MONTHLY REPORT - AUSTRIA BUREAU - DECEMBER 1986

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP87-01104R000100020001-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 3, 2012
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: January 7, 1987
• Content Type: MEMO

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03: CIA-RDP87-01104R000100020001-9
7 January 1987
MEMORANDUM FOR: Director, FBIS
FROM Chief, Vienna Bureau
THROUGH Chief, Operations Group
SUBJECT Monthly Report - Austria Bureau - December 1986
A. As severe budgetary problems continue to plague embassies
worldwide, and especially European embassies, Austria Bureau is
beginning to feel the effects of deteriorating support from
Amemb Vienna. Every indication is that embassy services will continue
to deteriorate, and this will inevitably change the way the bureau
does business and impact adversely on our own budget.
B. Chief Monitor retired on 31 December after
more than 35 years with FBIS. A formal dinner party was given in his
honor at one of Vienna's better restaurants on the 17th, and a reception
was held at the bureau on 30 December at which time a letter from the
Director was read and a 19th Century print of his favorite city --
Venice -- was given him from the office staff.
A. Monitorial/Editorial
1. AFP Strike: a 7-day strike, from 11 to 17 December, left
this and other AFP coverage bureaus without AFP service. While we were
able to fill the gap somewhat from Vienna's German-language Teletext
service, editors found the absence of this prolific news source to
be a relief during what turned out to be a rather busy month.
2. With the normal end-of-year East European party meetings
on their economic plans, the bureau's wirefiled publishable wordage
figure -- 834,860 -- fell short of the previous record set in October
1986 by a mere 100 words. If AFP service had not been interrupted
in mid-month, a new record would undoubtedly have been set.
STAT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03: CIA-RDP87-01104R000100020001-9
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03: CIA-RDP87-01104R000100020001-9
3. VLAN wordage figures fell a bit from those of November, from
350,080 to 319,180. Nevertheless, VLAN wordage accounted for 38 percent
of the bureau's total output.
4. Following extensive exchanges with ADD, the bureau removed
all stub connectors from PC's on its VLAN in an effort to eliminate
problems which had caused several PC's to "hang up" when trying to
communicate with ULAN file servers. With the removal operation being
completed on 16 December, all problems disappeared. The system has
functioned quite well since then.
B. Communications
1. With the arrival of the necessary modems, another step was taken
completion of the bureau's new 300 baud communications circuit during the
month. Nevertheless, progress toward the activation of the new circuit
remains slow, for a variety of reasons. 1) the modems to be used required
that the present two-wire bureau to embassy link be upgraded to a four-
wire link, a necessit of which we were unaware until the modems arrived;
2) the commo switch which is to handle our material as it moves
to/from Croughton, has eit er lost or never received the software
package ary to reprogram its computer to accept the bureau's
traffic. eC~~story about the reprogramming software keeps changing,
moving back and forth between the lost and not received explanations
as to why it has not reprogrammed its computer. There has been no word
as of 31 December regarding an estimated reprogramming date.
2. The bureau was advised on 22 December that the modems necessary
for the upgrade of the VCVC backup communications line to 150 baud had
been pouched. Installation of the modems and activation of the upgraded
line must await the February visit of the BBC engineer who will be
modifying the line.
3. Outages on the bureau's existing 75 baud State circuit totaled
112 hours in December, requiring at one point that London Bureau send
its traffic destined for AU to the bureau using the VCVC line. This
enabled the bureau to avoid processing duplication and to function
more or less normally.
Inspired by the excellent job the Headquarters Administrative Staff
is doing in its revision of FBIS Notices, Austria Bureau is undertaking
a review of its notices. The two following examples from the mid-fifties
were left unaltered, however, as we did not see how they could be
improved upon:
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03: CIA-RDP87-01104R000100020001-9
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03: CIA-RDP87-01104R000100020001-9
Bureau employees will continue to enjoy a morning and afternoon
tea time as previously. The fact that the entire staff is spread out
considerably more than in the Allianz Building makes necessary some
changes both in schedule and practices.
Each day, Monday through Friday, the clerk-teletypist responsible
for the 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. messenger runs will stop by the kitchen on
her way upstairs and put a large pot full of water on to boil. After
making her upstairs pickups, she will stop back by the kitchen and
finish making the tea. This ends her responsibility.
Each employee will then be able to go to the kitchen between
10 a.m. and 11 a.m. and between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. to get tea. Each
employee is responsible for rinsing his or her cup and plate.
The Bureau Chief regrets that is has become known, only now,
to the American staff of the Bureau that a number of employees have
been taking very frequent baths in the 3rd floor bathroom without
asking prior permission. Although a minor affair, failure to ask
permission where permission is required is apt to jeopardize the
trust that is placed in all Bureau employees.
There also seems to be some questions as to whether all baths
were taken on the individual's on time.
There is no objection to an employee's using the 3rd floor
bathroom facilities for bath purposes as long as all such baths are
taken before or after the normal working shift. Except in the most
unusual circumstances, three baths within the Monday-Friday period
should be sufficient.
STAT
Chief, Austrian Bureau
cc: Chief, FBIS London Bureau
Attachments:
Production Report
Staff Personnel Report
Non-Staff Personnel Report
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03: CIA-RDP87-01104R000100020001-9
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/04/03: CIA-RDP87-01104R000100020001-9
Austrian Bureau Production Report for December
1986
TOTAL.
PUBLISHABLE WORDAGE FILED DURING MONTH:
e34,860
TOTAL
NON-PUBLISHABLE WORDAGE. FILED DURING MONTH-
21 , 940
TOTAL_
NUMBER OF. PUBLISHABLE ITEMS FILED DURING MONTH:
1 , 383
BROAD--
CASTS
PRESS
AGENCIES
P'UBL I -
CATIONS
I I .
INPUT OF REGL..JLAR COVERAGE::
12v275
15,015
322.91
nil t;? or issues per week)
min.
min.
issues
III.
OUTPUT FROM ALL... SOURCES:
(publishable words per month)
A L B A N I A
Tirana Domestic Service in
A ll an i.aii
Tirana ATA in
E'iu:j .L i sh
Tirana EA F-lI