voa on august 1st, 2011. david ensor, you mentioned the islam issue. in pakistan, voa is starting a new service. how are you developing that service, and how is it different from what you've done in the past? >> guest: pakistan's a very difficult country because of the relationship between the united states and pakistan is a difficult one. we're allies, but it's contentious. it -- no other place is it more important for voice of america and for our sister stations to try to reach an audience in pakistan. we're doing it by finding affiliates and finding pakistani radio and television stations that are willing to have a broadcast with us or put something on the air we've produced. there's a program called "the platform" that we co-produce with a pakistani company which has people on the air, it's kind of a bridge program, if you will, where there's somebody in the studio in washington and another in pakistan, and they date about the issues, and there's plenty of issues between the united states and pakistan even though we are allies. i think that programming is absolutely crucial, and i hope it's s

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

to get as many eyeballs on our product as we can. >> host: brian conniff, one of the strengths of the voa, especially in the cold war, was secret listeners. does alhurra or radio sawa have a secret audience out there? >> guest: interesting question. i think they do. i've seen pictures of whenever there's an event, maybe president obama's cairo speech, you know, ap and the other services show a picture of people in a coffee shop or tearoom watching president obama, and a lot of times it's alhurra. it's amazing. there's a number of them that came out from gaza, and i said if you go down the street and asked most of those people in that coffee shop if they watched alhurra, they would say no, but they were sitting there watching it. i think there is a secret audience because of some of the reasons that keach brought up earlier that it's an american funded challenge, and we don't want to acknowledge we watch it. >> guest: you mentioned using social media to promote the channels themselves, but how much do you use social media to get the news out? that's part of the larger changes that the chai

the world. >> host: it's different than voa or perhaps al hura that broadcasts into other countries. ur broadcasting news about cuba into cuba; is that correct? >> guest: correct, but we also report nudes about the united states. it's very important that we do that, but more than that, we also broadcast news from latin america and the rest of the world because it's important for our audience to understand there are countries that are sovereign and free that can -- and democratic -- and there's a future, you know, we want to insert the audience into the economic world again, you know? you know, the relationship with cuba and the united states, once there's a democracy, there's a no-brainer; right? they are 90 miles away, but we also want to inform them of what's going on in the rest of the world because i think, you know, we think it's something important. i mean, it's a global village now; right? it's not about one country or the other. >> guest: what would you say the percentage of cuba news is? >> guest: that the priority. as much as we can get. >> guest: how do you get it? >> guest

the world. >> host: so it's a little different than voa or, perhaps, alhurra which broadcasts events about the.s. into these other countries. you're broadcasting news about cuba into cuba, is that correct? >> guest: correct. but we also report news about the united states. it's very important that we do that. but more so than that, we also broadcast news from latin america and then the rest of the world because we think it's very important for our audience to understand that there are countries that are sovereign and free that can -- and democratic. and there's a future. you know, we want to insert our audience into the economic world again, you know? the relationship within cuba and the united states was, there's a democracy there, it's a no-brainer, right? they're 90 miles away. but we also want to inform them what's going on in the rest of the world because i think, we think it's something important. i mean, it's a global village now, right? it's not about -- >> host: what would you say the percentage of cuba news is in your broadcasts as opposed to news from -- >> guest: that is the priori

>> guest: well, there's a law that right now prevents bbc -- the voa or any of the other u.s.unded services from broadcasting. i have no problem with it. they can watch alhurra -- i'm sorry, they can watch al-jazeera. they can watch al-arabia, and there's a whole slew of stations on cable systems, i don't see why we can't be on it. >> mr. conniff, the organization in the board of governors are thinking of the whole structure of the u.s.-backed organizations. maybe centralizing them. there's -- there would be a central brain behind all of them. how would would it affect alhurra or radio al-sawa. >> guest: i don't know a whole about what you just said but we're all for creating greater efficiency and greater effectness. we're the dominant one in tv should, the others do a little bit of tv. and, in fact, during the arab spring and other news events, we share our products all the time, our video products. we make our correspondents available for interviews so they'll be awake and have an on the ground voice to describe what's happening. and it leverages resources collectively to a

. >> most people probably think of the voa of a broadcaster listening for the secret police to come. that is now out of date and it. >> voice of america director -- >> we are on facebook, a twister, a satellite tv, we are on fm radio. we have affiliate's around the world. lot of new ways to communicate with people but the mission has stayed the same theme"the communicators. " >> the c-span.org is easier to use. the new design features 11 video choices making it easier for you to watch today's events live and recorded. there's a section to find our popular programs. we have added a handy channel finder see you can quickly find where to watch our 3 cspan network on cable or satellite systems across the country at the all new c-span.org >> maryland governor and democratic governors' association martin o'malley says one of the lessons learned from the george w. bush administration is that trickle- down economics does not work or create jobs. he spoke about jobs, the economy, and role of the states at the national press club today in washington and took questions from the audience for abo

those are some of the latest headlines on c-span radio. >> most people probably think of voa as shortwave, listening at the door for if the secret police might come. that is an outdated image. we are now on facebook, twitter, satellite tv, fm radio. we have a lot of affiliates around the world. radio and tv stations use us as a washington news bureau for them. we're finding new ways to communicate with people. the mission has stay the same. >> that is tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span2. >> on wednesday, watch live streaming coverage of the book awards from new york city. this weekend, but tv is live from the miami book fair international. find a complete schedule online. >> the c-span.org home page is easier to use. the new design features 11 video choices making it easier to watch today's events, live and recorded. there is a section to access our most popular series and programs. we have added a handy channel finder so you can quickly find where to walk across the country. that is that the all new c- span.org. "washington journal" continues. host: robb mandelbaum is a small business rep

the broadcast group. we are focused on cuba, but we will be also be sharing with voa, which we do now which is great. >> i want to ask about alan gross, the american contractor that has been imprisoned on espionage charges. how has that played into your reporting, if at all? is this a topic that you cover often? it has become quite a cause celeb,. >> sure, mr. allen gross was put in jail. i have never seen an appeal or trowel go so fast. we are very conscious of it. we follow what it. we did not talk about it all the time because we're not propaganda. but we are very aware of it and we try to obtain as much fax as we can on the case. >> getting back to the broader question of the bbg, along with the other components, we're looking at a very difficult budget situation coming up. no agency is likely to escape. i presume that you would argue that radio and television marti are worth the investment. how can you demonstrate that two members of congress, -- how can you demonstrate that to the members of congress, who outside of the anti-castro lawmakers who will support anything designed to go against the regim

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. >> david on the changing face of voa. >> we are now on facebook, twitter, satellite tv, we're on fm radio. we have a lot of affiliates now around the world, stations, radio, television stations that use us as a washington news bureau for them. we have a lot of new ways to communicate with people, but the mission has pretty much stayed the same. >> the communicators tonight at 8 eastern on c-span2. >> with one year before election day 2012, the national journal hosted a forum focusing on the road to the white house and the congressional seats in play. next, a discussion with republican staffers from the grand hyatt hotel in washington, d.c., this is an hour. >> and we're back. thank you, guys, for setting up the stage. we have a very interesting and dynamic group coming up. as many of you know, national journal covers issues and trends impacting america and the make up of congress in 2012, perhaps no issues are more dominant nationally than those related to housing, the economy, and the unemployed. we appreciate the partnership of the national association of home builders to help hig