The president’s 2013 budget proposal this week was big news in Washington, but for those who care about public diplomacy and international broadcasting, the most interesting parts involved the Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Radio & TV Marti, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks of Radio Sawa and Alhurra TV.

CCTV America, from its studio in Washington, D.C., is part of Beijing’s outreach of telling its own story through its own voice. The expansion has been dramatic and expensive. They are covering stories of Chinese interest that are not covered by Western media or not covered in a way the Chinese want.

20 years ago when the Berlin Wall fell. Twenty years have gone by, several countries have graduated into market democracy, into the international institutions – the EU, NATO – and we felt it was time to sort of normalize the assistance for those countries in the regular budget so that we no longer have a separate carve-out.

The administration is proposing to trim assistance to Europe, Eurasia and Central Asia in order to bolster spending in areas given higher priority by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The Middle East would gain, with the creation of a special $770 million fund to support political and economic reform in the aftermath of the Arab Spring.

Thought leaders from the worlds of technology and government are seeking next-generation answers to a range of challenges, including how U.S. international broadcasting can add renewed luster to its global brands. Meeting at the Washington bureau, experts discussed how digital innovations might help create new audiences in specific markets.

For FY 2013 the BBG has requested more than $720 million for U.S. international broadcasting, a decrease of 4.2 percent from FY 2012. This request supports U.S. foreign policy priorities. The proposals in it include retooling to reach strategically important audiences from Cuba to China and build out the agency’s digital infrastructure.

The Obama administration on Monday proposed $2.4 billion in financial aid to Pakistan for the fiscal year 2013. Of this, $2.2 billion is in assistance to strengthen democratic and civil institutions that provide a bulwark against extremism and support joint security and counter-terrorism efforts.

It is true that the Act makes clear Congress wants the United States “to use broadcasting to support freedom and democracy in a rapidly changing international environment.” But, interestingly, that wording is contained in the last of five “findings and declarations” approved by Congress.