METHODOLOGY

At the request of the BBG Board, and based on the allegations received, the IBB Office of Program Review conducted a quantitative and qualitative study of VOA Pashto Service output.

The quantitative study was based on examination of Service radio logs for the period Jan. 1-June 12, 2001. the period covered by the list of allegedly pro-Taleban broadcasts submitted in the second set of allegations. A senior analyst examined logs for every program on each of the 163 days of the time period. A primary goal of this study was to determine the percentage of total airtime of VOA Pashto original reporting on Afghanistan. Within that percentage, program minutes were divided into four categories:

⚫ items labelled pro-Taleban in the submission including tapes of or reports on statements by Taleban representatives;

items not labelled pro-Taleban in the submission, but also including comments by or reports on Taleban representatives;

· stories about the Taleban from other sources;

storics about Afghanistan.

(NOTE: For the purposes of this study, the Office of Program Review accepted at face value the “pro-Taleban” characterization of reports and interviews submitted with the second allegation.)

Within the timeline of the period under review, the Office of Program Review did an additional, more detailed study of daily programming broadcast during Feb. 25-March 31, the period in which the Taleban destroyed several Buddhist statues inside Afghanistan. In conducting this content analysis Program Review examined Service usage of VOA News Division materials (including correspondent reports, news backgrounders, and press roundups) and U.S. Government Editorials from IBB's Office of Policy (approved by the Department of State.) The purpose was to determine if there was any pattern of bias through exclusion or significant shortening of stories.

To conduct a qualitative analysis, Program Review sent cassettes of VOA Pashto Service broadcasts from March, June, and July to two Pashto-speaking independent evaluators contracted for this purpose. They were Dr. Anwar Ul-Haq Ahady, Professor of Political Science at Providence College, in Providence, Rhode Island, and Dr. Alam Payind, Director of the Middle East Studies Center at Ohio State University in Columbus. Each received a different, separate, eight-hour sample of Pashto broadcasts, with some selections taken from the list of allegedly pro-Taleban program segments submitted in the second set of allegations.

Finally, the Program Review office examined seven months - 212 consecutive days - of Pashto Service radio logs, January through July, 2001, for a wider perspective on how programs are presented and whether the Service is operating in accordance with the mandates for accuracy, objectivity, and comprehensiveness required by the VOA Charter and VOA Journalistic Guidelines.

75-634 D-00--3

January 2001:

1. 1/3/2001

Osama Bin Laden

2. 1/7/2001

One-on-One with Taliban Ambassador to Islamabad on

9:30

Interview with A. Momand on Rehabilitation of Schools

in Afghanistan (reflecting positively onlife under Taliban) 11:10 3. 1/10/2001 One-on-One with Taleban spokesman Motmaen on PakTaleban relations, military aid in light of sanctions 13:45

4. 1/13/2001 Taleban Foreign Minister meets UN envoy: Interviews with Vendrell and Mutawakil

7:45

Taleban Foreign Minister news conference in Islamabad

6. 1/16/2001 Taleban leader calls on Muslim countries to oppose UN sanctions 3:10

9. 1/17/2001 Another One-on-One with Taleban Ambassador in Islamabad on prospects of sanctions on Bin Laden 14:15

10. 1/18/2001 Kabul Higher Education professors on sanctions 1/21/2001 Opposition commander defects

11.

3:30

12. 1/21/2001 Residents of Baghlan province react to sanctions, (negative reporting on the sanctions) 3:20

4:00

13. 1/22/2001 Taleban reject UNSG allegations on massacre in Yakawlang and an interview with a Shia leader just back from Yakawlang in Bamiyan, who criticized the UNSG statement and the UNSG sanctions and actualities of two professors of the Afghan Academy of Science condemning sanctions 7:30

14. 1/22/2001 A report based on an interview with former diplomat, Mohammad Gul Watanpal just back from Afghanistan on his eyewitness account of economic and social situation in Afghanistan and the possible impact of UNSC sanctions on Afghanistan

4:30

15. 1/23/2001 Pakistan Interior Minister visits Afghanistan 3:30 16. 1/24/2001 One-on-One with (a Taliban supporter) Abdul Samad Hamed on Peace Efforts 15:00

17. 1/26/2001 Talk Show: Human Rights Taleban Ambassador in Islamabad and Habibullah Rafi of a Human Rights group in Peshawar 33:00 18. 1/27/2001 Taleban Ambassador in Islamabad meets Uzbek Foreign Minister 6:30

Total: 140:55

February 2001

19. 2/1/2001

Taleban Foreign Minister interview on his meeting with

UN envoy Vendrell and his comments on the opposition official Dr. 7:00

Abdullah

Interview with Taleban Deputy Civil Aviation Minister

20.

2/5/2001

7:00

Pakistani Interior Minister Meets Taleban Official 3:35
Interview with Taleban Minister of Public Health
Talk Show: Mawlawi Abdul Raqeeb, (Minister of

6:50

Refugee Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan) and UNHCR representative 33:30

24. 2/10/2001

Department Official

Taleban Representative in New York Meets State

4:45

25. 2/12/2001 Establishment of a private bank compatible with international standards 5:15

26.

2/13/2001 UN disagrees with closing of Taleban office in New York: Interview with Vendrell 3:10

27. 2/13/2001 Pashto stringer (positive report) on his visits to two small factories in Kabul

28. 2/14/2001

5:00

29.

2/15/2001

30. 2/16/2001

31. 2/17/2001

32. 2/19/2001

33.

4:30

Interview with Taleban Deputy Minister of Public Health

Taleban Observe Soviet withdrawal anniversary
Talk Show: Commander Haqqani of Taleban and

Commander Abdul Haq on Soviet Invasion.Consequences

2/21/2001
12:55

30:35

4:00

Taleban governor of Kunduz on fighting 6:40
Pakistani traders begin trading with Taleban 4:20
One-on-One with Taleban Minister of Higher Education

34. 2/23/2001 Talk Show: Poppy Eradication: Mulla Mutmaen, Taleban spokesman and a UNDCP official 34:35

35. 2/26/2001 Opposition commander defects

40.

3/8/2001
4:10

Afghan women in London demonstrate against sanctions

41. 3/8/2001 Interview with Tajwar Kakar, a woman's right activist (strongly pro-Taleban) and two other women on the occasion of Women's day 10:15

42. 3/9/2001 Talk Show: Buddha Statue destruction with Taleban Foreign Minister and Dr. Hasan Kakar (strongly pro-Taleban) 30:15

43. 3/10.2001 Taleban spokesman, Abdul Hay Motmaen interview 2:40 44. Interview with Taleban Foreign Minister on meeting with

3/12/2001

Kofi Annan 5:50 3/12/2001

45.

Qatar delegation talks to taleban 3:45 Taleban spokesman Mutmaen on talks with OIC delegation and Wahdat condemn distruction of statues 6:40

46. 3/13/2001

52.

3/21/2001

Interview with Taleban Minister of Education
Interview with Taleban Minister of information
Taleban Ban Nowroz (Afghan new year)

6:00

2:00

2:50

53. 3/21/2001 One-on-One with Taleban Spokesman, Motmaen justifying ban on Nowroz 11:45

54. 3/23/2001 Talk Show: Freedom of the Press: Taleban Spokesman, Mutmaen and Nabi Mesdaq (He was fired by BBC because of his strong support for Taleban) 33:30

55. 3/27/2001 Interview with Project Manager of Preservation of Historic Relics in Western Afghanistan

56. 3/28/2001

8:15

One-on-One with Taleban Representative in New York

One-on-One with Taleban spokesman on Human Rights

and Pak Interference 11:45

61.

4/7/2001

Pakistan Religious leader on an upcoming rally

4:00

104. 6/16/2001

6:00

Taleban Finance Minister news conference 5:35

105. 6/16/2001 Taleban Denial of bombing Yakawlang

4:15

107. 7/4/2001 One On One with historian, Dr. Kakar on his trip and observation in Afghanistan and his analysis of the situation.

13:10

8:40

108. 7/10/2001 Interview with Taleban Drug Control Commissioner, Mulla Abdul Hamid Akhundzada on drug control 109. 7/11/2001 One on One with Taleban Supreme Justice Mawlawi Nur Mohammad Saqeb on Taleban Interpretation of Islamic Law. 13:15 110. 7/18/2001 One on One with Taleban Deputy Minister of Trade on

Trade and Transit Dispute between Pakistan and Afghanistan 10:40 111. 7/31/2001 UNSC adopts resolution on deploying monitors to help enforce sanctions on taleban and Taleban reaction 9:25 112. 8/2/2001 Highlights of US Assistant Secretary Christina Rocca statement and Pashto Interview with Taleban Ambassador in Islamabad on the US-Taleban Meeting that ended two hours ago 5:50 113. 8/7/2001 Interview with Taleban minister of water on Afghan engineers' efforts to build spare parts for a dam. 114. 8/9/2001 Interview with Taleban deputy foreign minister, Zahid on visas for diplomats to visit detained foreign aid workers 115. 8/13/2001 Interview with Taleeban foreign minister on visa issuance 6:40

7:10

116. 8/17/2001 Call-in-Show: Taleban foreign minister and Wahidi, director of NGO coordinating body on Shelter Now workers' detentions

117. 8/21/2001

Now 6:20

34:20

Taleban criticizes Kofi Annan's statement on Shelter

6:40

33:30

14:00

119. 8/24/2001 Call-in Show with Taleban-supporter Rostar Taraki

120. 8/25/2001 Interview with Taleban deputy foreign minister on Aid

Workers

121. 8/27/2001

3:00

Interview with Taleban ambassador in Pakistan and reports on detainees

122. 9/4/2001

problem

8:00

Taleban foreign minister calls on UN to solve the refugee 2:30