	Background

The Broadcasting Board of Governors oversees the efforts of all  nonmilitary international broadcasting, which reaches an estimated  audience of more than 100 million people each week in more than 125  markets worldwide. Created by the Bush  Administration and the Board, the Middle East Television Network draws  its mission from the core purpose of U.S. international broadcasting,  which is to promote and sustain freedom by broadcasting accurate and  objective news and information about the United States and the world to  audiences overseas. Currently,  42 of the Board’s 74 language services (or 57 percent) target the same  audiences in the same languages. Among the broadcast entities, funds are roughly equally divided  among VOA and the four other U.S. broadcasting entities. As we reported in July 2003, the Board has adopted a  new approach to broadcasting that is designed to overcome several of  these challenges. To address this  problem, the Board has adopted a “single system” approach to  broadcasting whereby broadcast entities are viewed as content providers  and the Board assumes a central role in tailoring this content to meet the  demands of individual markets. Recent Board initiatives such  as Radio Sawa and Alhurra have addressed these deficiencies in priority  markets and the Board has required that all broadcast services, to the  extent feasible, address these issues as well. New Initiatives Address Marketing Challenges

The Board’s strategic plan comments openly on the marketing challenges  facing U.S. international broadcasters, including that many language  services lack a unique reason for listeners or viewers to tune in; few  language services have identified their target audience—a key first step in  developing a broadcast strategy; many language services have outmoded  formats and programs with an antiquated, even Cold War, sound and style;  and three-quarters of transmitted hours have poor or fair signal quality. Language Service Review Used to Reallocate Millions to Higher Priority Broadcast Needs

The Board manages its limited resources through its annual language  service review process which is used to address such issues as how  resources should be allocated among services based on their priority and  impact, how many broadcast services should be carried in total, what  degree of overlap and content duplication should exist among services,  and whether services should be eliminated because they have fulfilled  their broadcast mission. Since 1999, the Board has  identified more than $50 million in actual or potential savings through the  language service review process by moving resources from lower to higher  priority services, by eliminating language services, and by reducing  language service overlap and transmission costs. Strategic Planning and Performance Management System Revised to Place a Greater Focus on Results

Mr. Chairman, the Board has revised its strategic planning and  performance management system to respond to the recommendations in  our July 2003 report aimed at improving the measurement of its results. Our report also  recommended that the Board establish key performance indicators  relating to the perceived credibility of U.S. broadcasters, whether  audiences are aware of U.S. broadcast offerings in their area, and whether  VOA is achieving its mission of effectively explaining U.S. policies and  practices to overseas audiences. Reaching Large Audiences in Key Markets

In response to our recommendation for a goal that would measure  progress in reaching large audiences in markets of strategic interest to the  United States, the Board replaced the seven strategic goals in its plan with  a single goal focused on this core objective.
Why GAO Did This Study

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, were a dramatic reminder of the importance of cultivating a better understanding of the United States and our policies with overseas audiences. U.S. public diplomacy activities include the efforts of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees all nonmilitary U.S. international broadcasting by the Voice of America (VOA) and several other broadcast entities. Such broadcasting helps promote a better understanding of the United States and serves U.S. interests by providing overseas audiences with accurate and objective news about the United States and the world. GAO has issued three reports over the past 4 years examining the organizational, marketing, resource, and performance reporting challenges faced by the Board. Our recommendations to the Board have included the need to address the long-standing issue of overlapping language services (that is, where two services broadcast in the same language to the same audience) and to strengthen the Board's strategic planning and performance by placing a greater emphasis on results. The Board has taken significant steps to respond to these and other recommendations.

What GAO Found

The Broadcasting Board of Governors has responded to a disparate organizational structure and marketing challenges by developing a new strategic approach to broadcasting which, among other things, emphasizes reaching large audiences through modern broadcasting techniques. The existence of five separate broadcast entities has led to overlapping language services, duplication of program content, redundant newsgathering and support services, and difficulties coordinating broadcast efforts. The Board's new approach seeks to overcome these problems by treating all broadcast entities as part of a "single system" it oversees to ensure that broadcast content meets the needs of individual markets. Other challenges include a lack of target audiences within broadcast markets, outmoded program formats and styles, poor signal delivery in many areas, and low audience awareness in several major markets. The Board's approach calls for new initiatives (such as Radio Sawa broadcasts to the Middle East) and existing language services to systematically address these deficiencies. To streamline its operations, the Board has used its annual language service review to address such issues as how resources should be allocated among language services on the basis of their priority and impact, what degree of overlap should exist among services, and whether services should be eliminated because they have fulfilled their broadcast mission. Since 1999, the Board has identified more than $50 million in actual or potential savings through this process. In response to our recommendations on the Board's strategic planning and performance management efforts, the Board revised its strategic plan to make reaching large audiences in strategic markets the centerpiece of its performance reporting system. The Board also added broadcaster credibility and audience awareness to its array of performance measures and plans to add a measure of whether VOA is meeting its mandated mission.