would you describe the mission and how it has evolved over the past 50, 60 years? >> the mission has stayed pretty much the same since 1942. that is to try to provide a truthful and accurate news broadcast to all of the countries that we explain to ths going on in the united states and what this country is all about. that mission has remained the same. the way we have done it has changed a dramatically. it is the way humans are communicating with each other is changing rapidly. most people probably think of a broadcaster on short wave with huddled masses listening on a radio and listening to the door of the secret police might come. that is an out of date image now. we are on facebook, we are on twitter, we are on satellite tv, we have a lot of affiliate's

around the world. television stations use us as a pure for that. we are finding a lot of new ways to communicate with people. the mission has stayed the same. to give a tree full picture of what is going on in the world into countries where that is not being done by anyone else. >> using these new platforms the way you are and the way voa is, do you lose control over whether or not your message gets out? >> the extent to which it gets out is of great interest to us. it is sometimes very difficult to do that's in countries like north korea or iran. we don't have good data to know how many -- we have to interview people who have escaped. we do have a lot of ways of knowing. the broadcasts are very popular. the fill a need. we are very pleased by that.

and for your countries -- our most successful country right now is an uneasy. 38 million people are hearing or seeing something every week in asia. we got pretty accurate data because most of that is television. what we are hearing is providing -- we are doing is providing reports. they have good audit figures. >> who are some of your sister organizations? >> we all come under something like the broadcasting board of governors. there are four democrats and four republicans.

this will save money and consolidate the streamline trade like the rest of the federal government or those who are funded by the federal government, these are tight times for us in terms of budget. we have to do more with less. >> what is the current voa budget? >> we have a budget of $208 million. the number of employees is, i think, 1200 at the moment. then there are contractors beyond that.

>> joining us in the conversation is david. >> you alerted a little bit to the transformation that is going on at the broader broadcasting board of governors. what will that mean to voice of america specifically? we have heard a little bit about them phasing out some of the services. what are those changes being made it? country live in a constantly changing world. we no longer broadcast to france or germany or western europe because there is not a need to. when you have so much money, you want to reach key audiences. one of the reasons we drop a language services because it really is not -- in croatia for example, there are about to join the e help -- the eu.

they are already a member of nato. things are going well for croatia. china is another story. my feeling is there is a very great need for our voice to be heard in china. we are like to be looking at creative ways to try to reach more of the chinese people with voice of america. i would expect that would include not so much short wave radio which our data shows is really not reaching very many people any more in china. it's still reaches some. more in terms of satellite television, we will be doing a lot of work on the internet. we will use internet circumvention techniques. many look at the arab spring and saw that the real media force there were things like facebook

and twitter. that was accomplishing many of the goals of things like voice of america. given that, why should they keep paying the same size budget for things like force of america? >> you know, we give a great body for the dollar. we are one of the most cost- effective national security institutions that the united states has. we cost less than a week on a fighter jet. we reach key audiences that cannot be reached any other way. the united states has no diplomatic relationship with that country. there is no exchanges. there is no dispute -- diplomacy. what there is is voice of america broadcast. our satirical show reaches to our knowledge more than 50 million i wrought dance. it is the most popular show in

iran on television. it even tried to jam up broadcasts and making it less easy to see. it is wildly popular. our other news broadcasts are providing a very useful service. it is our one way americans are reaching the iran and people. it is frankly a very cost- effective and very much needed. >> you mentioned the iranians. i want to show a little bit from their appearance on the daily show. >> i had to have the freedom i wanted to have inside my home. i want to go out. i had to let all of the time. this kind of lifestyle that i had and lots of people my generation have right now inside of iran per cost of anchor, revenge, and everything. we are transferring this to

humor and a say in what ever we want to say but in a civil way. >> one of the most well- respected schools of all time. he stood in front of the whole world and said there are no gays and iraq. that is all you need to ask. from then on, you have a show. >> where is that show produced? where did the broadcast from? what platforms do you use to get them on tv in iran? >> the show is produced in our studios just a few blocks from here in washington, d.c. there is a big creative team at pns that is part of a voice for america. a very creative young people. it is just a lively look at the

news. irreverent, satirical, they make fun of anybody basically. it is kind of a different attempt to reach a different demographic if you will. it has been wildly successful. we also have serious newscasts that try to give the iranian people some perspective on what is happening in the world and how their government is viewed by others. >> when it comes to china or iran, if you are using the internet or facebook or some of these platforms, arco's easier to shut down then a short wave radio? >> not really. they are not. there is always a way of circumventing it. there is always another web site. there is another way of working around it. while you can stop a poll -- particular route or a center a

way of downloading the internet, people are enormously creative. the chinese people, the russian people, and others. they're good at finding our message. we have creed of people looking to be able to. it is a cat and mouse game if you will. the mouse has plenty of ways of getting a round. >> here in the u.s., by law -- he spent a lot of your career overseas most recently in koppel. how do people perceive as a diplomat? "i was very impressed by the way voice of america and radio free europe, our sister network, were able to be effective and afghanistan. our audience estimates in afghanistan is approximately 8 million people who see a voa

product every week. most of them are probably watching our television show which is prime time on weeknights on the state television network. it is half an hour in the two main languages in the country. it is produced in washington, but it has a lot of gas from afghanistan. it is a serious, well written protests. it is very effective. i used to try to develop public policy tools and afghanistan. i always felt i was not going to be able to beat what voa was doing there. a very enormously popular the deal there and useful. you mentioned people cannot see voa here in the united states. that is true. there is a law against it, that is fine. because of the internet, if

somebody wants to see what we are doing, they can. the current board is planning to ask congress for some amendments to something called the smith act under which you're not supposed to broadcast in the u.s. because here is the problem. we have, for example, commercial stations in the minnesota saying to us, look, we have a substantial somali refugees. we have a somali immigrants in our state. they miss voa which they used to see in somalia. right now they cannot see it. as our world becomes more global, we think it may be who've been to make some changes to modernize the station so we can reach audiences that reach -- and speak other languages but are in the united states. >> at the same time, there are so many other government owned

medias that have set up shop the past few years. how does voa compete in this? are they doing the same kinds of things of the -- as these foreign-owned media? what other governments have decided having a voice and having their own television or radio network is worth -- something that is important. i have copied us in a way. in many cases they have a lot more money in which to do this kind of thing. we find ourselves in a very competitive environment. we are concerned about that. he no, i like our message. i think our reputation for trying to tell the truth is very high. we have a 70-year tradition that to voice of america trying to get the story right.

believing in fairness and objectivity. although you never achieve it, that is a good goal. we have a proud history of broadcasting to the communist world and perhaps playing a role in the end of that terrible system. now there are more discussions and more debates among humankind. we are in a battle of perceptions and ideas that will never end. now we have to worry about kasich distortion of his lomb that certain terrorist groups of come up with. we have to respond to that with facts. we also need to explain our own country. if we do not, others will do it for us. >> if his voice or face looks familiar to you, that is because he spent 32 years in television and radio news. five years with national public radio. nearly 20 years with abc news as

a foreign correspondent in many locations including communist countries. then a about eight years with c and n as their national security correspondent. he became director of voa on august 1, 2011. you mentioned the islam issue. in pakistan,voa is starting a new service. how are you developing that service? how is it different from what you have done in the past? >> it is a very difficult country. the relationship between a america and pakistan is a difficult one. we are allies, but it is contentious. in no other place is it more important for boys of america and for our sister stations to try to reach a audience and pakistan. we are doing it by fighting affiliate's and finding pakistani ready of stations that

are willing to have a broadcast with us were put something on the air that we have produced. there is a program called the platform which we coproduce with a pakistani company which has people on the air. there will be somebody on the studio in washington and they have a debate on the issues. there are plenty of issues between the pakistan and the united states even though we are allies. i think that kind of programming is crucial. is something a hope we can increase while i am director. >> a couple of years ago the government accountability office issued a critical report about the broadcasting board of generals and general. they complained having spent $10 million since september 11,- these of the u.s. still exist and foreign polling. why do you think that is that the see any signs to suggest that is turning a corner in any way?

>> well, obviously we would like to have positive views of the united states. we are americans and we are proud of it. we are the voice of america. we are not going to be able to buy ourselves turn it around negative poles if people feel strongly enough and if there are enough sources of affirmation coming out to -- more propaganda coming out. this is just one tool in the arsenal of the united states to reach those audiences. it is a very important one. i can't take responsibility for the u.s. image as a whole. have we wasted money? frankly, i think we are very cost-effective. i do think that this is an institution that is in need of a lot of change right now. mainly because of the way human beings communicate with each other is -- the ways are changing so rapidly.

we really are in a communications revolution right now. think of the cell phone. six or seven years ago there were 6000 cell phones. now depending on who is counting, 10 or 15 million of them. that is a platform with which one can reach people with news. it is not just a telephone. we have a very successful internet program in many different languages. now they are building more and more websites designed to be seen on the mobile device. we are trying to improve and make more use or -- user- friendly those websites. we think that is an important way to reach people in the future and the present. >> part of the criticism from the report is there are not good definitions of success. how would you define success for voa at the moment?

>> you have to take it all must country by country and program by program. are we reaching an audience? is the programming compelling? is it accurate? is it well produced? frankly by commercial standards were i used to come from on a shoestring budget, we do some pretty good stuff. it could be better. it could be a lot better. we are having to move now more and more away from the old traditional short wave radio into kind of the modern media which could be satellite television. it could also be fm radio. fm radio has to be broadcast locally. you cannot do that from car away. then you need affiliate's and you need a partner. the work is changing.

the basic mission as i said at the beginning has chat -- stayed the same. >> just to return to that point, we have seen examples this past year where egypt in their uprising basically shut down the entire internet. the same happened in the libya. china has done this on a regular basis. it centers what has happened on the internet. you talk about cat and mouse. a republican from california has inserted language into a bill setting that to feel they must continue its shortwave broadcasting to china because of the censorship issues. how you respond to that? >> i should probably speak for myself on this issue. i certainly think china is one of our most important countries we need to reach. i do not think we are doing it at all well enough. i know that feeling is shared by

many throughout international broadcasting. we need to find better ways to which china. we are working on a. i think satellite television has promised. there is already a lot of work being done on internet device reached. i think it is promising. radio stillwell to some people in china. personally, i think we should persist until we have a better way. there are different views on that, frankly. is it a waste of money? is it not a waste of money? there are people who think that broadcasting to china on shore with is a waste of money because the audience is so tiny. there are others who think even if you reach 200 visitors, it is still worth all of the millions. reasonable people can disagree. as i say, i pledge to the

congressmen and the rest of those listening, we will look for ways to be more effective in china. that is key. we want to reach as many people as we can. >> the defense department has been getting into the media business and running its own services. how appropriate do you think that is given this is typically the state department. how you plan to coordinate with is to make sure there is not overlap or conflicting messages in some way? >> you know, i am so new to this job i do not know too much about that. i will have to look into that. i do know our colleagues in the uniform have a very effective public diplomacy effort that they make in various countries. i wish them well. i cannot really answer your question until i know more about it. >> let's go back to the arab uprising this past year. what was the 0 a's activities or continued activities in libya?

with the event occurring regularly in syria as well, is a voa active in this arena? -- it reaches people and 60 countries. about 133 million at last count. we don't broadcast in arabic anymore. our sister network is the arabic speaking voice of the united states now. we work with them. we cooperate with them. our correspondent in libya have been on voa error. we were delighted to have them there. we do broadcast in english. we do have bureaus in the arab world which report the news to our listeners and other parts of the world. >> david is the new director of

voice of america. >> how committed is the obama administration tovoa compared to previous administrations? >> i in the new guy. i have been hired during the term of president obama. in my sense is, warm support from the administration to what we are trying to do. again, i have not had much time yet to really learn the nuances more complex answer to that question. my sense is the favor what we do. they understand it. i am very supportive of that. he is a great american and a very wise person. he was at one point president of cn and and i was working for him then to.

>> what do you think is the most subtle place for voa does in this world? >> we debate among ourselves. which is it -- which is more important, to have more people were more key countries listening? obviously we want to both. you have to find your place on the continuing. on the one hand, voa is effective in africa. if we had a bit more money, we would want to spend it to try to build an audience for their. we may be able to do that. i am hoping we can in the coming years. there is a real hunger for what we are offering and africa. right now there is a drought and people starving, we are doing some innovating broadcasting to those refugees to tell them where water is and where is shelter. where are you going to be safe? on the one hand, we might say a

key audiences africa because we can treat so many more people there if we try to build our service. we'd like to do that. on the other hand there are a key countries. we talk about china, iran, afghanistan. these are countries in the u.s. security interests to reach the audiences of. i think those are absolutely critical. we should make every possible effort to reach more people in countries like those. >> finally, if americans listened to voa regularly, what they hear critiques of the united states and policies such as the wood on the nbc, cbs national news? >> yes, they would. boys of america tries to present a balanced portrait of this country and its politics to the rest of the world. during the watergate scandal, voice of america i have been

told that their coverage was pretty hard hitting. that helped a lot with foreign audiences. helped them find as credible. it gives us a certain credibility overseas. yes, we do report the good, the bat, and the ugly. we are americans. we are proud of our country and we are not ashamed of saying so as well. >> david ensor, thank you for being on the communicators. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] c-span.org home page is no easier to use. it makes it easier to watch like the events and those already recorded. there is a section or are shows that we handled -- which added a

handy channel finder says you can find work to watch c-span, cable or across the country. c-span.org on the. . >> supreme court justices heard oral argument and a case discussing -- he is asserting the police violated his fourth amendment rights when officers put a gps device on his car to track his movements on public streets without pay and valid warrant or consent. a court decision is expected before the end of the term engine. this is just over one hour. > we'll hear argument first states v. jones. >> mr. chief justice, and may itsince this court's decision in katz v. united states, the court has recognized a basic dichotomy under the fourth amendment. what a person seeks to preserve as private in the enclave of his own home or in a private

letter or inside of his vehicle when he is traveling is a subject of fourth amendment protection. but what he reveals to the world, such as his movements in a car on a public roadway, is not. in knotts v. united states, this court applied that principle to hold that visual and beeper surveillance of a vehicle traveling on the public roadways infringed no fourth amendment expectation of privacy. >> knotts, though, seems to me much more like traditional surveillance. you're following the car and the beeper just helps you follow it from a -- from a slightly greater distance. that was years ago. the technology is very different and you get a lot more information from the gps surveillance than you do from following a beeper. >> the technology is different, mr. chief justice, but a crucial fact in knotts that shows that this was not simply