204. Letter From the Secretary of State to the Director of the United States Information Agency (Larson)1
Dear Arthur : I have received the following letter2 from the President:
“As you know, I have been emphasizing for some years my belief that the Voice of America is destroying a great deal of its own usefulness when it engages in the field of propaganda. This is a function that I believe should be performed by other agencies, with the governmental connection concealed as often as may be possible.
“I am firmly of the belief that the Voice of America ought to be known as a completely accurate dispenser of certain information. Emphasis should be placed on:
- (a).
- Policies, pronouncements and purposes of the United States government;
- (b).
- News of a character that has world interest and the dissemination of which can assist other peoples to understand better the aims and objectives of America and the progress of the world’s ideological struggle.
“I have heard it argued that some items of entertainment must be on the Voice of America in order to get people to listen. The Hungarian record shows that those people listen to the BBC rather than to the Voice of America because ‘the BBC provides us with more worldwide news.’3
“Because one of your responsibilities is to provide policy direction to the USIA, I should like for you to ponder this matter and issue such broad directives as may seem appropriate to you. Of course I have no objection to listening to contrary views. But I have been listening to them since 1950 and I am not yet convinced.”
Appropriate officers in the Department of State have carefully considered the President’s letter. They have come to the conclusion, which I approve, that the Voice of America will indeed achieve ever greater audience and credibility by following the President’s suggestions.
The Department recalls the report of the William H. Jackson Committee in 1953, which stated, among other things, “The basis for [Page 591] VOA output to the Soviet Union should be objective, factual news reporting. It is as a source of truth and information about world events that VOA has value for the Soviet listener.”
The Jackson Committee report likewise applied this same concept, in general, to broadcasting to other areas as well.
The Department is cognizant of the fact that the Agency has issued policy directives, which the Department has concurred in, to carry out the recommendations of the Jackson Committee.
It is recognized likewise that the Voice of America has been moving steadily toward the type of content called for by these directives.
Nevertheless, an examination of VOA broadcast scripts indicates that they are some distance away from the emphasis suggested by the President on policies, pronouncements and purposes of the United States government, and on news of a character that has world interest and the dissemination of which can assist other peoples to understand better the aims and objectives of America and the progress of the world’s ideological struggle.
The selection of news sometimes seems to be made on the basis of scoring a minor propaganda point rather than with the purpose in mind of providing news as defined by the President. Some commentaries, moreover, give an impression of being written to belabor a propaganda issue. The prevalence of commentaries in the broadcasts raises, in itself, a question.
The above seems to be particularly true of the broadcasts originating in the Munich Radio Center,4 which have a sharper, more propagandistic tone in general than those originating in Washington. This raises the question whether adequate policy control and review can be exercised by Washington over originations more than 3,000 miles away, and, therefore, whether all VOA programs should not originate in Washington.
I therefore suggest that you study the President’s letter in relation to present VOA broadcasting to see: a) what is the gap between such broadcasting and the President’s wishes; and b) what steps need to be taken to bring VOA broadcasting into line with the President’s wishes.
I should be glad to have your comments.
Sincerely yours,
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 511.004/6–2757. Confidential. Drafted by Berding on June 22.↩
- Dated June 3. (Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, Dulles–Herter Series)↩
- In a memorandum of July 8, Saxton Bradford of IOP told USIA Director Larson that a survey made by a commercial research group indicated that Hungarians fleeing during the uprising had listened to both VOA and BBC. Of 911 interviewed, 82 percent usually tuned in to VOA and 67 percent to BBC. According to the survey, the better educated preferred BBC, which was considered the more reliable of the two broadcasting stations in the field of news. (Washington National Records Center, USIA/IOP Files: FRC 63 A 190, Box 603, Director’s Correspondence, 1957)↩
- The Munich Radio Center was European headquarters for the Voice of America. After an investigation of the center, Larson explained his conclusions in a memorandum of September 23 to Robert Button, Chief of the International Broadcasting Service. (Department of State, USIA/IOP Files: Lot 60 D 322, Reel 4, 1957)↩
- Printed from a copy which bears this stamped signature.↩