Executive Summary

Marrying the Mission to the Market

Marrying the mission to the market expresses the fundamental strategy of U.S. international broadcasting today. The challenge facing the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) is to discern how to reach large audiences in complex, competitive media environments worldwide with straight news as well as perspectives on American culture and information on official U.S. government positions and policies.

The BBG supervises all civilian, non-military international broadcasting funded by the U.S. government, including Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (Radio and TV Marti). The Board became an independent Federal entity as of October 1, 1999 with 3200 employees and a budget of $535 million in FY 2002.

Mission and Vision

The BBG mission is:

To promote and sustain freedom and democracy by broadcasting accurate and objective news and information about the United States and the world to audiences overseas.

The long-term vision for the BBG is:

A flexible, multi-media, research-driven U.S. International Broadcasting System, incorporating regional networks and single-country operations, that reaches mass audiences by programming the distinct content of the Voice of America and the surrogate services through state-of-the art formats and the distribution channels - AM, FM, audio and video satellite, shortwave, and the Internet -- that our audiences use and we control.

Focus

The BBG now supports 65 broadcast languages through over 90 language services (counting VOA and the surrogates separately) to more than 125 markets worldwide. Congress has highlighted the need for the BBG to concentrate on supporting democracy and cover issues related to the establishment of democratic institutions. The focus is clear: U.S. international broadcasting should prioritize those countries and regions that lack democracy or are still making the transition to democracy and are consequently still vulnerable.

Broadcast Language Priorities
In its broad support of U.S. foreign policy, the BBG sets three major priorities in the post-9/11/01 time frame of this strategic plan:

• to provide accurate and objective news and information to priority areas in support of the war against terrorism;

• to provide clear and accurate information to regions of the world where freedom of information is suppressed or denied, or to areas that lack freedom and democracy;

• to serve humanitarian efforts by assisting nations in crisis, or are suffering epidemics and illiteracy.

Key Factors

Two key factors influence the BBG in achieving its vision and continued success in accomplishing the mission – market challenges and internal challenges.

Market Challenges:

• Branding and Positioning – create a distinctive contemporary identity.

• Target Audiences – determine language service-by-language service target audiences.

• Formats and Programs – update outmoded formats and programs.

• Delivery and Placement – ensure broadcasts are easily seen and heard.

• Marketing and Promotion – improve awareness levels so that audiences know where and when to tune in and what type of information they will receive if they do.

• Technology – maximize use of new media.

Internal Challenges:

• Consolidate and rationalize – leverage all of our resources to maximize impact in our priority markets.

• Coordinate among BBG entities – increase coordination and cooperation among the many disparate broadcasting components, each of which has its own history and tradition.

• Resources – allocate resources in a fair and comprehensive manner.

• Market competitiveness – strengthen our multi-media profile by funding and conducting research, carrying out marketing and promotion, securing talented language-qualified journalists, broadcasters and technicians.

• Intergovernmental Relations – establish an overall relationship of mutual respect, trust, and cooperation within the U.S. government’s foreign policy community, while safeguarding the BBG’s journalistic independence.

Strategic Goals and Objectives

The over-arching aim of the Broadcasting Board of Governors is to achieve an increasingly effective international broadcasting system that reaches significant audiences where most needed in support of U.S. strategic interests. It is in the context of this broad purpose that the following goals and objectives should be considered.

> Goal I – Design a Broadcasting Architecture for the 21st Century.

• Create the Worldwide U.S. International Broadcasting System

• Realign the BBG Organizational Structure

> Goal II – Expand the U.S. International Broadcasting System through Regional Networks and Single-Country Priority Initiatives

• Launch the Middle East Radio Network and Make It a Success

• Harmonize Radio Free Afghanistan and VOA in the Afghanistan Radio Network

• Pioneer Anti-terrorism Broadcasting

• Reach the Two Continental Giants: Russia and China

> Goal III -- Employ Modern Communication Techniques and Technologies

• Accelerate Multi-media Development, Infusing More TV and Internet into the Mix

• Adopt the Principles and Practices of Modern Radio "Formatics"

• Control the Distribution Channels that Audiences Use

• Go Local in Content and Presence

• Tailor Content to the Audience

• Drive Innovation and Performance with Research

> Goal IV – Preserve our Most Precious Commodity – Credibility – and Ensure Overall Programming Excellence

• Maintain the Firewall

• Update and Enforce Journalism Standards

• Perform Periodic Program Reviews of All Broadcast Services

> Goal V – Revitalize "Telling America’s Story" to the World

• Be a Model of a Free Press and Democracy in Action

• Concentrate on Those Aspects of America that Research Tells Us Interest Individual Audiences

• Present Targeted Editorials that are Relevant to Local and Regional Concerns

• Use Formats, Presentation Techniques, and On-air Presence that Will Appeal to Audiences

• Maximize Interactive Use of the Internet as a Ready Reference Source for Presidential Speeches and Other Vital Documents

> Goal VI – Shore up Our Surge Capability

• Upgrade Existing Shortwave Transmitter and Support Systems to Ensure Backbone of Our Surge Capability

• Develop a Rapid-response Capability – Low power, Portable AMs and FMs.

Principal Performance Indicators Used by the BBG

The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) requires that all government agencies establish indicators, or measures, that provide a meaningful reading of how good the entity is doing. The BBG’s performance indicators are a best effort to measure each broadcast element’s level of effectiveness now and where it is targeted to be in the future. The indicators are verified and validated through independent evaluations of the different measurement techniques.

• Weekly Listening Rates
• Program Quality
• Signal Strength
• Satellite Network Performance Index
• Affiliations
• Internet Use
• Transmission Network Consumable Expense
• Target Audiences
• Cost per Listener
• Awareness

Key Values

The key values held by the organization and each employee as we pursue our mission and vision are:

• Integrity

• Innovation

• Achievement

• Service

• Teamwork

• Sense of Urgency

• Diversity

Now, more than ever, we must marry the mission to the market. The 2002-2007 Strategic Plan provides a framework to meet this challenge.