The strategic plan that never was
A proposal with measurable, not just aspirational, objectives
In a previous post, I mentioned that, as a Governor on the former Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), I drafted a strategic plan for the agency with the assistance of Rob Bole, who was then the chief strategy officer for the BBG. This was not a public document, but I shared it with all interested stakeholders and relevant parties, including Congressional staff, who were considering legislative options to address the structural and management issues at the BBG.1 They were uncertain about the specific approach they wanted, but they were eager to do something.
A draft of our written strategic plan was ready for comment in mid-April 2014. This was a few days before the first discussion draft of a proposed bill of what would eventually be H.R. 4490, a bill to remake the BBG into the United States International Communications Agency and the Freedom News Network. At this point, the bill didn’t yet have a number, and the organization for the consolidated grantees—Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Radio Free Asia (RFA), and Middle East Broadcasting Network (MBN)—wasn’t yet named.2 Liberty News Network was initially proposed for the consolidated grantee, but that was taken. The Freedom News Network (FNN) was then selected and appeared in H.R. 4490 when it was introduced.
I wrote the strategic plan because the then “current” strategic plan wasn’t that strategic nor much of a plan. I wanted to replace the current “strategic plan,” nominally for 2012-2016. The BBG Strategic Plan for 2012-2016 led with “a dozen key tactical steps” that were aspirational, often not tactical but strategic, and not measurable beyond determining success or failure. These steps included:
“Unify the Agency into one organization, many brands”
“Launch a Global News Network”
“Seize targeted growth opportunities”
“Focus on the global democracy wave and pockets of extremism”
“Rationalize program delivery”
“Elevate and expand social media innovation”
“Employ leading-edge communication techniques and technologies”
“Engage the world in conversation about America”
After several pages of narratives that didn’t provide any actionable or accountable strategic guidance, pages 11-19 of the 20-page document discussed these “key tactical steps,” often showing how the steps involved significant strategic shifts. For example, “Unify the Agency” included establishing “a single CEO to manage the agency’s day-to-day affairs, with a part-time board of directors focused on strategy, budget, and public outreach.” That’s not a tactical change.3
The so-called “key tactical steps” were actually the core of the strategy, but, with a few exceptions, they were merely aspirational without accountability and thus largely empty promises. Actions must align with words, and they did not.
The plan I wrote with Rob is below. It was officially dead in July 2015, though the tombstone was written long before. Its end was attributable to two factors. First, the board chairman, who admitted to me he hadn’t read it, refused to act on it. From our conversation, he clearly interpreted the mere title and concept as something leading to significant corporate restructuring. As you will see, it wasn’t by any stretch, but he ignored it nonetheless as a result. When we hired the agency’s first CEO, the collective decision was made to allow that CEO to settle in and determine the new strategic plan. That CEO disappeared suddenly to return to NBC, and the process never restarted. Before that, I had sat down with each of the network chiefs and others inside and outside the agency to solicit feedback: what was good, bad, missing, etc. They all liked it and signed off on it. As for the network chiefs, whether they did so to appease me because they knew it would never be adopted, I don’t know.
The plan was intentionally short at five pages, less than 2,000 words, to keep out the fluff. It was digestible and actionable, and it had measures of accountability.
Regardless, below is the plan as it was presented for your reading pleasure.4 A decade later, there are changes I’d make, but I think it holds up well. As always, I’m interested in your thoughts.
FY 2014-18 Strategic Plan – Placing the Audience First
Overview
This Strategic Plan of the Broadcasting Board of Governors for 2014-2016 is the fourth plan since the Agency’s establishment in 1998 and the first under the governing board that took office beginning in August 2013. This plan supersedes the 2012-2016 plan and complies with both the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 and the requirement that federal agency strategies align with presidential terms of office.
This strategy charts our path, defines our purpose, and provides a framework for how we will respond to challenges and overcome obstacles. It aligns existing competencies, and those in development, with the requirements of our mission. Good strategy provides focus and coordination across levels, and in the case of the BBG, across entities. A good strategy should include a diagnosis of expected challenges and those that were not previously overcome. The Board believes this plan accomplishes these requirements.
The BBG appears, on its surface, to be a complex combination of different networks with seemingly different missions. Under the operating principle of “audience-first,” the BBG has begun the necessary shift to integrate our entities and their inherent strengths to provide the audiences the news and information they need, on the platforms they use, in the languages they speak, to where they are and live. This means breaking down the isolation of past “verticals” that resulted in duplication of programming, overlapping efforts, and an overall lack of coordination that limited impact and created confusion.
The BBG will articulate its role and objectives in a 21st Century media environment. The BBG empowers people with news and information that enables them to strive for, develop, and participate in a civil society and global community. This includes holding their governments accountable, understanding the realities of the challenges they face locally and regionally, and understanding the rule of law, human security, commerce, and more. We tell the American story to develop an understanding of U.S. policies and provide reflective moments for audiences to compare our present and our past with their situations. Collectively, these activities support U.S. national security and foreign policy goals.
The mission and the means of the BBG are unique and complement the other instruments of U.S. foreign policy. The Voice of America, the oldest and largest of the BBG’s entities, is the primary means for foreign audiences, including those in power, to understand U.S. policy and the lessons of civil society in the United States. The other entities, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Radio Free Asia (RFA), the Office of Cuban Broadcasting (OCB), and Middle East Broadcasting Network (MBN) provide local news and information source for audiences, especially in countries lacking media freedom. And finally, the International Broadcasting Board’s highest function is providing the agency oversight and strategy, as well as services where scale saves the taxpayer’s money and improves performance.
This plan is how we achieve our mission.
Mission Statement
The BBG’s mission is to inform, engage and connect people around the world in support of freedom & democracy.
The BBG empowers people through access to news and information, which creates local demands for accountability, transparency, rule of law, human security, commerce, and other fundamental requirements for freedom and democracy. The BBG’s media services include two federal networks, the Voice of America (VOA) and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB); and three non-profit grantees: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Radio Free Asia (RFA), and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN). In addition to these five networks, the BBG includes the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB). Combined, the BBG is one of the largest media organizations in the world, providing news and information in over 61 languages to more than 206 million audience members weekly (an increase of nearly 31 million from last year) in more than 100 countries. The BBG operates on a wide range of broadcast and digital media platforms with some 3,600 employees, 1,500 stringer reporters, and 54 news bureaus.
Across the BBG’s broadcasting regions, governments seek to repress or withhold news and information from their citizens. This censorship comes in many forms, including denying the BBG and other international media the right to broadcast on radio and television, interfering with or jamming our satellite broadcasts in violation of multiple international agreements, blocking citizens from accessing websites, and other malicious actions that prevent populations from exercising their right to a free and open press.
News and information is a right that the BBG holds in the highest regard, as are the freedoms to speak and to listen. Through its Internet anti-censorship (IAC) tools and programs, including the Open Technology Fund, the BBG helps millions in countries suffering under censorship to access information and advance inclusive and safe access to global communication networks. IAC initiatives circumvent government firewalls, secure safe communication channels, and distribute objective news and information in repressive environments from China to Cuba to Iran and more. Unfortunate global trends mean we are supporting more people in more countries as regimes increase their efforts to deny their people from knowing and discussing the truth.
All of the BBG’s entities adhere to the standards and principles mandated by the International Broadcasting Act of 1994, as amended. This incorporates the VOA Charter, signed into law in 1976, and requires accurate, reliable, objective and comprehensive news, balanced presentations of United States’ institutions and policies, and information about developments throughout the world.
Strategic Goals
The BBG’s strategic goals operationalize the mission of the agency.
1. Deliver accurate and timely news and information based on the highest standards of journalism where access is limited by censorship or there is a lack of free and independent media.
2. Create access to news, information, and support for freedom of expression for people threatened by censorship and intimidation.
3. Counter propaganda and extremist rhetoric that threatens peace, stability, and freedom with credible news and information that empowers audiences to positively contribute and participate in a civil society.
4. Counter propaganda and misinformation about the United States by explaining U.S. policy, making available the statements and views of U.S. Government officials and important leaders across the U.S., and providing perspectives on American life and values through reporting, analysis, and commentary.
5. Support the independence of media organizations in places where media freedom is threatened through a strong affiliation program that supports their viability through content, training, and other professional services.
These goals will be achieved by taking an “audience-first” approach to all aspects of our activities. We must continue to produce quality journalism that is of exceptional value and utility to our audiences. We must identify the audiences that are underserved or denied access to the news and information they need and deploy the appropriate capabilities of the BBG to empower these people to work toward freedom and democracy.
Strategic Objectives
The strategic objectives are nested under the above strategic goals. The objectives reflect the outcome or management impact the BBG seeks to achieve. These objectives are then tied to performance goals and indicators established to help the agency monitor and understand progress, and serve as the primary units of analysis for the agency of how we are achieving our mission.
1. Deliver accurate and timely news and information based on the highest standards of journalism where access is limited by censorship or there is a lack of free and independent media.
A. Expand mobile and shareable content to interact and gather news from engaged audiences.
B. Optimize the use of video and audio content on digital platforms that deliver high-quality content.
C. Produce exceptional content that quickly responds to and engages audience needs and interests on the platforms the audiences use.
D. Establish and implement evaluation methods of BBG journalism based on the highest standards of comparable media organizations.
2. Create access to news and information and support for freedom of expression for people threatened by censorship and intimidation.
A. Expand the usage and knowledge of tools that enable circumvention of censorship in closed information societies.
B. Become a hub to facilitate and empower citizen information gathering and exchange.
C. Create country-specific and audience-specific broadcast and digital streams for those threatened by extremism and censorship.
D. Serve as a conduit for the transmission of reporting originating from inside closed societies across the closed society and to outside audiences.
3. Counter propaganda and extremist rhetoric that threatens peace, stability, and freedom with credible news and information that empowers audiences to positively contribute and participate in a civil society.
A. Become a hub to facilitate and empower citizen information gathering and exchange on solving problems and building democratic institutions.
B. Combat racial, ethnic, and religious prejudice by facilitating and empowering informed dialogue.
4. Counter propaganda and incomplete information about the United States by explaining U.S. policy, making available the statements and views of U.S. Government officials and important leaders across the U.S., and providing perspectives on American life and values through reporting, analysis, and commentary.
A. Expand Global English on digital channels, including expanded use of social media to inform and engage audiences in conversations about American policies and society.
B. Expand Learning English into a mobile and social media brand with a broad range of new product offerings.
C. Serve as a U.S. bureau for media organizations that lack other options to access news, analysis, and perspectives from the U.S.
5. Support the independence of media organizations in places where media freedom is threatened through a strong affiliation program that supports their viability through content, training, and other professional services
A. Serve as a foreign bureau for media organizations that lack other options to access news, analysis, and perspectives from the U.S. and elsewhere in the world.
B. Expand digital content support to affiliates through the Direct platform to enable them to exchange content with USIM and other affiliates.
C. Establish a BBG Fellowship program to rotate affiliate staff through USIM language services, and place USIM staff in affiliate newsrooms.
D. Establish a BBG Journalism Institute (possibly under a new grantee) to provide the highest level of training and technical support to BBG affiliates to improve their professionalism and skills.
Management Objectives
The purpose of management objectives is to provide a clear direction toward accomplishing the mission of the agency. They must be tangible, measurable, and achievable. This list is mindful of past management objectives found in previous plans, the success or shortcoming of these precedents, and of current requirements and priorities.
1. Identify and hire a Chief Executive Officer to provide day-to-day executive leadership of the agency, including its federal and non-federal entities.
2. Place the “audience first” in planning, organizing, funding, and programming across the agency.
3. Reduce or eliminate redundant or unnecessary offices, functions, and efforts to shift more resources to programming.
4. Increase internal transparency and communication across the agency and its entities to increase trust, collaboration, efficiency, and reduce organizational and personal friction in daily and strategic activities.
5. Increase external engagement and communication across the Government and with the Congress to support U.S. foreign policy, reduce redundancy of U.S. Government efforts, and increase visibility of our unique capabilities, mission, and value.
6. Improve our agility in responding to sudden and shifting circumstances.
7. Expand our revenue to offset reductions and increase opportunities for strategic internal investments.
8. Develop and encourage an environment and culture where coordinating activities across entities is the rule and not the exception, starting with the senior leadership of the agency.
9. Explore establishing a new NGO entity for program and support functions.
The parting picture
I’m not excited about the name of this section, so I’ll try to come up with something better. The idea is to share one of my scenic photos from my past adventures for something different. This photo is from July 2023 and was taken during the same ride as the picture in my previous post, but it’s a different lake in the background.
The leadership structure, from the board to the networks, was a real problem. In a previous post, I discussed the structural defect of the BBG board, namely how it required a constant flow of new nominees confirmed to the board, something that successive administrations utterly failed to do. This sets aside the apparent qualifications deemed acceptable for the job. My previous post briefly mentioned the allocation of agency resources and priorities was treated as a zero-sum contest between the networks, with the networks coming before the agency’s mission and foreign policy requirements, leading to analysts incorrectly labeling the agency as an “illogical patchwork” of networks. What I didn’t mention then and is relevant here is that for many years (far more than a few), my board predecessors hadn’t looked at the succession plans at the networks. As part of looking at the strategic future of the agency, I asked the networks about their succession plans. No one had anything like that, though one network president had a viable candidate to replace them. One network president had worked tirelessly to prevent any successor. The top layers (plural) of leadership at another network had no viable candidate for the top leadership job, something we found out the hard way.
The “grantees” are called such because they operate under a grant from the then-BBG, now called the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM).
An outside review of the agency, completed and presented to the board in February 2012, strongly recommended establishing a CEO. The reasons were obvious but generally ignored by many commentators, academic and otherwise. My board cohort implemented the recommendation after the previous board, who commissioned the review and wrote the strategic plan, failed to (for reasons related to the consistent failure of administrations to support and replenish the board properly). Again, I discussed some of this previously.
You may notice the document has two-spaces between sentences. It was from another era!