BBG Elects New Chairman

The Broadcasting Board of Governors has elected Kenneth Weinstein acting chairman of the board. He has been a member of the board since October 2013.

Weinstein succeeds Jeff Shell, chairman of Universal Filmed Entertainment group, who will continue as a board member.

"Working to advance the mission of BBG throughout the world is truly an honor, and I am excited to work with my fellow Board Members and with CEO [John] Lansing in this new capacity," said Weinstein.

Weinstein is president and CEO of think tank, The Hudson Institute.

This week also saw the resignation of public diplomacy expert Matthew Armstrong, who had been on the board since 2013.

Congress voted in December to restructure the BBG, transitioning the board of governors to a board of advisors and essentially concentrating the governing power with the CEO, who is appointed by the President.

BBG oversees government-backed, nonmilitary international media outlets including VOA, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa).

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.