The Board for International Broadcasting (BIB) was a commission established in the United States as a privately incorporated organization in 1973 by the International Broadcasting Act of 1973, Public Law 93-129, on October 19, 1973. This primarily covered

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

(RFE/RL), established as an option to USSR broadcasting during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. In 1994, President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

signed the

International Broadcasting Act Signed in law in 1994 by U.S. President Bill Clinton, this act was meant to streamline the U.S. international broadcasting and provide a cost-effective way to continue Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty, Voice of America, and Radio Marti.Raghavan, ...

into law. This act disbanded the BIB and put control of the RFE/RL under the newly created bipartisan

Broadcasting Board of Governors The United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), known as the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) from 1994 to 2018, is an independent agency of the United States government that broadcasts news and information for regions of the world wi ...

(BBG).Raghavan, Sudarsan V., Stephen S. Johnson, and Kristi K. Bahrenburg. "Sending cross-border static: on the fate of Radio Free Europe and the influence of international broadcasting", Journal of International Affairs, Vol. 47, 1993.

History

Created in 1973 to oversee

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

and

Radio Liberty Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

during the

Nixon Administration Richard Nixon's tenure as the 37th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1969, and ended when he resigned on August 9, 1974, in the face of almost certain impeachment and removal from office, the ...

. It was established as a recommendation of the Milton Eisenhower Commission to help promote the mission of RFE/RL.Woolley, John and Gerhard Peters, "The American Presidency Project nline. Santa Barbara, CA. Available from World Wide Web

BIB took over financing and operation of broadcasting stations formerly funded by the CIA. It was replaced by the BBG, who oversees RFE/FL,

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...

, Radio Marti and others.

Mission

The aim of the board is: "to provide an effective instrumentality for the continuation of assistance to Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty and to encourage a constructive dialog with the peoples of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Eastern Europe." Members of the board, according to the bi-laws are "selected by the President from among Americans distinguished in the fields of foreign policy or mass communications" and cannot be concurrently full-time employees of the government.

Chairmen

Steve Forbes Malcolm Stevenson Forbes Jr. (; born July 18, 1947) is an American publishing executive and politician who is the editor-in-chief of ''Forbes'', a business magazine. He is the son of longtime ''Forbes'' publisher Malcolm Forbes and the grandso ...

was appointed in 1985 as the chairman and served during the

Reagan Administration Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following his landslide victory over ...

. He was reappointed by President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

.Encyclopædia Britannica

Accessed on 2011-03-25] Dr. John A. Gronouski, professor of economics and public affairs at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

and former U.S. Postmaster General, served as chairman of the board during the

Carter Administration Jimmy Carter's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 39th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Jimmy Carter, his inauguration on January 20, 1977, and ended on January 20, 1981. Carter, a Democratic Party ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Board For International Broadcasting Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Government agencies established in 1973 1973 establishments in the United States 1994 disestablishments in the United States Defunct independent agencies of the United States government