[HCDX] Wrong Time to Give Up Voice of America Broadcasts to India

["Alokesh Gupta" <alokeshgupta@xxxxxxxxx>]

Wrong Time to Give Up Voice of America Broadcasts to India

Free MediaOnline.org & Free Media Online Blog September 16, 2006, San
Francisco -- In a show of bipartisanship, two powerful members of Congress
sent a letter to the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) demanding that
the BBG reverse its decision to terminate Voice of America (VOA) radio
programs in Hindi to India. The BBG is a bipartisan body which manages VOA
and several other taxpayer-funded U.S. international broadcasters.
The two Co-Chairmen of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian
Americans, Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) and Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), stressed in
their letter to the BBG that over 70% of the Indian population lives in
rural villages, many with no access to TV or the Internet. They expressed
surprise that the BBG wants to terminate VOA Hindi radio at the time when
the United States is expanding its strategic partnership with India. They
asked the BBG to allow VOA Hindi radio broadcasts to continue.
Chances are slim, however, that the Broadcasting Board of Governors will
reverse its decision on India or other countries, to which VOA programs have
been terminated or will soon cease, unless the whole Congress acts to
force the Board to give up these programming cuts.
Unfortunately for radio listeners in India and concerned Indian
Americans, the BBG enjoys strong support on this issue from Senator Joe
Biden, Jr. (D-DE), Senator Barak Obama's vice presidential running mate and
a powerful member of the U.S. Senate.
Edward "Ted" E. Kaufman, Senator Biden's former chief of staff who now works
on his vice presidential campaign, blocked attempts last week to resume
Voice of America (VOA) radio programs to Russia and other countries,
including India. As a Democratic member of the BBG, Ted Kaufman was
responsible earlier with other Democrats and some Republican members for
terminating VOA Russian-language broadcasts just 12 days before Russia
attacked Georgia on August 8. He had also voted for ending VOA broadcasts to
India and a number of other countries, including Georgia.
Last week, a Republican BBG member, radio journalist Blanquita Cullum,
had requested a vote on resuming VOA broadcasts in Russian and suspending
plans to stop broadcasts to other countries. India was one of the countries
named in Cullum's proposal. Ted Kaufman was one of the key BBG members who
refused to put the proposal to a vote, rejecting arguments that the earlier
decision to terminate the broadcasts was wrong and that their resumption
would send a strong message to Mr. Putin.
Ted Kaufman and others on Senator Biden's staff  seem to be hoping that the
mainstream media will not pay attention to this issue during the
presidential election campaign, thus allowing them to play politics with
U.S. international broadcasting to the benefit of the senator's constituents
and longtime friends.
Taking away radio broadcasting to Russia from VOA benefits another
BBG-managed broadcaster,  semi-private Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
(RFE/RL), which is incorporated in Delaware, Senator Biden's home state.
Senator Biden has been a strong supporter of his billionaire backer Norman
Pattiz. Founder and chairman of media empire Westwood One, Pattiz had served
on the BBG from May 2006 until March 2006. Pattiz pushed for the elimination
of many Voice of America services to fund his news and entertainment
broadcasting projects for the Middle East: Radio Sawa and Alhurra
Television, which have attracted much controversy.
Even after Norman Pattiz resigned from the Board in March 2006, Senator
Biden's former chief of staff continued to vote for eliminating or reducing
VOA radio broadcasts to India, Russia, Tibet and other countries while
supporting expanding broadcasts to the Middle East, Pakistan, and
Afghanistan.
*Indian Americans and other supporters of U.S. international broadcasting
and media freedom can contact Ted Kaufman through the BBG executive director
Jeff Trimble: jtrimble@xxxxxxxx 330 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC
20237, Tel: (202) 203-4400, Fax: (202) 203-4585.

Send a copy of your email to the BBG spokesperson Tish King,
publicaffairs@xxxxxxx, and request specifically that it be forwarded to Mr.
Kaufman.
*
*You may also wish to contact the Obama-Biden campaign staff, Tel. (866)
675-2008, and the Senate offices of Senator Biden, Tel: (202) 224-5042 Fax:
(202) 224-0139, and Senator Obama, Tel: (202) 224-2854 Fax: (202) 228-4260.
*
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-----------------------------
Alokesh Gupta
New Delhi,India

Copy of the letter by Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) and Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC)
can be accessed at : http://alokeshgupta.googlepages.com/image009.jpg
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