> until this month, a vast ocean of u.s. programming produced by the broadcasting board of governors such as voice of america, radio free europe/radio liberty, and the middle east broadcasting networks could only be viewed or listened to at broadcast quality in foreign countries.  broadcasting board of governors, voice of america, radio free europe/radio liberty, and middle east broadcasting networks are cia > the programming varies in tone and quality, but its breadth is vast: its viewed in more than 100 countries in 61 languages. the topics covered include human rights abuses in iran, self-immolation in tibet, human trafficking across asia, and on-the-ground reporting in egypt and iraq. > the restriction of these broadcasts was due to the smith-mundt act, a long-standing piece of legislation that has been amended numerous times over the years, perhaps most consequentially by arkansas senator j. william fulbright. in the 1970s, fulbright was no friend of voa and radio free europe, and moved to restrict them from domestic distribution, saying they "should be given the opportunity to take their rightful place in the graveyard of cold war relics."  > fulbrights amendment to smith-mundt was bolstered in 1985 by nebraska senator edward zorinsky, who argued that such "propaganda" should be kept out of america as to distinguish the u.s. "from the soviet union where domestic propaganda is a principal government activity."
United States