Don’t Gut America’s Voice and Turn It into Propaganda

[Commentary] It’s often the little things that lead up to the big moments. At present, there’s legislation that’s about to head to President Barack Obama for signature that qualifies as one of those moments. Embedded in the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is language aimed at streamlining the bureaucracy of the United States’ government-funded international media outlets. The proposed fix, the result of a hodgepodge compromise between the Hill, the White House, and some Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) officials, is to replace the part-time BBG with a full-time CEO who would have full authority to run the show.

The simplicity and likely efficiency of the new arrangement fits the pro-business zeitgeist of the new administration — except for one thing. The key to the success of US broadcasting has always been its professional reporting in alignment with democratic values. So, here’s a message to the president-elect: If it’s a bargain, if the brand is strong, and if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. Our adversaries’ half-truths may sometimes look successful, but that does not mean we want to emulate them. American foreign broadcasting must continue to reflect the American values of free speech, openness to criticism, and tolerance of divergent opinions. That is why our democratic system is better, and in the long run, that is why it will win.

[Jeffrey Gedmin is a senior fellow at Georgetown University and a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. He was president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty from 2007 to 2011.]