Voice of America to move part of news division to Hong Kong

[The Straight Story]

Voice of America to move part of news division to Hong Kong
By Shane Harris
[e-mail]

Voice of America, the international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. government, is shutting down the overnight shift of its central news division in Washington and replacing it with a new workforce in Hong Kong, which will be comprised partly of contractors.

News division employees were informed of the decision last Thursday and learned that overnight employees would take new jobs on the daytime and evening rotations, with a considerable decrease in salary, said Ted Iliff, the agency's associate director for central programming.


Iliff, who oversees VOA's news operations, said the move was prompted in part by budgetary concerns, and he bristled at the notion that the agency was "outsourcing" jobs to China, as the America Federation of Government Employees, the union that represents VOA, has charged.


"Outsourcing means a loss of jobs," Iliff said. "Nobody is losing a job." He said the agency was eyeing a plan to hire 10 new reporters in Hong Kong, half of whom would be contractors and would receive no federal benefits. The remaining five would have the status of VOA employees, but would receive fewer benefits than full-time workers.


VOA could save at least $300,000 annually by moving the night shift to Hong Kong, where the agency has a news center, Iliff said. The transition also would place a contingent of reporters in an area of the world where VOA devotes significant news coverage now, Iliff added.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0405/041305h1.htm

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. We are even outsourcing propaganda?

WOW!

[MADem]

2. Poppy sending some business over to his buds? nt

[stevedeshazer]

4. It's even worse than that.

[stevedeshazer]

3. Ted Iliff - former head of phony "Iraq Media Network" more:

here, from 2003: http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=7894

<snip>

In October, the Pentagon began soliciting bids for a $100 million renewable contract to run the Iraqi Media Network (IMN). The project is overseen by the U.S. military occupation (a.k.a. Coalition Provisional Authority, or CPA) and is rising out of the infrastructure of Saddam Hussein's state-run news network. The dream is for IMN to become a "world-class" media operation, including a 24-7 satellite channel, two land-based TV channels, two radio channels, a national newspaper, and TV and film studios in every major region of Iraq. To top it off, this producers' utopia is expected to provide "comprehensive, accurate, fair, and balanced news," instill a "code of ethics" in Iraqi journalists, and line up its own funding by the end of 2004.

Skeptics doubt IMN will be self-supporting in a year, given the highly competitive market for satellite TV in the Mideast, let alone the daunting security issues. But the Pentagon's call for bids is sanguine, suggesting as possible revenue sources "advertising sales, sponsorships, grants, international consortia, subscriptions, and foundations," provided that none of the above tarnish the network's objectivity. For now, IMN's $100 million budget, which is part of the $87.5 billion appropriation signed into law last week, comes from Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict, a division of the Defense Department that handles psy-ops.

on edit to add from the link: The current news director is a former CNN executive editor, Ted Iliff.
======================================================================
If you've read this far, you get the idea.

This is 100% BushCo propaganda.

[Moderator]

5. kick to combine

[question everything]

6. Voice of America sends jobs abroad

Voice of America sends jobs abroad

REUTERS

April 16, 2005

WASHINGTON – Voice of America, the global broadcaster funded by the U.S. government, is moving its Washington-based overnight shift to Hong Kong in a move that will beef up coverage and save money, VOA's chief said yesterday.

"This isn't about moving jobs out, this is about expanding coverage," VOA's David Jackson said by telephone.

"We're not moving to Hong Kong because it's cheaper labor, we're moving to Hong Kong because it's an increasingly important part of the world where we need a stronger presence," he said.

More..

Find this article at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050416/news_1n16voa.html

[wookie294]

7. Voice of America is now "Voice of CORPORATE America"

And the taxpaying American sucker continues to finance Empire for big business profits.

[tx_dem41]

9. I can't believe they hadn't done this years ago....

given the strategic importance of the region.

[Just Me]

8. What if I don't want a taxpayer-funded, government-controlled media?

I view that form of global propaganda as teetering on Communism. :shrug: I thought we were opposed to Communist activities. How is this propaganda machine NOT a Communist activity? :shrug:

Weird.

[DrDebug]

12. That's why they moved it to communist China ;) n/t

[area51]

10. "Nobody is losing a job."

Nazi Ted Iliff said:

"Nobody is losing a job."

Bullshit, Ted. You just said the night shift was being fired & replaced by cheaper labor.


-------------
"Prosperity is just around the corner." — Herbert Hoover
"The economy has turned a corner." — GW Bush

Herbert Hoover = GW Bush

Neither man cared about the Depression their economic policies created.

[tx_dem41]

11. Read the article again and tell me where he said...

that "the night shift was being fired".