Muffling the Voice of America

[SOURCE: Boston Globe, AUTHOR: John J. Schulz, College of Communication at Boston University]
[Commentary] It is with growing dismay that I read news of the latest spending plans being discussed by members of the Bush administration and their advisers for how best to influence Muslims and attitudes in the Muslim world. Congress is being asked for an additional $75 million to ''support democracy" in Iran, and unnamed State Department officials are saying it will be used to ''improve radio broadcasts, begin satellite broadcasts, and include money for scholarships for Iranian students to come to the United States." Nowhere is VOA mentioned. While abandoning VOA as a ''relic of the Cold War" and ignoring nearly 50 years of reputation and good standing among Middle Eastern audiences (some of whom get VOA on local AM or FM relay broadcasts, as well as shortwave), the White House is casting about for ways to connect with Islamic audiences globally when the answer is just 10 blocks away at the VOA headquarters.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/02...