(Voice of America)
Times have indeed changed for USG-supported international broadcasters. If the words Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty make you think of the snap, crackle, and pop of short wave radio, then PDAA’s February 28 briefing and tour at VOA, changed all that. PDAA members and their guests had the opportunity to hear and see first-hand today’s international broadcasting.
International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) Director Dick Lobo and VOA Director David Ensor spoke and took questions, followed by a tour of VOA’s broadcast facilities. They discussed the state of U.S. government-supported international broadcasting under the presidentially-appointed Broadcasting Board of Governors.
The Board has given Lobo additional authority to manage day-to-day operations, including fostering cooperation across the broadcast organizations (VOA, Radio and TV Marti, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and the Arabic-language Radio Sawa and TV Alhurra).
Lobo, appointed head of the IBB in September 2010, is a veteran of commercial and public broadcasting, including stints as head of the Florida Public Broadcasting Service, PBS station WEDU in Tampa/St. Petersburg/Sarasota, and WTVJ in Miami. He also served as director of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting in the mid-1990s.
Ensor, who was appointed VOA director in mid-2011, has had an extensive career in journalism and communications, most recently serving as Director of Communications and Public Diplomacy at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. He previously reported for NPR, ABC TV, and CNN, where he was National Security Correspondent from 1998 to 2006.
