“It is difficult to imagine what would have happened if it were not for the Voice of America and other sources with the help of which the true information squeezed through, which showed a different point of view, which said that we are not alone and that something is happening in the country — because our mass media did not…
In an article for the Winter 1984/1985 issue of Foreign Affairs, “A Divided Europe: The Future of Yalta,” Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski wrote that “Yalta is unfinished business. Forty years after the fateful Crimean meeting of February 4-11, 1945, between the Allied Big Three of World War II, much of our current (1984/1985) preoccupation with Yalta focuses on its myth rather…
Poland’s communist regime organized a referendum on political and economic reforms, which was held on 29 November 1987. Around a third of eligible voters did not participate, defying the regime. It was the first time that Communist authorities in Eastern Europe had lost a vote. I covered the referendum for the Voice of America (VOA) Polish Service. After the vote,…
In a March 1989 Voice of America-Worldnet-Polish Television program moderated by Ted Lipien, then director of the Voice of America (VOA) Polish Service, Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski discussed historic political changes, which were taking place at that time in Poland and throughout Central and Eastern Europe. Dr. Brzezinski was being interviewed by journalists in Poland which was still under communist rule…
Link to audio. The interview (in Polish – po polsku) with Czesław Miłosz was recorded in Oxford on September 19, 1984 at a conference on Polish-Jewish relations. Miłosz talks about Poland’s multicultural traditions, Polish-Jewish relations in the 19th century, during the interwar period, and under communism. He discusses anti-Semitism, Polish-Jewish relations in his home city of Wilno (Vilnius – now…
“There’s great affection from the American people for the people of Poland.” – Vice President George H.W. Bush, September 24, 1987 Voice of America correspondent Wayne Corey and VOA Polish Service director Ted Lipien recorded the interview at the White House on September 24, 1987 shortly before Vice President George H.W. Bush left on his trip to Poland. The…
Vice President George H.W. Bush began a four-day visit to Poland on Saturday, September 26, 1987. His visit facilitated talks between Solidarity and the communist regime and the eventual peaceful fall of communism in Poland. I interviewed Vice President Bush at his office in Washington before the trip and accompanied him as Voice of America Polish Service correspondent. I filed…
Interweaving of Public Diplomacy and U.S. International Broadcasting A Historical Analysis by Ted Lipien Published in American Diplomacy, December 2011 Summary U.S. policy makers have used traditional diplomacy, public diplomacy and government-sponsored journalism to promote America’s interests and to influence public opinion abroad. On the journalistic side, the so-called surrogate radios: Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty – more…
Ted Lipien’s book about Pope John Paul II and feminism, “Wojtyła’s Women: How They Shaped the Life of Pope John Paul II and Changed the Catholic Church, O-Books, UK, 2008,” was translated into Polish and published in Poland. Adam Szostkiewicz, a reviewer for the Polish news magazine Polityka, wrote that “Lipien is an American journalist with Polish roots who speaks…
by Ted Lipien Published April 7, 2013 by Digital Journal Truckee – Led by Peja of the Polish rap group Slums Attack, Europe’s rappers recorded a multilingual tribute to political and cultural freedom message of the American-funded station Radio Free Europe. Using historical film footage of Radio Free Europe broadcasters, rappers from several European countries make statements similar to dissident voices…
Three years ago, on September 1, 2010, The Washington Times published my article about Zofia Korbońska, an anti-Nazi and anti-Communist resister and a Voice of America Polish Service journalist who had passed away on August 16, 2010.
Reposted BBG Watch Commentary Former Voice of America (VOA) acting associate director and journalist Ted Lipien wrote in a Washington Times op-ed article that International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) officials in charge of U.S. government-funded broadcasts are losing information war abroad by undermining support for it at home. Commenting on the controversy over the recent lifting of domestic propaganda ban with…
By Ted Lipien Published July 27, 2013 by Digital Journal Washington – Federal employees were told to identify U.S. stations but not to make offers of government-funded news to domestic media. With the controversy swirling over media reports that after a recent congressional modification in the 1948 Smith-Mundt Act, U.S. officials may try to target Americans with government propaganda, the federal agency…
DigitalJournal.com – 20 hours ago Would government officials resort to deceptive propaganda to help them get Congress to overturn an old law, the Smith-Mundt Act, which prohibited them from distributing government-funded news to Americans? They most certainly did by telling members of Congress that Americans were somehow denied having any kind of access to Voice of America (VOA) news and that great many Americans were demanding that the…
By Ted Lipien Published July 15, 2013 by Digital Journal Washington – I am not afraid of taxpayer-funded Voice of America (VOA) news in the United States, but I’m afraid of government officials who may interfere with the news and mistreat journalists. I am not afraid of Voice of America news being available on radio, TV and Internet in the United States. As…