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IS IT TIME TO PERMIT AMERICANS TO WATCH U.S. INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING?
MAR 8, 2005 - 3:03PM PDT
by Alvin Snyder

In 1948, gasoline was 26 cents a gallon, a new car was $1,500, and you could drive it to see Bob Hope in the movie "Paleface," or head home to watch Milton Berle cavorting on your small, round, green TV screen. 1948 was also the year that Congress enacted the Smith-Mundt Act that has, for more than half a century, prevented Americans from understanding how a critically important part of the U.S. government carries out its responsibilities: Under that law, domestic distribution of U.S. government media content meant for overseas audiences was forbidden. That law, still in force, was designed in and for another era, when memories were still fresh of Hitler's propaganda pounded into audiences in Nazi Germany. And American commercial broadcasters, too, were all in favor of the Smith-Mundt Act; the nation's radio stations were concerned about competition from the government-funded Voice of America, so they did not want its signal heard in the U.S. As a consequence, even informed Americans are kept in the dark about how our tax dollars are used to promote U.S. interests through international broadcasting. "Bin Laden et al understand the power of media in waging the war, not just the tactical war but the more important war of ideas -- but what is the US doing?" a reader of this column recently asked. "Are they being effective? These are not rhetorical questions -- I really want to know how we're using media, either official channels like VOA or stations set up in Iraq and Afghanistan, quasi-channels like funded third parties, or pure propaganda efforts like leaflet campaigns and other activities... it distresses me that we're not hearing about more activities in this respect." True, there have been articles, including here about the rash of movies and TV shows from Hollywood about the military, especially the war in Iraq. But VOA and other U.S.-funded global broadcasting all remain a mystery to those who fund them and might be interested to monitor their progress. For example, the government's Arabic-language satellite television channel, Alhurra, blankets the Middle East with programs from the U.S., Iraq, Morocco and other Muslim countries, but it cannot be seen by viewers in the U.S. Alhurra is also hoping to extend its existing service into Europe before the end of the year, but it still cannot play in Peoria. Europe does offer rich potential for audience expansion for Alhurra, so the idea to extend its signal to additional Muslim TV viewers could make a great deal of sense. It could have even been carried to Europe when Alhurra began its service to the Middle East a year ago. There are 1.6 million Muslims in Britain, 1.8 million in Germany, five million in France, and millions more in other European countries. Morand Fachot of the European Broadcasting Union in Geneva told me that even in tiny Switzerland the Arab audience is substantial. "In the summer there is a large influx of visitors from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States,” Fachot said. “This…... FULL TEXT
 
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