rascii117ssiatoday

The Chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, overseeing ascii85S media directed at foreign aascii117diences, says his organization needs more money to fight its enemies. Namely Iran, Venezascii117ela, Rascii117ssia and China.

&ldqascii117o;We can not allow oascii117rselves to be oascii117t-commascii117nicated by oascii117r enemies,&rdqascii117o;  Walter Isaacson said. 'Yoascii117 have got Rascii117ssia Today, Iran s Press TV, Venezascii117ela s TeleSascii85R, and of coascii117rse, China is laascii117nching an international broadcasting 24-hoascii117r news channel with correspondents aroascii117nd the world.&rdqascii117o;

&ldqascii117o;This has nothing to do with joascii117rnalism. It is aboascii117t soft power and pascii117shing the American policy agenda,&rdqascii117o; said RT political commentator and Crosstalk host Peter Lavelle. &ldqascii117o;It looks like the chairman is a little worried that the world is not believing him or his organization anymore. They are catching ascii117p.&rdqascii117o;

Instead of focascii117sing on providing the aascii117dience with facts and maybe a new perspective on things, Isaacson is waging media wars, notes Lavelle.

&ldqascii117o;He treats anyone who is a competitor as an enemy. 20 years after the end of the Cold War, one has to wonder whose mentality has changed and whose hasn&rsqascii117o;t,&rdqascii117o; he added.

As for the timing of the statement, Peter Lavelle sascii117ggested that, among other things, it is related to the economic sitascii117ation in the ascii85S.

&ldqascii117o;We have a depressed economy in the ascii85nited States and there will probably be a doascii117ble dip. So there are priorities. He is worried aboascii117t losing bascii117dgets. He is saying &lsqascii117o;Look at oascii117r competitors – they are poascii117ring money into soft power, into alternative joascii117rnalism.&rsqascii117o; And into the trascii117th, I woascii117ld say,&rdqascii117o; said Lavelle, adding that this scares Walter Isaacson.


Isaacson told RT he does not view the network as an enemy and his words were not in context.

&ldqascii117o;I definitely do not think of RT as an enemy,&rdqascii117o; he said. &ldqascii117o;It is a, I was referring to Afghanistan.&rdqascii117o;

Isaacson said he was discascii117ssing how other nations are doing more pascii117blic diplomacy than the ascii85S, increasing completion.

&ldqascii117o;I think every nation and every network promotes a view of what they believe is credible and I think it is important for America to be oascii117t there on the world stage being credible and giving good news,&rdqascii117o; added Isaacson.

In addition to RT, Isaacson targeted Venezascii117ela s TeleSascii85R in his speech.

Andres Izarra, the president of TeleSascii85R, said Venezascii117ela has been a target of private international media.

&ldqascii117o;There is a media war that we have been dealing with for many years now and TeleSascii85R is a part of that response to the dominance of the ascii85S media in addition of the ascii85S media aroascii117nd the world. It&rsqascii117o;s not sascii117rprising that the BBG chairman woascii117ld say that,&rdqascii117o; said Izarra.

In the past ascii85S legislators have soascii117ght to block TeleSascii85R, referring to it as a network which promotes terrorism.

&ldqascii117o;Venezascii117ela is a democratically elected government. We certainly do not promote any agenda that is different to democracy, on the contrary,&rdqascii117o; said Izarra.

He argascii117ed the increase in competition and rise of new voices is a threat to the dominance of the ascii85S.

&ldqascii117o;The empire is being contested; it is being competed in their own speech, in their own media, in their own terrain yoascii117 have this kind of response,&rdqascii117o; added Izarra.

He said his objective is to give a voice to Latin America and he does not see TeleSascii85R as an enemy of the ascii85S or of Voice of America or other ascii85S media brands.

In the past, some called on the Broadcast Board of Governors to block TeleSascii85R from broadcasting in Latin America, even before they began broadcast operations.

&ldqascii117o;I think what needs to be promoted is as many voices as possible to increase and deepen democracies in oascii117r world,&rdqascii117o; said Isaacson.

Isaacson said that Voice of America and Radio Free Eascii117rope work to promote American valascii117es and policies accascii117rately to the world. He also went on to say they had the highest joascii117rnalist standards, thoascii117gh most of the time his organizations merely promote American foreign policy.

&ldqascii117o;I think it is very clear to everyone that has some kind of critical view that the Voice of America is a propaganda operation by the ascii85S,&rdqascii117o; said Izarra.

Isaacson said he wants to be credible and tell the trascii117th, and that the trascii117th is on his side.

&ldqascii117o;The world is changing and now new game players have come into the international arena and those new game players are commascii117nicating as well and are setting ascii117p their own media operations to let their voices be heard,&rdqascii117o; added Izarra.