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Author: Matt Armstrong
BBG gets a Director of Communications and External Affairs
The Broadcasting Board of Governors announced today that Lynne Weil has been named Director of Communications and External Affairs. She starts February 6.
The BBG, as many know, is in dire need to improve its engagement with the Hill and the public. Lynne, in leaving her job as Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy (and Public Affairs), brings extensive knowledge of and relations with Congress and the media to the BBG.
Lynne will be the second Director of Communications and External Affairs as the position was (relatively) recently established. Diane Zeleny held the position briefly last year.
She will not be wanting for work to keep her busy, especially in the coming year.
Serving until Replaced: the recurring story of the Broadcasting Board of Governors
The Broadcasting Board of Governors is presently working toward updating its organization and strategy to meet America’s 21st Century needs. Whether you agree with the suggestions or not, most of the proposed changes remain just that: proposed as they await approval for many of the key changes. The BBG provided a “narrative” but you will have to wait until next month, I’m told, for the detailed plan.
Back in September 2010, I wrote about the “honeymoon” the then-new Board would enjoy. Indeed, after two years without a chairman and with only four members, serving appointments that expired six years earlier, the neglected BBG was due and eager for fresh leadership.
For background, the BBG is the only federal agency run by a committee. The eight governors are appointed by the President, not more than four of whom may be from the same party, and the Secretary of State, who usually delegates his or her Under Secretary of State for Public Affairs and Public Diplomacy as the representative.
These eight are part-time leaders appointed to staggered terms. The purpose was to provide fresh and state-of-the-art advice by top professionals and leaders to the Government.
The staggered and overlapping terms were a bid for continuity and to avoid radical shifts in policy. The wholesale replacement of the Board in June 2010 with eight new members was a refresh that was not supposed to happen, and it was the first time since 2004 that the Board had a full complement.
However, we are now looking at the likely prospect of a wholesale replacement of the board due to term expirations. Is twice in a row a coincidence or an emerging pattern of White House neglect?
R we there yet? A look at the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy (and Public Affairs)
(This article was updated on 20 November ’17 with a new chart that reflects incumbent tenures through 1 July ’16 and some other edits.)
What is the role of the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs? That has been an enduring question of the State Department, the Defense Department, National Security Staff, the Congress and the many others interested in America’s efforts to understand, inform, and influence global audiences. Established thirteen years ago to manage many of the activities formerly run by the abolished United States Information Agency (USIA), its role within State and with other agencies across Government has been subject to reinterpretation nearly every time there was a new Under Secretary. The last report of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy looked at the turnover in the position of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. The Commission found that the position has been unfilled for over 30% of the time since it was established. Moreover, the average tenure of the six Under Secretaries since 1999 was about 500 days, or less than 17 months. Indeed today, the office remains unencumbered since June 30, 2011, while Tara Sonenshine awaits confirmation by the Senate. Technically, the office is never “vacant” as there is always someone in an “acting” capacity. Today, Assistant Secretary Ann Stock runs the office in lieu of a confirmed Under Secretary.
The Commission compared the tenure of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs with two peers: the Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs (on January 1, 2012, this office became known as the Under Secretary for Civil Security, Democracy, and Human Rights) and the Under Secretary for Political Affairs. As shown in the table below, the differences in tenure and gaps in incumbency are stark.
As Sonenshine is unlikely to be confirmed before February due to the Senate’s calendar, the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs will be unfilled for an aggregate of more than 1,400 days, or nearly 1 out every 3 days over the past thirteen years. Below is a chart showing how long confirmed Under Secretaries served, and equally if not more important, how long the office was not filled by a confirmed appointee.
The above chart does not, of course, reflect how the Under Secretary perceived “public diplomacy,” how they worked with (or didn’t) the Department, from the 7th Floor to other Under Secretaries to the field (namely, but not limited to, the public affairs sections the Under Secretary is notionally connected), other agency partners, or the private sector and civil society. Nor does the chart indicate consistency in vision or leadership by the incumbent, or the degree of support by the Secretary or the White House of that vision or leadership. Nor does the chart indicate how well, if at all, the Under Secretary helped, protected, or promoted the public diplomacy “cone” (State’s label for career track), sought input from the field, or empowered the field. Nor does the chart indicate how the Under Secretary provided leadership, direction, or held accountable those offices directly within the office’s remit, such as the Bureau of International Information Programs and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, or indirectly, such as the Bureau of Public Affairs, the Global Engagement Center (formerly the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communication), and the Public Affairs Sections at embassies and consulates worldwide.
At the time of this writing, the website of the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs (known inside State as “R”) states both the purpose of public diplomacy the role of the office succinctly:
The mission of American public diplomacy is to support the achievement of U.S. foreign policy goals and objectives, advance national interests, and enhance national security by informing and influencing foreign publics and by expanding and strengthening the relationship between the people and government of the United States and citizens of the rest of the world.
The Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs leads America’s public diplomacy…
But does this office continue to sit in a leadership position? In addition to the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (a bureau of understated impact and potential), R has the Bureau of International Information Programming (IIP), which is the Department’s “public diplomacy communications bureau,” and the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications (CSCC).
Not public when the report was published last month was the elevation of the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism (S/CT) to a bureau under the Under Secretary for Civil Security, Democracy, and Human Rights (or “J”), the office formerly known as the Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs (or “G”). The Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) called for the elevation of S/CT to the Bureau of Counter-Terrorism (now “J/CT” to reflect its position under J). The QDDR suggested a close connection with R: “the Bureau will play a key role in State as efforts to counter violent extremism, working closely with the Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs and the new Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications” (p.45). Reportedly, the Bureau was placed within J, capably led by Under Secretary Maria Otero, because of that office’s role in “transnational issues.” Is R then limited to “communication”?
The Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (PA) is independently expanding his office’s social media presence independent of, and bypassing, the Under Secretary’s office. This is, according to many inside of State, to increase the A/S for PA influence over posts, which is a natural direction when the Assistant Secretary is charged with communicating with audiences in the U.S. and abroad. It is worth noting that the real relationship of PA to the Under Secretary is more peer than subordinate. (To reflect this relationship, one of the few entries in this blog’s style guide is writing the full title for R as “Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy (and Public Affairs)”.
Are these challenges reflective in how much “communication” R actually oversees? And is R’s domain eroding?
Back to the Commission report, it offered several questions for further research:
1. What do the long gaps between appointments of Under Secretaries for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs indicate about views on the role and skills necessary for the position, or the importance of public diplomacy and the role of the State Department in leading and coordinating Government activities that intend to understand, inform, and influence foreign publics?
2. What do the short tenures indicate about the challenges of the position?
3. Does the Under Secretary adequately support the careers of public diplomacy officers in light of leadership turnover and frequent and long periods when the position was unencumbered?
I’ll add to that list additional, more blunt, questions:
- How does the office stay in the game and not get circumvented, or bypassed, and its resources and missions not get poached without an Under Secretary at the helm?
- Has the Under Secretary’s role with other federal agencies, let alone within the Department, diminished due to uncertainties and shifting priorities resulting from the turnover and short tenures?
Certainly, Tara Sonenshine will have her hands full when she is confirmed after the Senate again takes up her nomination later this month.
This might be a good time for Congress, the State Department, and the White House to have a board of experts look into how the Government organizes and conducts activities intended to understand, inform, and influence foreign publics.
Looking for a headline aggregator for Europe? The Rundown is one of the best
Are you looking for a headline aggregator covering Europe, Russia, and South Central Asia? The Rundown, compiled by Zach (@ZachPrague) at Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), is one of the best. The mission of RFE/RL is to “promote democratic values and institutions by reporting the news in countries where a free press is banned by the government or not fully established.” Naturally, the headlines Zach gathers focus on this mission.
Continue reading “Looking for a headline aggregator for Europe? The Rundown is one of the best
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US Navy Rescues Iranian fisherman after saving Iranian cargo ship
According to CJ Chivers of The New York Times, this week the US Navy broke up an attempted hijacking of an Iranian cargo ship by Somali pirates and after some clever surveillance, ended up rescuing Iranian fishermen held hostage by the same pirates.
Senior Iranian military officials this week bluntly warned an American aircraft carrier that it would confront the “full force” of the Iranian military if it tried to re-enter the Persian Gulf. ,,, On Friday, Fazel Ur Rehman, a 28-year-old Iranian fisherman, had a warmer greeting for the carrier task force. … “It is like you were sent by God,” said Mr. Rehman, huddled under a blanket in this vessel’s stern. “Every night we prayed for God to rescue us. And now you are here.”
That’s a nice story and all — it is potentially good public diplomacy fodder for the region, especially Iran — but I’d like to know how Parazit plays the story. Parazit is the Voice of America’s Persian News Service program that’s been compared to The Daily Show. Good thing that due to Smith-Mundt I can’t watch otherwise there would be yet another violation of Smith-Mundt if I were able to watch the program. Wait, I can watch, but if only I knew Farsi…
Twitter Digest for recent @MountainRunner-related tweets
- don’t read if in US: RT @VOA_News: Qatari Prime Minister Says ‘Mistakes’ Made During Arab League Syria Mission http://t.co/NZRLV847 09:29:10, 2012-01-05
- Counterterrorism Bureau est by @StateDept state.gov/g/ct NOTABLE: it is not under Public Diplomacy but Democracy/Global Affairs 09:27:50, 2012-01-05
- Remembering the purpose of Smith-Mundt and the role/purpose of public diplomacy http://t.co/lqHZD8uc 08:23:51, 2012-01-05
- A short history of @StateDept: embarrassment brings change http://t.co/63R6FH5K (change incl’d creating Office of Public Affairs) 08:20:23, 2012-01-05
- @Fantom_Planet Thanks… in reply to Fantom_Planet 08:19:23, 2012-01-05
State’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board
Josh Rogin and others reported last month on the Secretary Clinton’s new Foreign Affairs Policy Board. Organized as a Federal Advisory Committee, it is reasonable to expect that all of the meetings will be closed door, which is unfortunate. Derided as the “newest effort” to make State more like the Pentagon, it actually draws on a reasonable practice of seeking outside expertise. For example, take a look at the seven advisory committees the Department put together in 1951 on the advice of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Information (now known as the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy).
Continue reading “State’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board
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Public Diplomacy: Books, Articles, Websites #59
Courtesy of Bruce Gregory, Professor of Media and Public Affairs, George Washington University.
Intended for teachers of public diplomacy and related courses, here is an update on resources that may be of general interest. Suggestions for future updates are welcome.
Bruce Gregory
Adjunct Professor
George Washington University
Georgetown University
Continue reading “Public Diplomacy: Books, Articles, Websites #59
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Mid-Week Quote: “information consequences of policy ought always be taken into account”
Today’s quote comes from the Fourth Semiannual Report of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Information, submitted to the Congress in April 1951.
Sometimes policy is “made” by the junior officer who writes an original memorandum. Sometimes it is made by an unexpected utterance at a top-level press conference. But the information consequences of policy ought always be taken into account, and the information man ought always to be consulted.
The Mid-Week Quote will be a recurring feature of the blog, although it may not appear every week. Email me to suggest a quote. See below for more on the report this quote is taken from.
The 22-page report (available at the website of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy) assessed that the State Department’s information program is being effectively administered, that the personnel has greatly improved, and that most of the Commission’s previous recommendations had been put into effect. The Commission expressed concern whether taking the program outside of the State Department to the about to be established United States Information Agency would be an improvement or a detriment to operation.
The Commission recommended that the program should be expanded, better evaluated, and remain closely tied to the policy-making and public affairs areas of the State Department.
It is worth taking a look at the number and purpose of committees the Commission recommended the State Department establish.
The Commission has been most desirous to carry out the purposes of Public Law 402 by opening up wider channels of contact with appropriate professional and private sources. To that end, under the authority of the Act, it has recommended and the State Department has set up seven advisory committees.
Radio Advisory Committee:
- Judge Justin Miller, Chairman (& member of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Information)
- William S. Paley, Chairman of the Board, Columbia Broadcasting System
- Theodore C. Streibert, Chairman of the Board, Mutual Broadcasting Company
- Charles Denny, Executive Vice-President, National Broadcasting Company
- Wesley I. Dumm, President, Associated Broadcasting, Inc.
- Donley F. Feddersen, President, University Association for Professional Radio Education, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
- Jack W. Harris, General, Station KPRC, Houston, TX
- Henry P. Johnston, General Manager, Station WSGN, Birmingham, AL
- Edward Noble, Chairman of the Board, American Broadcasting Company
- John F. Patt, President, Station WGAR, Cleveland, OH
- Mefford R. Runyon, Executive Vice-President, American Cancer Society
- G. Richard Shafto, General Manager, Station WIS, Columbia, SC
- Hugh B. Terry, Vice President and General Manager, Station KLZ, Denver, CO
General Business Advisory Committee
- Philip D. Reed, Chairman (& member of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Information)
- James A. Farley, Chairman of the Board, Coca Cola Export Corporation
- Ralph T. Reed, President, American Express Company
- W. Randolph Burgess, Chairman of the Executive Committee, National City Bank of New York City
- Sigurd S. Larmon, President, Young & Rubicam, Inc.
- William M. Robbins, Vice President for Overseas Operations, General Food Corporation
- David A. Shepard, Executive Assistant, Standard Oil Company of New Jersey
- J.P. Spang, Jr., President, Gillette Safety Razor Company
- Claude Robinson, President, Opinion Research Corporation
- Warren Lee Pierson, Chairman of the Board, Transcontinental and Western Air, Inc.
- Meyer Kestnbaum, President, Hart, Shaffner & Marx
Ideological Committee
- George Gallup, Institute of Public Opinion
- George S. Counts, Teachers College, Columbia University
- Allen W. Dulles, Director and President, Council on Foreign Relations
- Elmer Davis, News Analyst, American Broadcasting Company
- Alexander Inkeles, Harvard University
The following were Members of the Advisory Commission on Information at the time of the report:
- Erwin D. Canham, Chairman
- Philip D. Reed
- Mark A. May
- Justin Miller
- and Ben Hibbs was nominated but not yet confirmed
Twitter Digest for recent @MountainRunner-related tweets
- Public Diplomacy Commission compared how often/long PD leadership and comparable leadership spots are unfilled http://t.co/0YoJpNG9 15:54:30, 2012-01-03
- Exploring strategic narratives, the last Public Diplomacy Commission mtg: http://t.co/0jZIip9J, see CSCC/State video against Al Qaeda 15:48:55, 2012-01-03
- In the US? Don’t read @NatGeo on RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal, it could be a violation of Smith-Mundt http://t.co/9p62DLZ9 15:19:30, 2012-01-03
- CNN & CFR report on RFE/RL article http://t.co/c1ix6Pg4, access to RFE/RL content demonstrates folly of Smith-Mundt prohibition 12:10:42, 2012-01-03
- US Public Diplomacy Advisory Commission is no more by @comops http://t.co/gmjfk7af 11:50:39, 2012-01-03
- @laurenist Yup, a return to blogging while I work on resurrecting the Public Diplomacy Commission and finding a job… in reply to laurenist 11:50:27, 2012-01-03
- Missing! One [Public Diplomacy] Advisory Commission… http://t.co/6ZjIgkPp 11:48:49, 2012-01-03
- US PD Advisory Commission is no more by @comops http://t.co/gmjfk7af 11:44:55, 2012-01-03
- Strategic or Scary? Public Diplomacy Commission Cut http://t.co/A0By5DFf 11:29:12, 2012-01-03
- RT @davepeck: Social Media Statistics For Facebook, Twitter And LinkedIn [INFOGRAPHIC] http://t.co/419QuSSi 11:26:44, 2012-01-03
- New Belarus law: illegal for citizens & residents to access foreign websites http://t.co/b9AnDr6K via @librarycongress 11:25:20, 2012-01-03
- 2011 list of the “Best books on the Middle East” by @abuaardvark http://t.co/3Uuq1uOL 09:12:44, 2012-01-03
- The Commissar Vanishes: falsification of photos in Stalin’s Russia http://t.co/6xX3sqym 09:11:59, 2012-01-03
- RT @PHKushlis: US Public Diplomacy Advisory Commission Crashed: Another Nail in America’s Public Diplomacy Coffin http://t.co/FKojB9Wd 09:05:03, 2012-01-03
Twitter Digest for recents @MountainRunner-related tweets
- interesting to comparison @Poynter: 2011 stories ranked by CNN readers, editors’ picks, most followed, and coverage: http://t.co/v9qldXUh 10:28:37, 2011-12-30
- MT @Reuters: U.S.-trained Chinese official behind activist’s jailing http://t.co/zM9XTzWy public diplomacy fail, but lots of other successes 10:22:04, 2011-12-30
- RT @NatGeo: Meet the world’s only military dogsled team: http://t.co/eEQC4Xkf (via @NatGeoMag) 10:19:50, 2011-12-30
- Looking forward to case studies of perceptions vs substance in the coming elections http://t.co/OuZxZ5Dd 10:17:28, 2011-12-30
A New MountainRunner
Dear Readers, as you may have noticed, this blog has gotten a facelift. Over the next week you should see other improvements and a resumption in blogging. Stay tuned for more, including details on the hiatus. For the impatient, you can read my comments on Brian’s post at the Public Diplomacy Council.
Notes related to the change in the blog may be found here.
If you’d like to submit a guest post, review the guidelines and then email me.
There is a new Executive Director of the US Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy
The U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy is charged with appraising U.S. Government activities intended to understand, inform, and influence foreign publics. The Commission formulates and recommends to the President, the Secretary of State, and Members of Congress policies and programs to carry out the public diplomacy functions vested in the State Department, Broadcasting Board of Governors, and other government agencies, as well as appraising the effectiveness of the public diplomacy policies and programs carried out by government agencies.
There are seven members on the Commission, with “not more than four members may be from one political party.” In February, the White House sent to the Senate four nominations for the Commission. The Commission also includes an Executive Director hired as a civil servant on a two-year appointment.
Today, Matt Armstrong, author and publisher of MountainRunner.us, was sworn in as the Executive Director of the Advisory Commission. The immediate impact is the suspension of blogging, including the publishing of guest posts, at MountainRunner.us.
You may reach the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy at 202-203-7463 or by email at pdcommission@state.gov. Visit the website at http://state.gov/pdcommission.
And for your bit of trivia and the “obligatory” mention of Smith-Mundt: The Commission was established by the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948 as a result of a June 1947 amendment by Rep. Everett M. Dirksen (R-IL), later Senator Dirksen.
Academia and Public Diplomacy: a new relationship
There was something new at the 2011 International Studies Association conference in Montreal, Canada: a working group on public diplomacy. Organized by Craig Hayden, assistant professor at American University, and co-chaired by Kathy Fitzpatrick, professor at Quinnipiac University, it was a unique discussion to create a community of scholars across the many disciplines that comprise “public diplomacy.”
Keynotes were given by Matt Armstrong and Maureen Cormack, Executive Assistant in the Office of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.
Congratulations to Craig for a terrific, productive and long overdue working group. I’ll leave it to the participants to highlight the discussions of the day. Hopefully we will see more of this type of event to increase collaboration, understanding, and relevancy of public diplomacy within and with academia.
Bringing Public Diplomacy 2.0 to the next level
In the realm of public diplomacy reports, there are too few that should be on your required reading list. “Social Media Strategy: Bringing Public Diplomacy 2.0 to the next level” (820kb PDF) is an exception. Written by Carolijn van Noort, a former intern at the Department of Public Diplomacy, Press & Culture of the Consulate General of the Netherlands, this 53-page report is a terrific analysis of the challenges of public diplomacy in today’s Now Media environment.
Intended to explore the new public diplomacy of the Royal Embassy of the Netherlands, and its various Consulates, the “public diplomacy 2.0” activities of the United States are also included .
Carolijn rightly states that “Social media asks for an hybridization of open and closed communication practices.” In this statement, she eloquently captures the dilemmas facing both public diplomacy and online engagement. She continues,
To engage with foreign audiences through social media services, diplomacy has to innovate itself. The social media services ask for openness and transparency, which contradicts traditional closed communication practices in diplomacy.
Carolijn also (rightly) notes that for the US, the modern constraint of the Smith-Mundt Act means “opportunities in the digital space are lost or postponed in the mean time [sic].”
The resulting document is both smart literature review and smart analysis. Do read the report: Social Media Strategy: Bringing Public Diplomacy 2.0 to the next level (820kb PDF)
It is available at MountainRunner with the permission of Floris van Hövell, Head of Department Public Diplomacy, Press and Culture, Royal Embassy of the Netherlands, Washington D.C.
China: Rebranding 101
By Roseline Twagiramariya
Even if you’ve been living under a rock, chances are you have heard about China’s impressive economic growth and its continuing rise as an important global player. A few weeks ago, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee released an informative report on the disparities between Chinese and American public diplomacy activities today. Most importantly, the report, commissioned by Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), the Ranking Member of the Committee, gave a clear and concise look at China’s current rebranding strategies. Aware of its current spotlight and of its negative perceptions abroad, China has heavily invested in their soft power in hopes to ameliorate their image and be seen as less of a threat during their economic expansion. However, having read the report and other articles about China’s so-called “peaceful development”, it’s easy to see how China could very well be standing in their own way. In terms of country branding, their initiative lacks one key factor and that is truthfulness.
To Know Us is to Hate Us?
By Emina Vukic
After having spent two years studying in the United States in 1950, Sayyid Qutb, leading Islamic theologian of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood who shaped the ideas of Islamists and terrorist groups including Al Qaeda, wrote an article entitled "The America That I Have Seen". In it he criticized the individual freedoms he had seen exercised, he was appalled at having seen unmarried men and women dancing together, losing themselves in lust, while the band played a revolting song “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” He returned to Egypt convinced that the America is evil that had to be stopped. This came to be known as “Sayyid Qutb Syndrome” that seems to be experiencing its revival 60 years later.
When we think of the American culture we primarily think of the culture of the United States or the ethnic melting pot that the US is. The term American has, first and foremost, a nationalist connotation not the geographic one, and refers to the people who live in the US. Dictionary defines culture, among other meanings, as “The set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization or a group“. Culture is a product of human work and thought-it is our traditions, our language, and our cuisine. It is what our grandma taught us, the way we live, sing and dance, it is the stuff the legends are made of, the stories we tell our children, the way we try to refine, enrich our attitudes and goals through education, travel and contacts with other cultures.
Diplomacy in Public Services
By Aparajitha Vadlamannati
I remember coming back to the States a few years ago after a long summer spent with family and friends in India. I felt homesick, tired from the 16 hour flight, and did not want to start school in two weeks but then I was pulled out of my funk when a customs official smiled and said ‘welcome home.’ It was such a simple act but it changed my mood and made me feel as though maybe all those customs officials, even the ones with sour faces, are not so bad after all. Little did I know, I doubt the official recognized this either, that this act is public diplomacy.
Public diplomacy was believed to be a job solely for the state department but it takes more than Foreign Service Officers to do the job well. It is important for every citizen, resident, official, supporter, etc. of a nation to do their best to fairly represent the nation they associate with to a foreign (i.e. those from a nation different than their own) audience. Those working for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are certainly no exception. In fact, they play one of the most important roles in maintaining a positive image of the US because of the opinions and experiences immigrants relay to family and friends back home. These experiences become a part of the composite image/impression that foreigners have of Americans overall; similar to the reasons why an exchange program works to shape an image of America.
Bye NPR. Hello BBC, Al Jazeera, Chinese Radio.
The decision by Congress the House of Representatives to defund NPR and block local public radio stations from using federal money to acquire NPR content is, like any action, likely to have interesting unintended consequences. This action comes at a time when demand for information and knowledge of affairs around the globe continues to grow, to focus on just of the many values of NPR.
Congress The House is creating an opportunity that the US commercial media is unlikely to take advantage of, for whatever reason. The old giants of radio news, from CBS to NBC to the AP are unlikely to jump into the new gap and coverage of similar breadth and depth. The AP has the content, but will their agreements with their members – they are an association with members – allow them to provide content to radio that may also be carried by the local paper? Will Federal Communication Commission rules prevent local newspapers and television from expanding into the space presumably to be vacated by NPR?
The most likely winner, at least the short term, will be foreign government broadcasters. Already, local public radio stations often fill gaps in programming with news from the BBC. It is easy to imagine demand for the BBC will increase if programming from NPR becomes unavailable or drops in quality. But BBC is not the only game in town. The recent performance of Al Jazeera English in covering the Middle East may embolden AJE to explore avenues. I would be surprised if Russia Today wasn’t actively seeking to expand its reach. The same for Chinese Government broadcasters, including Xinhua and Radio China International. I do not anticipate a large expansion into public radio, however.
Forget of course other tax-payer supported news organizations from being legally available to news consumers within America’s borders.
What are you thoughts on this potential example of the law of unintended consequences?
Update/clarification: As NPR points out, including NPR’s Andy Carvin, only 2% of NPR’s funding is federal.