From: "IBB Notices Administration" <notices@IBB.GOV>

To: "IBB Staff" <notices@IBB.GOV>

Sent: Monday, November 25, 2002 6:39 AM

Subject: News from the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG)



New BBG Members Confirmed

The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) welcomes four new governors -

Joaquin  Blaya, Blanquita Walsh Cullum, Jeffrey Hirschberg and Steven

Simmons. The members were confirmed by the Senate.

· Blaya of Miami, Fla., is chairman and CEO of Radio Unica Communications Corp., a Spanish-language AM talk and sports radio network.

· Cullum of Alexandria, Va., is a radio broadcaster whose nationally syndicated program, BQ View, is carried coast-to-coast by the Radio America Network.

· Hirschberg of Bethesda, Md., is president of Hirschberg, PC, and a consultant to Coudert Brothers (global legal affairs). He is a director of the U.S. Russian Investment Fund and the U.S.-Russia Business Council.

· Simmons is chairman and CEO of Patriot Media and Communications, LLC, a company acquiring cable television systems in the United States.

Blaya, Hirschberg and Simmons fill BBG vacancies while Cullum replaces Cheryl Halpern. The BBG now has a full complement of eight members plus Secretary of State Colin Powell, who serves ex-officio. Information about the new BBG members is posted on www.bbg.gov.



Seth Cropsey, New IBB Director

Seth Cropsey has been confirmed by the Senate to be the new director of the International Broadcasting Board. For Cropsey, the appointment is a return to the Cohen Building where he worked from 1982-1984 as the Director of Policy at the Voice of America. From 1984-1990, Cropsey served as Deputy Undersecretary of the Navy. He was then Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations. In the1990s, Cropsey spent four years in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany as a professor and departmental chairman at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies. Previously, he was director of the Asian Studies Center with The Heritage Foundation. Most recently, Cropsey has been a director of government affairs at Greenberg Traurig, a law and lobbying firm. Before joining Greenberg Traurig, Cropsey was a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington.



Brian Conniff Honored

Brian Conniff has received the Senior Executive Service's 2002 Distinguished Executive Award (www.opm.gov/ses). The Presidential Rank Award recognizes and celebrates a small group of career executives for long-term accomplishments. Conniff was one of 53 award winners.  He has been Acting IBB Director for the past 3   years.  With the confirmation of Seth Cropsey as the new IBB Director, Conniff returns to his position

as Executive Director of the BBG.



New Strategic Direction

At a Town Hall meeting on November 13, 2002, the BBG unveiled the agency's 2002-2007 Strategic Plan, "Marrying the Mission to the Market," which charts a direction for the future. The BBG strongly believes it can - and must -- improve effectiveness in key markets around the world in support of U.S. foreign policy goals.  Focused on today's priorities, U.S. international broadcasting needs to adapt creatively to rapidly changing media and political environments. The strategic plan, while upholding the time-tested mission of disseminating factual and balanced news and information, places new emphasis on identifying a market (i.e., finding an audience) for this mission.  It seeks to leverage resources to drive performance in the priority areas and achieve teamwork across the board. Implementation of the strategic plan will take place progressively on a market-by-market basis.

The plan calls for "evolution, not revolution."  Radio Sawa has been a major initiative under the plan. Then next step is to create a new Persian-language radio station - Radio Farda (tomorrow in Persian) -- aimed at young listeners in Iran. Both PowerPoint and full-text versions of the BBG's Strategic Plan will be posted at www.bbg.gov.



Radio Farda

Radio Farda will be the first effort between VOA and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) to produce an integrated programming stream, providing original news, features, and other information 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  In addition, Radio Farda will broadcast a unique combination of popular Persian and Western music designed to appeal to a young audience. In the event of breaking news, more news content will be added.  Operated from Washington and Prague, Radio Farda will employ staff from RFE/RL and VOA. Traditional listeners in Iran will still be served by VOA's Farsi service, which will maintain a shortwave presence.  RFE/RL's Persian Service, known as Radio Azada, will cease transmission when Radio Farda goes on the air. Start-up is slated for mid-December 2002.



Radio Sawa Has Strong Listenership in Amman, Jordan, Survey Shows Research from Amman, Jordan shows Radio Sawa's continues to dominate listenership among its target audience. When a sample representing 17-28 year old radio listeners was asked in a November 7, 2002 survey, "What station do you listen to most for news," 41 percent answered Radio Sawa, which made the station #1 in the Jordanian capital. That compares with 21 percent for the Jordanian Government's Amman FM; 16 percent for MBC-FM; 10 percent for BBC-FM and 6 percent for Radio Monte Carlo and Amman AM, also owned by the Jordanian Government. Edison Media Research of Somerville, N.J., conducted the survey.



China's Jamming

The BBG's China Committee (chaired by Governor Ted Kaufman) is engaged in a multi-pronged effort to draw attention to China's jamming of BBG broadcasts and blocking of internet and email sites.  Working with VOA, RFA and IBB, the BBG has prepared background notes on the cost and extent of the jamming. Kaufman has overseen an educational campaign designed to inform the Bush administration, members of Congress and the media about jamming. In addition, the BBG has raised the issue of reciprocity whereby China has refused to grant permission for more U.S. international broadcasting reporters in China.  There are over 40 Chinese reporters and broadcasters working for government-controlled media in the United States.