In the Republican Party platform, the only mention of television is TV Martí. "The Republican Party platform talks little about media issues, despite the oft-expressed media-policy concerns of its presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain (Ariz.). ... In the 67-page Republican platform, the only mention of television is a reference to the government-run broadcasting service to Cuba, TV Marti." Broadcasting & Cable, 6 September 2008.
     "Throughout the Cold War, our international broadcasting of free and impartial information promoted American values to combat tyranny. It still does, through Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio/TV Marti, and it remains an important instrument in promoting a modernizing alternative to the culture of radical terror. Getting America’s message out to the world is a critical element in the struggle against extremism, and our government must wage a much more effective battle in the war of ideas." gopplatform2008.com -- So the paragraph on public diplomacy deals only with international broadcasting, and makes no mention of VOA, Alhurra, or Radio Sawa. Posted: 07 Sep 2008 Permalink

VOA Music Mix is heard, in Malta, if you have a DAB receiver. "Digital Audio Broadcasting [DAB], which has become extremely popular overseas [sic], is to be launched in Malta shortly. ... More than a few stations are also being rebroadcast on the new platform - BBC World Service, Voa Music Mix, Rai Stereo 1/2/3, Retesport, Radio Deejay, World Radio Network, Classic Choice, The Groove and Radio Padre Pio." The Malta Independent, 6 September 2008. Indeed, VOA Music Mix is VOA's only 24-hour English-language service, still with news dutifully provided on the hour. The VOA Music Mix website is here. There, the LISTEN LIVE link will give you a Windows Media Player stream. If you prefer a live Real stream, go to this page (you would probably never find it on your own), then look for Music Mix Live, which has top billing over News Now. Posted: 07 Sep 2008 Permalink

The international channels overlook the 'Stans. "This is my first stop on a visit to the heart of Central Asia's historic Silk Road: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, known collectively as the 'Stans. ... If Western satellite television is some measure of a country's existence, the region remains something of a void. Global weather reports on CNN, BBC World and Sky News skirt the edges of the 'Stans, covering China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Turkey. It seems there's no weather in Central Asia." Kevin Jacob, Brisbane Times, 7 September 2008. The 'Stans would be the stomping ground of RFE/RL, which transmits in Kazakh, Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Tajik, and Turkmen. But does RFE/RL provide weather reports for the region? Posted: 07 Sep 2008 Permalink

A commercial international broadcasting success story. BBC's "Top Gear is already screened in more than 100 countries and a spin-off magazine, the country's best-selling motoring title, publishes 23 editions around the world. ... American channel NBC has commissioned a pilot that will be made by BBC Worldwide's new Los Angeles production office; and Australians, who already receive the British version of Top Gear, will soon get a domestic equivalent produced by a home-grown company part-owned by BBC Worldwide." The Observer, 7 September 2008. Posted: 07 Sep 2008 Permalink

Report: DW Chinese reporter suspended for "friendliness toward China" (updated again). "A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman on Thursday urged the news media to report with objectivity and fairness, after being asked to comment on the suspension of a Chinese journalist by a major German broadcaster. Spokesman Qin Gang was speaking in response to a journalist's question concerning a Zhang Danhong's suspension from her post at international broadcaster Deutsche Welle due to her remarks showing friendliness toward China." Xinhua, 28 August 2008. See also Berliner Zeitung, 22 August 2008. "Zensur ist für die Deutsche Welle (DW) kein unbekanntes Phänomen." ("Censorship is not for Deutsche Welle an unknown phenomenon.") Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, 26 August 2008.
     "Her suspension exemplifies the hypocritical nature of some Western media that chant human rights and freedom of speech every day. For a long time, it is politically correct for the Western media to attack China. So when they report on issues about China, they tend to question, challenge and doubt, while turning a blind eye to the improvements and achievements China has made. Freedom of speech is one of the core values the Western media uphold. Then in Zhang's case, why did DW Radio violate the very value it claimed to cherish?" Joshua Shi, Shanghai Daily, 4 September 2008. See also DW press release, 1 August 2008.
     Update: "Ms. Zhang still retains her position in the editor's office, and she has merely been positioned away from the microphone, until this matter is cleared up." Epoch Times, 6 September 2008. Posted: 07 Sep 2008 Permalink

Soviet-era solutions for broadcasting to the former Soviet Union. "The BBG plans to end all Voice of America on-air radio broadcasts to Ukraine by October 1, 2008 and keep only its Internet and television services. Ted Lipien, president of media freedom nonprofit FreeMediaOnline.org, said that television and Internet are far less effective than radio in an emergency and could not easily reach areas under conflict or occupation, as was demonstrated during the war in Georgia. ... The BBG claims that radio broadcasting to Russia can be better done from Moscow and Prague by the semi-private Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). Ted Lipien – who was earlier acting associate director of VOA and helped BBG place programs on stations in Russia, Ukraine, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq – said, however, that RFE/RL journalists and resources in Russia are now dangerously exposed to intimidation and control by the Russian secret police." Ted Lipien, Blogger News Network, 5 September 2008.
     "Before the BBG took over, journalists at the Voice of America would have immediately expanded broadcasts to Russia and Georgia in response to the news emergency and then ask the White House for more money. The BBG took these types of decisions away from the VOA director, who otherwise could have acted quickly and in sync with the Administration and the Congress. In fact, this is what VOA journalists wanted to do this time, but they were told by the VOA management that the BBG considers such requests 'a non-starter.' ... All U.S. radio broadcasts to Russia would be done from now on by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)... The problem is that RFE/RL has a large news bureau in Moscow, which makes its journalists, who are Russian citizens living with their families in Russia, vulnerable to pressure and intimidation by Mr. Putin’s secret police." Ted Lipien, Blogger News Network, 4 September 2008.
     The Broadcasting Board of Governors "ceased VOA's Russian-language programs. In its stead, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), a semi-private entity operating in the former Soviet Union, has been tasked with continuing radio broadcasts in Russian. While RFE/RL has a much better track record than Radio Sawa or al-Hurra, the organization has proved uniquely vulnerable to the Kremlin's crackdown on independent media." Helle Dale, Austin (MN) Post-Bulletin, 4 September 2008.
     This is an op-ed version of Helle Dale's Heritage Foundation paper on the same subject. RFE/RL is not "uniquely" vulnerable, because any VOA rebroadcasting affiliates in Russia are also subject to closure. And, as Ted Lipien argues, if RFE/RL journalists and bureaus in the former Soviet Union are subject to intimidation and closure, then RFE/RL would become like VOA, reporting mostly extra-territorially.
     The media environment in Russia and the other former Soviet republics has become complex and competitive. Shortwave may no longer be the best way to reach these countries. And a U.S. international broadcasting strategy that consists of two stations that compete with each other, largely overlapping, one mandated to be deficient in its coverage of target country news, the other mandated to be deficient in its coverage of world news, is not adequate to the task. See previous post about same subject. Posted: 06 Sep 2008 Permalink

More stories about interns working for VOA. Daniel Strauss, a senior at Whittier College, in California, is covering the [Republican National Convention], for the Voice of America, as a Richard M. Nixon Fellow. For his fellowship, Mr. Strauss, who says he’s a political independent, wants to examine media coverage of the convention, and of the election in general, looking at what the mainstream press reports on and what it omits. He says he is getting an interesting perspective working at VOA, with its international audience. 'They don’t have to play into the partisan politics of the United States,' he says." Chronicle of Higher Education, 5 Septemver 2008.
     "Since [Eli] Harrington had been taking Chinese classes at Brandeis for a year and a half at the time, working in China was another option for Harrington, but one that was kept somewhat in the back of his mind. Puzzled, Harrington sought former Voice of America (VOA) journalist and Brandeis professor Maura Jane Farrelly’s (JOUR) advice on where he might work. Farrelly told Harrington about VOA, a self-identified multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. government. Each week, VOA broadcasts its more than 1,250 hours of news, educational, and cultural programming in more than 45 languages to worldwide audiences surpassing 134 million viewers. Farrelly also told Harrington about one of her colleagues who had just started work at Beijing’s VOA bureau." The Brandeis Hoot, 5 September 2008. Posted: 06 Sep 2008 Permalink

Georgia Markov case may never be solved (updated). "In one of the most infamous unsolved crimes of the Cold War, Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov was attacked in London on Sept. 7, 1978, and died four days later. With the 30-year statute of limitations coming up, Bulgaria plans to close its investigation of the case, a move that may stymie the U.K.'s probe and leave unanswered speculation that Bulgaria's spy service ordered the hit. ... The assassination silenced Georgi Markov, who used the London-based BBC World Service and U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe to denounce Bulgaria as one of the world's most repressive communist regimes." Bloomberg, 29 August 2008. See previous post about same subject.
     Update: New documents ... confirm that agent Piccadilly, the only suspect in the Markov’s murder investigation, was specially trained in 1978, sent on a mission and subsequently invited to holiday in Bulgaria, where he was presented with medals by the country’s then-secret police State Security." Sofia Echo, 5 September 2008. Posted: 06 Sep 2008 Permalink

"Why Is Russia Losing the Media War?" Comments from eight experts, including Edward Lozansky, President, American University in Moscow: "The answer to the question of 'why Russia is losing the media war' is very simple: the number of professionals in Russia who simultaneously possess the foreign policy, journalism, and debating skills in perfect English is very limited." Russia Profile.org, 5 September 2008. Posted: 06 Sep 2008 Permalink

Al Jazeera covers the U.S. election (updated). "On Aug. 29 at 6 p.m., as I was about to leave my office, I scanned CNN, MSNBC and Fox only to find out that they were preoccupied with a new election hype. This time, it was John McCain’s game-changing selection of his running mate, Governor Sarah Palin. Al Jazeera English, however, was reporting about the dire conditions of the health care system in America and how uninsured Americans feel towards the two candidates. The story was part of the series 'We the People,' which focuses on how people across America are affected by issues gripping the U.S. elections." Jalal Ghazi, New America Media, 4 September 2008.
     "'I talked to my brother, Khalid, before I left [Iraq]. Everyone there is watching on CNN, Al Jazeera. Both conventions mean a lot to them." LA Weekly, 4 September 2008.
     "Dr. [Ron] Paul continues his packed media schedule today! ... Tonight, he will also be on Glenn Beck (check local listings) and will be interviewed on Al Jazeera English by Riz Khan (check local listings)." Campaign for Liberty, 3 September 2008. Check your local listings and, unless you live in Burlington or Toledo, you will descover that Al Jazeera is not on your local cable. However, see YouTube.
     "Despite the protester with the air horn trying to drown out a bar owner's comments about free speech ... the visit to Golden by Al Jazeera English television network seemed to come off fairly smoothly during the Democratic National Convention last week." Ernie Tucker, Denver People Examiner, 3 September 2008. See previous post about same subject.
     "Middle East broadcaster Al Jazeera has many viewers following Palin's story, 'but we emphasize for our audience her talk about oil drilling. That is the subject our viewers are most interested in about her,' said Arar A. AlSharie, news producer for AJ." Variety, 4 September 2008.
     Update: "Al Jazeera (Arabic) has two goals for its convention coverage: to convey what the conventions are like -- the atmosphere, flavor and logistics -- to people unfamiliar with it and to report on the content. ...its coverage Monday, for instance, was pretty similar to other networks, but Al Jazeera made explicit the connections between Gustav and Katrina. The station brought four Arab-American commentators, two Republicans and two Democrats." Poynter Online, 5 September 2008. Posted: 06 Sep 2008 Permalink

China, the content-blockingest country. Yuan Weijing, wife of blind Chinese human rights lawyer and activist Chen Guangcheng told Radio Free Asia: “My mobile phone has had no signal for the past 30 days. At first I tried turning it off and on again, but none of my calls got through. I tried to reach Guangcheng in prison on 2 September, but that call did not get through either. Now it is the same for the people living in the village. Their phone lines are not working.” Reporters sans frontières, 5 September 2008.
     "Up in my room, the Website that pops up on my laptop looks like every other Net portal at a hotel — only it won't let me access human-rights and labor Websites that I know are working fine. The TV gets CNN International — only with strange edits and obviously censored blackouts. My cellphone picks up a strong signal for the China Mobile network. A few months earlier, in Davos, Switzerland, the CEO of China Mobile bragged to a crowd of communications executives that 'we not only know who you are, we also know where you are.'" Naomi Klein, thepeoplesvoice.org, 5 September 2008. Posted: 06 Sep 2008 Permalink

Iran court overturns death sentence against stringer for VOA and Radio Farda. Reporters sans frontières "today welcomed with great relief the ruling by the Tehran Supreme Court overturning a death sentence against Kurdish journalist Adnan Hassanpour because of a procedural error. ... Hassanpour, 26, was arrested outside his home on 25 January 2007 and was imprisoned in Mahabad jail (Kurdistan). He worked for the weekly Asou covering Kurdish issues, a highly sensitive subject in Iran, until it was banned by the Culture and Islamic Orientation Ministry in August 2005. He also contributed to foreign media such as Voice of America and Radio Farda, broadcasting to Iran in Persian." RSF, 4 September 2008. "'We are relieved that Adnan Hassanpour is no longer under the threat of execution,' said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. 'But we are shocked that he continues to face legal charges as a result of his critical journalism.'" Committee to Protect Journalists, 5 September 2008. See previous post about same subject. Posted: 05 Sep 2008 Permalink

Where a shortwave radio may be evidence against you. Kim Dong-sun (63) was arrested for spying after South Korean investigators "found in Kim’s house a membership card of the North Korean Workers’ Party, a shortwave radio, a family picture of the North’s no. 2 leader Kim Yong-nam" etc. Chosun Ilbo, 5 September 2008. The pictured radio is a low-end Sony with shortwave bands, probably selling for less than $50. In any case, any medium wave (AM) radio in South Korea could receive broadcasts from North Korea. Any self-respecting spy would have a general coverage receiver, capable of tuning between the shortwave broadcast bands and of receiving single sideband and CW (Morse code) transmissions. Posted: 05 Sep 2008 Permalink

RFI editor gets scoop, gets fired (updated). "On July 8, 2008, Richard Labeviere, an editor-in-chief at Radio France Internationale (RFI) ... carried out an exclusive interview with Syrian President Hafez [sic, should be Bashar] al-Assad in Damascus. The interview was made for RFI and TV5-Monde – two of the media outlets of the French holding company Audiovisuel extérieur de la France (AEF). ... In any other media institution, such an exclusive interview would be welcomed by management. However at RFI, what happened was the contrary: Richard Labeviere was promptly fired and accused of 'serious misconduct.' ... Richard Labeviere is accused of having failed to inform his superiors on time – but the truth is that he actually informed them, in writing, five days before the interview." iPetitions, 26 August 2008. See also l’Humanité, 26 August 2008.
     Update: "A l’heure du rapprochement entre France 24, TV5-Monde et RFI, dans le cadre de la holding Audiovisuel Extérieur de la France (AEF) dirigée par Alain de Pouzilhac et Christine Ockrent, il est surprenant que la fabrication de l’information proposée par le modèle France 24 ne provoque pas plus de débats." Marc Endeweld, Le Monde diplomatique, 4 September 2008. Posted: 05 Sep 2008 Permalink

"A whole new world of bias," i.e. the present crop of international news channels. "Much of the boom in television news stations is commercially funded, especially in south and east Asia. ... But more remarkable has been the proliferation of state-funded channels – many of them with a global reach – in an era generally inimical to large-scale investment in public companies. Many are 'counter-hegemonic', set up with the explicit intention of challenging the 'BBC/CNN approach' to world news. For some of these the challenge is relatively muted: though the stress may at times be significantly different, there isn’t really a different paradigm. The aspiration is still balance and objectivity. France-24 and Al-Jazeera English (AJE, newsroom and anchor Ghida Fakhry pictured left) would fall into this group. On other channels, the aim is more to confront. Some of these newcomers see claims to editorial impartiality as a cover for western hegemonic power and seek to redress the balance. Telesur would be in this category, as would Russia Today, China’s CCTV-9 and Press TV in Iran. Their agenda may be to a lesser or greater degree a conscious one, but the outcome on screen is self-evident: it is hard to find criticism of host governments but easy to find opposition to George W. Bush." James Painter, Financial Times, 4 September 2008. "This article is part of a series on TV around the world. For earlier pieces, visit www.ft.com/arts/tv." Posted: 05 Sep 2008 Permalink

Australia adds Hindi website; other Indian languages may follow. "The Australian High Commission, New Delhi has launched a Hindi version of its website www.india.highcommission.gov.au featuring wide ranging information including visas and migration, development cooperation and media. ... 'The Hindi section of the website provides information on visas and immigration, Australian development cooperation in India, Australian business, the broader Australia-India relationship and media information such as major speeches and press releases by the High Commission and Australian Ministers. We also hope to translate the website into other Indian languages in the near future and hope this initiative will help Indian users gain easier accessibility to relevant information'." Australian High Commision India, 1 September 2008. Posted: 05 Sep 2008 Permalink

Brief but important news about BBC in India. India's Foreign Investment Promotion Board has "allowed BBC Worldwide to undertake downlinking and distribution of television channels in India." Indiantelevision.com, 4 September 2008. Posted: 05 Sep 2008 Permalink

BBC covers the U.S. election. "'There's unprecedented global interest in this election,' said Rome Hartman, former exec producer of CBS "Evening News" and now head of BBC World News America, which operates closely with BBC World News UK. The Blighty broadcasting giant will release a survey next week of 22 countries showing that 'people everywhere are really paying attention to this,' Hartman said." Variety, 4 September 2008.
     BBC World Service coverage of the Republican National Convention, including audio. BBCWS, 4 September 2008.
     "In the run up to the 2008 US presidential election the BBC will broadcast a wealth of election news and programming across its international TV, radio and online news services. At the centre of the election coverage will be the BBC US08 Election bus. On the bus will be a multimedia news team travelling across the US looking to find out what Americans want from their next president, and also what the rest of the world wants from America." BBC World News press release, 1 September 2008.
     "When I was working at BBC World Service in London, a British colleague once said the only thing you needed to know about covering American politics was that the coasts were blue (Democrat) and the interior was red (Republican). True, sort of, on an electoral map, but a ridiculous way to sum up the complexities of the country." Michael Petrou, Macleans blog, 4 September 2008. Posted: 05 Sep 2008 Permalink

Taping of Alhurra's "Eye on Democracy" canceled in Egypt (updated). "Egyptian authorities ordered the cancellation of the videotaping of two Programs for the American Satellite channel 'Al-Hura' just few hours before their shooting without justification, and inspite of their 4 weeks agreement with the company. Some of the young Egyptian activists, from the opposition parties as well as from the National Democratic Party, had received a phone call yesterday at noon informing them of the cancellation of the program (Eye on Democracy), which was destined for shooting the day before in the afternoon, inspite of the agreement for made for this purpose, and also inspite of the time and place confirmation they had received the day before." Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, 28 August 2008. Update: Reporters sans frontières "condemns growing Egyptian government control over the media, especially the broadcast media." RSF, 4 September 2008. Posted: 05 Sep 2008 Permalink

U.S. international broadcasting covers the U.S. election. "Nafees Takar has the unique task of explaining the Republican National Convention to audiences in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Like hundreds of other foreign journalists in St. Paul, he is struggling to explain the controversy over vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. For starters, explaining a 'vetting' process to people living in countries with young democracies is a challenge, said Takar, a Pakistani reporter for the Voice of America, a U.S. government news service that broadcasts around the globe. 'In countries like Pakistan, any corrupt person can become a politician and nobody bothers to write anything,' Takar said." Minneapolis Star Tribune, 3 September 2008.
     "A quick look around the convention center shows there is media from all over the world right here in St. Paul for the RNC. There are big networks from Al Jazeera, Telemundo, and the BBC. But there are also a few names you might not recognize like the TV crew from Alhurra TV which broadcasts to 26 million viewers each week in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. Rana Abtar covers the U.S. Congress for Alhurra and she says her Arabic-speaking audience has a huge interest in this election." KARE-TV (Minneapolis), 3 September 2008. This item does not mention that Alhurra is funded by the U.S. government. Posted: 04 Sep 2008 Permalink

Ghanaian lauds BBC. "For me personally, I have been hooked on to the BBC since I was born and this addiction is not for nothing. Simply put, whether on the global or local scene, I have not found a suitable alternative for my very wide appetite for information. The other competitors are too blatantly lopsided to their countries of origin to be as appealing; the VOA is all about America, Deutsche Welle is all about Germany as much as CFI is all about France. No one can blame them for that as it is their mandate to project their countries and cultures through that technology. As much as we are the targets and focus of their programming we cannot be a part of the management and development of their operational strategies. ... My addiction to the BBC is predicated on the fact that its Director-General could look his Prime Minister in the face and tell her to go hell because the BBC was not the State agency for promoting patriotism. This was in 1982 during the Falklands War when Margaret Thatcher, then Prime Minister, had accused the BBC of giving too much away to the Argentine war machine by its reporting from the war front." Oblitey Commey, Ghana.gov.gh, 3 September 2008. Posted: 04 Sep 2008 Permalink

BBC Arabic broadcasters vote to strike. National Union of Journalists "members at the BBC’s Arabic Service have voted resoundingly in favour of strike action. The ballot was called because management is failing to adequately address staff concerns about resources, workloads and staffing levels. ... An industrial action ballot was called after the management failed to guarantee sufficient staffing levels across the TV, radio and online services. The BBC has invested significantly in its Arabic Service and is planning to extend its TV operations from 12 to 24 hours a day. However, this increase in work has been proposed without an appropriate increase in staffing." NUJ, 4 September 2008.
     BBC: "BBC Arabic staff already have working conditions and rotas which are comparable with staff working on other news outlets in the BBC and our proposals, if they had been accepted, would have further enhanced their position." The Guardian, 3 September 2008.
     The large number of Arabic news channels creates a seller's market, i.e. favoring labor, so it is not surprising that the BBC Arabic staff is willing to take a chance with this strike. Competing channels include the deep-pocketed Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya, as well as Al Manar, Alhurra, and the Arabic services of DW-TV, France 24, Russia Today, EuroNews, and others. All these stations must compete for a finite pool of Arabic-speaking broadcast journalists. Posted: 04 Sep 2008 Permalink

Two cheers for international channels on local television. "Back in June, Vegas PBS challenged our global awareness by putting PBS Worldview on Cox Cable Channel 114. Unhindered by ideological constraints, with news, sports and entertainment in English or English subtitles, it offers everything from everywhere: 'Russia Today,' 'My India,' 'This is Beijing,' 'Dateline Punjab,' 'Asian Variety Show,' 'France 24 News' and 'Muslim Girl Magazine,' among numerous programs. ... But as viewers of PBS' big-tent cultural choices are steadily siphoned off by niche cable (and this country continues its buzz-off attitude toward other nations, at least until we elect a new president), is Worldview a welcome view here? Well, try it. If Russian news doesn't rock you, those Bollywood flicks are rather entertaining." Steve Bornfeld, Las Vegas Review-Journal, 4 September 2008. Actually, Worldview is not a PBS operation, but is a national channel distributed by MHz Networks Vegas PBS is the public television channel in Las Vegas.
     "I wouldn't want to deprive myself of TV full-time... . There are some gems, although often they lie buried amid the dross. ... But I'd find it hard to do with just the free-to-air channels now; cable or satellite TV offers more. ... BBC World News and DWTV (Deutsche Welle) uncover stories you just don't see on local TV; National Geographic, Discovery and History channels traverse time and space." David Killick, The Press (Christchurch), 3 September 2008. Posted: 04 Sep 2008 Permalink

Microsoft and 12 other companies will invest in the new Japan International Broadcasting Inc. "Microsoft Corp, NTT Communications Corp and Itochu Corp, together with 10 other companies will take stakes in Japan's first 24-hour English-language broadcasting service, which will be established by Japan Broadcasting Corp, or NHK, in February, the Nikkei reported on Thursday, without citing sources. Japan International Broadcasting Inc, the unit of NHK which currently has capital of 200 million yen ($1.8 million), will boost its capital by 190 million yen in October, the business daily said. The NHK unit will issue new shares in private placements to the 13 firms, which also include Nippon Television Network Corp, Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc, two other commercial TV networks and Mizuho Corporate Bank. Once the new shares are issued, NHK's interest in the unit will drop to around 60 percent, the report said. The 13 firms will own the remainder, with each putting up 10-20 million yen and taking stakes of no more than about 5 percent each." Thomson Financial, 3 September 2008. Isn't NHK World TV already a 24-hour English broadcasting service? See this schedule. Is the 10-20 million yen that the partners will put up the same as the mentioned 190 million yen capital boost? The 200 million plus 190 million yen is about US$3.6 million, still a modest investment for an international television operation. If I were still the host of a weekly media program on VOA, I would call Japan and ask some questions. See previous post about same subject. Posted: 04 Sep 2008 Permalink

Russian (and Ukrainian) leaders work the international channels. "Hours after announcing Russia's recognition of the two rebel Georgian republics, Medvedev gave interviews to CNN, BBC, the French network TF-1 and Al-Jazeera. Putin followed suit with an Aug. 28 interview with CNN and Germany's ARD network the following day. Euronews broadcast an interview with Medvedev on Monday, and Medvedev said in an interview broadcast Tuesday by Italian RAI television that Moscow would not negotiate with Saakashvili, whom he called a 'political corpse.'" Moscow Times, 4 September 2008. Transcript of Medvedev interview on EuroNews. ISRIA, 4 September 2008.
     Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko gives exclusive interview to CNN International. UNIAN news agancy, 3 September 2008. Posted: 04 Sep 2008 Permalink

CNN now has a VP of international digital services. "Nick Wrenn, CNN’s managing editor for Europe, Middle East & Africa, has been appointed to the new position of vice president, CNN International Digital Services. Based in Atlanta, Wrenn will report to Tony Maddox, executive vice president and managing director of CNN International. Together with the international edition of CNN.com and sites in Arabic, Spanish, Korean and Japanese, CNN International syndicates video, live streaming and video-on-demand to a growing number of sites including Vingo, YouTube, Daily Motion and Jalipo while also operating CNN Mobile in more than 100 countries." CNN press release, 4 September 2008.
     "Most major South African newspapers offer a mobile alerts or news headlines service, but most of these are so peripheral, non-readers never become aware of them. In contrast, CNN International's mobile news alerts service is heavily punted on its TV broadcasts, and is emerging as a virtual default news service for those who cannot remain glued to their TV screens. Ironically, the service is powered by a South African company." Arthur Goldstuck, Marketingweb (Johannesburg), 3 September 2008. Posted: 04 Sep 2008 Permalink

China's spot public diplomacy. Seen occasionally on CNN since the Beijing Olympics, commercials showing upbeat scenes and people in China. At the end, the caption: "China. All you can imagine." The ad makes no specific mention of tourism, so seems more to promote the general image if China. Posted: 03 Sep 2008 Permalink

Blog reports arrest of Alhurra correspondent in Iraq. "U.S. and Iraqi forces have arrested two journalists in separate raids, IraqSlogger reports. ... Akram al-Rabi'ia, an Iraqi correspondent for US-funded satellite broadcaster al-Hurra, was arrested in Najaf while 'investigating the suspicious circumstances of a relative’s detention.'" Wired Danger Room, 3 September 2008. Posted: 03 Sep 2008 Permalink

Boycott? What boycott? "President Shimon Peres and Defense Minister Ehud Barak broke Israel's boycott of Al-Jazeera when they each granted interviews to the Qatar-based network this week. Foreign Ministry officials said there was an understanding in the Prime Minister's Office, Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry not to speak to Al-Jazeera due to its coverage that the officials called 'anti-Israel.' ... Officials in Peres's office responded that they were unaware of a decision to boycott Al-Jazeera." Jerusalem Post, 2 September 2008. Posted: 03 Sep 2008 Permalink

Iran orders Al-Arabiya bureau chief to leave. "The Tehran bureau chief for the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya news channel has been banned Tuesday by Iranian authorities from working in the Islamic Republic and told to leave the country as soon as possible, the network told The Associated Press. ... Iranian officials have long complained that Al-Arabiya's coverage of Iran is biased. The network has rejected the criticism, saying that it had always given Iranian officials the chance to take part in its programs." AP, 2 September 2008. Al-Arabiya is owned by the MBC group. Posted: 03 Sep 2008 Permalink

Battle of the Middle Eastern movie channels. "More than a month after the official launch of the Persian MBC television network, which broadcasts American movies with Persian subtitles on a 24-hour basis and free of charge, officials at the Iranian Voice and Vision [Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting] are taking steps to launch an independent 24/7 network in response to MBC's Persian channel. The new Iranian network would broadcast films and serials in Arabic for audiences in the Middle East. ... MBC Persian ... belongs to a Saudi prince and has been active since the early 1990s. ... MBC Persian programmes are broadcast from Dubai and the managers of this network have spoken very little about its objectives and programmes since the channel was launched." E'temad (Iran), 28 August 2008, via BBC Monitoring, via redOrbit, 2 September 2008. See also mbc-persia.com. Posted: 03 Sep 2008 Permalink

With no more Bulgarian broadcasts, BBC evicted from Sofia's FM dial. "As of September 2 2008, BBC World Service has stopped broadcasting in Bulgaria. The radio station, accessible at 91.0 FM in Sofia, started operations in the country in 1940. ... According to an August 24 article on kafene.net, the decision for early termination of the radio’s broadcasting contract was taken by the Bulgarian Council of Electronic Media (CEM) on June 6 2008, following a three-year effort of Bulgarian administration through CEM to deprive the BBC of its Sofia frequency. ... This is the only time that the World Service has, be it voluntarily, be it under force from local governance, closed down operations in a European capital city. Claims on the BBC’s Sofia radio frequency started immediately after the Bulgarian editorial office of the World Service TV [sic] shut doors in October 2005." Sofia Echo, 2 September 2008. It was BBC Bulgarian-language radio, not television, that ended in 2005. There was never a BBC Bulgarian television service. The article mentions that BBC World Service broadcasts in English are still available in Bulgaria via the internet and Hotbird 2. Not mentioned is that BBCWS shortwave broadcasts to Europe are no longer available. If DRM digital shortwave works, this could bring "near FM" reception of BBCWS English to places in Europe where BBC is not available -- or will no longer be available -- on a local FM channel. By the way, a key performance measure for BBCWS is the number of capital cities in which it has an FM outlet. Posted: 03 Sep 2008 Permalink

Ideas for public diplomacy: separate agencies for take-offs and crash landings? "Nancy Snow, associate professor of public diplomacy at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications in New York, told America.gov that her employment with USIA in the 1990s made her a 'fan of having an independent agency of the U.S. government responsible for telling America's stories to the world.' Snow, whose books include Propaganda, Inc.: Selling America's Culture to the World, said USIA and the State Department 'have different objectives.' USIA, she said, was a 'bit of a water carrier' by delivering, rather than creating messages; the State Department makes policy. 'The intermixing of the two doesn't seem to be working.'" America.gov, 28 August 2008.
     "Nicholas Cull ... director of the public diplomacy program at the University of Southern California ... said a return to re-creating the U.S. Information Agency (USIA), an independent agency that coordinated public diplomacy efforts in the second half of the 20th century, would not necessarily be the best idea for improving American public diplomacy. USIA was merged into the State Department in 1999. The United States 'should look at what works in other democracies,' such as in the United Kingdom and Germany. Such countries, he said, 'do very well by keeping the advocacy part of public diplomacy -- the policy promotion element -- in their foreign ministry, but making the cultural work independent in its own body' and 'keeping their international broadcasters behind a firewall [separated] too.'" America.gov, 26 August 2008.
     "We have botched [public diplomacy] in the Middle East over the past six years. We have been worried about our image, but the problem is the failure of most Muslim societies to audibly condemn terrorism—a practice that is abhorrent to any reasonable reading of Islam. We should have been quietly networking traditional Muslim intellectuals and clerics to help them articulate that terrorism is morally wrong. We have done some of this, mainly at the Defense Department, but the State Department has wasted years perseverating on the wrong question. In an absentminded fit of post-Cold War economizing, Congress destroyed the institution arguably best suited for the purpose - the United States Information Agency - and tried unsuccessfully to stuff its remains into the Department of State. One solution would be to re-establish USIA, but a new public-private partnership of some kind is probably the better way to go. Adam Garfinkle, Foreign Policy Research Institute, 11 September 2008 issue.
     "Our public diplomacy has lacked strategic direction since the end of the Cold War. The task now is to reinvent this role in an effective manner within the government." From Edward Djerejian's new book, Danger and Opportunity: An American Ambassador's Journey Through the Middle East. Threshold Editions press release, 2 September 2008. Posted: 03 Sep 2008 Permalink

Musings about U.S. international broadcasting. "Phil Stone and I were grousing about - among other media things - the proposed and long debated closure of VOA's English language service. The idea stinks. Can you imagine Radio France International NOT broadcasting in French? Oh, well ... When presumptive US Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barak Obama named his vice president running mate, Joseph Biden, some might not be unfamiliar with the center-right senator from the small state of Delaware. But US international broadcasters know him well. Senator Biden led legislation – the International Broadcasting Act of 1994 – creating the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), intended to be a non-partisan agency directing all United States government international broadcasting." Michael Hedges, followthemedia.com, 25 August 2008. Posted: 01 Sep 2008 Permalink

What's with this video camera? At the Republican National Convention, David Klock of Macalester College "is interning for al-Hurra, the United States' radio [sic] program in the Middle East, during the convention will be reporting direct from the floor for the radio [sic] station." Pottstown (PA) Mercury, 1 September 2008. Feras Amir of Augsburg College will "spend next week working with Al Hurra, an Arabic-language network that broadcasts in the Middle East." Minneapolis Star Tribune, 31 August 2008. Posted: 01 Sep 2008 Permalink

Higher education at the former VOA Bethany shortwave transmitting site. "Classes are set to begin in January 2009 at Miami University's Voice of America Learning Center in West Chester Township (Ohio). The 23,000-square-foot School of Education, Health, and Society is located on Cox Road off of Interstate 75 and adjoining to Voice of America Park. Graduate and undergraduate degree programs and courses will be offered in more than 80 classes scheduled during days, evenings and weekends. The facility will also provide space for community meetings, forums and other events." Middletown (OH) Journal, 31 August 2008. See also VOALC web page. Posted: 01 Sep 2008 Permalink

Here's a tagline: USA, enough to contain 170 Croatias. "If you've traveled overseas in the past few years and watched CNN International in your hotel room or at an airport, you must have seen the commercial promoting travel to Croatia that runs several times a day. ... When was the last time you saw or heard an ad campaign aimed at foreign visitors to the United States?" Nicolas Kralev, Washington Times, 1 September 2008. Posted: 01 Sep 2008 Permalink

The bloggers who type for America. "From nondescript cubicles in a Washington office block, native speakers of Arabic, Farsi and Urdu are aiding the US battle against extremism in cyberspace. The team’s chatter and messages with blog writers across the Middle East and Asia are a far cry from the stiff and formal statements given by US government spokesmen, but they share the same purpose – to explain and clarify deeply unpopular US policies. ... 'Our analysts openly identify themselves as coming from the state department,' said Brent Blaschke, a career foreign officer who is director of the Digital Outreach Team. ... The team engages on websites with high traffic considered closer to the mainstream, such as BBC Arabic, al Jazeera and Elaph.com, not extremist or al Qa’eda supporter sites." The National (Abu Dhabi), 28 August 2008. Posted: 01 Sep 2008 Permalink

Cultural diplomacy the "most acceptable" public diplomacy? At a symposium on cultural diplomacy at the Caribbean Festival of Arts in Guyana: "It was highlighted that cultural diplomacy was the most acceptable form of public diplomacy and should be seen as a channel utilised by countries for developing long term foreign policy towards achieving mutually beneficial goals. 'Cultural diplomacy works best when it’s very strategic. There has to be government taking part in the process and doing so strategically.'" South Florida Caribbean News, 30 August 2008.
     I disagree. Genuine expressions of culture are not imposed by governments. Cultural exchange is a good thing, as are the import and export of cultural products. But "cultural diplomacy" is probably an oxymoron, and doing it "strategically" is a frightening notion.
     The United States was probably attempting strategic cultural diplomacy when it sent its jazz "ambassadors" abroad in the 1950s. But, overseas, these musicians said what they wanted to say, regardless of whether it meshed with U.S. policies. It turned out that this reflected better on the United States than any orchestrated cultural campaign Posted: 01 Sep 2008 Permalink

Invading a neighboring country? Better have a great PR firm. "Russia easily won its brief war with Georgia, but despite a media blitz to project its side of the story, it concedes it still has a way to go to win the propaganda battle. ... Observers say the Kremlin, which is being advised by New York-based public relations giant Omnicom Group, launched the unprecedented media access in an attempt to stem the tide of negative coverage of the conflict. ... Putin told CNN that the United States had been much better at managing media coverage of the conflict than Russia. 'We have got a lot to learn,' he said. On the evidence of the past few days however Russia has still failed to win the hearts and minds of even its close allies in the old Soviet Union." Reuters, 29 August 2008. Posted: 01 Sep 2008 Permalink

France 24 on Freesat. "France 24 ... is to join the UK free-to-air satellite platform Freesat. The channel will sit alongside other news channels such as Al-Jazeera English, BBC News and Euronews." C21Media.net, 28 August 2008. Posted: 01 Sep 2008 Permalink

Japan begins a new chapter in international broadcasting. Japan International Broadcasting "was established in April 2008 with a capital investment of ¥50 million from NHK. Today the company will begin full-scale operations (including preparation for programme production and construction of a distribution network using broadband and other media) under new President and CEO Hatsuhisa Takashima, ready for the launch of its broadcasting service in February 2009. NHK invested a further ¥150 million in Japan International Broadcasting Inc. at the end of August to strengthen the company’s financial basis, bringing the total capital to ¥200 million [US $1.8 million]. By March next year JIB.tv says it will be offering its international programming to more than 110m households across the US, Europe and the Mid-East as well as the Asia-Pacific region. ... 'As well as delivering original information on Japan, we aim to establish international recognition for NHK as a source of Asian news by stationing English speaking NHK World TV reporters at NHK bureaus around Asia and taking other steps to strengthen our Asian news-gathering network.'" Rapid TV News, 31 August 2008. NHK press release indicates that there will also be private participation. NHK press release, 27 August 2008. See also AFP, 27 August 2008. So does this replace NHK World? If so, why does the CEO refer to NHK World TV reporters in the future tense? And what can they do with $1.8 million in funding -- unless more private investment is expected? Japanese international broadcasting began as Radio Japan in the 1950s. In the 1990s, the NHK World brand was adopted, to encompass radio, television, and internet international broadcasting. And what will happen to NHK Radio Japan shortwave broadcasts, the elimination of which has been discussed? Posted: 01 Sep 2008 Permalink

Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation relaunches its English radio, with less BBC rebroadcasting. "SLBC English Service will be re-launched with a new vision from tomorrow. The oldest English radio channel will offer more local material for its fast growing listenership with more credibility, program content established character, accuracy, and credible dependency for news include wide spectrum in entertainment. Effective September 1, the SLBC English Services would attain new image in Radio listening, yet maintain its rich tradition built over the years. The current nine-hour daily airtime allocated to the BBC will now be reduced to three and a half hours, living listeners an opportunity to enjoy more local programs and music. ... The SLBC also beams its English programs to All Asia, on short wave, in the 19 meter band, and also 31, and 49 meters. Listener audience in those countries could be matched to most other regional broadcasters and more so standards are maintained at competitive levels." Sunday Observer (Colombo), 1 September 2008. "'It will once again resume its pristine glory'" Asian Tribune, 1 September 2008. Posted: 01 Sep 2008 Permalink

Communications breakdown in Kashmir, and soon VOA Hindi will no longer be part of the solution (updated). "Communications are becoming increasingly limited for the people of the disputed region of Indian Kashmir. ... More newspapers there shut down Monday, as staff could not reach their offices and publications are unable to circulate in the Kashmir Valley. Unlicensed local cable television channels have been ordered to stop news broadcasts. They are accused of inflaming the public. Text messaging on mobile phones has not worked since the beginning of the month. ... 'People will rely more on Pakistan radio and BBC and Voice of America,' [Professor Shahid] Rasool said. 'In fact, myself, yesterday heard Voice of America's Urdu service to get what's happening in Kashmir.' The U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors has announced that VOA's Hindi language radio one-hour daily broadcast will cease at the end of next month." VOA News, 25 August 2008.
     Update: "Average Kashmiri these days, as was the case in early 1990s-heyday of insurgency-tunes to the language services mainly Urdu of the BBC, Voice of America and [Deutsche] Welle for what they believe is impartial and candid coverage of the happenings in the region. 'Both PTV and Radio Pakistan have only disappointed us. They give only modest coverage to Kashmir situation which could be either because of the political situation prevailing on the home turf or as a matter of policy,' said Abdur Rashid Lone, a radiologist at a Srinagar hospital. Geo is not any good when it comes to reporting on Kashmir happenings, he added. National and international news and entertainment TV channels are, however, available through DTH." Yusuf Jameel, The Asian Age, 1 September 2008.
     "It could well be curtains down for the Voice of America Hindi Service (Radio), after having been on air since 1955. ... Incidentally, the Urdu Service of VOA for Pakistan, Dari and Pashto Services for Afghanistan, have been extended by several hours a day while the Hindi Radio Broadcast to India is only an hour a day and that too is likely to be eliminated." India Post, 31 August 2008. Posted: 01 Sep 2008 Permalink

VOA Tibetan: evidence of group Lama viewing. "On our last evening in Mcleod [Mcleodganj, Himachal Pradesh, India] we went over to an Internet Café in Jogiwara. While my daughter uploaded photographs and caught up with friends on Facebook, I sat and watched a Voice Of America Tibetan News Telecast, along with a dozen Lamas." Neeta Gupta, The Hindu, 31 August 2008. Posted: 01 Sep 2008 Permalink

CNA relays AFP citing RFA. "Two policemen were killed and five others injured in China's restive Xinjiang region, authorities said Friday, bringing the reported death toll from a wave of unrest there this month to 33. ... Xinhua gave few other details but US-funded Radio Free Asia reported the police were ambushed while searching the cornfield following a tip that a woman suspected of helping assailants in an earlier attack was hiding there. 'We didn't expect to come under attack in that cornfield,' Radio Free Asia quoted a local policeman named Omerjan as saying." AFP via Channel NewsAsia, 29 August 2008. Posted: 01 Sep 2008 Permalink

Dave Marash: from Al Jazeera to China. "After leaving his job as a Washington, DC-based anchor for Al Jazeera English in March, Dave Marash tells TVNewser he's heading to China this fall, to teach journalism for a semester at Shantou Technical University." mediabistro.com, 30 August 2008. Posted: 01 Sep 2008 Permalink

China: license for shortwave listening? In China, the Chinese Radio Sport Association issues amateur radio licenses, but the minimum age is 18. "Any child under 18 interested in the hobby can apply for a short wave listener (SWL) license and also participate under the direction of a control operator." American Radio Relay League, 29 August 2008. This probably does not apply to typical listeners to shortwave broadcasts, but rather to those who want to listen to amateur radio communications for the purpose of eventually becoming a licensed radio amateur. Posted: 01 Sep 2008 Permalink

Less BBC, CNN, France 24: more deviance. In Cameroon: "The proliferation of serials on international and national TV channels has been blamed by many as the prime factor contributing to deviant behaviour in youths nowadays. Unlike older parents who give more attention to informative and educative programmes on foreign and national TV channels like, BBC, CNN, France 24, CRTV just to name a few, it has been observed that youths spend over 90 percent of their time watching entertaining films." The Post (Buea), 29 August 2008. Posted: 01 Sep 2008 Permalink

Africa: online via mobile phone. "The lack of infrastructure in Africa is keeping the information superhighway from much of the continent. But by embracing new, mobile technologies, many Africans are using their mobile phones as a personal PC. ... A lot of experts are predicting that African bloggers will leapfrog over the PC platform right to the mobile platform, using tools like the micro-blogging platform Twitter." ITNewsAfrica.com, 1 September 2008. Posted: 01 Sep 2008 Permalink

International broadcasting via mobile? Watch the speed limit. "Following a petition signed by thousands of French users, complaining that iPhone 3G has a limited speed, Orange officials admitted to have limited the speed for the stability of the network, BetaNews informs. ... According to France Info, the online internet portal of Radio France, Orange officials limited the speed of iPhone 3G to 200-300 Kbps even though the 3G+ technology can offer users a four times speed ability." HotNews.ro, 29 August 2008. Posted: 01 Sep 2008 Permalink

BBC's new Pashto service for the border region. "BBC World Service launches today a special news and current affairs programme for audiences in the Southern and Eastern regions of Afghanistan. Stasu Narray, from the BBC Pashto service, will bring 30 minutes of news and in-depth analysis to Pashto-speakers, including those on the Pakistan border, every day at 2100 in Afghanistan (2130 in Pakistan)." BBC World Service press release, 28 August 2008. Appears to compete with VOA Deewa Radio, Pashto for the Pakistan frontier region, established on September 2006. See previous post. Posted: 31 Aug 2008 Permalink

The real question is whether BBC has gone for the bait (updated). "A Whitehall counter-terrorism unit is targeting the BBC and other media organisations as part of a new global propaganda push designed to 'taint the al-Qaida brand', according to a secret Home Office paper seen by the Guardian. ... The report, headed, Challenging violent extremist ideology through communications, says: 'We are pushing this material to UK media channels, eg a BBC radio programme exposing tensions between AQ leadership and supporters. And a restricted working group will communicate niche messages through media and non-media.' The disclosure that a Whitehall counter-terrorism propaganda operation is promoting material to the BBC and other media will raise fresh concerns about official news management in a highly sensitive area. ... The document also notes that al-Qaida has to 'feed its new franchises with propaganda to keep the "brand" alive at all costs'." The Guardian, 26 August 2008. This is not startling news, unless the counter-terrorism unit is engaging in disinformation. Any government agency can and should propose story ideas and interviews to the news media. The media, in turn, decide what is newsworthy, and present the content according to their own standards. It seems that differences between AQ leadership and their supporters were inevitable, and have already been picked up by the news media without the need for any intrigue.
     Update: "The BBC admitted yesterday that its security correspondent Frank Gardner and a colleague met members of Whitehall's research, information and communications unit (Ricu). The programme, al-Qa'ida's Enemy Within, was broadcast on Radio 4 on 7 August. ... Nicola Meyrick, executive editor of current affairs on BBC Radio, dismissed any suggestion of collusion between the programme's makers and the Whitehall propaganda unit." The Independent, 29 August 2008. Posted: 31 Aug 2008 Permalink

RFE and RL subject of a new(?) documentary. "'To Russia, With Love' tells the story of the Cold War from a most unusual perspective: Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty. A radio station for the countries behind the Iron Curtain. Conceived as a propaganda instrument and financed by the CIA, RFE over the years changed its face and provided the people under Soviet rule with information and news not available to them in any other form. Like any broadcaster in a democratic country." German documentary producer Tangram website. See also trailer at YouTube. And don't miss the "related videos" at YouTube. As for the trailer itself, it shows a copyright of 2005. How long has this film been in production? Posted: 31 Aug 2008 Permalink

Former RFE/RL president takes on U.S.-Syrian relations. Tom Dine, president of Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty from 1997 to 2005, "is currently serving as the head of an American-Syrian working group set up early last year by the organization Search for Common Ground. It comprises eight high-level figures from each country, including former American ambassadors and advisers to the Syrian regime." Forward, 28 August 2008. Posted: 30 Aug 2008 Permalink

VOA musical associations in the news. "Like many other young Cuban musicians, [Arturo Sandoval] discreetly listened to Willis Conover's 'Jazz Hour' broadcasts on the Voice of America radio station, a dangerous thing to do at a time when jazz music was out of favor with the island's Communist government." jazz.com encyclopedia entry. See previous post about same subject.
     "Uptown Records is proud to announce the release of two new additions to its stellar Flashback Series, featuring two of the jazz world's most immortal figures - Charlie Parker, Washington, D.C., May 23, 1948 and Dizzy Gillespie Big Band, Showtime at the Spotlite. ... Charlie Parker, Washington, D.C. is from a live concert produced by the eminent producer and radio figure Willis Conover, whose Voice of America broadcasts promoted good will and captivated millions of jazz fans all over the world for more than 40 years." eJazzNews.com, 28 August 2008. Conover did not begin working for VOA until 1955, but he was a commercial radio jazz presenter dating back to the early 1940s.
     "A group of 178 community and business leaders from West Chester and Liberty townships [Ohio] gathered at The Savannah at Chappell Crossing Aug. 21 to honor West Chester Chamber Alliance president/CEO Joe Hinson and Vice President Kathy Rambo, who both celebrate their 10th year with the chamber this year. ... [It included] a song about the duo sung by Miami University Voice of America Learning Center director Rod Nimtz." Hamilton Journal-News, 28 August 2008. Nimtz, director of the Miami University facility at the former VOA Bethany, Ohio, transmitting site, is apparently quite the musician.
     "Between 1964 and 1968 the Voice of America recorded two of the era's greatest korafolas. The VOA's African Program Center in Monrovia, Liberia had just recently opened its doors in 1964 when Leo Sarkisian met Papa Susso from the Gambia." VOA African Music Treasures blog, 19 August 2008.
     Another VOA music blog, in development, is Brian Silver's voaworldmusic.blogspot.com. Type the URL and you may see "This blog is open to invited readers only." But, eventually, it should be available to the rest of us. A VOA world music radio program would also be nice, but radio is so twentieth century. Posted: 30 Aug 2008 Permalink

Development in Zimbabwe court case related to VOA. "Gweru magistrate, Rosa Takuva, on Monday relaxed bail conditions for Peter Muchengeti ... who was arrested last month [and] is facing charges [arising] from comments Muchengeti allegedly made to the Voice of America Radio Network (Studio 7 Broadcasting) through its reporter Patience Rusere that six bodies had been discovered at Matshekandumba Village at the 30-kilometre peg along the Gweru-Kwekwe Road." Radio Voice of the People, 29 August 2008. See previous post about same subject.
     At the State University of New York, Oswego, on 7 October: Mary Bivens of the history department will speak on “Robert Mugabe: Global Opinion from the BBC World Service.” SUNY Oswego, 29 August 2007. Posted: 30 Aug 2008 Permalink

VOA election coverage via new website and (if one were to know) via radio. VOA's new election coverage website is www.usavotes2008.com. Also additional times and frequencies for VOA radio coverage of the Democratic and Republic conventions. However, the added frequencies are apparently not publicized anywhere, so presumably listeners must happen upon them while tuning their shortwave radios. As the only IBB employee specifically prohibited from receiving IBB Engineering frequency change memos, I can't help in this regard. This prohibition stems from my past tendency of passing schedule information on to the audience. Doing that, of course, increased the risk of VOA transmissions being intercepted by listeners. In the post 9-11 world, we can never be too careful. -- See also discussion in DX Listening Digest, 28 August 2008. Posted: 30 Aug 2008 Permalink

Obama's heritage attracts VOA audience in Kenya. "Voice of America says its broadcasting services to Kenya were busy during the Democratic national convention keeping up with the interest from African countries. Barack Obama's father was Kenyan. The Voice of America says affiliates in Kenya and Tanzania wre 'keenly interested' in the both parties and conventions. But VOA concedes that there is 'added interest in this election from VOA's audience in Africa because Barack Obama has a connection to Kenya through his father.'" Broadcasting & Cable, 29 August 2008. Posted: 30 Aug 2008 Permalink

Joe Biden and international broadcasting. "Ted Kaufman is a charter member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees Voice of America and other U.S. international broadcasting agencies. He is a close friend of Joseph Biden, and was his chief of staff in the Senate for 19 years. Kaufman told VOA that Biden brings decades of foreign policy expertise to the table, but that is not all. 'The biggest thing he brings to the ticket is he is qualified to be president of the United States,' Kaufman noted." VOA News, 27 August 2008.
     "Governor Ted Kaufman, chief of staff and long-time associate of Biden, said in Denver yesterday that should the Delaware senator become vice-president of the United States, Biden will insist that all war-crimes indictees in the Balkans face justice and back the NATO integration of the South-East European countries." B92 (Belgrade), 28 August 2008. Mr. Kaufman is not a state governor, but a member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors.
     "Biden has been a major supporter of American propaganda tools like the Arabic satellite channel al-Hurra, hinting at a conviction that the problem isn't Washington's policies so much as the packaging of those policies." Scott MacLeod. Time, 27 August 2008.
     "It is true that Biden talks of his support for Israel in principle, but the reality is that he has done his utmost to thwart keeping the possibility of a military option open to stop Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. As a result he was even praised recently on the Iranian regime’s official propaganda arm, Press TV." Tom Gross, National Review Online, 30 August 2008. Posted: 30 Aug 2008 Permalink

Will VOA cuts be an issue in the presidential campaign? (updated) "In a move seen as a foreign policy embarrassment for Senator Obama’s vice-presidential running mate, the Senate staff of Senator Joe Biden was said to be involved in stopping the Voice of America (VOA) radio programs to Russia just 12 days before Moscow launched its military attack on Georgia." Ted Lipien, Blogger News Network, 23 August 2008. See previous post about same subject.
     Update: "The BBG spokesperson denies that Senator Biden’s staff played any special role in supporting the elimination of VOA radio broadcasts to Russia, which was described by a media freedom nonprofit, FreeMediaOnline.org, as a foreign policy and public diplomacy blunder. In 2005, a CNN news report accused Senator Biden of playing politics with U.S. international broadcasting." Ted Lipien, Blogger News Network, 27 August 2008. Posted: 30 Aug 2008 Permalink

Moving the needle? How about pinning the needle? "Former president Jimmy Carter said Wednesday that if Barack Obama were elected president, he could improve the US image overseas 'in 10 minutes' with a strong inaugural speech, according to a broadcast interview with Voice of America." DPA, 28 August 2008.
     "Carter lit into the present administration, at least by inference, saying that Obama can say: 'When I am president of the United States, we will never torture another prisoner. While I am president of the United States, we will never go to war against another country unless our own security is directly threatened. When I am President of the United States, we will be the champion of human rights all over the earth.' Is that a surprising message for the government to beam to the world? No, says VOA public affairs officer Noreen Kinnavy. 'By its charter, we have to cover all aspects of our society.'" Broadcasting & Cable, 27 August 2008. See also VOA News, 28 August 2008. Posted: 30 Aug 2008 Permalink

Deaths of Tom Kneitel and Koji Yamada, shortwave hobby writers. "Tom Kneitel, who loved radios from the time he was a kid, turned his hobby into a career, writing magazine articles and books for other radio buffs. Known by his CB handle 'Tomcat,' Kneitel was a storied figure in the world of CBs, short-waves and scanners." Orlando Sentinel, 24 August 2008. "'He kind of defined the personal communications hobby -- he brought together the whole range of disparate subcultures if you will -- it's all hobby radio. He was the one who brought them together. He saw the fun in the whole thing.'" American Radio Relay League, 25 August 2008. See also tribute at Popular Communications, where Kneitel was the founding editor. -- I remember Kneitel's advice column in Electronics Illustrated in the 1960s. When a reader would ask how to modify a certain receiver or transmitter, he would sometimes invoke Kneitel's Law: "If that damn thing works at all, leave it alone." Advice I have followed since.
     "Mr. Koji Yamada, Japanese famous shortwave writer, died by liver cancer on August 19. He was 67 years old. He just returned from the trip to KBS World Radio in Korea in July. He was called 'BCL no kamisama' (Ace BCL) in Japan. He wrote a great many books of shortwave listening in Japan. He was a mastermind of 1970-1980's 'BCL boom' in Japan, producing more than 3,000,000 young shortwave listeners (BCL). He had many friends in shortwave radio stations in the world, especially South Korea and Taiwan. In March this year he wrote a new book 'Resuming BCL' for aged who were the BCL in their young days, and the books were sold out." Takahito Akabayashi, DX Listening Digest, 28 August 2008. BCL stands for broadcast listener. It is the common term in Japan and elsewhere in East Asia for hobbyist listeners to long distance shortwave and medium wave broadcasts. The featured radio of the BCL boom was the Sony ICF-5900W. Posted: 30 Aug 2008 Permalink

Death of Abie Nathan, offshore peace broadcaster. "Abie Nathan, an Israeli peace activist who blazed trails to Egypt and the Palestinians that his country would eventually follow, died on Wednesday. He was 81. ... From 1973 to 1993 his "Voice of Peace" radio station, on a ship anchored off the Israeli coast, broadcast pop music and messages of peace in English, Hebrew and Arabic. Short of funds to continue to operate the station, he scuttled the vessel in 1993, the same year Israel and Arafat's PLO signed their first interim peace deal." Reuters, 27 August 2008.
     "In 1973 he began the Voice of Peace, a radio station which transmitted from a former Dutch cargo vessel anchored in international waters off the coast of Tel Aviv. The station was funded in part by John Lennon and had 20 million listeners during the 1970s. The Voice of Peace, which broadcast mostly popular music programmes, stopped its transmissions in 1988." Radio Netherlands, 27 August 2008.
     "Abie will be remembered ... as the man from 'Twilight Time,' the unforgettable program on the Voice of Peace, with its daily moment of silence - perhaps the last time we heard silence here, not just incessant intolerable noise. When the Peace Boat was sunk by its founder, Abie and all his charm sank with it in the public awareness." Gideon Levy, Ha'aretz, 28 August 2008.
     "Doing the “right thing” around here means eulogizing Abie Nathan as the 'peace sailor' and the 'fighter for peace' while saying nothing about his ongoing ideological criminality and illegal meetings with terror leaders, just because it was done on behalf of the holy peace." Uri Orbach, Ynetnews, 30 August 2008.
     "On Yom Kippur in 1973, when I heard planes overhead and rumors of an impending war on two fronts, I came home from synagogue and listened to the only station that was broadcasting on Yom Kippur - Abie Nathan's 'Voice of Peace.' His message: 'Soldiers must refuse orders, and must not fight. Instead, they should extend a peaceful hand to the attacking Egyptian and Syrian armies.' Throughout the day, Mr. Nathan played the song '(All We Are Saying Is) Give Peace A Chance,' and this was the only radio station that was operating. ... A few days into the Yom Kippur War, Israeli intelligence closed down Mr. Nathan's transmitter, which operated from Israel hotel magnate Yekutiel X. Federman's Dan Hotel in Tel Aviv." David Bedein, The Bulletin (Philadelphia), 29 August 2008.
     "Even Abie Nathan's detractors spoke warmly of him on Thursday." Jerusalem Post, 28 August 2008.
     The station was heard widely via its 50 kilowatt medium wave signal. See technical details in Wikipedia's Voice of Peace entry. -- Didn't Nathan transmit for a time off the coast of Cyprus, to placate the civil war there? Or did he just plan to? Posted: 30 Aug 2008 Permalink

TV Martí inteerviews Cuban "punk rocker." Gorki Aguila, the "Cuban rocker whose biting profanity-laced lyrics against the Castro government has previously gotten him in trouble is now in detention and expected to face trial Friday. ... In a recent interview with TV Martí, the U.S.-funded anti-Castro news broadcast, Aguila said the Castro government constantly harasses the group, because the music caught officials by surprise." Miami Herald, 27 August 2008. TV Martí can be "anti-Castro" or "news," but it can't be both. Posted: 30 Aug 2008 Permalink

"Alone, disliked and mistrusted." "It will take time to repair the damage done to America's image abroad. The perception of any country is shaped by a series of events that create a general image. These events are cast as human interest stories by the foreign media, including those in countries where a central U.S. foreign policy objective is to promote democracy and human rights. ... Right after 9/11, the U.S. benefited from global solidarity. Today it is largely alone, disliked and mistrusted, with worldwide consensus that in the key area of human rights and the rule of law, the U.S. disgraced itself." Lanny A. Breuer and Mark Brzezinski, Washington Times, 28 August 2008. Posted: 30 Aug 2008 Permalink

Public diplomacy from the Legislative Branch. The first Muslim member of Congress, Minnesota Democratic Representative Keith Ellison's "dovish foreign policy is just about the opposite of the Bush administration's, yet he has teamed up with the State Department on public diplomacy to tout what he calls 'core' American values of democracy and human rights. He has done events with U.S. embassies overseas and speaks to visiting groups in Washington arranged by the State Department, such as a delegation of French Muslims last month." Fox News, 27 August 2008. Posted: 30 Aug 2008 Permalink

Evidence that Radio Sawa is just like U.S. commercial radio. "I just wanted to express my madness about the lack of good radio stations that you can tune in while heading to work every morning. ... The one driving me mad is the Arab radio station Radio Sawa broadcasting from Washington through Dubai (as they say) … Radio Sawa for an unknown reason plays the same music every single day. I do not understand whether it is a lack of managing the station or lack of records in their studio. It’s so pathetic that every time I tune in to Radio Sawa It’s always the same ten lousy singers singing the same ten low class songs!" Nawaf Abu-Ghazaleh (Dubai), letter to 7 Days (UAE), 28 August 2008. Posted: 30 Aug 2008 Permalink

U.S. Iraq withdrawal: Alhurra reports, State deflects. "The United States asked Iraq for permission to keep troops there to 2015 but compromised with Iraqi negotiators on 2011, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said. ... 'It was a U.S. proposal for the date which is 2015, and an Iraqi one which is 2010, then we agreed to make it 2011,' Talabani said in an interview with al-Hurra TV, a transcript of which was posted on his party's website on Wednesday." Reuters, 28 August 2008. The Alhurra interview is also cited by Fox News, 27 August 2008. And Xinhua, 27 August 2008. And Al Alam (Iran), 27 August 2008. But not by the BBC or RFE/RL (at least in English) websites. VOA reports the story, but does not cite Alhurra.
     "Q: Iraqi President Talabani is quoted as having said in a TV interview with Al Hurra that the United States had asked Iraq for permission to maintain a U.S. troop presence there until 2015. Is that correct? [Robert Wood, Deputy Spokesman]: What I can say, Arshad, is that, as you know, there are discussions going on between the United States and Iraqi Government. ... I don’t have anything new to offer other than what we’ve said, and that we think this is an important agreement." State Department press briefing, 27 August 2008. Posted: 30 Aug 2008 Permalink

Al Jazeera disinvited from Golden, Colorado, backyard (updated). "Golden City Manager Mike Bestor has withdrawn his barbecue invitation to a news channel based in the Middle East after a community uproar that spilled over into the City Council Thursday night. Bestor said he issued the invitation to Al Jazeera Englis, which is based in the Middle East, as a private citizen. The network planned to do interviews at the gathering as part of its Democratic National Convention next week. The city issued a statement Thursday night in which Bestor said he realized his job indirectly linked the event to the city." Denver Post, 21 August 2008.
     Al Jazeera: "All of us at al-Jazeera English hope that you take the time to learn a bit more about what we do and what we represent. We want to thank you for giving us the opportunity to visit your city and we assure you that our reporting will be nothing less than balanced, informative and professional." Denver Post, 23 August 2008.
     "Pre-chosen Golden residents were scheduled to dine on al-Jazeera-provided hot dogs and hamburgers and be interviewed about their reactions to Obama's speech as well as views on health care and the environment." Denver Post, 23 August 2008.
     "During two hours of public comment at the council meeting, residents spoke for and against al-Jazeera broadcasting from Golden. Jim Dale, who is a veteran, said at the meeting that he has fought for First Amendment rights and welcomes the network. Others questioned whether the network will skew coverage a particular way and whether the network's presence is disrespectful to veterans and those serving in the military. 'It's not OK for the city to roll out the red carpet for a network that is so closely tied to terrorists,' said Steve Hosie." Denver Post, 24 August 2008. See previous post about same subject.
     Update: "Word spread that three rival biker gangs ... declared a truce for the night so they could meet at the Buffalo Rose in a united protest against al-Jazeera. But the network stood its ground and set up its cameras. Across the street ... protesters had shirts printed up for the occasion, saying 'Buffalo Rose/Tokyo Rose' in English and Arabic, although they botched the Arabic translation. ... Across the street, a smaller group of Golden residents lined up in a counterprotest. A bunch of right-wing fanatics, grumbled one." Washington Post, 28 August 2008. See also report on KDVR-TV (Denver), 29 August 2008. Posted: 30 Aug 2008 Permalink

BBC World News: profitable by 2010? "BBC World News, a subsidiary of British Broadcasting Corporation, is aiming to turn from a loss- to a profit-making operation by 2010 the latest." Thomson Financial, 28 August 2008. See also Financial Times Deutschland, 28 August 2008. Posted: 30 Aug 2008 Permalink

DRM receivers at the Funkausstellung. The Digital Radio Mondiale Consortium will display DRM digital receivers (most with shortwave) from six manufacturers at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin. DRM press release, 27 August 2008. Posted: 28 Aug 2008 Permalink

Burma: radio for weather and objectivity. "Radio has long been an important source of news and information in Myanmar, and many listen in for news of relief and recovery efforts. Kyaw Kyaw, with two other families, purchased a US$5 radio - allowing them to listen to weather broadcasts - an activity they now recognise could well save their lives in future. ... Some also sees radio as a more objective source of information: 'I like to listen to both state-owned and foreign [Burmese programme] radios like BBC and VOA (Voice of America),' said Lwin Maung, a 32-year old fisherman in Kunchangone who often tunes into the latter’s regular Burmese broadcasts." Integrated Regional Information Networks, 27 August 2008. Posted: 28 Aug 2008 Permalink

International television comes to Macs. "Online television streaming service Livestation has launched a Mac client, bringing free streaming news television to Apple fans. P2P powered Livestation launched last year as a streaming television platform that offered legal feeds from news services such as the BBC, later adding additional channels including Russia Today, Al Jazeera English, Euronews and France 24." The Inquisitr, 27 August 2008. Posted: 28 Aug 2008 Permalink

RFA's "profound disappointment" about Olympics accreditation. "At the conclusion of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Radio Free Asia (RFA) today expressed profound disappointment at the Beijing Olympic Committee’s barring of an RFA reporter accredited to cover the Games. Despite RFA’s repeated requests and fulfillment of all media accreditation requirements, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs failed to produce the Olympic Identity and Accreditation Card (OIAC) required of RFA’s Tibetan-American journalist Dhondup Gonsar. ... 'Regrettably, the world has learned that China remains hostile to the free flow of information, which prevents the Chinese people from acquiring essential information about the world and about their own country.'" RFA press release, 25 August 2008. Posted: 27 Aug 2008 Permalink

Analysis (finally) of the NTDTV-Eutelsat contretemps. "So what are the facts here? That Eutelsat suffered the loss of power back in June is undoubted. That EuroNews and NTDTV lost their carriage is also correct. However, EuroNews quietly and diligently gained carriage elsewhere (on AsiaSat 2 at 100.5 deg East). Much the same options were open to NTDTV, but one has to wonder why (in the words of one industry insider) 'nobody is taking their calls'. Perhaps NTDTV is simply using the whole unfortunate incident to protest, happily raising its profile but at the same time creating for itself a reputation that the station really is too hot to handle. ... Eutelsat, not unreasonably, hopes this storm will quickly blow over. But NTDTV must also understand that in carrying the programming that it does – much of which is excellent and uncontroversial – it isn’t wise to shoot your carrier." Chris Forrester, Rapid TV News, 25 August 2008. See previous post about same subject. Posted: 27 Aug 2008 Permalink

Chapters on the Cold War propaganda arts. Casey Nelson Blake, ed, The Arts of Democracy: Art, Public Culture, and the State (2007) includes Penny M. Von Eschen’s “The Goodwill Ambassador: Duke Ellington and Black Worldliness” and Laura A. Belmonte’s “Exporting America: The U.S. Propaganda Offensive, 1945-1959.” Review by John Brown, Cultural Diplomacy News, 26 August 2008. Posted: 27 Aug 2008 Permalink

Glassman in Qatar. Under secretary of State for public diplomacy James Glassman visits Doha. "'We strongly believe that the war against violent extremism is not just a military struggle, in fact it is mostly a struggle having to do with the ideas and in that struggle we have a common cause with the people of Qatar, the people of the region and the government of the region as the threat in this region is not great as compared to the United States.' ... Regarding the image of America that people in the Middle East have, he said, 'As far as the US image is concerned there are certainly areas where the majority of people in this region disagree with our policy. Overtime the policy will change and I think that the friendship between the people here and the people in the US will grow.'" The Peninsula (Doha), 26 August 2008. Posted: 27 Aug 2008 Permalink

New pay website aggregates Arabic television streams. "JumpTV and Neulion announced the launch of a new online service – www.talfazat.com – that delivers the largest selection of live and on-demand Arabic television content available anywhere. Talfazat.com offers Arabs worldwide an opportunity to tune into their favorite live television channels or on-demand programs with a simple Internet connection. Talfazat.com features more than 35 of the most popular channels and over thousands of hours of video-on-demand from leading Arabic content providers including Dubai TV, LBC, Aljazeera News, Aljazeera English, Rotana, Future TV, New TV, 2M and many others. ... Talfazat.com is a subscription-based service." JumpTV press release, 26 August 2008. BBC Arabic, Alhurra, and the Arabic streams of France 24, EuroNews, DW-TV, and Russia Today are not among the offered channels. Posted: 27 Aug 2008 Permalink

Al Jazeera looks at privatization "in the long term." "Al-Jazeera, the Arab broadcaster owned by the Emirate of Qatar, could be privatised if its plan to expand into televising the Champions League and other sports proves lucrative. Wadah Khanfar, the network's director-general ... said: 'It will be up to the board to decide, but it is a realistic possibility in the long term. But it is not realistic in the next two years. We have to be able to maintain the independence of our editorial line and we have to no longer depend on subsidy. We have a plan - that will take a few years - so that we become self-financing.'" The Times, 26 August 2008.
     Deal with OTRUM ("hospitality entertainment specialists") puts Al Jazeera in more European and Middle Eastern hotel rooms. WorldScreen.com, 25 August 2008. Posted: 27 Aug 2008 Permalink

International broadcasting and the Democrats. At the Democratic National Convention: "All the usual networks are here, but it’s the foreign outlets that are worth a second look. The Arabic language news network Al Jazeera is one of the international networks including the BBC and Agence France Presse. On their Web site, Al Jazeera promises to provide 'news, views and a healthy degree of skepticism.'" KMGH-TV (Denver), 25 August 2008.
     "On the Al-Jazeera English Web site, the analysis of Biden presented by Marwan Bishara, 'Al-Jazeera's senior political analyst,' was seriously flawed factually and poorly researched." Dave Kopel, Rocky Mountain News, 25 August 2008.
     "In September 1998, for example, Biden told the Czech foreign minister that cutting radio broadcasts into Iran might better encourage dialogue. ... Biden's political games have made him Tehran's favorite senator. As Gen. David Petraeus struggled to unite Iraqis across the ethnic and sectarian divide, Iran's Press TV seized on Biden's plan for partitioning Iraq and featured his statements with the headline 'US plans to disintegrate Iraq.'" Michel Rubin, Washington Post, 26 Augut 2008.
     "Iranian Press TV is covering the Democratic National Convention. On the first day, correspondent Jihan Hafiz talked to former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, and others." MEMRI, 26 August 2008. Posted: 27 Aug 2008 Permalink

International broadcasters provide news of Iranian clergy corruption. "Abbas Palizdar -- a former director of fundamental studies at the Research Institute of the Iranian Parliament ... exposed 123 cases involving alleged economic corruption among high-ranking Iranian clergy... Initially, the Iranian officialdom sought to ignore Palizdar. His speeches received no attention in the state-controlled press for a couple of weeks. But the story spread on the Internet, and foreign broadcasters such as Voice of America-Persian, the British Broadcasting Corporation, and Radio Farda pursued his allegations -- Farda even aired an interview with Palizdar in which Palizdar claimed Ayatollah Hossein Nouri-Hamadani, chairman of the judiciary committee of the Iranian parliament, had attempted to suppress the findings of his investigations." Ali Alfoneh, American Enterprise Institute, 21 August 2008. Posted: 26 Aug 2008 Permalink

The hazards of working for Alhurra in Iraq (updated). "When the U.S. government put up the money for a new TV network in Iraq in early 2004, one of its first recruits was Mahmoud Fouad, 35, who was assigned to cover security. Though the regional version of the Al-Hurra (Freedom) station has few viewers, the Iraqi channel quickly established itself as a leading source of local news. Fouad soon found himself attracting stares from strangers in the streets, attention that was unnerving at a time when the Sunni insurgency was gathering pace. Threats forced him to flee his home, and his parents were ordered by gunmen to disown him, for fear of their lives." Liz Sly, Chicago Tribune, 2 August 2008.
     Update: "The article incorrectly asserts that the pan-Arab version of Alhurra Television has few viewers. In fact, independent research firms such ACNielsen state that Alhurra has a weekly reach of 26 million people, a vast majority of whom find the news to be credible." Alhurra spokesperson Deirdre Kline, letter to Chicago Tribune, 25 August 2008. Posted: 26 Aug 2008 Permalink

I'm sure U.S. corporations would be more than happy to allow the U.S. government to manipulate their international advertising (updated). "Let's lose the government-centric mentality and engage in cooperative marketing with America's dynamic private sector. You'll find people clamoring for American products like iPods and Nike shoes in places around the world where we've never had a consulate, much less a library or a cultural center. Why not harness the power of America's global brand leaders to tell stories with cross-cultural appeal? If the U.S. government was engaged, Nike's pre-Olympics ad campaign could feature Joe Alexander, an All-American college basketball star who grew up playing pickup games on public courts in Beijing and Hong Kong. Coca Cola and the U.S. government could team up to sponsor concerts by Dhani, an Indonesian rock star whose father and grandfather were militant Islamists, but who today preaches tolerance." Frederick (Rick) Barton and Matthew Rojansky, Des Moines Register, 18 August 2008.
     "There are countless acts of public diplomacy being engaged in every day by NGOs, companies, cultural, religious and athletic organizations. But as a strategic matter, it has been a scattershot approach. The next U. S. president should make an effort to consolidate and guide these measures under a single roof that should span government and the private sector. I endorse a public-private Institute for Public Diplomacy that puts public diplomacy resources where they are most needed and where they can most amplify American messages and values." Jay T. Snyder, The Buffalo News, 18 August 2008.
     Diplomacy, including public diplomacy, can only be the purview of a national government. So while private international outreach is desirable, private public diplomacy is not possible. Furthermore, the NGOs, companies, and other organizations have good reasons to keep their international activities separate from those of the U.S. government. Universities, mentioned in Mr. Snyder's essay, should study but not become involved in U.S. public diplomacy, for reasons of academic independence.
     Update: "Expecting Nike or Coke to welcome government efforts to piggyback messages onto their global ad campaigns is a non-starter. The public and private sectors don't engage together that way internationally. ... We need a holistic, comprehensive approach to public diplomacy: Use the new technology in strategic combination with the proven human elements of effective public-diplomacy programs, including educational and cultural exchanges and next-generation leadership initiatives." Doug Wilson, Des Moines Register, 25 August 2008. Posted: 26 Aug 2008 Permalink

Challenges of the commercial side of international broadcasting. "As the newly installed head of global content at ITV, Mr Bartlett has a responsibility that could make or break Britain's biggest commercial broadcaster: finding new sources of income as the old ones dry up. The 53-year-old Californian is responsible for producing programmes that will make the broadcaster money when sold overseas, either complete or as formats to be adapted for different markets. One of the few shreds of comfort for ITV [is] £30m of foreign sales from the reality show, Come Dine With Me. All Mr Bartlett has to do is replicate that success, the work of one of his predecessors, every year and several times over. ... 'I guess my head is in the global content side, but my heart is in the PLC.'" Financial Times, 23 August 2008. Is "PLC" product life cycle? Or (less likely) Presbyterian Ladies' College? Posted: 26 Aug 2008 Permalink

World Service correspondent's comments about Taliban become tabloid fodder. "Lyse Doucet, ... [BBC World Service] veteran correspondent and presenter, who played a key role in the BBC's coverage of the war in Afghanistan in 2001, told the Edinburgh International Television Conference: "What's lacking in the coverage of the Afghans is the sense of the humanity of the Afghans. 'In the Prince Harry coverage for example, there were all these people out there you never really saw them. You knew that the bombs were dropping in that direction and the guns pointing in that direction but you never got a sense of how Afghans are as a people.'" The Telegraph, 25 August 2008.
     "Presenter Lyse Doucet’s astonishing statement comes as an Apache gunship hero revealed the fanatics aim to capture a British soldier and SKIN HIM LIVE on the internet." The Sun, 25 August 2008.
     "She's right. The media not only fails to convey how much misery has been wrought on these proud and hardy people in the supposed search for a chronically-ill bearded cave dweller, who by all accounts has long relocated to Pakistan, it also neglects to explain what Western troops are still doing there." Linda S. Heard, Gulf News, 25 August 2008. Posted: 26 Aug 2008 Permalink

France 24 stringer kidnapped in Somalia. Reporters sans frontières "is worried about the abduction of Canadian freelance journalist Amanda Lindhout, Australian freelance photographer Nigel Brennan and Somali photographer Abdifatah Mohammed Elmi. Gunmen kidnapped them and their driver Mahad on 23 August near Mogadishu for reasons that are not yet clear. Lindhout, who is normally based in Baghdad, works for French TV station France 24." RSF, 24 August 2008. Posted: 26 Aug 2008 Permalink

China, soft power, and confusion about U.S. international broadcasting. "As the flags are lowered over the 2008 Olympic games, China is basking in the achievement of a major objective -- an increase of its soft power. ... China has created some 200 Confucius Institutes around the world to teach its language and culture, and while the Voice of America's was cutting its Chinese broadcasts from 19 to 14 hours a day, China Radio International was increasing its broadcasts in English to 24 hours a day." Joseph Nye, Huffington Post, 24 July 2008. Actually, U.S. international broadcasting in Mandarin remains 24 hours a day: 12 hours for Voice of America, 12 hours for Radio Free Asia. VOA English broadcasts on shortwave have been reduced, reflecting the downward trend in shortwave listening in many parts of the world. China Radio International continues to transmit in English 24 hours a day -- different hours to different targets, and with many repeats. But CRI includes several large anglophone nations as target countries that VOA does not, e.g., the United States, Britain, Canada, and Australia.
     "I watched CNN Interna