U.S. International Broadcasting: Management of Middle East Broadcasting Services Could Be Improved

Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc. (MBN) has developed a strategic plan and has posted it to its intranet. The plan includes a mission statement, long-term strategic goals, mission objectives, and enterprise objectives.

According to MBN, it has taken several steps to implement Grant Thornton LLP's recommendations related to strengthening its internal control environment. In response to GAO's concern regarding the lack of an internal control board, in 2008 MBN established an audit committee composed of the Chief Financial Officer, Controller, and Treasurer. In addition, in 2009 MBN created and filled a position which reports directly to the Chief Financial Officer separate from the Controller charged with internal control management.

According to MBN, when updating the strategic plan and performance plans, MBN staff are asked to specifically identify and assess potential obstacles and strategies to address them. As a result, MBN staff have identified obstacles related to staffing, on air promotion, marketing, and production.

Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN) has contracted with vendors to provide training on a variety of topics including internal controls and editorial procedures. For example, MBN's fiscal year 2009 training plan included custom training related to internal controls. In addition, it included several courses on instilling balance and objectivity in reporting. For example, there were courses on "Reporting and MBN's Mission," "Ensuring balance and objectivity," and "The Elements of Journalism."

According to the Department of State Office of Inspector General, Middle East Broadcasting Network runs and annual program review process to evaluate the technical and journalistic aspects of its programs. Program reviews were conducted in 2007, 2008, and 2009. The process is modeled on that used by the International Broadcasting Bureau, which conducts reviews for the Voice of America Language Services, and by other grantee organizations of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG). The 2009 program review included analysis of both production and content, the results of research conducted by Inter-Media, and the results of a monitoring panel.

Following GAO's recommendation, Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN) developed a performance plan covering fiscal years 2008 through 2010. The performance plan relates MBN activities to overall BBG annual performance goals (e.g. reaching the Arabic speaking world). It also aligns MBN objectives and performance measures with Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) implementation strategies.

We reviewed the InterMedia and Nielsen survey methodology to collect data on media use, foreign radio listening, existing and potential listener preferences for five countries: Egypt, Algeria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Our analysis showed that Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) made progress towards compliance with the recommendation to allow for probability sampling and document the sample selection so that survey sampling errors can be calculated, where possible. Specifically, we found that 3 of the 5 samples meet the randomness criterion for a probability sample, and the other two report the use of quota sampling. For the two surveys which used quota sampling one clearly reported the quota and the reasons for it.

We reviewed the InterMedia and Nielsen survey methodology to collect data on media use, foreign radio listening, existing and potential listener preferences for five countries: Egypt, Algeria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. These surveys generally comply with the recommendation to identify and report significant methodological limitations and the implications of them for performance indicators, including, where applicable, sampling errors, margins of error, or confidence intervals. All five of the surveys report some limitations and the intended and achieved samples. Four of the five samples are weighted and the use of weighting is documented in all four surveys. Not all limitations are clearly reported, however. Two of the five do not report their substitution counts that result from an unsystematic approach to household selection. One does not report the limitations of using a quota and snowball samples which are nonprobability samples.

According to BBG, it has ensured that its research contractor (InterMedia) has finalized and implemented written policies and procedures for conducting surveys which serve as the basis for assessing MBN's audience. In addition, as of June 2010, BBG indicates that it has drafted a chapter in the Broadcasting Administration Manual-which is used by MBN-on how to compute performance measures. The procedures outlined in the chapter address how broadcasters should compute performance of BBG's new performance measure of "increased understanding."