President Bush’s nominee as the nation’s top public diplomacy official, whose Senate confirmation has been blocked over concerns about anti-American bias in Voice of America’s programs, said yesterday that the broadcaster “tells the truth” even if it appears “harmful to U.S. interests.”
Breaking months of silence, James Glassman responded to VOA’s critics by vigorously defending its practices, though he did not directly address the delay on his nomination by Sen. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma Republican.
“We tell the truth, even if the truth might appear harmful to U.S. interests in the short run,” Mr. Glassman, chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), which is in charge of U.S. government broadcasts, said at the Heritage Foundation.
“Often we hear from critics, ‘Why are U.S. taxpayers paying for reports of bad news about America?’ ” he said. “First, Congress and the president have required us to work as an objective, balanced news organization. Second, our audiences are sophisticated, and we have nothing if we have no credibility.”
Mr. Bush nominated Mr. Glassman to succeed his friend Karen P. Hughes in December, and Mr. Glassman went before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for a hearing in late January.
But Mr. Coburn, who has sought for years to obtain English transcripts of Farsi-language U.S. government broadcasts from the BBG, put a hold on the nomination, The Washington Times reported in early April.
In his requests, the senator has cited reports of mismanagement of VOA’s Persian service that has allowed anti-American content to creep into broadcasts. He also has expressed concerns that the service gives too much time to guests with pro-Iranian views.
“The lack of transparency, accountability and guidance at the BBG has led to counterproductive broadcasts and misguided policies,” Mr. Coburn wrote last month in a letter to Stephen J. Hadley, Mr. Bush’s national security adviser.
The VOA management denies any anti-American bias in its Persian TV and radio programs and insists that it gives equal airing of opposing views.
Mr. Glassman, who had refrained from public comments until he is confirmed as undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, said yesterday that, despite some “challenges,” VOA’s programs are professional and balanced. He conceded, however, that they are meant to “influence” foreign audiences.
He specifically praised Radio Free Asia (RFA), another government broadcaster, for its reports on the recent upheaval in Tibet, which were picked up by many other news organizations.
“As RFA and VOA increased their combined radio broadcasting to Tibet from 12 to 16 hours a day, and VOA doubled its satellite television coverage from 1 to 2 hours daily, the broadcasts became a de facto Tibetan language news agency for the world,” he said.
Asked why the VOA and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty have lost popularity in Russia, Mr. Glassman blamed the government in Moscow.
“One of the reasons we are not popular now is because we’ve been kicked off about 70 affiliates — these are private radio stations that have contracted with us to carry our broadcasting. Under pressure from the regime, these affiliates have not renewed their contracts,” he said.
“We are unable to reach the audiences we were reaching before,” he added. “It’s a big problem for us.”
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