MONTHLY REPORT--LONDON BUREAU

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP94-00798R000200310004-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 9, 2012
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: January 5, 1989
• Content Type: MEMO

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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/07/09: CIA-RDP94-00798R000200310004-7
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/07/09: CIA-RDP94-00798R000200310004-7
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/07/09: CIA-RDP94-00798R000200310004-7
5 January 1989
F13IS-4401 -89
MEMORANDUM FOR: Director, Foreign Broadcast Information Service
THROUGH Chief, Operations Group
FROM Chief, FBIS London Bureau
SUBJECT Monthly Report -- London Bureau -- December 1988
I. GENERAL
1. On the BBC-union front, General Manager Whitehall announced on
the 23d that "some progress" had been made at 22 December
national-level talks on the automation issue and that another
meeting has been scheduled for 5 January.
2. In another BBC development, it was announced on 7 December that
former General Manager Monitoring David Witherow has been
appointed Deputy Managing Director of the BBC World Service.
3. The dollar improved somewhat against the pound during the month
in the wake of unfavorable UK trade figures, but ended the year
at $1.82 to the pound, still 12 cents above our budget
computation figure of $1.70.
II. OPERATIONS
Editorial/Monitorial
1? Total bureau wordage for 1988 was an all-time high, with
the grand total of 37,902,000 reflecting an almost 3.2
million-word increase over 1987 and 8.73 million over
1984. The annual daily average file went into six figures
for the first time in the bureau's history. Indicative of
the increasingly prolific nature of London Bureau's
coverage sources is an 8 December Belgrade TANJUG item
boasting that the TANJUG editorial board for Serbia alone
produced "over 1,000 more articles" in 1988 than in the
preceding year.
2. Noting that the "extraordinary is becoming the ordinary" at
London Bureau the acting Wire chief praised the bureau's
handling of the Supreme Soviet session early in the month.
PMU also received Wire praise for its rapid handling of an
IZVESTIYA report on the status Marshal Akhromeyev. On
the 15th, PMU editor provided Headquarters with
the first Soviet rep a appointment of Colonel
General Mikhail Alekseyevich Moiseyev as chief of the USSR
Armed Forces General Staff and first deputy defense
minister in place of Akhromeyev. The report appeared in
the Pressfax edition of KRASNAYA ZVEZDA.
STAT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/07/09: CIA-RDP94-00798R000200310004-7
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/07/09: CIA-RDP94-00798ROO0200310004-7
3. In preparation for BBC automation, the bureau is arranging
for BBC modernization personnel to brief bureau staff on
the intricacies of the new BBC system. The f' st speaker
was BBC modernization assistant F 7
s new Head of the Russian team replacing)
who has transferred to Bush House.
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5. An article by bureau senior editor 1 ::1 on the STAT
usage and translation of Thai royal titles was published in
a recent edition of NO UNCERTAIN TERMS.
B. Coverage
1. London Bureau/BBC and Nicosia continued to coordinate
closely throughout the month to ensure maximum coverage of
Soviet regional radios in the wake of the Armenian
earthquake and continued ethnic tension in the area. The
bureau also coordinated closely with Jordan and Nicosia
over coverage of the GCC Summit in Bahrain and with Abidjan
over coverage of the 14-15 December French-African summit
in Casablanca. BBC augmented regular Moroccan coverage
with satellite-monitored Rabat TV for this latter event.
2. Several bureau coverage sources were disrupted by strikes
during the month including Helsinki radio from 15 November
to 21 December, Spanish radio and TV on 14 December and
Sudanese media later in the month as part of a general
strike in that country. BBC attempts to monitor Omdurman
radio and TV were futile from 28-30 December, leading to
speculation that Sudan had changed satellites, but both
returned on the same satellite on 31 December when the
strike action ended. SUNA was placed on special coverage
at Caversham and, despite some strike-related
interruptions, provided useful coverage of events.
3. The bureau and BBC were disappointed when a survey of the
new Estonian service begun by Stockholm radio on 5 December
showed the new service to carry mostly general
international news with little unique reportage on the
Baltic situation. The new service will continue to be
spot-checked in the future.
C. Lateral Services
1. At the request of the Secretary of State's office, the
bureau filed a number of items directly to Secretary Shultz
at the UN from Stockholm radio and other sources on Yasir
'Arafat's 7 December statement.
2. Special services to the London Embassy included alerts and
updates on the 21 December Pan Am air disaster and
provision of a videotape of a 7 December BBC TV documentary
on the 1938 Bukharin trial.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/07/09: CIA-RDP94-00798ROO0200310004-7
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/07/09: CIA-RDP94-00798R000200310004-7
3. Services for other embassies included refiling items on SRV
guest workers in East Europe to the embassy in Paris at the
request of the Bangkok Embassy, refiling the text of the
Hungarian defense minister's 12 December radio interview to
the embassy in Budapest at the request of the defense
attache; and answering the Vienna CSCE mission's request
for reportage on the current SFRY government crisis.
D. Communications
Internet: The new Internet downtime reporting procedures were
successfully implemented during the month when Madley duly gave
the required 48-hours notice before taking down the Internet
audio/video systems to repair a radiation leak at Madley.
E. Technical
1. During the month the engineering staff installed the full
loopback capability for the Pressfax digital circuit and
tested the circuit within the UK using the new Firebrand
test set. The end-to-end test of the circuit with Reston
began on 30 December and was successfully completed on 3
January.
2. Engineer) Ihas completed and tested the hardware STAT
for the new line selector for the 0 circuit and has begun STAT
developing the software, which will be completed once we
have a final decision on data format.
3. New orderwire equipment, including equipment which will
allow us to use Internet for narrowband fax transmissions,
has been installed in the Internet bays. This equipment
will be operational once we have in hand the final
documentation and wiring details.
4. New cassette recorders have been purchased and installed in
the TV recording area to facilitate recording of UK radio
and TV audio for the English-language monitoring effort.
In addition, the Internet audio matrix in the Autodin room
was updated to enable Internet staff to make parallel audio
recordings of incoming and outgoing video transmissions.
III. ADMINISTRATION
Personnel
1. The bureau chief held presentation ceremonies in his office
during the month to honor staff editor u on er STAT
promotion to GS-12 and to present bureau engineer STAT
with a Certificate of Distinction and Communications Unit Deputy
Chief with the Cerfifirnto of m--4+. STAT
outstanding contributions to the London communications upgrade.
2. Bureau management and the Tabulations Unit honored)
STAT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/07/09: CIA-RDP94-00798R000200310004-7
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/07/09: CIA-RDP94-00798R000200310004-7
at a dinner at a local pub on the occasion of his
retirement on 31 December. The bureau chief presented Mr.
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been placed in processing to till two of the three upcoming
vacancies in the Communications Section.
4. Commimirntnrc
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this month following recent successful surgery.
6. Three candidates for PMU's vacant Russian position were
interviewed and tested on 28 and 30 December. The tests are
b
eing evaluated by PMU Deputy Chief
1. To the bureau: Hong Kong Bureau Chief Monitor on 19
December while on to t el in the UK and Austria Bureau
Yugoslav monitor on 30 December for bureau tour and
briefing while on private travel.
2. From the bureau: Bureau chief and Crowsley Park for
tour fing conducted by GMM and BBC engineer
V. COMMUNITY AFFAIRS
1. The bureau held its annual Christmas party in the BBC Functions
Room on 21 December. In deference to older members of the staff
(i.e. bureau management), disco music did not start until 2230.
READING CHRONICLE 1 Badminton Championship.
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Chief, Islamabad Unit
Chief, Okinawa Bureau
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/07/09: CIA-RDP94-00798R000200310004-7