LETTER TO G. WILLIAM WHITEHURST FROM JAMES H. TAYLOR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP87M00539R001602440019-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 15
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 25, 2009
• Sequence Number: 19
• Publication Date: February 8, 1985
• Content Type: LETTER

STAT
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Central Intelligence Agency
Vlhshinnm a C. 20505
8 February 1985
The Honorable G. William Whitehurst
House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
L L - BS" C~ 1 3~-Z
Mr. John McMahon has asked me to thank you for your
interest as shown in your letter of 16 January 1985, and to
respond in his absence.
As you know, the United States Government has for some time
been conducting several programs in this region to promote
economic progress and the democratic process. America's message
is carried to the Eastern Caribbean in large part by the Voice
of America, which broadcasts in several languages. United
States themes and Western values are reinforced by BBC
broadcasts in the region. It is our understanding that VOA has
specific plans in train for significantly expanding its
broadcast efforts in the Caribbean basin region, the most recent
addition being the start-up of broadcasting from Costa Rica,
19 January 1985.
Additionally, hundreds of commercial stations are also
broadcasting in several languages to the Caribbean region,
utilizing both short- and medium-wave frequencies. Our
experience is that many of these are heard clearly at night.
From our informal contact with officers of the Department
of State, USIA, and the Agency for International Development --
those offices of the Government which have responsibility for
such matters -- we gather that there is room for considerably
additional expanded broadcasting, perhaps including approaches
such as that which Mr. Allen Hundley recommends. His proposal
has been examined by several of our officers, but whatever its
undoubted merits, the CIA has no authority for conducting
programs such as he suggests. If his proposals have not already
been brought to the attention of State, USIA, and AID, we would
urge that this be done.
Sincerely,
C ~3~
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C/ r31 Jan 85)
Retyped:gg (5 Feb 85)
Revised: D/OLI.:CABriggs;jms (7 Feb 8S)
STAT
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ACTION I INFO I DATE INITIAL
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 STAT
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G. WILLIAM WHITEHURST JOHN P. MAGILL
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
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U / OIIEGATE To
NOATN ATLANTIC ASSEMSIY
Congregmc of the Wniteb 'tata;
Jouge of Repreantatibeg
11so jington, M.C. 20515
January 16, 1985
Mr. John McMahon
Deputy Director
Central Intelligence Agency
Washington, D.C. 2050S
Executive Registry
85- 216
CONSTITUENT SERVICE OFFICES
815 FEDERAL BUILDING
NORFOLK. VIRGINIA 23510
[phone]
EILEEN 0 MANDEL
OFFICE MANAGER
SUITE 801
ONE COLUMBUS CENTER
GINIA BEACH. VIRGINIA 23462
[phone]
MORLEY J. HOWLE
OFFICE MANAGER
I recently met with Mr. Allen B. Hundley of Richmond,
Virginia concerning a proposal he presented to "high level
officials of the Agency in June." He tells me that the pro-
posal was received quite favorably at that time, but that
he has heard nothing since. I am writing in the hope that
you will have someone run this down and determine just where
it is at this point. If the CIA is proceeding with the pro-
ject, then I would like to know at what level it is being
pursued, and if not, the reasons for the Agency's inaction,
if you can share such with me. For your reference, I am en-
closing a copy of his recommendation.
I appreciate your looking into this and await your early
response.
With kindest regards, I remain
Sincerely,
404
G. WILLIAM WHITEHURST
GWW:Mdw
Enclosure
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by Allen Hundley
The problems confronting the Caribbean basin nations are well documented,
including most recently the report by the Kissinger Commission. Poverty, illiter-
acy, lack of economic opportunity, poor health standards, and low productivity all
contribute to social and economic stagnation and the potential for armed conflict.
What is needed is a two-pronged strategy in which people in the region are encour-
aged to use their own talents and resources to improve their living conditions and
in which foreign investment is encouraged.
The most important target audience in the region is that which comprises
the rural poor. In most countries of the western Caribbean basin this group re-
preuents a large portion of the population. It also represents an excellent tar-
get of opportunity for foreign subversives intent on undermining and eventually
destroying existing governments in the region.
A second and also very important target audience are service professionals
in the fields of education, health, and agriculture. Doctors, nurses, teachers,
and agricultural extension agents must keep their knowledge and skills current
with the latest developments in their respective areas of expertise if they are
to provide the best and most effective service to their clients. This can often
be a difficult task for those working in rural areas, adding to the frustrations
of living in such areas and, for governments, of attracting qualified personnel
who are willing to serve under such conditions.
These problems require urgent attention. The political and economic
climate in the Caribbean Basin is deteriorating steadily. Effective actions
are needed now if this dangerous trend is to be reversed. In the context of
development that clearly means pursuing projects which
- draw on existing experience and success
- will not require five or ten or fifteen years to research, design, and
build
which do not depend on massive expenditures of dollars which Congress
may never appropriate
- which will not be held up for' months or even years by squabbling petty
bureacrats in the host country
- which will not collapse the moment U.S. government funding ceases.
The project to be proposed in this paper meets all of the above criteria.
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c, f C -
Radio has demonstrated repeatedly that it is the most cost effective medium
for disseminating information. It penetrates everywhere, even into the poorest
and most remote home. One does not need to be able to read in order to benefit
from it. It is a personal medium in its psychological impact and hence ideally
suited for motivating people to action. A radio station is relatively cheap to
construct and requires only a small staff, the members of which need minimal
training compared to other media. A station can be constructed quickly and oper-
ated at minimal expense. Lastly, radio lends itself to coordinated development
efforts employing other media such as print materials and television.
It is proposed that a single, relatively powerful station be constructed,
probably on an island in the Caribbean, which will serve the. educational needs
of the western Caribbean Basin, i.e. the nations of Central America plus Columbia.
While certain differences characterize these countries they are far overshadowed
by similarities in language, culture, and level of economic development. In short
they are alike in many more ways than they are different. In addition these
countries are contiguous to one another and occupy a rather small geographic area.
All of these factors support the concept of a single station to serve the
educational needs of the region. The idea is to bring together in one place the
best. writers, the best producers, the best on-air personalities, and the best
technical and administrative talent to broadcast powerful, effective programs
which motivate action.
There is however another potential contribution which such a station could
make and which warrants serious consideration. The station might operate solely
as an educational facility and broadcast only in Spanish. Alternatively it might
be used to promote tourism, trade, and foreign investment by broadcasting at
night to English speaking tourists visiting such resort areas as Cancun and Coz-
umel in Mexico; Jamaica; the Cayman Islands; and the Dutch Antilles.
Using this latter approach the station could even be made partially
and possibily even completely self supporting through the sale of commercial
air time to travel agencies, hotel chains, airlines, cruise lines, etc. Also,
products from the region could be pronoted.
There are two important reasons why such a commercial operation would
not, detract from the educational function of the station. Since the primary
target audience is the rural poor, most of these people are without electric
service and go to bed soon after local sunset. On the other hand there is a
dearth of English language stations which can be heard clearly at night in the
Caribbean, as visitors to Cancun and Cozumel can readily attest. Because the
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region is south of the Tropic of Cancer seasonal variations in daylength are
not great, with the result that the station could for example end its Spanish
language transmissions at 7:30 p.m. and commense in English at 8:00 p.m.,
continuing until perhaps 2:00 a.m. With almost no competition the station is
almost certain to be a success both educationally and commercially, with commer-
icial revenues going to support the station's educational mission. (See Table I).
In recent years professionals in international development have become
increasingly aware of the importance of local stations in reaching large numbers
of rural people. Such stations often take the place of newspapers or even the
postal service in the dissemination of information. Unfortunately many of these
stations are poorly equipped, poorly maintained and poorly staffed besides having
a limited coverage area. They have their role in social life but they will never
be able to produce and distribute quality educational and instructional programs
in the same way that a local educational TV station in the U.S. would never be
able to produce a "Sesame Street". Programs produced for broadcast on the
regional station could also be rebroadcast on the local station via a tape dis-
tribution system but this would not take the place of a centrally organized
regional station for reasons to be detailed below.
The station would be run by a highly professional staff numbering about
fifty and would be governed by a board of directors. The organization would pro-
bably be set up to function as a not-for-profit educational corporation or found-
ation, the exact legal character to be determined by the laws of the country of
incorporation. The members of the board would be drawn from AID, the contracting
institution or company, an organization with extensive experience in the field
of radio education such as Columbia's renowned Accion Cultural Popular (ACPO),
and a regional agricultural/scientific research institute such as the International
Center for Wheat and Maize Development in El Batan, Mexico (CIMMYT) or the Center
for Investigations of Quintana Roo State on Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. The
latt,or especially has been conducting agricultural and energy research relevant
to conditions in Central America. (It is also worth noting that both Columbia
and Mexico are members of the Contadorra Group, which is supported by the current
administration).
Consideration might also be given to including on the board of directors
an agricultural or health expert from one of the international lending agencies
such as the World Bank or the Inter-American Bank. A board of directors of
approximately the above composition gives international credibility to the project
and diffuses the potential charge that the station is really a disguised effort
at Yankee imps--U__sm.
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The facility should be located in a politically stable country friendly
to the United States. Also it should be located so as to provide effective
coverage of the entire western Caribbean region. An island is the logical
choice because of the extraordinary conductivity of sea water for radio waves
in the standard AM broadcast band. (Shortwave is not especially relevant be-
cause so few people have shortwave receivers. Even an inexpensive shortwave
receiver is likely to cost ten or more times what an ordinary transistor AM
radio will cost).
While there are a number of island sites which might be used, the best
choice appears to be Providencia, about 150 miles off the coast of Central
America and about 300 miles north of Panama, It is owned by Columbia and is
part of the San Andres-Providencia group. Providencia is large enough to pro-
vide protection from storms and is sparcely populated so that local inter-
ference from a fairly large radio transmitter will not be a major problem.
Given the rather low cost of satellite links these days the studios
could be located most anywhere. The programming would then be relayed via
satellite to the transmitter site which might be manned only by technicians.
However, there may be an important reason to locate the studios at the trans-
mitter site on the island. This will be explained in detail below.
A transmitter of perhaps 250 KW will be required as well as a low oper-
ating frequency (e.g. 700 KHz. or below) and a tall tower if the entire region
is to be served adequately. While 250 D is large by U.S. domestic standards
it is a pigmy compared to the 2,000 KW stations operating in Europe and the
Middle East and smaller even than several stations already broadcasting in
Mexico and the Dutch Antilles. Using a low frequency and a tall tower
will maximize signal strength via ground wave propagation. If necessary a
higher frequency could be employed although the design parameters become
somewhat more complex because of a more pronounced skywave component.
The total cost of the transmitter, tower, building, and studios is
estimated to be $1.8 to $2.0 million. Yearly operating costs are estimated to
be $1.0 to $2.0 million, depending on a variety of factors including the size
and composition of the staff, local energy costs, etc. Free housing for example
might be provided for the staff, increasing the initial construction cost but
paying for itself in the long run through somewhat reduced salary expenses.
Locating the station on an island has the additional advantage of in-
sulating it from any civil unrest that may arise at a given point in time. In
fact the transmitter itself could even be mounted in a small freighter anchored
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next to -the island if security were of primary concern. The tower would still
have to be situated on land however if maximum signal strength were to be attained,
it being impractical to mount a 800-900 ft. tower on a floating platform. On ti;e
other hand a ship would provide minimal operating quarters for the station,
along with maintenance facilities, diesel generators for power, storage tanks
for fresh water, etc. Thus, in the event that political or other circumstances
warranted the transfer of the station to another location, such a move could be
accomplished quickly and easily. However, the costs of operating and maintaining
even a small merchant vessel are not inconsiderable and should be studied care-
fully before this approach can be considered economically viable. Note that the
initial cost of the vessel would probably not be a major factor because of the
number of suitable ships seized by U.S. drug enforcement authorities and either
given to other government agencies or auctioned off to the general public. No
doubt some expense would be involved in overhauling the vessel and making the
necessary modifications but I am told by a prominent naval architect (actually
the director of the U.S. Navy's battleship modernization program) that such
modifications would be quite easily accomplished.
PROGRAMMING
The goal of the project is to provide rural people of little or no edu-
ct3tion with some practical new knowledge and then motivate them to use it.
Simply putting some educational programs on the air guarantees neither. The
radio audience is not a captive one. If people don't like what they hear or
find it boring or irrelevant they will tune away to a station they find more
interesting or enjoyable.
Therefore, if the project is to succeed it is imperative that it employ
the same kind of audience building techniques that are used by commercial stations
in both the U.S. and Latin America. In short, American public radio is not the
model. Commercial radio is. Obviously the situation is different with respect
to in-service instructional programs for nurses and teachers but during those
times of the day when the primary target audience is the rural poor the program-
ing on the surface will sound much more like an ordinary commercial music station
than like either a station run by the Ministry of Information or a noncommercial
educational station.
Translated into specifics that means hiring radio announcers who either
are or could have been successful radio personalities in commerical broadcasting.
At the same time they must also be able to identify with rural people and their
needs and concerns. These announcers will be point men for social change. They
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need to be down-to-earth, personable, and of high integrity so as to build a bond
of trust with their listeners. One picture may be worth a thousand words but one
word from someone we trust is worth a million posters produced by faceless burea-
crats in some faraway capital city.
Much of the programming will probably consist of popular music. But between
the songs will be the "commercials" some of which might be short health announce-
ments while others might be features as much as five to ten minutes long dealing
with agricultural practices or how to build energy effecient stoves.
INTEGRATING BROADCASTING WITH RURAL DEVELOPMENT
This project offers the opportunity to implement a powerful, innovative
motivational strategy by directly involving the station and its staff in research
in rural development. If the staff with their families were housed at the station
which was itself located in a rural area, the staff members themselves could try
out some of the ideas being promoted in their programing. That is, they would
be practicing what they preach and reporting on the results. Being able to talk
about their own first hand experiences with a new gardening or food storage tech-
nique would add dramatically to the credibility of the stations on-air personal-
ities. It is an application of what I term the "Godfrey Principle". During
the 1950's and even into the 60's Arthur Godfrey was the most popular and trusted
figure in American entertainment. The reason was because he had a habit of test-
inF out for himself live on the air the products in the commercials he was reading.
The classic example is the time when, after reading a spot for Lipton's new in-
stant soup "with real pieces of meat", he put the script aside, opened up a
package, emptied it on the desk in front of him, and proceeded to count the
nuriber of pieces. That kind of down to earth honesty gave heart attacks to
network advertisers but he didn't lose many because Godfrey's endorsement of
a product was worth its weight in gold. Those with clearly inferior products
soon learned to advertise elsewhere.
In order for the radio staff to become deeply involved in the rural
community research and development process the station will have to be located
either in a rural area or on an island where there is adequate room for agri-
cultural test beds, etc. However such a location has the added advantage of
screening out those who do not really identify with the people they are to serve.
Those who long for city life are simply not likely to be effective in communi-
cating with rural folk. In addition the station might also be used to train
broadcasters from the Caribbean region in a wide variety of skills, from writing
and production to engineering maintenance.
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Regionai naaio - page -/
AN ALTERNATIVE STRUCTURE
Instead of direction by a board of directors drawn from various
organizations the project could be structured as a purely "commercial"
broadcasting venture. No doubt there are a number of suitable chan-
nels, especially in the Miami area, through which this could be ac-
complished. Or perhaps a group of offshore investors might come
forward.
Under this plan the station would start as an English language
commercial station with daytime Spanish language commercial oper-
ations beginning soon afterward. Obvious advertisers for the latter
include Coke, TACA Airlines, Eastern Airlines, breweries, etc.
One other option deserves mention. This paper-has focused on
a station to be located in the western Caribbean. There is of course
a large Spanish language audience in the eastern Caribbean, in the
Dominican Republic for example, which could benefit from a broadcast
service of this kind. The station could be located in the Turks and
Caicos islands between the Bahamas and the DR, which as before could
broadcast in English at night to a tourist audience in the region.
Interestingly, the commercial potential of the latter has riot
been lost on U.S. investors. Quality Media Corporation of Columbus,
Georgia is preparing to build a 50 Kw station in the Turks and
Caicos, apparently satisfied that sufficient revenue can be generated
to make the station a commercial success.
Another group of investors from the States might decide to
build a competing station, joined perhaps by a group of Dominican
businessmen who see sizable profits from one very powerful station
broadcasting in Spanish to the DR during the day. Or Quality Media
could decide to sell out if a suitable offer were made, especially
with the prospect of well funded competition.
A more detailed technical description of the proposed station
can 1,e obtained by writing or calling
Allen B. Hundley
21 Malvern Avenue
Richmond, VA 23221
[phone]
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TABLE I
ESTIMATE OF POTENTIAL REVENUES FROM LIMITED COMMERCIAL OPERATION
OF A CARIBBEAN REGIONAL STATION
The figures below represent a very rough estimate of the potential revenue which
might be generated by a powerful AM station broadcasting in English to tourists
in the western Caribbean basin. Since no such station currently exists the fig-
ures were generated based on current broadcast standards and practices in the U.S.
- The estimates assume in all cases that the station will broadcast to a tourist
audience no more than six hours per day, 365 days per year-, i.e. 8 pm to 2 am.
- The number of commercial "spots" per hour is representative of an easy listening
FM format. The actual format might be very different with many more spots.
- For purposes of comparision the top one-minute rate for WGMS, a commercial clas-
sical music station in the highly competitive Washington, D.C. market is $160.
Therefore, an average spot rate even as high as $50 is not at all unrealistic
although it might take several years of operation to attain that level.
spots/hr.
average rate
revenues/week
revenues/year
$20
$6,720
$349,440
30
10,080
524,160
40
13,440
698,880
50
16,800
873,600
10
20
8,400
436,800
10
30
12,600
655,200
10
40
16,800
873,600
10
$50
$21,000
$1,092,000
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Conoco of the Woo *tata
3ouge of Aepregentatibeg
Sagfjington, 3C 20515
Mr. John McMahon
Deputy Director
Central Intelligence Agency
Washington, D.C. 20505
till 1111H11111 1111MISHIA11
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