ON THE COVER: Left:Setareh Derakhshesh,

lead anchor for VOA Persian’s News

and Views; Right:Dalia Ahmed, anchor for Alhurra Television:THIS PAGE: Outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan

Overview 3

Voice of America 5

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty 7

Radio Free Asia 9

Office of Cuba Broadcasting 11

Alhurra Television 13

Radio Sawa 15

International Broadcasting Bureau 17

Advancing Freedom and Democracy 18

Direct Satellite TV to Iran 20

Fighting Terror With Truth 22

Reaching the World 24

Profiles of BBG Governors 26

“If the United States does not act

aggressively to define itself in

the Islamic world, the extremists

will gladly do the job for us.”

—The 9/11 Commission Report

TA

BLE O

F C

ON

TE

NT

S

1

To the President of the United Statesand the Congress of the United States:

The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) respectfully submits

its ninth annual report summarizing the activities of nonmilitary

U.S. international broadcasting: the Voice of America, Middle East

Broadcasting Networks, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio

Free Asia, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, and the International

Broadcasting Bureau. The report is required by Section 305(a) of

Public Law 103-236, the U.S. International Broadcasting Act of 1994.

The BBG assumed sole supervision of U.S. international broad-

casting in accordance with the 1998 Foreign Affairs Reform and

Restructuring Act (P.L. 105-277).

With the support of the White House and the Congress, in 2004

the BBG implemented a number of ambitious initiatives in support of the War on Terrorism,

and the 9/11 Commission Report recognized the great potential for our initiatives in television

and radio broadcasting to the Arab world, Iran, and Afghanistan.

Two 24/7 TV channels, Alhurra and Alhurra-Iraq, were established to broadcast news,

information, opinion, and debate and discussion to Arabic-speaking audiences across the

Middle East. The two channels complement the progress that Radio Sawa has made in

building a significant audience for U.S. international broadcasting in the Arab world.

VOA Persian built on the success of its television efforts and boosted its radio listener-

ship. Radio Farda, the joint RFE/RL-VOA 24/7 radio service, continues to serve Iranians.

VOA launched a new 12-hour-a-day Urdu-language radio service to listeners in

South Asia, providing Pakistanis and other Urdu speakers in India and the region with news,

information, roundtable discussions, interviews, features, and music.

RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan and VOA Dari and Pashto continue to provide a vital

24/7 radio lifeline for audiences in need of up-to-date accurate news and information, in-depth

analysis, and call-in programs for Afghans.

VOA Indonesian enhanced its impact on radio and televison in the world’s most popu-

lous Muslim nation.

U.S. international broadcasting is the most direct and effective tool in spreading the

fruits of freedom and democracy. The war of ideas is fought by communicating our

values and ideals and by providing accurate news and information and fostering intellectual

debate worldwide.

Respectfully submitted,

Kenneth Y. TomlinsonChairman, Broadcasting Board of Governors

Kenneth Y. Tomlinson

AfricaAfan Oromo

Amharic

English to Africa

French to Africa

Hausa

Kinyarwanda

Kirundi

Ndebele

Portuguese to Africa

Shona

Swahili

Tigrigna

Latin America

Creole

Spanish

GlobalEnglish

Special English

EurasiaArmenian

Avar

Azerbaijani

Belarusian

Chechen

Circassian

Georgian

Russian

Tatar-Bashkir

Ukrainian

Eastern & Central Europe

Albanian

Bosnian

Croatian

Greek

Macedonian

Romanian

Serbian

East AsiaBurmese

Cantonese

Indonesian

Khmer

Korean

Lao

Mandarin

Thai

Tibetan

Uyghur

Vietnamese

Near East &North Africa

Arabic

Kurdish

Turkish

South AsiaBangla

Dari

Hindi

Pashto

Persian

Urdu

Central Asia

Kazakh

Kyrgyz

Tajik

Turkmen

Uzbek

“The United States must do more to communicate its message . . . . Recognizing that Arab

and Muslim audiences rely on satellite television and radio, the government has begun

some promising initiatives in television and radio broadcasting to the Arab world, Iran, and

Afghanistan. These efforts are beginning to reach large audiences.”

—The 9/11 Commission Report

2

3

The Broadcasting Board ofGovernors (BBG), throughits broadcast services,

promotes and sustains freedomand democracy by broadcastingaccurate and objective news andinformation about the UnitedStates and the world to audi-ences overseas and by using thetruth to stimulate intellectualdebates in regions where free

expression is denied.Now, as an inte-gral part of theGlobal War onTerrorism, theBBG’s mission iseven more criti-

cal to the UnitedStates’ foreign policy

and national security. Theimportance of this mission is

reflected in the 9/11 CommissionReport mandate:

“Just as we did in the ColdWar, we need to defend ourideals abroad vigorously.America does stand for its val-ues…. If the United States doesnot act aggressively to defineitself in the Islamic world, theextremists will gladly do the job for us.”

The BBG provides the UnitedStates and its leaders direct andimmediate access to a world-wide audience of over 140 mil-lion people. BBG broadcastsreach this audience in 56 lan-guages via radio, television, andInternet. Broadcasting directlyto people is a critically impor-tant way for the United Statesto showcase its ideals abroad

and counter misrep-resentations ofAmerica and itspolicies. It is espe-cially important inmaking an enduringconnection withyoung people whomight otherwisebecome the next generation of terrorists.International broad-casting is one of the U.S.government’s most effective—and cost-effective—weapons in this battle.

The BBG recognizesthe need to movebeyond the Arabic-speaking Muslim worldand reach the largernon-Arabic-speakingMuslim world. We alsocontinue to demonstrateour ability to deliver results andincrease program impactthrough the prudent manage-ment of available resources andthe use of modern communica-tion tools and techniques, suchas direct-to-home satellite tele-vision and the Internet.

All BBG broadcast entities,including the grantees, adhereto the journalistic standardsand principles mandated by theInternational Broadcasting Actof 1994. BBG broadcasts includereliable, accurate, objective,and comprehensive news; bal-anced and comprehensive pre-sentations of American thought,institutions, and policies,

including discussion aboutthose policies; and informationabout developments through-out the world and a variety of opinions from around theworld. The BBG serves as a firewall to protect the reportingindependence of the news staffs of its broadcast entities. The bipartisan, presidentiallyappointed board consists of four Democrats and fourRepublicans with the Secretaryof State serving ex officio.

Overview

“I am certainly a major proponent of

broadcasting, having come out of

the Cold War experience with Radio

Free Europe and Voice of America

and Radio Liberty and the difference

that they made. Again, I believe that

the key for us is to tell the truth.”

—Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice

(GRANTEE) (GRANTEE)

International Broadcasting Bureau

(GRANTEE)

Broadcasting Board of Governors

Alhurra TV coverage of the confirmationhearings forSecretary Rice.

4 Anne Budianto, one of VOA Indonesian Service’s hosts for programs such as Salam VOA and Keliling Amerika.

The Voice of America(VOA), chartered byCongress to be a compre-

hensive and authoritative sourceof U.S. and international newsand information to audiencesworldwide, broadcasts morethan 1,000 hours in 44 languageson radio and nearly 50 hours in23 languages on television to aweekly audience of more than100 million. VOA has aggres-

sively expanded intelevision this past year—especially sincethe merger with Worldnet

in May 2004—and all VOA lan-guage services now maintain aweb site at VOANews.com toreach the growing number ofpeople who go online for newsand information.

VOA’s coverage of the war onterrorism required a globaleffort, involving reporters from15 foreign and four domesticbureaus as well as a worldwidenetwork of stringers. While thetransition to democracy in Iraqand the global war on terrorismdominated the news for its jour-nalists during 2004, VOA main-tained its role as a leading inter-national multimedia broadcasterby making innovative improve-ments in its programs to strategi-cally important countries suchas Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Paki-stan, Russia, India, Indonesia,China, and in Latin America.

Highlights:

VOA launched new TV initiatives in Hindi, Uzbek,Croatian, Bosnian, Macedonian,Azerbaijani, Armenian, Spanishand Cantonese, and increasedTV programming in Mandarin,Indonesian, Serbian, Albanian,

English to India,English toCambodia,and SpecialEnglish toVietnam.

VOAlaunchedRadio AapKi Dunyaa(Your World),a dynamic 12-hour-a-day Urdu-language broadcast aimed atyoung Pakistanis and Urduspeakers in India and elsewherein South Asia.

Broadcasting under thename Radio Ashna (Friend), VOA revamped its 12-hour Dariand Pashto radio stream toAfghanistan, creating a morecontemporary format.

VOA Persian launched anewly reformatted Next Chapter,a weekly youth-oriented TV magazine show that focuses on original news stories and cultural issues of interest toyoung Iranians.

Through its new Indian affiliate Aaj Tak, VOA Hindi dra-matically increased its reach toaudiences in India.

VOA Indonesian doubled itsprogramming on radio and TV,increasing its weekly audience tomore than 10 million.

VOA Mandarin doubled its TV broadcasts to 14 hours aweek, increased itsdaily email news-letter mailing list to 2.4 million Chinese,and placed its ownMandarin-speakingcorrespondent in Beijing.

VOA’s Zimbabwe Projectexpanded its English, Shona, and Ndebele broadcasts. Sevenpercent of the adult populationstated that they listened in spite of severe governmentrepression and criticism of VOA’s broadcasts.

VOA’s Russian Serviceincreased its call-in show fromone to five days a week andlaunched a daily TV news brieffor affiliates.

VOA’s Ukrainian Servicelaunched a daily interactivesatellite link with Ukraine’s onlymajor independent TV network,Kanal 5. During the election cri-sis, VOA’s live TV hook-ups withKanal 5 were viewed by largecrowds on an outdoor screen onKyiv’s Independence Square.

Employees: 1,163

FY 2004 Budget: $152.2 million

Weekly Hours Broadcast: 1,137.55

Languages: 44

Voice of America

VOA Director David Jackson

A panel discussion on Venezuela’s referendum.The event in February 2004, which ran live on radioand TV in Venezuela, was part of VOA’s continuingNewsmakers series on important topics of the day.

5

6 Radio Farda broadcaster Mosaddegh Katouzian in the studio at the Prague Operations Center.

Radio Free Europe/RadioLiberty (RFE/RL) broad-casts to Eastern and

Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus, and Central andSouthwestern Asia.

RFE/RL broadcasts more than 1,000 hours of program-ming a week from its opera-tions center in Prague, CzechRepublic, and 23 bureaus in itsbroadcast region. Its corporateheadquarters are located inWashington, D.C.

RFE/RL transmits its pro-grams by shortwave, AM, FM,UKV, and satellite. Increasingly

impor-tant are

RFE/RL’sInternet web

sites and its email distrib-ution services that provide people around the world with news.

Highlights:

In February, RFE/RL and Voice of America agreed on a schedule for their joint24/7 broadcast stream toAfghanistan, with each entity on the air for 12 uninterrupted hours.

On August 3, U.S.Ambassador to AfghanistanZalmay Khalilzad visited theKabul bureau of RFE/RL’sAfghan Service for a half-hour interview in both Pashtoand Dari.

Radio Free Iraq and RadioFarda broadcast spellbindingeyewitness reports in August ofthe fierce fighting in the Iraqicity of Najaf.

The Russian Service devoted extra hours of originalprogramming to bring listenersup to date on information and news from Beslan, where

gunmenoccupied aschool onSeptember1, takinghundredsof host-ages, mostof themchildren.

RussianService corres-pondent Andrei Babitsky wasdetained by police at VnukovoAirport in Moscow, where hewas attempting to fly to south-ern Russia to cover the ongoinghostage standoff in Beslan. He was later convicted of“minor hooliganism” and evenput in jail for a time beforebeing released upon the pay-ment of a fine.

On February 17, after onlya week’s notice, the UkrainianService’s FM affiliate of fiveyears, Radio Dovira, abruptlyceased rebroadcasting theService’s programs, under pres-sure from the Kuchma govern-ment. Despite the setback, theUkrainian Service providedextensive coverage of the“Orange Revolution” as eventsunfolded during the Ukrainianpresidential election. RFE/RL isnow actively seeking new FMaffiliates in Kyiv and around the country.

On July 30, three suicidebombers staged coordinatedattacks near the U.S. and Israeliembassies and inside the lobbyof the Uzbek ProsecutorGeneral’s office in Tashkent.RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service wasamong the first media outlets toreport on the bombings.

Two Turkmen Service correspondents were arrestedand jailed as part of a campaignof harassment carried outagainst RFE/RL by the TurkmenNational Security Ministry.

On the morning ofFebruary 7, the Kazakh Servicelaunched its first Russian-language program, a 24-minuteweekly wrap-up of the mainnews events in Kazakhstan.

Employees: 511

FY 2004 Budget: $72.5 million

Weekly Hours Broadcast: 1,031.10

Languages: 28

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

RFE/RL President Thomas Dine

Uzbek demon-strators supportRFE/RL inTashkent in Mayagainst attacks byUzbek State TV.The poster says inRussian, “We aredefending RadioOzodlik, the pillarof democracy.”

7

8 RFA Burmese Service Director Soe Thinn interviews two members of the United Wa State Army in a remote area of Burmaalong the Chinese border.

Radio Free Asia (RFA)broadcasts daily in ninelanguages to listeners in

Asia whose governments restrictfreedom of information andexpression. RFA broadcastsaccurate and timely news andinformation, along with a rangeof voices and opinions fromwithin Asia, showing by examplewhat freedom of expression really means.

RFA focuses primarily onevents occurring in its target

countries.Through

shortwave trans-missionand the

Internet, RFA broadcasts inMandarin, Cantonese, Uyghur,three dialects of Tibetan,Burmese, Vietnamese, Korean,Lao, and Khmer.

All broadcasts originate fromRFA’s Washington, D.C., head-quarters. RFA also has offices inHong Kong, Taipei, PhnomPenh, Dharamsala, Bangkok,Seoul, and Ankara. Newsreports and call-in programsallow listeners to express viewsand exchange ideas.

RFA follows the strictest jour-nalistic standards of objectivity,integrity, and balance. InformingEast Asian listeners from allsocial strata and maintainingcredibility among them areRFA’s top priorities.

Highlights:

RFA re-launchedwww.rfa.org with substantiallyexpanded editorial and multi-media content, drawing in millions of visitors and raisingRFA’s already significant profilein the international media.

RFA’sMandarinServicebroke newgroundwith itsextensivecoverageof China’sdeadlycoalmines. RFAMandarin also aired exclusivereports on the growing ranks of“petitioners” in China—ordi-nary people seeking redress foralleged abuses of official power.

RFA’s Khmer Service madenews worldwide by reportingon the plight of Montagnardrefugees stranded in theCambodian jungle.

RFA’s Khmer, Vietnamese,Burmese, and Lao Servicesexhaustively covered the deadlybird flu virus and its impact onSoutheast Asia.

Employees: 251

FY 2004 Budget: $28.3 million

Weekly Hours Broadcast: 252

Languages: 9

Radio Free Asia

RFA PresidentRichard Richter

9

The Dalai Lama’s special Washington-based envoy Lodi Gyari answersquestions from RFA’s Tibetan Service,speaking directly to Tibetan listeners.

10 Newscaster Gilberto Rosal reads the news in a TV Martí studio.

The Office of CubaBroadcasting oversees theoperations of Radio Martí

and TV Martí. Radio Martí wenton the air May 20, 1985, and TVMartí went on the air March 27,1990. Both stations broadcastaccurate and objective news andinformation on issues of interestto the people of Cuba. Radio

Martíbroadcastsnews,

music, and avariety of fea-tures and news

analysis programsseven days a week, 24 hours aday. TV Martí produces eighthours of original programmingdaily, including two 30-minutenewscasts a day. Programs focuson news, sports, entertainment,and features on life in the U.S.and other countries. Other pro-grams include commentary and information about events inCuba and around the world topromote the cause of freedom in Cuba.

The Cuban government con-trols all mass media and com-munication, including editorialcontrol of newspapers, televi-sions, and radio. The restric-tions on the media make it diffi-cult for the Cuban people to getaccess to accurate news andinformation. Radio and TVMartí are dedicated to provid-ing a reliable source of newsand information that is accurateand objective, and to the pro-motion of freedom and democ-racy in Cuba, with a program-matic strategy based on thepromotion of human rights.However, the Cuban govern-ment jams Radio and TV Martí’sbroadcasts, and the BBG hasworked to identify options to

overcomethe jam-ming. Inadditionto broad-casting via short-wave, AM,aerostat,and air-borne trans-mission, OCBbroadcasts TV Martí onHispaSat, a direct-to-home satellite television service, and is working to establishadditional AM radio trans-mission capability within the Caribbean.

Highlights:

On April 5, 2004, RadioMartí launched its 24/7 all newsand information format.

On August 21, 2004, aPennsylvania Air NationalGuard aircraft, operating withinU.S. air space, broadcast Radioand Television Martí signalsinto Cuba. This mission isrepeated regularly.

Employees: 149

FY 04 Budget: $26.5 million

Weekly Hours Broadcast: 330

Languages: 1

Office of Cuba Broadcasting

OCB Director Pedro Roig

“We believe the people of Cuba should be free

from tyranny. We believe the future of Cuba is

a future of freedom. It’s in our nation’s interest

that Cuba be free. It’s in the neighborhood’s

interest that Cuba be free. More importantly,

it’s in the interest of the Cuban people that they

be free from tyranny. This strategy is a strategy

that encourages the spending of money to help

organizations to protect dissidents and to promote

human rights. It is a strategy that encourages a

clear voice of the truth being spoken to the Cuban

people through Radio and TV Martí.”

— President Bush, May 6, 2004, after meeting with

the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba

11

12 Journalists at work in the Alhurra Television newsroom.

On February 14, 2004,Alhurra (Arabic for “The Free One”), a

new Arabic-language satellite television channel, began broad-casting a comprehensive sched-ule of news and information tothe Middle East. The 24-hourchannel provides viewers withaccurate, objective and balancednews and information. Alhurra’stalk shows and current affairs

programsincludeexpertanalysisanddebate

on issues in the news, humanrights, freedom and democracy.Alhurra broadcasts from state-of-the-art studios outside ofWashington, D.C

Alhurra’s daily scheduleincludes three hour-long news-casts and 10-minute newsupdates and headlines everyhour, along with live coverageof breaking news as warranted.In addition to up-to-the-minutenews, Alhurra broadcasts awide variety of informationalprograms on health and personal fitness, sports, scienceand technology as well as entertainment news and specialevents. Alhurra also airs award-winning documentarieson a diverse range of topicsdesigned to appeal to a broad audience.

In April 2004, a second 24-hour channel was launchedspecifically for Iraq. Alhurra-Iraq’s current affairs programsconcentrate on Iraq’s develop-ing political system and thechanges facing the country during this critical time.

In the short time it has been on the air, Alhurra has

become animportantalternatesource ofnews andinforma-tion in theMiddleEast. Over40 percent ofthe region’s300 millionpeople have access to satellitetelevision. After only six monthson the air, ACNielsen surveys ineight Middle Eastern countriesreported that Alhurra’s diverseschedule of news, talk shows,debates, documentaries, andinformation and entertainmentprograms were reaching signifi-cant audiences throughout theMiddle East.

According to ACNielsen,Alhurra has a weekly viewer-ship of 39 percent among all Syrian adults. In all the countries surveyed, between 59 and 81 percent of Alhurra’sweekly viewers rankedAlhurra’s news reliable.

Since the launch of Alhurraand Alhurra-Iraq, the channelshave provided comprehensive,

balanced coverage of some of the biggest news storiesaffecting the Middle East including the reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan, theIsraeli-Palestinian conflict, the humanitarian crisis inSudan, and the global war on terrorism.

Employees: 167

FY 2004 Budget: $80.5 million

Weekly Hours Broadcast:

Alhurra—168

Alhurra-Iraq—168

Languages: 1

Middle East Broadcasting NetworksAlhurra Television

MBN PresidentBert Kleinman

A Lebanese man in Beirut watches anexclusive interview on Alhurra Television.(AP Photo/Mahmoud Tawil)

13

14 Radio Sawa newscasters Dana Hajomar (left) and Elmigdad Gebril.

Radio Sawa continues to be one of the most popular radio stations

in the Middle East. Though targeted to an audience underthe age of 30, it effectively com-municates with a broad segmentof the Arabic-speaking popula-tion through its program sched-ule of up-to-date news and information, interactive call-infeatures, and an upbeat mix ofWestern and Arabic popularmusic. Radio Sawa broadcasts

24/7 on FM and AM trans-mittersthroughoutthe region.

The network is committed tobroadcasting accurate, timely,and relevant news about theMiddle East, the world, and theUnited States utilizing the high-est standards of journalism.Radio Sawa seeks to be an exam-ple of the free marketplace ofideas, reflecting respect for theintelligence and culture of itsaudience in a style that is mod-ern and forward-looking.

Radio Sawa engages its audi-ence with an extensive scheduleof news and a variety of featureprograms. Some of these pro-vide an interactive forum fordiscussion of important politicaland social topics. The innova-tive Sawa Chat opinion featureand Ask the World Now, whichpresents answers to listeners’questions about American policies in the words of majorU.S. officials, encourage free discussion about issues thatmay not be reviewed openly inthe indigenous media. Other programs, such as Free Zone,The World Cares–Darfur andChallenges to Iraqis, focus on

humanrights anddemocracy.

In the second halfof 2003,Radio Sawabegan trans-mitting onFM in majorcities in Morocco. In the firstquarter of 2004, an ACNielsensurvey reported 73 percent ofall adults (15 and older) in thecities of Casablanca and Rabatlistened to Radio Sawa in a typical week.

Morocco is just one of thecountries in which Radio Sawareaches significant audiences.ACNieslen conducted surveysin five other countries in 2004.Weekly listening rates to RadioSawa on FM among adults 15and older by ACNielsen rangedfrom 27 to 73 percent, depend-ing on the country. Between 70to 88 percent of Radio Sawa’sweekly listeners in each coun-try surveyed considered thestation’s news reliable.

Radio Sawa broadcasts on FMin Morocco (Rabat, Casablanca,Tangier, Meknes, Marrakesh,Agadir andFes), Iraq(Baghdad,Basra, Mosul,Sulimaniya andErbil), Jordan(Amman and Ajlun),Palestinian territories(Ramallah),Kuwait (KuwaitCity), Bahrain(Manama),Qatar (Doha),U.A.E. (AbuDhabi and

Dubai), and Djibouti. RadioSawa broadcasts on AM toYemen and Sudan. Radio Sawais also available via the Arabsatand Nilesat satellite systemsand the Internet.

Employees: 30

FY 2004 Budget: $8.2 million

Weekly Hours Broadcast: 168

Languages: 1

Middle East Broadcasting NetworksRadio Sawa

Radio Sawa broadcasters AntoineIssa (left) and Zahrat Abuzaid workon a story in Sawa’s newsroom.

“. . . one of the great success

stories in the administration’s

war on terrorism.”

— The Washington Times,

on U.S. broadcasting to

the Arabic-speaking world

15

16 Maintainence workers at a BBG high-power transmitting array.

The InternationalBroadcasting Bureau provides administrative,

technical, policy, and programsupport to the Voice of Americaand Radio/TV Martí. It also provides marketing and trans-mission services for all the BBGbroadcast services. IBB stays onthe cutting edge of technology,managing a complex network of domestic and overseas transmitting stations as well as satellite and other Internet delivery systems. This net-work relays U.S. government-funded programs to trans-mitting stations and to AM, FM, shortwave, and cable communications facilities worldwide. The IBB Office of Policy produces the U.S. government editorials hearddaily on VOA broadcasts.

Highlights:

Installed and operated two in-country television transmitters and satellite uplinkfacilities in Iraq for Alhurra (thefirst in-country TV transmittersestablished by BBG/IBB).

Launched 12 hours per day of VOA’s Radio Aap Ki DunyaaAM trans-missions forPakistan.

Constructeda high power AM station inDjibouti thatbroadcasts RadioSawa around the clock to audi-ences in Sudanand Yemen.

Added new 24/7FM trans-mitters in Iraq andMoroccofor RadioSawa andin Iraq andAfghanistan for programming of VOA and RFE/RL.

Expanded direct, uncen-sored e-mail distribution toChina (now multi-millions per day) and to Iran (now tens of thousands per day) aspart of an effort to overcomeblockage of BBG Internet sitesby those countries.

Relocated three shortwavetransmitters to the IBB KuwaitTransmitting Station to enhanceRFE/RL and VOA broadcasts to Afghanistan

Employees: 938

FY 2004 Budget: $233 million (includes IBB & BBG)

International Broadcasting Bureau

17

A BBG overseas transmitting station employeegives local students a tour of the facility.

The year 2004 was a water-shed for the worldwidemarch of democracy.

Elections were held in, amongother countries, Afghanistan,Ukraine, and Indonesia. In Iraq,sovereignty was transferred twodays early in June 2004, leadingthe way toward elections in2005. The end of 2004 also setthe stage for historic elections inPalestine. And U.S. internationalbroadcasters covered it all—first-hand, on the front lines.

As part of its mission to pro-mote freedom and democracy,Alhurra provided its millions ofviewers with extensive report-ing and analysis of election

campaigns in Afghanistan,Tunisia, and Ukraine and thecampaigns leading to electionsin Iraq and Palestine. OnSeptember 29, AfghanistanPresident Hamid Karzai

discussed the upcoming presidential elections in anexclusive interview with RadioFree Afghanistan.

Radio Farda’s thorough cov-erage of elections in Iran drew

TOP: Alhurra Television covered the Iraq elections in January 2005. Alhurra had provided extensive coverage of the entire campaign; BOTTOM: Akbar Ayazi, Pashto Managing Editor of VOA’s Afghanistan Service, interviews Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai during his visit to the U.N. General Assembly Meeting in New York.

Advancing Freedom and Democracy

18

19

praise from pro-reform newspa-pers but vehement attacks fromconservative newspapers.

Of course, the world watchedthe United States of Americahold its own presidential election. On November 9, 2004,the White House web siteoffered this Fact of the Day:“U.S. Opens Worldwide Windowon Elections: Americans sharedour recent Presidential elec-tions with the world. Radio, television, and the Internetmade it possible for more people across the globe towatch the results.”

Throughout the campaign,Alhurra provided the most complete election coverage ofany Arabic-language TV net-work with live broadcasts eachnight from the Democratic andRepublican Conventions, live

broadcasts of the presidentialand vice presidential debatesand daily in-depth reports fromthe campaign trail. Extensiveanalysis and explanation of theU.S. electoral process was pre-sented in a weekly one-hourseries called “America Decides,2004.” Starting on electionnight, Alhurra broadcast 21 continuous hours of coveragewith reaction and analysis fromaround the world.

VOA Persian’s News andViews ran a special election-

night television broadcast ofthe November U.S. Presidentialelection. The program, hostedby Setareh Derakhshesh andAnoush Kangarloo, featured livereports from both Bush andKerry headquarters, a specialreport from Los Angeles on voting in the nation’s largestIranian community, analysis ofelection results, and headlineson voting throughout theUnited States.

“My father started his day at 0700 by listening to the

Voice of America . . . . The values of Western democracy

give people new and better possibilities.”

— Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko on

Ukrainian Inter TV (BBC Worldwide Monitoring)

RFE/RL journalistAndriy Dubchak’sphoto of demonstra-tors surrounding theUkrainian Cabinet of Ministers’building in Kyiv in December.

Television is a leadingsource of news and infor-mation for Iranians.

Satellite dishes are popular, withfamilies often sharing dishes. Forthe information-starved Iranianpeople, Voice of America broad-casts via satellite the daily tele-vision news program News andViews. This live Persian languageprogram airs in prime time featuring news on Iran, the U.S.and the world, with views fromregional experts, conversationswith experts inside Iran, a week-ly “View from Washington” thatexplains U.S. policy towards Iran,and a daily segment called “YourVoice” showcasing email feed-

back from viewers within Iranand the Iranian Diaspora. The“Inside Iran” segment is a mile-stone, featuring scores of phoneinterviews with personalitiessuch as Nobel Laureate ShirinEbadi, poet Simin Behbehani,student activists, human rights

advocates, journalists, and uni-versity professors.

2004 Coverage:

From Afghanistan:Comprehensive coverage ofPresident Hamid Karzai’sOctober 9 inauguration, with

live reportsfrom Kabul.

From Iraq:Four report-ing trips withinterviewsand specialcoverage. A reporterconductedon-site inter-

TOP: VOA Persian Service reporter Nazzy Beglari reporting live from Kabul on the Afghan presidential election;BOTTOM: Ambassador Mark Palmer (left), American Enterprise Institute’s Michael Ledeen (center), and VOA host Avi Davidi on Looking Ahead, an in-depth look at U.S.-Iranian relations.

Direct Satellite TV to Iran

20

21

views with Interim Presidental-Allawi, Interim ForeignMinister Khoshyar Zibari,and Hossein Khomeini, grandson of AyatollahKhomeini. Khomeini spokeabout the continued needfor the United States to helpin the democracy-buildingefforts in Iraq.

From the United States:Analysis of the annual

State Department Human Rights Report, which lists Iran as one of 101 countries that has violatedhuman rights.

Up-to-the-minute cover-age of events surroundingPresident Reagan’s death,including a special biographythat highlighted his early years;a history of state funerals inWashington, D.C.; and several

interviews with people waitingin line to pay final respects toMr. Reagan’s flag-draped coffinat the Rotunda building.

Meanwhile, Iran’s most visited and most popular web site, “orkut,” has cre-ated a web page and a chatroom devoted to News andViews anchor SetarehDerakhshesh. The chatrooms are created forinternational figures inarts, culture, politics, andhuman rights.

SetarehDerakhshesh on the set of News and Views, VOA’sdaily news programto Iran.

“The mass media has an

important responsibility in

keeping people informed.

Voice of America is one

such outlet that I hold in high

regard. Some outlets have an

agenda to further . . . .

However, VOA Persian has

always provided unbiased

and timely reports which

I listen to whenever I get

a chance.”

—Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Laureate

December 2004

U.S. international broad-casting is playing anincreasingly critical role

in the Global War on Terrorism.Audiences throughout theMiddle East and elsewhere arebeing exposed for the first timeto news and information aboutthe United States, its policies,and its values. In 2004, theBroadcasting Board ofGovernors launched Alhurra,and built on successful initia-tives including Radio Sawa andPersian TV News and Views andRadio Farda. These ground-breaking broadcasts, adding tothe valuable programming pro-vided by all our entities, have

demonstrated the impact ofinternational broadcasting infighting the War on Terrorism.

In July, the 9/11 Commissionreleased its report, stating:

“The United States must domore to communicate its mes-sage.… Recognizing that Araband Muslim audiences rely onsatellite television and radio,

TOP: VOA correspondent Challiss McDonough interviews Sheikh Hisham al-Dulaymi in Baghdad about his role in helping to negotiate the release of nine Indian workers and other civilians taken hostage in Iraq; BOTTOM: Alhurra news anchorsMohsine Jbabdi (foreground) and Bertha Nohra on the set of “The Global,” one of Alhurra’s primetime newscasts.

Fighting Terror With Truth

22

23

the government has begunsome promising initiatives intelevision and radio broadcast-ing to the Arab world, Iran, andAfghanistan. These efforts arebeginning to reach large audi-ences. The Broadcasting Board of Governors has asked

for much larger resources. It should get them.”

Indeed, the BBG is buildingupon the success of Alhurraand Radio Sawa in the non-Arabic-speaking Muslim world.Using existing distributionmethods while embracingdirect-to-home satellite radio

and television broadcasting, theBBG is working to reach theentire Muslim world with ideas,debate, and dialogue.

RFE/RL senior correspondent Ron Synovitz joins a patrol at thestart of “OperationMountain Storm”in southernAfghanistan, where he was anembedded reporterwith the U.S.Army’s 10thMountain Division.

“To cut through the barriers of hateful propaganda,

the Voice of America and other broadcast services

are expanding their programming in Arabic and

Persian—and soon, a new television service will

begin providing reliable news and information

across the region.”

— President Bush in his January 20, 2004,

State of the Union Address

Alhurra correspon-

dent Abdul-Hussein

Khazal was killed

outside his home in

Basra, Iraq, by gun-

men on February 9,

2005. Abdul-Hussein

had been a corre-

spondent for Radio

Sawa for nearly two

years and joined

Alhurra in April 2004.

24

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Chinese dissident Wang Dan visits RFA studios for an interview with RFA’s MandarinService; (from r to l) Reps. Kay Granger (R-TX), Edward Whitfield (R-KY), Bud Cramer (D-AL), Roy Blunt (R-MO), RogerWicker (R-MS), Ander Crenshaw (R-FL), and Jack Kingston (R-GA) at RFE/RL’s daily editorial meeting in Prague; RFABurmese Service Director Soe Thinn interviews an ethnic Wa woman; U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad inRFE/RL’s studio; Radio Sawa broadcaster Maha Rabie at the mic; TV Martí interviews Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) (center).

“Thank you, that with your programs, your

trustworthy words you showed me how to deal

with the situation in which Ukraine finds itself . . . .

I’m going to Kyiv to support Yushchenko.”

—An RFE/RL listener in Ukraine

“. . . I have received

tremendous strength at

this moment being able

to see TV Martí in my

home. I cannot explain

the happiness that I feel.”

— A viewer from Cuba,

whose brother is a

dissident being held

in a Cuban jail

“I would like to

congratulate your

channel. We as Arabic

people need such

a voice, the voice

of civilization, freedom

and democracy.”

—An Alhurra viewer

Reaching the World:U.S. International Broadcasting

25

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: Alhurra’s Ziad Noujeim interviews Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) for the talk show FreeHour; VOA Afghanistan Pashto Service stringer Ekram Shinwari interviews Kabul citizens on their views regarding the presi-dential elections; a photo sent to VOA Special English by members of a VOA fan club in Nigeria; President Bush appears onAlhurra in 2004 to discuss the Abu Ghraib photos; and Adriana Amat, host of VOA’s Spanish-language programs DesdeWashington and Foro InterAmericano.

“VOA is the light of

freedom for the people

of Cambodia.”

— Sam Rainsy

Cambodian political

opposition leader

“[RFA] understands exactly how

it is in Tibet. They broadcast each

day’s news. In fact, an event that

happens in Lhasa of which even

Lhasa residents are unaware gets

broadcast by RFA.”

—A listener from Tibet

Kenneth Y.

Tomlinson,

Chairman

Kenneth Y.Tomlinson is aformer directorof the Voice ofAmerica andhas more than35 years of journalistic experi-ence. He began his career as areporter for the Richmond Times-Dispatch in 1965. In 1968 hejoined the Washington bureau ofReader’s Digest, then served as acorrespondent in Vietnam, andeventually in Paris, where he covered events in Europe, Africa,and the Middle East. In 1982,President Ronald Reaganappointed Tomlinson Director of VOA, where he served until1984. After his tenure at VOA,Tomlinson returned to Reader’sDigest to serve as managing edi-tor. He was subsequently namedexecutive editor of the Digest in1985 and editor-in-chief in 1989.He retired from Reader’s Digest in1996. He has served as the chair-man of the National Commissionon Libraries and InformationScience (1985), as a member ofthe U.S. Board for InternationalBroadcasting (1986-1994), and on the Board of Directors of the Corporation for PublicBroadcasting (2000-present),where he is now chairman.

Joaquin F.

Blaya

Joaquin F. Blayais chairman ofBlaya Media,Inc. Since emi-grating to theUnited Statesfrom Chile 36

years ago, Blaya has held a num-ber of senior management posi-tions with media companies. Hehas served as chairman of RadioUnica, a Spanish-language radionetwork, and as CEO of theTelemundo Group, Inc., thenation’s second-largest Spanish-language television network.Blaya also served as president of Univision Holdings, Inc., thenation’s largest Spanish-languagemedia company. Before comingto the United States, he workedin several marketing and mediafirms. He is chairman of theUM/Sylvester ComprehensiveCancer Center. Blaya is also amember of the Board of Trusteesat the University of Miami.

Blanquita

Walsh Cullum

BlanquitaWalsh Cullumis chairman of the TalkRadio FirstAmendmentCommittee.She is former president of theNational Association of RadioTalk Show Hosts. Every yearsince 1995, she has been namedby TALKERS magazine, the tradepublication for the industry, asone of the Top 100 broadcastersin talk radio. Her nationally syndi-cated program, Newsbeat, isheard coast-to-coast on the RadioAmerica Network. She is the pres-ident and founder of the YoungAmerican Broadcasters Program.Cullum, the first Hispanic womanand the first radio talk show hostto serve on the BBG, is also amember of the National Momentof Remembrance Commission.Cullum frequently appears onnational television. She began her

Broadcasting Board of Governors

TOP: RFA President Richard Richterand BBG member Blanquita WalshCullum present the David Burke Awardto RFA Tibetan Service broadcasterLobsang Choephel; MIDDLE: mem-bers of the BBG and staff inspect apotential RFE/RL headquarters reloca-tion site in Prague; BOTTOM: BBGmember Jeffrey Hirschberg meets withKyiv Mayor Oleksandr Omelchenko, to discuss local rebroadcasting ofRFE/RL Ukrainian programs.

26

broadcasting career over 25years ago in San Antonio, Texas.She also has worked for theCoors Corporation and theNational Bureau of the Census.

D. Jeffrey

Hirschberg

D. JeffreyHirschberg is a partner at KaloramaPartners, LLC,a consultingfirm concernedwith transparency, corporategovernance, and risk assessment.He was director of the CorporateResponsibility Practice atHowrey, Simon, Arnold andWhite, LLP. Hirschberg retiredfrom Ernst & Young in 1999 asvice chairman/governmentalaffairs. Previously, he worked as a private attorney in bothWashington, D.C., and Milwaukee,Wisconsin. From 1972–1980,Hirschberg worked for the U.S.Justice Department as a specialattorney and deputy chief of thecriminal division’s special litiga-tion section. He also prosecutedcivil and criminal matters as an assistant U.S. Attorney inMilwaukee. He is a director of theU.S.-Russian Business Counciland a member of the Board ofAdvisors for the Foreign CorruptPractices Act Reporter.

Edward E.

Kaufman

Edward E.Kaufman ispresident of PublicStrategies, apolitical andmanagement

consulting firm based inWilmington, Delaware. Since1991, he has been a SeniorLecturing Fellow at DukeUniversity, teaching in TheSchool of Law, Fuqua School ofBusiness, and The SanfordInstitute of Public Policy. He isco-chair of the Duke UniversitySchool of Law’s Center for theStudy of the Congress. He is atrustee of the Christiana CareCorporation and is a member of the Board of Directors ofChildren and Families First andWHYY. Kaufman was formerlychief of staff to Joseph R. Biden,Jr. (D-DE).

Norman J.

Pattiz

Norman J.Pattiz isfounder andchairman ofWestwood One,America’slargest radionetwork and supplier of local TVcontent. Westwood One owns,manages or distributes the NBCRadio Network, CBS RadioNetwork, the Mutual Broad-casting System, CNN Radio,Metro Networks, Metro Trafficand Shadow Traffic. He serves asa member of the University ofCalifornia’s Board of Regents.Pattiz is a past president andexecutive board member of theBroadcast Education Associationand a trustee of the Museum of Television & Radio, theHollywood Radio & TelevisionSociety and the NARASFoundation. He is a member ofthe Council on Foreign Relationsand the Pacific Council ofInternational Relations.

Steven J.

Simmons

Steven J.Simmons ischairman andCEO of PatriotMedia andCommunica-tions, LLC, acable television company formedin 2002. It offers over 80,000 cus-tomers digital programming, highspeed Internet access and otheradvanced communications serv-ices. Simmons chairs the CableTV Entrepreneurs Club of 22 present and former cable CEO’s, previously served on theNational Cable TV AssociationBoard, and was voted a Cable TVPioneer. From 1982-1994, he waschairman and chief executive offi-cer of Simmons Communications,Inc. (SCI), which served cablesubscribers in 20 states with over50 offices nationwide. Prior tostarting SCI, Simmons servedalmost four years as an assistantand then as associate director onthe White House’s domestic poli-cy staff, which followed his fouryears as assistant and then asso-ciate professor, and author ofcommunications law articles atthe University of California.

Secretary

of State

Condoleezza

Rice

(2005–)Secretary Ricenow serves asthe ex-officiomember of thebipartisan Board since becomingthe 66th Secretary of State onJanuary 26, 2005. Prior to becom-ing Secretary of State, Dr. Riceserved as Assistant to the

27

TOP: BBG Chairman KennethTomlinson (right) and Norman Pattiz,Chairman of the BBG Middle EastCommittee, speak at an Alhurra/RadioSawa press conference; MIDDLE:BBG Governor Ted Kaufman (secondfrom right) and VOA Director DavidJackson (left) with Ejo Bite stringers in Rwanda Refugee Camp; BOTTOM:(from left) Governors StevenSimmons, Jeffrey Hirschberg, andBlanquita Cullum meet with VOA and IBB staff.

President for National SecurityAffairs, commonly referred to asthe National Security Advisor. She also was in government service from 1989 through March1991, the period of German reunification and the final days of the Soviet Union, when sheserved in the Bush Adminis-tration as Director, and thenSenior Director, of Soviet and EastEuropean Affairs in the NationalSecurity Council, and a SpecialAssistant to the President forNational Security Affairs.

Colin L.

Powell

(2001–2005)

Secretary ofState Colin L.Powell servedas an ex-officiomember of thebipartisanBoard. Powell was the formerChairman of the Joint Chiefs ofStaff and served as NationalSecurity Advisor under PresidentReagan. A decorated veteran ofthe United States Army, heserved two tours of duty inVietnam. Powell served as execu-tive assistant in both the Energyand Defense Departments and as senior military assistant to Defense Secretary CasperWeinberger. He retired from theU.S. Army in 1993. In 1997, Powellhelped found America’s Promise,an organization dedicated tobuilding the character and com-petence of the nation’s youth. Hecurrently serves as chairman of the organization, as well as serv-ing as a member of the Board ofTrustees of Howard Universityand of the Board of Directors ofthe United Negro College Fund.

Veronique

Rodman

(2003–2004)

VeroniqueRodman is the director ofpublic affairs at the Amer-ican EnterpriseInstitute for Public PolicyResearch (AEI), a Washington-based think tank. Before joiningAEI in 1999, Rodman worked formany years in broadcasting.From 1982-1995, she served as aproducer of ABC-TV’s This WeekWith David Brinkley. As a televi-sion news consultant, she helpedlaunch Fox News Sunday. Rodmanalso worked as vice president for the Cosmetic, Toiletries and Fragrance AssociationFoundation, and as programcoordinator for the SAIS-Novartis Prize for Excellence inInternational Journalism. Bornand raised in Egypt, Rodman alsoworked for Secretary of StateHenry Kissinger and for CSIS’sCongressional Leadership Groupon International Communication.Earlier she was assistant directorfor “The World of Islam” festivalin London.

Broadcasting Board of Governors

28

VOICE OF AMERICA

330 Independence Avenue, S.W.Washington, DC 20237Telephone: (202) 401-7000; Fax: (202) 619-1241Internet: http://www.voanews.com

RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY

1201 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.Washington, DC 20036Telephone: 202-457-6900; Fax: 202-457-6992Broadcast Headquarters:Vinohradska 1CZ-110 00 Prague 1, Czech RepublicTelephone: 420-221-121-111; Fax: 420-221-123-013Internet: http://www.rferl.org

RADIO FREE ASIA

2025 M Street, N.W.Washington, DC 20036Telephone: (202) 530-4900; Fax: (202) 530-7794Internet: http://www.rfa.org

MIDDLE EAST BROADCASTING NETWORKS

(Alhurra and Radio Sawa)7600 Boston BoulevardSpringfield, VA 22153Telephone: 703-852-9000Internet:http://www.alhurra.com; http://www.radiosawa.com

OFFICE OF CUBA BROADCASTING

(Radio and TV Martí)4201 N.W. 77th AvenueMiami, FL 33166Telephone: (305) 437-7000; Fax: (305) 437-7016Internet: http://www.martínoticias.com

Broadcasting Board of Governors StaffBrian T. Conniff, Executive DirectorCarol M. Booker, Legal Counsel/Ethics OfficerJanet Stormes, Chief Financial OfficerHoward Mortman, Senior AdviserBruce Sherman, Strategic Planning ManagerSusan Andross, Congressional CoordinatorOanh Tran, Special Projects OfficerJohn Giambalvo, Management and Program AnalystJames Morrow, Program Review and Strategic Planning Officer

Brian T. ConniffBBG Executive Director

Broadcasting Board of Governors330 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, DC 20237

Telephone: (202) 401-7000 Fax: (202) 619-1241

email: publicaffairs@ibb.gov Internet: http://www.bbg.gov

Alhurra in a Damascus cafe.