There鈥檚 a lot of blood on the floor in Washington these days, so the reader may not be focused on the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM). But it鈥檚 worth a look, because what is happening to this system could have dire consequences for America鈥檚 already battered reputation in the world.
USAGM (formerly known as the Broadcasting Board of Governors, or BBG), has never been easy to manage. It contains five different networks鈥擵oice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Radio Free Asia (RFA), the Middle Eastern Broadcasting Networks (MBN), and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB)鈥攅ach with its own distinctive history and culture.
The system as a whole has always been run as a loose confederation of rivals, each headed by a president with robust decision-making authority. Today all that has changed, because owing to a reform put in place three years ago but not acted on until now, the confederation has turned into a dictatorship.
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