congress have shown interest in U.S. international broadcasting, conducting oversight over
USAGM and its individual broadcasters, and calling for increased resources and programming for certain regions, countries,
and language services, as well as streamlining of broadcast structures and resources. Perceived difficulties with the
implementation of structural changes in USAGM directed by Congress in 2016 led to increased congressional interest in
USAGM in the 116th Congress. Such interest is expected to continue during the 117th Congress as Congress and the Biden
Administration consider how to improve and maintain USAGM’s governance and operations.
Headed by a presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed Chief Executive Officer, USAGM has responsibility for supervising,
directing, and overseeing the operations of the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB), the Voice of America (VOA), and
the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB, operating the Radio and TV Martí services to Cuba). It also has responsibility for
funding and oversight of the grantee broadcasters Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Radio Free Asia (RFA), and
the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN). Together, these networks broadcast in 62 languages, reaching an estimated
global audience of over 350 million.
Current Issues Facing the BBG and U.S. International Broadcasting. U.S. international broadcasters enjoy an audience
in the hundreds of millions and seem to be effective in providing objective news coverage to populations that might
otherwise not receive it. Many observers perceived the BBG, which was headed by a board of nine Governors, eight of which
came from the private sector and served part-time, as a flawed structure that was inefficient, duplicative in its activities, and
ineffective. Significant legislative changes to the structure of USAGM in 2016 produced some perceived gains in efficiency
and executive direction, but also concerns over what some see as an erosion of journalistic independence within USAGM and
its broadcast networks. A number of issues concerning USAGM and U.S. international broadcasting continue to spark debate
in Congress, including
 USAGM operations and actions taken by executive leadership;
 the strategic direction and allocation of resources in U.S. international broadcasting;
 the need for greater efficiency of U.S. international broadcasting, including possible consolidation of the
several U.S. international broadcast entities;
 continuing disagreements over the role of U.S. international broadcasting in advancing U.S. foreign policy
goals and promoting democracy; and
 the means to assess and improve U.S. international broadcasting effectiveness.
Recent Challenges and Legislative Reforms to USAGM and U.S. International Broadcasting. In December 2016,
Congress adopted provisions within the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (P.L. 114-328) that made
significant changes to the structure of U.S. international broadcasting, including abolishing the Broadcasting Board of
Governors and replacing it with a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) as agency head with increased responsibilities and
authorities. During the 2020 tenure of the first presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed CEO, many observers and
Members of Congress became concerned about the CEO’s exercise of his concentrated authorities. In December 2020,
Congress enacted a number of amendments to the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 in the National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (P.L. 116-283), aimed at bolstering journalistic and editorial independence
of USAGM networks and limiting the authorities of the CEO in some areas. Currently, an Acting CEO heads USAGM, and
to date, President Biden has not nominated a new USAGM CEO. A CEO nomination would likely engender further questions
and interest from Congress, as well as proposals for further reform, as the governance, operations, and purpose of USAGM
and U.S. international broadcasting continue to be debated.
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Contents
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1
History of U.S. International Broadcasting ..................................................................................... 1

Beginnings of U.S. International Broadcasting ......................................................................... 2
Post-War Broadcasting Expansion ............................................................................................ 2

Broadcasting in East Germany ............................................................................................ 2
Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty ................................................................................ 2
Satellite Television Broadcasting ........................................................................................ 3
Cuba Broadcasting: Radio and TV Martí ............................................................................ 3
Radio Free Asia ................................................................................................................... 3
New Middle East Broadcasting After 9/11 ......................................................................... 4
Key Policy and Structural Reforms ........................................................................................... 4
Increasing Oversight ........................................................................................................... 4
BBG Becomes an Independent Agency .............................................................................. 4
Bipartisan Direction for International Broadcasting ........................................................... 5
Empowering a CEO as Head of Agency in Place of the Board .......................................... 5
A New Name for the Agency .............................................................................................. 5
Establishment of the Open Technology Fund ..................................................................... 5

U.S. International Media Structure .................................................................................................. 6
USAGM Executive Organization .............................................................................................. 6
Broadcasters .............................................................................................................................. 7
Federal Government Broadcasters ...................................................................................... 7
Grantee Broadcasters .......................................................................................................... 8
U.S. International Broadcasting Standards and Principles .............................................................. 9
USIB Act Provisions ................................................................................................................. 9
Internal USAGM Journalistic Standards Practices ................................................................. 10
June 2020 Journalistic Standards Regulation ........................................................................... 11
Performance Evaluation ................................................................................................................ 12
BBG Funding Information and Trends .......................................................................................... 13
Recent Reforms and Challenges .................................................................................................... 14
The FY2017 NDAA ................................................................................................................ 14
Transition to a CEO-Led USAGM .......................................................................................... 15
First Confirmed USAGM CEO: Michael Pack’s Tenure ........................................................ 16
Whistleblower Complaints and Investigations ................................................................. 18
New USAGM Reforms in the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act ............................... 20
Changes to Standards, Principles, and Authorities of the USAGM CEO ......................... 20
Legislative Establishment of the Open Technology Fund ................................................ 21
Issues for Congress ........................................................................................................................ 22
The Role of the USAGM CEO ............................................................................................... 22
Protecting Journalistic Integrity and Independence ................................................................ 22
Role of U.S. International Broadcasting in Advancing U.S. Foreign Policy Goals and
Promoting Democracy ......................................................................................................... 23

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Figures
Figure 1. USAGM Organizational Chart ......................................................................................... 6

Tables
Table 1. Audience for U.S. International Broadcasters, FY2015-FY2022 .................................... 12
Table 2. U.S. Agency for Global Media Budget Information, FY2020-FY2022 .......................... 14

Contacts
Author Information ........................................................................................................................ 25


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Introduction
Modern U.S. government-funded international broadcasting began during World War II, with the
creation of the Voice of America (VOA), and continued throughout the Cold War period, with
Radio Free Europe broadcasting behind the Iron Curtain, and Radio Liberty targeting populations
in the Soviet Union. Over the decades, VOA expanded its broadcasting and language services into
other regions of the world, and new broadcast entities targeting Cuba and certain countries in East
Asia were established.
For almost as long as these services have been in existence, debates over the effectiveness,
strategic direction, and necessity of U.S. international broadcasting have persisted. Since the
creation of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) in the 1990s, and its establishment as an
independent government agency in 1999, arguments over its structure, as a government agency
headed by a nine-member bipartisan board, have added to these debates.
This report discusses the history and current structure of U.S. international broadcasting, as well
as key reforms enacted over decades to address perceived shortcomings. The report gives
particular attention to reforms enacted by Congress in 2016 (which authorized the renaming of
the BBG to the United States Agency for Global Media [USAGM], which took effect in 2018),
actions taken by the first USAGM Chief Executive Officer (CEO) fully empowered by those
reforms, and 2020 reform legislation. The report ends by discussing international broadcasting
issues that may be of interest to the 117th Congress, including
 continuing disagreements over the role of U.S. international broadcasting in
advancing U.S. foreign policy goals and promoting democracy;
 proposals for improving the efficiency of U.S. international broadcasting,
including possible consolidation of the several U.S. international broadcasting
entities;
 assessment and improvement of U.S. international broadcasting effectiveness;
 recommendations for the strategic direction and allocation of resources in U.S.
international broadcasting; and
 meeting the informational and news-reporting challenge posed by certain
countries of concern, including Russia and China.
History of U.S. International Broadcasting1
The structure, purposes, and aims of U.S. government-funded broadcasting to foreign countries
have evolved over seven decades, spanning World War II, the Cold War, the fall of communist
regimes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, the response to the threat of terrorism after the
September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, and the resurgent importance of propaganda
from other great powers. Paralleling these global political shifts, the technology and delivery
mechanisms of broadcasting to local, regional, and global audiences have also evolved, requiring
U.S. international broadcasting to adapt and innovate to deliver programming and inform
audiences, while effectively countering the growing problems of disinformation and internet
censorship.

1 Sources for this section and the following section, “U.S. International Media Structure” include USAGM reports and
budget documents, USAGM and individual broadcaster websites, and archived CRS products.
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Beginnings of U.S. International Broadcasting
The modern structure of U.S. international broadcasting had its beginnings in World War II. At
the start of U.S. involvement in the war, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established an agency
for foreign intelligence and propaganda that operated at first without congressional authorization.
This agency’s Foreign Information Service broadcast news and propaganda to Europe. In 1942,
the agency was formally created as the Office of War Information, which established the Voice of
America (VOA) as well as overseas operations constituted by a United States Information Service
(USIS). VOA broadcast to Europe throughout the war, with a mission to provide accurate news to
foreign publics that could not otherwise obtain it. Although some called for VOA to cease
operations after the end of World War II, VOA was preserved, along with other U.S. government
information programs, and transferred to the Department of State. From 1945 to 1953, VOA was
housed under variously named offices at the State Department, including the Office of
International Information and Cultural Affairs, the Office of International Information and
Educational Exchange, and the International Information Administration. In 1953, President
Eisenhower created the U.S. Information Agency (USIA), within which VOA remained until
1999, when USIA was abolished. Over the decades, VOA expanded its broadcasts to many other
countries and continents, growing into a news organization with a global reach.
Post-War Broadcasting Expansion
Following World War II, U.S. broadcasting gradually expanded its geographic reach, driven by
evolving foreign policy objectives and technological capabilities.
Broadcasting in East Germany
In 1946, the U.S. government established Radio in the American Sector (RIAS), based in West
Berlin and broadcasting at first to Germans in Berlin and later to all of the German Democratic
Republic (East Germany). For most of its existence, RIAS operated as a partnership between the
U.S. government and the government of the former Federal Republic of Germany (West
Germany), providing radio and, beginning in the late 1980s, television programming to large
audiences in Berlin and East Germany. With the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and German
reunification in 1990, the U.S. government ceased funding for RIAS and the service was ended in
the early 1990s.
Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty
While VOA was established as an official U.S. government broadcaster, the U.S. government also
began support for Radio Free Europe (RFE) and Radio Liberty (RL), two radio services that
started broadcasting to Central and Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, respectively, in the
early 1950s. RFE originally broadcast to Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Albania, Romania,
and Bulgaria in 1950, while RL started broadcasting to the Soviet Union in 1953. RFE and RL
were technically independent services, each overseen by a private U.S. corporation, the National
Committee for a Free Europe and the American Committee for Freedom of the Peoples of the
U.S.S.R. (later Radio Liberty Committee). Both were conceived, however, by the State
Department and from their beginning received substantial funding from the Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA).2

2 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, History, https://pressroom.rferl.org/history.
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RFE and RL initially broadcast programming to encourage the liberation of the populations of
Central and Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union from rule by communist, totalitarian
governments. These broadcasts responded to propaganda from the Soviet and other communist
governments. Both RFE and RL used émigré broadcasting professionals from Central and Eastern
Europe and the Soviet Union, and provided programming that concerned the domestic matters of
each country, providing a surrogate “home service” that was intended to compete with and
replace the communist government’s news media. By the late 1950s, as the Cold War continued
and the Iron Curtain threatened to remain in place, RFE and RL transformed their programming
focus from liberation to the encouragement of the gradual liberalization and democratization of
the communist systems of Central and Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. RFE and RL also
developed internal research departments that provided intelligence and analysis of Central and
Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union based on media sources from the Soviet Union and the
Communist Bloc countries, archives of Soviet and Central and Eastern European documents, and
other materials.3
Satellite Television Broadcasting
In 1963, USIA began producing television programming, combining it with its longstanding film
service. With the advent of satellite television technologies, USIA created its WORLDNET
satellite television service in 1983. WORLDNET transmitted its television programming through
USIS posts and U.S. embassies, as well as over foreign television and cable networks. In 2004,
WORLDNET was merged into VOA.
Cuba Broadcasting: Radio and TV Martí
Congress beginning in the 1980s authorized the creation of services that specifically targeted the
population of Cuba, separate from VOA’s Spanish language programming.4 In 1983, Radio Martí
began broadcasting to Cuba and was joined in 1988 by TV Martí. These services were organized
under the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB), within the organization of USIA’s Bureau of
Broadcasting, which also oversaw VOA and WORLDNET broadcasting. Although Congress
created the Martís as part of USIA with close links to VOA and not as an independent grantee
organization like RFE/RL, the Martís were established to act as surrogate broadcasters in Cuba,
similar to the surrogate role of RFE/RL in Europe and the Soviet Union.
Radio Free Asia
Recognizing that several of the most repressive regimes in the world ruled in East Asia, many
observers and Members of Congress argued for increased broadcasting to that region. Congress
eventually authorized creation of Radio Free Asia (RFA) in 1994,5 and it began broadcasting in
1996, with a core mission to “provide accurate and timely news and information to Asian
countries whose governments prohibit access to a free press.”6 RFA provides news and
information to Asian countries “whose people do not fully enjoy freedom of expression.”7 Since
its establishment, RFA has broadcast to the People’s Republic of China and its regions of Tibet

3 Ibid.
4 Radio Broadcasting to Cuba Act, as amended (P.L. 98-111; 22 U.S.C. §§1465-1465f); Television Broadcasting to
Cuba Act, (Part D of Title II of P.L. 101-246; 22 U.S.C. §§1465aa-1465ff).
5 Section 309 of the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994, as amended (P.L. 103-236; 22 U.S.C.
§6208).
6 See http://www.rfa.org/english/about/mission.html.
7 Section 309(b)(2) of P.L. 103-236 (22 U.S.C. §6208(b)(2)).
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and Xinjiang, as well as Burma, Cambodia, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam. RFA was
authorized as a nonfederal, private nonprofit corporation that would operate under a federal grant,
much like the federal grant that funds RFE/RL.
New Middle East Broadcasting After 9/11
After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S. government undertook a number of
initiatives to improve communications with the peoples of the Middle East and North Africa and
to counter violent extremism and ideological support for terrorism. Among them included
broadcasting on these topics. The BBG began increasing VOA broadcasting to the Middle East in
2002 and created within VOA the Middle East Radio Network (MERN), focusing on reaching
larger, younger audiences on FM frequencies, as well as new VOA Arabic Internet and television
programming. The next year, BBG proposed removing Middle East programming from VOA,
ending the VOA Arabic service, and creating a new network for broadcasting to the Middle East.
The new network would be a nonprofit corporation, similar to RFE/RL and RFA, operating under
federal funding from the BBG. Congress first funded the new network, named the Middle East
Broadcasting Networks (MBN), in FY2004 appropriations. MBN supervises Alhurra television
and Radio Sawa.
Key Policy and Structural Reforms
While the global reach of U.S. broadcasting was expanding, ongoing congressional oversight led
to a series of changes addressing concerns about the structure and management of the
proliferating broadcast entities. Select reforms are discussed below.
Increasing Oversight
As part of efforts in Congress and the executive branch to make U.S. government-funded
broadcasting more transparent, the CIA ended its funding for RFE and RL in 1971. In 1973,
Congress formally created the Board of International Broadcasting (BIB) to oversee and fund
both RFE and RL under the International Broadcasting Act of 1973 (P.L. 93-129). The President
appointed the nine members of the independent bipartisan board. The term “BIB” also referred to
the independent federal agency created to administer and provide federal funding to RFE and RL.
RFE and RL combined to form a single independent corporation, RFE/RL, Inc., in 1976.
During this period, RFE/RL adapted its programming to its Soviet and European target audiences.
RFE/RL had been characterized by critics as broadcasting one-sided propaganda to combat Soviet
and Communist Bloc media. These services now transitioned more fully to the role of a surrogate
broadcaster, with the objective of providing an example of an independent broadcaster promoting
journalistic integrity and democratic principles of a free media.
BBG Becomes an Independent Agency
In an effort to streamline U.S. government entities and activities in international affairs after the
Cold War, Congress enacted the Foreign Affairs Agencies Consolidation Act of 1998. The act
abolished a number of independent government foreign affairs agencies, including USIA, folding
its public diplomacy authorities into the State Department. The BBG, which had been created in
1994 within USIA to oversee U.S. international broadcasting, was preserved as an independent
government agency in the act.8 The International Broadcasting Bureau, created under the United

8 See Title XIII of the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 (Division G of P.L. 105-277).
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States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 (Title III of P.L. 103-236; USIB Act) as the
government entity carrying out VOA and other federal government nonmilitary international
broadcasting, was also preserved and placed directly under the supervision of the BBG.
Bipartisan Direction for International Broadcasting
With the enactment of the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 (Title III of P.L.
103-236; USIB Act), Congress abolished the BIB and reorganized all existing U.S. international
broadcasting services under a new Broadcasting Board of Governors within USIA. The USIB Act
established BBG to be composed of nine presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed
members, with the Secretary of State serving as a voting member ex officio and providing foreign
policy information and guidance to the board. By ensuring broadcasting independence, while at
the same time institutionalizing guidance from the Secretary of State, the USIB Act aimed to
produce U.S. international broadcasting that is both credible and supportive of U.S. foreign policy
objectives.
Empowering a CEO as Head of Agency in Place of the Board
For several years in the mid-2010s, the board supported a plan to strengthen executive leadership
within the BBG, advocating for and eventually creating the position of BBG Chief Executive
Officer (CEO) to assume overall supervision of the agency, replacing the Director of the
International Broadcasting Bureau. In December 2016, following a number of attempts to enact
standalone legislation to restructure U.S. international media efforts, Congress included reforms
to the Broadcasting Board of Governors in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2017.9 Section 1288 of that act amended several of the provisions of the USIB Act, creating in
law a presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed CEO to replace the Broadcasting Board of
Governors as the head of the agency. The legislation abolished the board and granted the board’s
authorities to the CEO. In June 2020, Michael Pack became the first CEO of the agency
appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate (for details, see the “Recent Reforms and
Challenges”
section).10
A New Name for the Agency
Pursuant to part of the new authorities included in the 2016 amendments, acting CEO John
Lansing in 2018 changed the name of the agency from the Broadcasting Board of Governors to
the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM).
Establishment of the Open Technology Fund
As accessible online information communication became more important to the effectiveness of
U.S. international broadcasting, the BBG responded to the challenges posed to delivering U.S.
international media to audiences subject to state-sponsored internet censorship and surveillance,
especially the “Great Firewall” deployed by the government of China. In 2012, RFA initiated
operation of the Open Technology Fund (OTF) as a pilot program within RFA to promote the
development and implementation of internet technologies to ensure secure access to USAGM
broadcaster content and to the internet more broadly. In September 2019, USAGM established
OTF as a nonprofit corporation receiving funding via a federal grant from USAGM. USAGM

9 Section 1288 of P.L. 114-328.
10 U.S. President (Obama), “Statement on Signing the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017,”
Compilation of Presidential Documents
, December 23, 2016.
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shifted resources and responsibilities from its own Office of Internet Freedom (OIF) to OTF,
tasking OIF instead with overseeing OTF’s operational activities in accordance with OTF’s grant
agreement with USAGM. OTF represents an effort, according to USAGM, to institute a “new
structure … to support internet freedom efforts with the flexibility, speed, diligence, and strategic
oversight … [and to] increase long-term support for core internet freedom tools while expanding
funding for innovative, next generation solutions to stay ahead of evolving censorship threats.”11
U.S. International Media Structure
An independent agency of the U.S. federal government, USAGM today operates a global
broadcasting organization, including five separate broadcasters with varied missions and
programming, agency and personnel administration, and operations and management of
international communications technology and transmission, among other authorities. This section
provides background information on USAGM, its broadcasters, its broadcasting missions, and
activities.
Figure 1. USAGM Organizational Chart

Source: Figure created by CRS using data from USAGM, https://www.usagm.gov/who-we-are/organizational-
chart/.
USAGM Executive Organization
USAGM’s Office of the Chief Executive Officer administers the operations of the agency,
overseeing several offices formerly under the supervision of the Director of the International
Broadcasting Bureau, including the Office of Technology, Services, and Innovation, which

11 USAGM, FY2021 Congressional Budget Justification, p. 83.
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manages technological broadcast infrastructure for the USAGM broadcasters. The CEO’s office
also directs and supervises the operations of the federal broadcasters VOA and OCB, as well as
the grantee broadcasters RFE/RL, RFA, and MBN.
USAGM’s Predecessor: The Broadcasting Board of Governors
The Broadcasting Board of Governors was the name of both the independent federal agency now known as the
United States Agency for Global Media, as well as the nine-member board that provided executive leadership for
the agency and each of the individual U.S. international broadcasters that operated under its authority: VOA,
OCB, RFE/RL, RFA, and MBN. The board membership was bipartisan, with eight presidentially appointed
governors, no more than four of whom were from the same political party, and who were confirmed by the
Senate. Appointed governors served three-year terms. The Secretary of State served as the ninth voting member
ex officio. The Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs served as the Secretary’s
representative on and chief State Department liaison to the board. Within the BBG’s agency structure, the board
oversaw the operations of the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB, an organizational holdover from the
bureau’s establishment in the former U.S. Information Agency), responsible for maintaining the broadcasting
network and providing technical support for U.S. international broadcasters. The IBB, headed by a presidentially
appointed, Senate-confirmed Director, was tasked with implementing the BBG’s strategic plan and supported the
broadcasting services worldwide, including providing technology and transmission services to each of the
broadcasters and conducting audience and performance research and assessment. With the 2016 changes to the
USIB Act, the board’s authorities were transferred to the CEO. Due to issues related to the President’s authority
under the Appointments Clause of the Constitution, the board remained the head of the agency until June 2020,
with the confirmation of the first presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed agency CEO.
Broadcasters
Two types of broadcasting entity are under USAGM supervision. The “federal” entities—VOA
and OCB (Radio and TV Martí)—are part of USAGM as a federal agency. USAGM also funds
and oversees independent broadcasting corporations that carry out the mission of U.S.
international broadcasting under grant agreements that require them to broadcast under certain
objectives, guidelines, and principles. The “grantee” broadcasters are RFE/RL, RFA, and MBN
(Alhurra and Radio Sawa).
Another broad distinction between broadcasters relates to their role. VOA is often considered to
be the flagship “general” or “global” broadcaster in U.S. international broadcasting, providing
world news and news about the United States and its policies. On the other hand, RFE/RL, for
example, provides programming that is meant to inform foreign populations in place of an
indigenous free media in countries and regions that do not possess it or where some sort of media
repression is present. In this way, RFE/RL acts as a “surrogate” free media in those countries and
regions. RFA is also a “surrogate” broadcaster. OCB’s Radio and TV Martí, as well as the MBN
networks, Alhurra and Radio Sawa, appear to be a blend of entity and broadcasting types.
Federal Government Broadcasters
Voice of America
As of FY2020, VOA broadcast in 47 languages to an estimated audience of 278 million people on
radio, television, and digital media. VOA continues to broadcast via radio and television on
satellites and foreign-based affiliates, while expanding access through digital platforms.
According to its charter, VOA “serve[s] as a consistently reliable and authoritative source of
news”; “present[s] a balanced and comprehensive projection of significant American thought and
institutions”; and “present[s] the policies of the United States clearly and effectively, [as well as]
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discussions and opinion on these policies.”12 The U.S. government is permitted VOA airtime on a
scheduled basis to present editorial comments. These editorials by law are to represent the only
nonindependent, federally mandated content on broadcasts under BBG supervision.
Cuba Broadcasting (Radio and TV Martí)
The Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB), with its headquarters in Miami, broadcasts Radio and
TV Martí programs to Cuba via shortwave and AM radio, as well as the internet and satellite
television. Because of the Cuban government’s severe restrictions on and jamming of Martí
broadcasts, OCB also distributes news and information to the Cuban people through email and
texts, and physical media including flash drives and DVDs. These broadcasts seek to provide a
reliable source of news and information that is otherwise unavailable to the Cuban people.
According to USAGM, “the Martís are a one-of-a-kind service that brings unbiased, objective
information to all Cubans.”13
Grantee Broadcasters
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is a surrogate broadcaster that operates under a USAGM grant.
It broadcasts in 27 languages to countries in Eastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus, Central Asia,
Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, with a measured weekly audience of 41.1 million. RFE/RL
provides content on country and regional issues in places where free media does not exist or is
“not fully established.”14
Radio Free Asia
Congress authorized creation of Radio Free Asia as a surrogate broadcaster in 1994, and it began
broadcasting in 1996, with a core mission to provide “domestic journalism and uncensored
content” in Asian countries that “restrict free speech, freedom of the press, and access to reliable
information beyond their borders.”15 RFA’s target audiences are mandated by legislation and
include countries in Asia where governments prohibit access to a free press, specifically the
People’s Republic of China and its regions of Tibet and Xinjiang, as well as Burma, Cambodia,
Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam. RFA broadcasts in nine languages and three dialects.
Middle East Broadcasting Networks
Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc., provides news and information to the Arabic-speaking
population of the Middle East. As an independent nonprofit corporation, MBN, like RFE/RL and
RFA, operates under a grant agreement with USAGM. According to USAGM, MBN’s mission is
to “provide objective, accurate, and relevant news and information to the people of the Middle
East about the region, the world, and the United States,” and “support[] democratic values by
expanding the spectrum of ideas, opinions, and perspectives available in the region’s media.”16
MBN, therefore, has a mission somewhat similar to that of VOA, while also including what might

12 Section 303(c) of the USIB Act (22 U.S.C. §6202(c)).
13 USAGM, Office of Cuba Broadcasting, https://www.usagm.gov/networks/ocb/.
14 USAGM, FY2021 Congressional Budget Justification, p. 51.
15 USAGM, Radio Free Asia, https://www.usagm.gov/networks/rfa/.
16 USAGM, Middle East Broadcasting Networks, https://www.usagm.gov/networks/mbn/.
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be considered surrogate programming. MBN succeeded VOA’s Arabic service, which was ended
as Congress initially funded what became MBN. MBN’s networks include
 Alhurra, a “Pan-Arab” network that provides satellite television news to the
Middle East, and Alhurra-Iraq, targeting terrestrial television programming to
Iraq;
 Radio Sawa, which broadcasts to Iraq and the Levant (including Syria, Lebanon,
Jordan, the Palestinian Territories, and Arabic speakers in Israel), providing news
reporting and radio call-in programming; and
 several digital properties and platforms in addition to Alhurra.com and
RadioSawa.com: Irfaa Sawtak (Irfaasawtak.com), targeting Iraq; Aswat
Magharibyya (MaghrebVoices.com), targeting the Maghreb (North Africa); and
Elsaha (Elsaha.com), targeting Egypt.
MBN has restructured and refocused its programming in recent years, transitioning Radio Sawa
from a popular music-based format to news programming, streamlining Alhurra programming,
and expanding its digital presence across the Middle East, the Maghreb, and other Arabic-
speaking countries.
U.S. International Broadcasting Standards
and Principles
Journalistic integrity and independence have long been considered essential to the effectiveness
of U.S. international broadcasting. As such, standards to uphold these principles are codified in
the USIB and laid out in the internal guidance and practices of individual broadcasters. The
standards have drawn particular attention in recent years, as legislated reforms in 2016 increased
the structural independence of broadcasters.
USIB Act Provisions
The principle of broadcasting independence is explicitly included in provisions of the USIB Act.
Section 305 of the act, which generally describes the authorities and responsibilities of the CEO,
states:
(b) PROFESSIONAL INDEPENDENCE OF BROADCASTERS.—The Secretary of State and
the Chief Executive Officer, in carrying out their functions, shall respect the professional
independence and integrity of the Board, its broadcasting services, and the grantees of the
Board.17
Section 310A of the act provides protection of the journalistic integrity of USAGM’s broadcast
networks by prohibiting the Department of State Office of Inspector General (the duties of which
include oversight of USAGM) from scrutinizing the political content of broadcasts:
(b) RESPECT FOR JOURNALISTIC INTEGRITY OF BROADCASTERS.—The Inspector
General of the Department of State and the Foreign Service shall respect the journalistic
integrity of all the broadcasters covered by this act and may not evaluate the philosophical
or political perspectives reflected in the content of broadcasts.

17 Section 305(b) of the USIB Act (22 U.S.C. §6204(b)).
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Section 30318 of the USIB Act sets out a number of standards and principles to which U.S.
international broadcasting must adhere, spanning a diverse number of different issues and
interests. The USIB Act requires U.S. international broadcasting, among other things,
 to be consistent with the broad foreign policy objectives of the United States;
 to provide a balanced and comprehensive presentation of U.S. thought,
institutions, culture, society, and government policies, and for VOA particularly,
to represent America, not any single segment of American society;
 to not duplicate the activities of U.S. private broadcasters or government-
supported broadcasting entities of democratic countries;
 to be conducted in accordance with the highest professional standards of
broadcast journalism, providing news that is consistently authoritative, objective,
and comprehensive;19
 to promote respect for human rights, including freedom of religion;
 to provide programming to meet needs which remain unserved by the media
available to the people of certain nations, as well as to provide a variety of
opinions and voices from within particular nations and regions prevented by
censorship or repression from speaking to others in their country or region.
As is noted in the broadcasting principles set out in the USIB Act, U.S. international broadcasting
is intended to serve the “broad” foreign policy interests of the United States. To this end, the act
grants the Secretary of State a consultative role on U.S. foreign policy interests in U.S.
international broadcasting:
SEC. 310B. ROLE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE.
(a) FOREIGN POLICY GUIDANCE.—To assist the Board in carrying out its functions, the
Chief Executive Officer shall regularly consult with and seek from the Secretary of State
guidance on foreign policy issues.20
Internal USAGM Journalistic Standards Practices
USAGM’s broadcast networks have created internal practices and guidelines that integrate the
standards and principles contained in the USIB Act into their broadcast activities. These internal
practices and guidelines are communicated to USAGM staff and monitored and enforced in the
course of the broadcasters’ work. According to a December 2020 report by the Department of
State Office of Inspector General (OIG),
Examples of journalistic tradecraft standards include using identified, authoritative sources
and double-sourcing stories for accuracy; avoiding stereotypes and slurs; denying terrorist
or extremist groups a platform to promote violence; including opposing voices to provide
fairness while avoiding false balance not supported by fact; and clearly delineating
commentary and opinion from straight news coverage. Additionally, the five networks

18 22 U.S.C. §6202.
19 Amendments to Section 303 in the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act added language specifying that the
agency and its broadcasters would practice “editorial independence” as part of their standards and principles. See
section below entitled “New USAGM Reforms in the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act.”
20 22 U.S.C. §6209b. See also Section 1(b)(3)(D) and (E) of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956, as
amended (P.L. 84-885; 22 U.S.C. §2651a(b)(3)(D) and (E)), which sets out the role of the Under Secretary of State for
Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in assisting the BBG in presenting the policies of the United States and submitting
editorial materials to the BBG for broadcast on VOA.
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developed written ethics standards that prohibited plagiarism and copyright violations;
staging or recreating events; giving and accepting payments; and avoiding actual or
apparent conflict of interest through outside activities, including political activism.21
Each of the USAGM broadcasters employ in most cases multiple levels of editorial review. OIG
reported that USAGM broadcasters had devoted more resources to standards compliance, hiring
new standards editors specifically to oversee and guide adherence to journalistic best practices
and ethics. OCB, which has had lapses in journalistic standards, was in the process of installing a
permanent standards editor position at the time of the OIG report’s publication.22 In early 2020,
USAGM reportedly moved to more robustly enforce the use of best practices and journalistic
standards by some broadcasters and broadcast services via improved compliance procedures.23
June 2020 Journalistic Standards Regulation
The former BBG Board, as a bipartisan body, served in part as a structural barrier between the
U.S. international broadcasters and other U.S. government entities, authorities, and officials
(including the individual Governors of the board itself). This insulated broadcast independence
and objectivity from influences that could be, or could be perceived to be, politically motivated.
With the transfer of board authorities to the CEO in the 2016 amendments to the USIB Act, that
structural protection of journalistic independence was removed: a presidentially appointed head
of agency would now oversee and direct U.S. international broadcasting in a similar fashion to
other federal agencies run by political appointees.
As the final Broadcasting Board of Governors prepared to give way fully to the leadership of a
presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed CEO in June 2020, it finalized a set of regulations to
codify the concepts of journalistic independence and integrity within USAGM and its broadcast
networks.24 Pursuant to the regulations, editorial decisionmaking would be insulated from outside
influence, and only individuals within each network would make decisions with regard to
reporting. Oversight of broadcast operations and content would be permitted to ensure adherence
to journalistic standards. The regulations would require network heads and personnel to meet the
“highest professional standards of journalism.” Best practices would need to be established and
published by each network.
The regulations set out the definition and requirements of the “firewall” 25 as that term is used to
represent the protection of journalistic independence for all USAGM broadcast networks required

21 U.S. Department of State Office of the Inspector General, Targeted Inspection of the Governance of the United
States Agency for Global Media: Journalistic Standards and Principles
, December 2020, p. 5.
22 Ibid., pp. 6-7.
23 Ibid., pp. 8-10.
24 Broadcasting Board of Governors, “Firewall and Highest Standards of Professional Journalism,” 85 Federal Register
36150, June 15, 2020 (codified at 22 C.F.R. Part 531).
25 The term “firewall” was in the past applied to the board itself: Congress originally created the Broadcasting Board of
Governors as an internal mechanism within the U.S. Information Agency to oversee international broadcasting,
ensuring broadcasting met journalistic standards and protecting networks from improper political and policy influence
within the agency and from the rest of the U.S. foreign policy apparatus of the federal government. See, for example,
USAGM, The history of U.S. civilian international broadcasting, https://www.usagm.gov/who-we-are/history/
(statement explaining the BBG “serves as a firewall between U.S. government policymakers and journalists”); U.S.
Congress, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. International Broadcasting:—Is Anybody Listening?—Keeping
the U.S. Connected
, committee print, 111th Cong., 2nd sess., June 9, 2010, S.Prt. 111-49 (Washington: GPO, 2010), p. 9
(statement of BBG Chairman Marc Nathanson: “It is our responsibility to serve as a firewall between the international
broadcasters and the policy-making institutions in the foreign affairs community”). At the same time, Congress enacted
provisions that required the board and other relevant government actors not to interfere with the journalistic
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in Section 305(b) of the USIB Act (22 U.S.C. § 6204(b)). The firewall provision stated that such
protection exists in all credible news organizations, with a division between those involved in the
creation and distribution of news content on the one hand, and everyone else in the organization
on the other. “For purposes of USAGM, firewalls exist between the newsroom of a USAGM-
network; everyone else in the organization; and the Executive Branch of the U.S. Government.”
Pursuant to the regulations’ provisions, the firewall is violated when “any person within the
Executive Branch or a Network, but outside the newsroom, attempts to direct, pressure, coerce,
threaten, interfere with, or otherwise impermissibly influence” the journalistic and broadcasting
work of a USAGM network, as well as when someone inside a USAGM network newsroom acts
to impermissibly influence such work.26
The regulation stated that no violation of the firewall occurs when
 USAGM network journalists interview U.S. government officials;
 U.S. government officials comment on USAGM network reporting or
communicate or interact with USAGM network journalists and personnel in the
same fashion as private sector journalists and personnel;
 the CEO directs or oversees USAGM networks in the same fashion as leadership
in other news organizations do;
 USAGM prioritizes certain language services, foreign countries, and foreign
audiences to carry out the mission of the agency; or
 VOA publishes editorials and opinions of U.S. government officials as authorized
in the USIB Act.
Performance Evaluation
USAGM uses a number of different metrics to measure the performance of its broadcasters,
including quantitative measurements of total audience size and broadcaster website visits. From
FY2015 to FY2020, USAGM networks generally saw increases in audiences. New data from
China show significantly increased audience size for RFA beginning with FY2018 data (see
Table 1).
Table 1. Audience for U.S. International Broadcasters, FY2015-FY2022
Weekly audience in millions
Target
Target
Network
FY2015
FY2016
FY2017
FY2018
FY2019
FY2020
FY2021
FY2022
VOA
187.7
236.6
236.8
275.2
280.9
278.0
305.0
310.0
MBN
25.7
27.5
25.7
24.7
25.7
27.5
32.0
34.0
RFE/RL
23.6
26.9
25.8
33.9
38.1
41.1
36.2
36.6
RFA
7.5
6.4
6.9
50.7
50.7
49.5
55.0
57.5
OCB
No data
No data
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.2
1.2
Sources: USAGM Fiscal Year 2020 Performance and Accountability Report; USAGM, FY2022 Congressional Budget
Justification
; USAGM, FY2021 Congressional Budget Justification; USAGM, FY2020 Congressional Budget Justification.

independence of the broadcast networks. With the termination of the board, these legislative protections, and the
internal practices created to carry out such protections, are now the elements of international broadcasting regularly
referred to as the “firewall.”
26 22 C.F.R. § 531.3 (repealed).
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USAGM also relies on “audience reach” as a primary measure of performance. As used by
USAGM, “audience reach” is the percentage of a target adult population that watches or listens to
a broadcast service on a weekly basis.27 USAGM also uses data to measure qualitative aspects of
its programming under seven distinct “impact objectives”:
1. Produce exceptional journalism and content that informs and engages audiences;
2. Reach audiences in key strategic areas;
3. Overcome censorship to connect to audiences;
4. Optimize program delivery by market and expand digital engagement;
5. Serve as an authoritative source on U.S. news, policy, and society;
6. Serve as surrogate local media delivering information not otherwise available;
and
7. Engage local media and empower citizen information gathering and exchange.
Within these objectives, individual goals include, among several others,
 ensuring credibility of programming;
 reaching audiences targeted by state-sponsored disinformation;
 reaching audiences in information-denied environments;
 increasing audiences’ understanding of the United States; and
 increasing audiences’ understanding of current events in their own countries and
communities.
In addition to performance evaluation of each broadcast entity, USAGM reviews each language
service individually on an annual basis. Data included in USAGM’s annual service reviews
include information on baseline performance, as well as data from independent sources on the
stability, political freedom, and press freedom in the countries where the language service is
broadcast. It also provides information on media outlets competing with the U.S. international
broadcaster in the country, and whether the targeted country’s government is prohibiting or
inhibiting distribution of the broadcaster’s programming. The USAGM CEO is required “to
review, evaluate, and determine, at least annually, after consultation with the Secretary of State,
the addition or deletion of language services” pursuant to Section 305(a)(4) of the USIB Act, as
amended.28 USAGM on an annual basis suggests eliminating or adding language services to
countries where press and political freedoms have either improved or worsened significantly.
BBG Funding Information and Trends
USAGM, as an independent government agency, submits its own annual budget request. Table 2,
below, provides appropriations and budget numbers for USAGM and its nonfederal grantees from
FY2020 to the FY2022 request.

27 USAGM has explained that the British Broadcasting Corporation, Radio France International, and Deutsche Welle
all rely on this metric as a primary measure of broadcaster performance.
28 22 U.S.C. §6204(a)(4).
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Table 2. U.S. Agency for Global Media Budget Information, FY2020-FY2022
($ in thousands)
FY2020
FY2021
FY2022

Actual
Estimate
Request
International Broadcasting Operations
Federal Entities



Voice of America
253,113
253,504
257,000
Office of Cuba Broadcasting
24,866
19,758
12,973
Buying Power Maintenance Transfer Supporting
3,967
7,000
a
OCB Reform (not additional)
International Broadcasting Bureau
46,873
54,599
48,793
Internet Freedom and Circumvention Activities

179

(not additional)
Office of Technology, Services, and Innovation
175,661
176,413
177,515
Total, Federal Entities
500,513
504,274
496,281
Nonfederal Entities



Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
124,578
124,322
126,500
Radio Free Asia
44,166
46,402
47,603
Middle East Broadcasting Networks
108,866
110,312
110,312
Open Technology Fund
10,998
19,878
20,000
Total, Nonfederal Entities
288,608
296,468
304,415
Total, International Broadcasting Operations
789,121
800,742
800,696
Broadcasting Capital Improvements
15,928
9,215
9,700
Total, USAGM
805,049
809,957
810,396
Source: USAGM, FY2022 Congressional Budget Justification.
a. For FY2022, $3 mil ion in Buying Power Maintenance funding is available; the FY2022 budget includes
transfer authority renewal request for continuing OCB reform efforts.
USAGM’s budget request for FY2022 calls for funding levels to remain largely flat across
categories and networks. Funding for OCB has fluctuated, with dedicated funding being reduced
but largely replaced by Buying Power Maintenance Account funds. These funds were transferred
for the purpose of OCB reform, which has encountered management, operations, and broadcast
standards issues in recent years.
Recent Reforms and Challenges
The FY2017 NDAA
During the 113th and 114th Congresses, the House Foreign Affairs Committee, led by Chairperson
Edward Royce and Ranking Member Eliot Engel, undertook oversight activities concerning
reform of U.S. international media and the Broadcasting Board of Governors. Committee leaders
and several other Members of Congress co-sponsored legislation during those two Congresses.29

29 Chairman Royce, Ranking Member Engel, and 12 co-sponsors introduced the United States International
Communications Reform Act of 2015 (H.R. 2323), which was reported favorably out of the Foreign Affairs Committee
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The legislation sought to remedy what was perceived as the BBG’s flawed structure, inefficient
operation, and unclear mission.
While these proposals did not become law, they served as a basis for reform provisions eventually
included in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (NDAA; P.L. 114-328),
enacted by Congress in December 2016. Section 1288 of that act instituted major changes to the
structure of U.S. international media as overseen and directed by the agency now known as
USAGM. Among other things, the provisions
 replaced the BBG Board with a permanent CEO position at the head of the
agency;
 created in the BBG Board’s place a successor advisory board without any
executive powers but with a duty to advise the CEO and report to appropriate
congressional committees;
 transferred all powers of the board to the CEO and authorized the CEO to
“direct” all U.S. international broadcasting activities within the agency’s
purview;
 provided the CEO with blanket personnel appointment authority, including
authority to appoint heads of federal and grantee broadcasters, and expanded,
detailed procurement authority;
 authorized the CEO to change the name of the agency from “Broadcasting Board
of Governors” (presumably to reflect new agency structure without a board
heading the agency);
 authorized the CEO to establish a new grantee broadcaster and condition
continued federal grants to existing grantees (RFE/RL, RFA, and MBN) on their
agreement to merge into one surrogate broadcaster; and
 authorized the CEO to appoint the board of any grantee broadcaster, including a
possible consolidated grantee broadcaster.
Transition to a CEO-Led USAGM
The former Broadcasting Board of Governors had for some time recommended that Congress
create a formal CEO position within the agency in order to improve efficiency and effectiveness
in executive leadership. In 2015, the board reorganized executive leadership within the agency,
creating and filling the CEO position before Congress created the position in legislation. The
transition to CEO was slow, in part due to concerns expressed in the Obama Administration
signing statement about the President’s prerogative pursuant to the Appointments Clause of the
Constitution.30

in May 2015, but did not receive further consideration. Previously, during the 113th Congress, Chairman Royce, with
Ranking Member Engel and seven other co-sponsors, introduced the United States International Communications
Reform Act of 2014 (H.R. 4490), which was nearly identical to the 2015 bill. H.R. 4490 passed the House but did not
receive formal consideration in the Senate before the 113th Congress ended.
30 According to the statement, Congress’s purported abolition of the board, made up of Governors that the President
had appointed after Senate confirmation, could not effectively remove the appointed Governors until a CEO had been
appointed under the new legislative provisions. Thus, the board remained as the official head of the agency, with the
CEO continuing to report to the board, until Senate confirmation of USAGM CEO Michael Pack in June 2020. See
U.S. President (Obama), “Statement on Signing the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017,”
Compilation of Presidential Documents
, December 23, 2016, p. 3; see also Article II, Section 2, clause 2, of the U.S.
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During the 2015-2020 period, when the CEO reported to the board, the agency adapted to the
CEO’s leadership role as it transitioned away from the operational leadership structure headed
primarily by the former IBB Director. The board delegated many of its authorities to the CEO,
allowing the CEO to consolidate oversight and direction over the agency and its broadcasters.
The new CEO leadership structure seemed to effectively address the formerly perceived gap in
leadership: in December 2019, for instance, the Department of State Office of the Inspector
General (OIG) found that the CEO had “significantly improved executive direction of the agency
compared to the board-led governance structure,” and that the USAGM CEO had “respected the
broadcasting entities’ editorial independence.”31 An OIG inspection32 covering the first half of
2020 found that USAGM CEO Grant Turner had strengthened oversight of standards by
improving annual program reviews of broadcast content, and that USAGM and broadcaster
leadership generally adhered to and supported journalistic standards and independence and
clearly communicated such standards, except in the case of OCB.33
First Confirmed USAGM CEO: Michael Pack’s Tenure34
Some of the 2016 reforms to USAGM did not enter into force until the first Senate-confirmed
CEO, Michael Pack, took office (the board had remained head of agency, for example) in June
2020. As such, Mr. Pack’s tenure as the first fully empowered CEO in some ways represented a
test of those expanded executive powers and position.
Mr. Pack stated that he had “three goals: making the agency more effective; ensuring that nothing
interferes with the ability to report the news; and improving agency morale.”35 He emphasized the
increased authorities of the CEO to accomplish significant change and criticized what he
described as internal agency efforts to blunt the CEO’s powers. Several of Mr. Pack’s decisions
during his tenure as CEO spurred criticism from many observers of U.S. international media,
including some Members of Congress, and resulted in congressional oversight, legislative action
to amend the USIB Act, and lawsuits brought by USAGM and individual broadcaster executives
and board members.36 Most criticism focused on the following areas:

Constitution (“[The President] shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint
Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United
States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law”).
31 See U.S. Department of State Office of the Inspector General, Targeted Inspection of the Governance of the United
States Agency for Global Media
, April 2019.
32 U.S. Department of State Office of the Inspector General, Targeted Inspection of the Governance of the United
States Agency for Global Media: Journalistic Standards and Principles
, December 2020.
33 Ibid., pp. 17-18. The inspection also found that recent violations of journalistic standards at OCB had revealed that
USAGM lacked uniform procedures to respond to such violations. The OIG issued several recommendations
concerning communication of journalistic standards and principles and editorial oversight reforms at OCB, institution
of full program reviews each year at VOA and OCB, and establishment of systematic standards training for all
USAGM and broadcaster employees. USAGM concurred with all recommendations.
34 Michael Pack resigned as USAGM CEO on January 20, 2021, after being informed by the Biden Administration that
he would be removed otherwise. Kelu Chao replaced Mr. Pack on that date as Acting CEO and remains in that position
as of the date of this report.
35 U.S. Agency for Global Media, “USAGM CEO implements critical changes on day one to fulfill legislative
mandate,” press release, June 18, 2020.
36 For further details on issues and actions of concern during Mr. Pack’s tenure, see U.S. Government Accountability
Office, U.S. Agency for Global Media: Additional Actions Needed to Improve Oversight of, GAO-22-104017, October
2021.
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Alleged interference with newsrooms and journalists. Mr. Pack repealed the
firewall regulation put in place by the previous board, arguing that the regulation
separating USAGM management from network newsroom operations and
decisionmaking unlawfully prevented the USAGM CEO from effectively
overseeing and directing U.S. international broadcasting. CEO Pack and other
politically appointed USAGM officials conducted investigations into journalists
and their reporting. In additions, citing reports of hiring practice deficiencies and
national security concerns, Mr. Pack allowed the work visas for approximately
100 foreign USAGM employees to expire, requiring the termination of their
employment and their departure from the United States.37
A number of USAGM officials dismissed by CEO Pack sued the CEO and the USAGM,
and were granted injunctive relief based on a finding of likely violations of the First
Amendment.38 The court found that USAGM officials and journalists involved in
producing broadcasts and reporting are covered by First Amendment protections of the
press and of free speech, including protection from actions taken by USAGM officials.39
Removing Heads and boards of USAGM federal and grantee broadcasters.
The Director and Deputy Director of VOA resigned just prior to Mr. Pack’s
arrival at USAGM in June 2020. Mr. Pack removed the heads of RFE/RL, RFA,
and MBN upon entering his position that month. Mr. Pack also dismissed the
boards of directors of the grantee broadcasters and installed new board members,
including a number of federal officials from other agencies. These actions
appeared to be within the CEO’s authority. Some observers argued that the
independence of USAGM’s broadcasters and the effectiveness of USAGM as an
agency would be adversely affected by such significant turnover in broadcaster
leadership.
Constraining the authority of future USAGM CEOs. In January 2021, CEO
Pack amended corporate by-laws and the networks grant agreements with
USAGM. The changes were designed to prevent any change to the grantee
boards of directors for at least two years, and thereafter only for cause. These
appeared to be efforts to entrench himself and the officials he appointed to the
boards of directors of the grantee broadcasters, RFE/RL, RFA, and MBN.

37 See Pranshu Verma and Edward Wong, “Trump Appointee Might Not Extend Visas for Foreign Journalists at
V.O.A.,” The New York Times, July 9, 2020. In an August 2020 interview, CEO Pack stated that state-run broadcasters
in several countries had been “penetrated” by foreign agents, stating, “It is a great place to put a foreign spy. I have to
make sure that doesn’t happen—to stand up for the national security interests of Americans.” Tristan Justice, “NPR
Manipulates Federalist Interview With VOA Executive On Behalf Of Government Employees Opposing Reform,” The
Federalist
, September 3, 2020, https://thefederalist.com/2020/09/03/npr-manipulates-federalist-interview-with-voa-
executive-on-behalf-of-government-employees-opposing-reform/. Critics of the decision not to renew visas stated that
foreign USAGM employees are hired when U.S. citizens and permanent residents cannot fill vital broadcasting roles
providing news and information to foreign publics. They argued that the visa decision itself could harm U.S. national
security and interests, as well as place foreign journalists in danger as they return to repressive societies where the
government would not look kindly on citizens who have been critical of such repression. They also asserted that
characterizations of foreign-born journalists as potential “spies” compromise the trust foreign publics have in USAGM-
funded broadcasts and give U.S. adversaries in authoritarian regimes fodder for attacks on USAGM broadcasters. See
David Folkenflick, “Voice of America Journalists: New CEO Endangers Reporters, Harms U.S. Aims,” National
Public Radio
, August 31, 2020.
38 See Turner v. U.S. Agency for Global Media, 502 F. Supp. 3d 333 (D.D.C. Nov. 20, 2020).
39 USAGM appealed the decision but later withdrew its appeal. Turner v. U.S. Agency for Global Media, 2021 U.S.
App. LEXIS 16455 (D.C. Cir. May 17, 2021).
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Interfering with the Open Technology Fund. Mr. Pack attempted to remove the
executive leadership and board of directors of OTF at the same time as he
removed the boards and leadership of the other three USAGM grantees. In a
lawsuit brought by OTF executives and board members removed by Mr. Pack, a
federal court found in a preliminary ruling that the USAGM CEO was not
authorized pursuant to the USIB Act to remove the officers and directors of OTF
as the CEO is authorized to do with the other USAGM grantees, but that OTF’s
bylaws permitted such action.40
Removing USAGM executive officers and altering regular standards
compliance. CEO Pack suspended and/or removed from office a number of
USAGM executives charged with aspects of USAGM’s mandate. In August
2020, CEO Pack suspended six USAGM officials, reportedly citing irregularities
in the approval for security clearances of journalists and other personnel. CEO
Pack also removed VOA’s standards editor, a position tasked with ensuring that
VOA’s reporting meets USAGM’s broadcasting standards and principles, leaving
the position open and conducting some standards oversight through the CEO’s
office and other USAGM officials.41
Constraining grantee broadcaster operations. In addition to allegations
concerning changes to USAGM and broadcast network leadership and
interference with journalistic standards, OTF and the USAGM grantee broadcast
networks accused CEO Pack and other USAGM officials of purposely
withholding funding from the grantee broadcasters and OTF, and so hampering
and sometimes stopping the grantees authorized operations. In August 2020, OTF
sued USAGM and Mr. Pack in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, alleging
breaches of its grant agreement. Mr. Pack allegedly sought to move internet
freedom funding out of OTF in order to direct it to the Office of Internet Freedom
within USAGM, an office that had been abolished but that had been reestablished
by Mr. Pack.42
Whistleblower Complaints and Investigations
During Mr. Pack’s tenure as USAGM CEO, a number of USAGM employees filed whistleblower
complaints against Mr. Pack and other high-level USAGM officials, alleging violations of law
and unfair and irresponsible management. Mr. Pack and USAGM denied the accusations in these
complaints. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) in December 2020 “found a substantial
likelihood of wrongdoing based on the information” submitted in the complaints. It ordered
USAGM to conduct an investigation into the whistleblowers’ accusations pursuant to provisions
of the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 and to report back to OSC within 60 days, subject to
extensions. Specifically, OSC ordered USAGM to investigate allegations that USAGM

40 Congress later enacted reforms to the USIB Act that established OTF in legislation and added OTF to the list of
entities for which the CEO can name officers and directors. See the “New USAGM Reforms in the FY2021 National
Defense Authorization Act”
section below.
41 See VOA News, “Pack Expands Purge at US Global News Agency,” August 14, 2020; Daniel Lippman, “Trump
appointee deepens purge of U.S. global media agency,” Politico, August 12, 2020; House Foreign Affairs Committee,
“Engel Statement on USAGM Officials Breaching the ‘Firewall’ and Targeting VOA Journalist,” press release,
October 5, 2020.
42 See testimony of Karen Kornbluh, U.S. Congress, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Oversight of the United
States Agency for Global Media and U.S. International Broadcasting Efforts
, 116th Cong., 2nd sess., September 24,
2020.
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 “repeatedly violated” law and regulation protecting USAGM journalists’ and
broadcasters’ “professional independence and integrity”;
 committed “gross mismanagement and abuse of authority” by terminating
network heads and dismissing USAGM grantee boards of directors and replacing
them with political appointees, including the USAGM CEO himself;
 removed the authority of several senior USAGM officials, reassigning such
authority to political appointees who did not work in relevant USAGM offices,
and suspended the security clearances of six of those officials, placing them on
administrative leave;
 removed the VOA Standards Editor, who has a significant role in maintaining
journalistic integrity, leaving the position vacant, as well as removing the RFA
executive editor;
 prevented reauthorization of work visas for non-U.S. citizen USAGM journalists,
“endangering both the continuity of agency operations and those individuals’
safety”;
 prohibited several offices from communicating outside the agency without the
consent of the CEO’s office;
 “improperly froze” hiring, contracting, and technology work to the point that
agency operations were degraded and staff safety was threatened; and
 “illegally repurposed, and pressured career staff to illegally repurpose,”
appropriated funds without required notification to Congress.43
Further details from OSC’s actions have not been made public. A separate investigation by the
Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of State (“State OIG”), which also oversees
USAGM, reportedly found in July 2021 that the USAGM executives suspended by Mr. Pack who
had filed the whistleblower complaints had not engaged in any wrongdoing and were instead
targets of reprisals by Mr. Pack and other USAGM management.44 USAGM’s new management
has supported and approved State OIG’s investigations and conclusions, stating that they are
important to ensuring the rights of whistleblowers.45
In response to another whistleblower complaint alleging USAGM leadership misconduct to OSC,
in February 2021 OSC reportedly directed USAGM to investigate the propriety of Mr. Pack’s
decision to hire a private law firm to investigate and audit the actions USAGM journalists and
other employees, actions that were characterized by the whistleblowers as waste and retaliation.46
Since the complaint was first filed, it was revealed that USAGM had contracted with another firm

43 Letter from Karen Tanenbaum, Attorney, Office of Special Counsel, to David Z. Seide, Government Accountability
Project, December 2, 2020.
44 See David Folkenflick, “A Report Clears Federal Officials Who Were Suspended By A Trump Appointee Over
VOA,” NPR, July 10, 2021.
45 Ibid.
46 Government Accountability Project, “Government Accountability Project Applauds Another U.S. Office of Special
Counsel Finding ‘Substantial Likelihood’ of Wrongdoing by Trump Administration Officials at Voice of America
Overseer,” press release, February 16, 2021, https://whistleblower.org/press-release/press-statement-government-
accountability-project-applauds-another-u-s-office-of-special-counsel-finding-substantial-likelihood-of-wrongdoing-
by-trump-administration-officials-at-voice-of-americ/.
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as well, and that the total expenditure might have reached $4 million.47 State OIG reportedly has
also investigated this matter.48
New USAGM Reforms in the FY2021 National
Defense Authorization Act
In September 2020, the House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing on the situation at
USAGM, due to the significant number of issues that had arisen at the agency since Mr. Pack’s
confirmation as CEO. At the hearing, the committee heard from former members of the BBG
Board and USAGM and grantee officials, some of whom had been recently removed from their
positions by Mr. Pack. Members of the committee from both parties expressed concerns over the
actions that Mr. Pack and other political appointees at USAGM had taken and frustrations over
Mr. Pack’s failure to comply with a congressional subpoena to testify before the hearing.49
In December 2020, Congress enacted a number of amendments to the USIB Act in Sections
1299P and 1299Q of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (FY2021
NDAA; P.L. 116-283). The reforms were to take effect 90 days after enactment of the act into
law.50 Section 1299Q deals with editorial independence and the authorities of the CEO, and
Section 1299P specifically establishes OTF in legislation.
Changes to Standards, Principles, and Authorities of the USAGM CEO
Editorial Independence. Subsection (b) of Section 1299Q adds language to ensure the editorial
independence of USAGM broadcasters in the standards and principles provision of the USIB Act,
Section 303 (22 U.S.C. § 6202). It adds “including editorial independence” in both subsection (a)
and (b) of Section 303. While Section 305(b) (22 U.S.C. § 6204(b)) already requires the USAGM
CEO and the Secretary of State to “respect the professional independence and integrity” of
USAGM broadcasters, these changes add a specific duty on the part of USAGM to ensure
editorial independence of the broadcasters.
Grantee Boards of Directors. Subsection (c) of Section 1299Q makes changes to Section 305 of
the USIB Act, which covers the authorities of the USAGM CEO. The amendments limit the
USAGM CEO’s authority to determine the membership of the boards of directors of the
respective USAGM grantees, RFE/RL, RFA, MBN, and OTF, by removing language that permits
the CEO to name full-time federal employees, including the CEO, to a grantee’s board, and
prohibiting such appointments by the CEO. Subsection (c) also adds a requirement that CEO-
appointed grantee board members must have “requisite expertise in journalism, technology,
broadcasting, or diplomacy, or appropriate language or cultural understanding relevant to the
grantee’s mission.” The subsection requires the CEO to award grants to the grantees only when
the constituent documents of a grantee provide for board selection in accordance with the USIB
Act.51

47 See Paul Farhi, “Former Voice of America overseer hired two law firms to $4 million no-bid contracts,” The
Washington Post
, January 25, 2021.
48 Ibid. OIG has not yet made the results of this investigation publicly available.
49 See U.S. Congress, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Oversight of the United States Agency for Global Media
and U.S. International Broadcasting Efforts
, 116th Cong., 2nd sess., September 24, 2020.
50 The FY2021 NDAA bill passed both Houses of Congress over presidential veto, and became law on January 1, 2021.
51 Section 1299Q(c)(1)(A), (B), (2).
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International Broadcasting Advisory Board. Subsection (d) of Section 1299Q amends the
provision establishing the International Broadcasting Advisory Board, which is tasked primarily
with advising the USAGM CEO and is vested with certain authorities after the amendments
contained in Section 1299Q. Subsection (d) increases the number of members of the Advisory
Board from five to seven and requires presidential appointments to be confirmed by the Senate.
Subsection (d) also restores the bipartisan requirements that characterized the original BBG: no
more than three of the members of the Advisory Board may be affiliated with the same political
party.52 The subsection doubles the annual required number of Advisory Board meetings with the
CEO from two to four and requires additional meetings with the CEO at the request of the Chair
of the Advisory Board. It adds a duty of the Advisory Board and the CEO to consult with one
another before submitting budgetary and strategic documents to Congress or the Office of
Management and Budget.53 The amendments bolster the Advisory Board in other ways, such as
authorizing compensation for Advisory Board member time and expenses, and requiring the
USAGM CEO to provide executive staff for the Advisory Board.54
Amendments to the Advisory Board provisions create a role for the Advisory Board in ensuring
the editorial and journalistic independence and integrity of USAGM broadcasters. The subsection
adds the requirement that the Advisory Board advise the USAGM CEO to ensure that the CEO
“fully respects the professional integrity and editorial independence” of all USAGM broadcasters,
and that USAGM and its broadcasters “adhere to the highest professional standards and ethics of
journalism.”55 Pursuant to the subsection’s amendments, the Advisory Board must approve, by
majority vote, the appointment of each of the heads of VOA, OCB, RFE/RL, RFA, MBN, OTF,
or “any other grantee authorized under” the USIB Act. The Advisory Board may also unilaterally
remove the head of any of these entities by a vote of five or more in favor.56
Office of Cuba Broadcasting. Subsection (a) provides the sense of Congress that OCB should
remain an independent entity within USAGM and retain its mission to promote freedom and
democracy in Cuba through information programming.57
Legislative Establishment of the Open Technology Fund
Congress also sought to clarify the status of the Open Technology Fund in 2020. Subsection (a) of
Section 1299P of the act states the sense of Congress that, among other things, “it is in the interest
of the United States to promote global internet freedom by countering internet censorship and
repressive surveillance.” To support this interest, subsection (b) adds a new section to the USIB
Act formally establishing OTF as a USAGM grantee, tasked with “unrestricted access to
uncensored sources of information via the internet to enable” USAGM broadcasters and their
partners to effectively broadcast to target audiences.58 The new section lays out OTF’s mission
and authorities, sets requirements for OTF’s methodology in carrying out its work and for the
grant agreement between OTF and USAGM, and requires cooperation amongst OTF, USAGM,

52 Section 1299Q(d)(1).
53 Section 1299Q(d)(4).
54 Section 1299Q(d)(4) (adding a new Section 306(f) and (g) to the USIB Act).
55 Section 1299Q(d)(4) (adding a new Section 306(d)(6) to the USIB Act).
56 Section 1299Q(d)(4) (adding a new Section 306(e) to the USIB Act).
57 The acts authorizing broadcasting to Cuba directed that new Cuba services be created within VOA, but OCB was
originally created essentially as a separate federal broadcaster headquartered in Marathon, FL, and has operated
separately from VOA since that time.
58 22 U.S.C. §6208a.
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and the other grantees. It also includes “Open Technology Fund” alongside other listed USAGM
grantees in existing USIB Act provisions regarding the USAGM CEO position and authorities,
and entities reporting to the CEO. The new provisions require USAGM to ensure that OTF
coordinates its internet freedom efforts with the Department of State and other relevant
agencies.59
Issues for Congress
The Role of the USAGM CEO
The 2016 amendments to the USIB Act created a powerful CEO position at the helm of U.S.
international broadcasting, replacing a part-time, nine-member board as head of agency. While
some observers and USAGM personnel were concerned about the concentration of powers in the
CEO position, from 2015 to 2020 the USAGM CEO seemed to represent an overall improvement
in the efficiency and effectiveness of USAGM and its broadcast networks. Some observers have
used USAGM’s experience with its first presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed CEO to call
into question the decision to create the CEO position in law in 2016.
In many ways, the USAGM CEO position is similar in authority to other federal agency and
department heads. Many of the controversial actions taken by CEO Pack, such as the removal of
the broadcast network heads, fell within the CEO’s authorities. To the extent Mr. Pack’s actions
were considered improper or illegal, oversight, whistleblower, and legal frameworks seemingly
were applied to address allegations of wrongdoing. The end of the bipartisan board and the
concerns raised by CEO Pack’s actions seem to have spurred a renewed desire to constrain the
powers of the USAGM CEO. Congress, in its most recent amendments to the USIB Act, placed
authority with the International Broadcasting Advisory Board, giving this formerly consultative
body the power to prevent the removal of USAGM network heads or to remove a network head
itself with a supermajority vote. New language aimed at bolstering the responsibility and
obligation of the CEO to properly administer and supervise U.S. international broadcasting was
added to effectively constrain the CEO position regarding that position’s “direction” of
USAGM’s broadcast networks. Depending on how these changes address previous issues,
Congress might consider further changes to the CEO’s authorities and role, as well as those of the
International Broadcasting Advisory Board.60
Protecting Journalistic Integrity and Independence
Adherence to and protection of journalistic standards, integrity, and independence in U.S.
international broadcasting has been an indispensable principle from the founding of VOA. It has
risen to be the central concern in the debate over the structure and operation of USAGM and its
predecessors and affiliated broadcast networks since the establishment of the Broadcasting Board
of Governors within the U.S. Information Agency in 1994. The USIB Act does not set out how
the agency would meet the requirements of the standards and principles of U.S. international
broadcasting, other than to state generally that journalistic independence would be respected. As
the final BBG prepared to terminate in June 2020, it promulgated the firewall regulation (see the
“June 2020 Journalistic Standards Regulation” section above) to explain the division between
USAGM as an agency and USAGM network newsrooms as independent media organizations.

59 Section 1299P(b) (adding a new Section 309A to the USIB Act).
60 Cf. U.S. Government Accountability Office, U.S. Agency for Global Media: Additional Actions Needed to Improve
Oversight of
, GAO-22-104017, October 2021, p. 45.
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CEO Pack argued that they improperly prohibited the USAGM CEO from being able to supervise
and direct U.S. international broadcasting, as the USIB Act authorizes and requires. He therefore
repealed the firewall regulation in its entirety. The recent additions to the USIB Act requiring
respect for and adherence to “editorial independence” seem to have been intended to require the
CEO and USAGM to act in a manner similar to that required by the repealed firewall regulation.
The regulation itself has not been repromulgated. Congress might consider whether the USIB Act,
as currently written, effectively explains USAGM’s obligations to ensure journalistic integrity
and independence in USAGM’s broadcast networks.61
The decision of the federal district court in the case brought by several dismissed USAGM
officials (see the “First Confirmed USAGM CEO: Michael Pack’s Tenure” section above), which
found that CEO Pack and USAGM had likely violated the First Amendment rights of one of the
plaintiffs. This raises an additional matter for consideration when discussing the journalistic
independence of USAGM broadcast networks, their officials, and their journalists and other
personnel. The court found that USAGM and broadcast network journalists and personnel, when
carrying out the news gathering, news reporting, and other broadcasting work, are protected from
USAGM interference under the freedom of speech and freedom of the press protections of the
First Amendment to the Constitution. While federal employees and government contractors are
often subject to limitations on First Amendment speech protections when carrying out their
official duties, the court found that federal employees whose jobs entail free speech, such as
journalists, can remain protected from interference even in their official duties.62 While
journalistic independence and integrity has long been central to the journalism produced by
USAGM’s broadcast networks, it has most often been justified by the preservation of trust and
credibility of such networks in the minds of their target audiences, rather than a required
protection against government interference. Couching the standards and principles of journalistic
independence for U.S. international broadcasting in terms of First Amendment protection of
USAGM network journalists and officials could lead to altered interpretations of the provisions of
the USIB Act, shifting from legislative policy to a constitutional issue. Congress may choose to
address the concept of First Amendment-protected speech for network officials and journalists in
the USIB Act itself.
Role of U.S. International Broadcasting in Advancing U.S. Foreign
Policy Goals and Promoting Democracy
One of the primary purposes of U.S. international broadcasting is to provide for the free flow of
information that presents a balanced view of issues important to foreign publics. VOA is tasked
with comprehensive reporting on American life, culture, and explaining U.S. policies. The
surrogate broadcasters, such as RFE/RL, are tasked with providing news reporting that fills the
gaps in coverage in countries where no free media exist due to government repression or other
factors. U.S. international broadcasters are required under U.S. law to provide complete and
balanced coverage that examines all sides of important issues and related U.S. government
policies, not just the official U.S. government position, and to provide an opportunity for debate
on such issues and policies in their programming.63 In addition to standards requiring objectivity,
U.S. international broadcasting is also required under law to “be consistent with the broad foreign
policy objectives of the United States.”64 Thus, U.S. international broadcasting is required to

61 Cf. ibid.
62 See Turner v. U.S. Agency for Global Media, 502 F. Supp. 3d at 376.
63 22 U.S.C. §6202(a), (b).
64 22 U.S.C. §6202(a)(1).
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advance U.S. foreign policy through informing foreign publics in a balanced and objective
manner.
USAGM states that the mission of U.S. international broadcasting is “to inform, engage, and
connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy.” Some observers, and
representatives of U.S. international broadcasters, have explained that U.S. international
broadcasting’s benefit to U.S. foreign policy emanates from convincing foreign publics that the
U.S. government is intent on informing and empowering repressed populations through a
demonstration of a free media. They also argue that U.S. international broadcasters provide a
necessary counterweight to certain U.S. public diplomacy efforts that represent a one-sided
advocacy approach to communication that does not always resonate with foreign audiences.
Concerns have long been expressed regarding the effectiveness of U.S. international broadcasting
in promoting U.S. foreign policy goals and national security interests. The State Department’s
public diplomacy activities often include advocating for U.S. policies and presenting such
policies in the most favorable light. U.S. international broadcasters explain U.S. policies but also
must provide a forum for dissenting views and open discussion of those policies. The result
sometimes is the denunciation of U.S. government policies on the programs of U.S.-government
funded broadcasters, a development that leads some observers to question the effectiveness or
usefulness of U.S. international broadcasting. It has been argued that instead of providing a
balanced presentation of issues of importance both to target foreign populations and U.S. foreign
policy goals, U.S. international broadcasting should act to counterbalance anti-American
sentiment with its own partial programming.
Some observers have also recommended that U.S. international broadcasting and U.S. public
diplomacy efforts could be better coordinated under a more unified communications strategy to
ensure that U.S. government-funded communications are not perceived as acting at cross-
purposes. Such enhanced coordination might involve more input from the Secretary of State or
the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in U.S. international broadcasters’
programming. Other recommendations include placing U.S. international broadcasters fully under
the direction of a new government agency or center for coordinating all U.S. public diplomacy
and strategic communication.
Some argue that U.S. international broadcasters must remain completely independent of the State
Department’s public diplomacy advocacy and any other official foreign policy apparatus, other
than the current broad guidance that the Secretary of State provides under law. A closer
relationship, they contend, especially one in which the State Department directs U.S. international
broadcasters to include certain programming, coverage, or messaging, would delegitimize U.S.
international broadcasting among foreign audiences. If U.S. international broadcasters lose their
credibility and journalistic integrity, it might render these broadcasters unable to provide the free
flow of information and effectively promote democracy through demonstrating the operation of a
free press in nondemocratic countries. Congress may consider these potentially conflicting
objectives and concerns when reviewing broadcasting authorities and conducting oversight of
USAGM.

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Author Information

Matthew C. Weed

Specialist in Foreign Policy Legislation


Acknowledgments
Mari Y. Lee, Visual Information Specialist, created graphics for this report.

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