Bill HR4490, which has passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee with bipartisan support, would make Voice of America (VOA) officially a designated “public diplomacy” service, as well make additional changes in US international news communications–as a reaction against the alleged media manipulations of “countries like Russia.”
VOA would be mandated to “provide a sharper focus on explaining the United States, US government policies, and international news that affects the United States. The VOA’s role would be “public diplomacy” as well as providing objective, comprehensive news coverage. There is also a new VOA director provision that sets out the responsibilities–as well as the qualification requirements–of that position, and sets the VOA director under the supervision of the USICA CEO.
Currently, the tax-funded VOA has a mission expressed in the VOA Charter, which was created in 1960 and signed into law by President Gerald Ford in 1976. The Charter, which states that “to be effective, [VOA] must win the attention and respect of listeners,” and sets out three principles: 1) serving as a consistently reliable and authoritative news source which is “accurate, objective and comprehensive;” 2) represent America in a balanced and comprehensive way;” and 3) will present US policies clearly and effectively, as well as responsible discussions and opinion on the policies. The VOA Charter is not included in the bill, but “elements are integrated into the bill’s new VOA principles,” according to the report. The bill alters the mission of VOA by explicitly stating that VOA has a role in supporting American “public diplomacy” and government policies.
VOA was created in 1942 as part of the Office of War Information and with a mission of countering Nazi and Japanese propaganda. VOA became part of the State Department during the Cold War, and then became part of the US Information Agency, countering Communist propaganda in East Germany and other Soviet-backed states. VOA has been overseen by the BBG since 1999.
By Day Blakely Donaldson
Related:
Big Changes in US News Communications if Bill HR4490 Passes
Sources:
Congressional Research Service report