Voice of America

"VOA" redirects here. For other uses, seeVoice of America (disambiguation)andVOA (disambiguation).

For the television series that was known during development as The Voice of America, seeThe Voice(American TV series).

Voice of America(VOAorVoA) is aninternational radio broadcastingstate medianetwork funded by theUnited States of America.It is the largest and oldest of the U.S. international broadcasters.VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content in 48 languages, which it distributes to affiliate stations around the world.Its targeted and primary audience is non-American outside of the US borders. As of November 2022, its reporting reached 326 million adults per week across all platforms.It is financed by theU.S. Agency for Global Mediaafter the approval of the Congress.

Voice of America

Abbreviation	VoA
Founded	February 1, 1942(1942-02-01)
Type	International state-funded broadcaster
Headquarters	Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building
Location	Washington, D.C.,United States
Director	John Lippman(acting, since October 2023)
Budget(Fiscal year2023)	US$267.5 million
Staff(2021)	961
Website	www.voanews.com

VOA was established in 1942, and the VOA charter was signed into law in 1976 by U.S. PresidentGerald Ford.It is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and overseen by theU.S. Agency for Global Media(USAGM), anindependent agency of the U.S. government.Funds are appropriated annually under the budget for embassies and consulates. As of 2022, VOA had a weekly worldwide audience of approximately 326 million (up from 237 million in 2016) and employed 961 staff with an annual budget of $267.5 million.

Voice of America is seen by some listeners as having a positive impact and serving asUS diplomacy,while others, likeUniversity of Peshawar's lecturer Faizullah Jan, see it asAmerican propaganda.

Languages

The Voice of America website had five English-language broadcasts as of 2014 (worldwide,Learning English,Cambodia,Zimbabwe,andTibet). Additionally, the VOA website has versions in 48 foreign languages.

Radio programs are marked with an "R"; TV programs with a "T":

1. Afan Oromo^R
2. Albanian^{R, T}
3. Amharic^R
4. Armenian^T
5. Azerbaijani^T
6. Bambara^R
7. Bangla^{R, T}
8. Bosnian^T
9. Burmese^{R, T}
10. Cantonese^{R, T}
11. Dari Persian^{R, T}
12. French^{R, T}
13. Georgian^R
14. Haitian Creole^R
15. Hausa^R
16. Indonesian^{R, T}
17. Khmer^{R, T}
18. Kinyarwanda^R
19. Kirundi
20. Korean^R
21. Kurdish^R
22. Lao^R
23. Lingala^R
24. Macedonian^T
25. Mandarin^{R, T}
26. Ndebele
27. Pashto^T
28. Persian^{R, T}
29. Portuguese^R
30. Rohingya
31. Russian^T
32. Sango^R
33. Serbian^T
34. Shona^R
35. Sindhi
36. Somali^R
37. Spanish^{R, T}
38. Swahili^R
39. Thai^R
40. Tibetan^{R, T}
41. Tigrinya^R
42. Turkish^T
43. Ukrainian^T
44. Urdu^{R, T}
45. Uzbek^{R, T}
46. Vietnamese^{R, T}
47. Wolof
48. English^{R, T}

The number of languages varies according to the priorities of the United States government and the world situation.

History

American private shortwave broadcasting before World War II

Voice of America headquarters

Before World War II, all Americanshortwave radiostations were in private hands.Privately controlled shortwave networks included theNational Broadcasting Company's International Network (or White Network), which broadcast in six languages, theColumbia Broadcasting System's Latin American international network, which consisted of 64 stations located in 18 countries, theCrosley Broadcasting Corporationin Cincinnati, Ohio, andGeneral Electricwhich owned and operated WGEO and WGEA, both based inSchenectady, New York,andKGEIinSan Francisco,all of which hadshortwave transmitters.Experimental programming began in the 1930s, but there were fewer than 12 transmitters in operation.

In 1939, the U.S.Federal Communications Commissionset the following policy, which was intended to enforce theUS State Department'sGood Neighbor Policy,but which some broadcasters felt was an attempt to direct censorship:

A licensee of an international broadcast station shall render only an international broadcast service which will reflect the culture of this country and which will promote international goodwill, understanding and cooperation. Any program solely intended for, and directed to an audience in the continental United States does not meet the requirements for this service.

Around 1940, shortwave signals toLatin Americawere regarded as vital to counterNazi propaganda.Initially, the USOffice of the Coordinator of Informationsent releases to each station, but this was seen as an inefficient means of transmitting news.The director of Latin American relations at the Columbia Broadcasting System wasEdmund A. Chester,and he supervised the development of CBS's extensive "La Cadena de las Américas" radio network to improve broadcasting toSouth Americaduring the 1940s.

World War II

See also:Frank Shozo Baba

External images
"La Cadena de las Américas" –Edmund ChesterCBS Radio Director in 1943 Here on Getty Images
The "Viva America"program on CBS Radio including vocalistNestor Mesta Chayresin 1946 Here on Getty images
"Viva America" – CBS Radio andAlfredo Antonini,Conductor in 1946 Here on Getty Images

Even before the December 1941 Japaneseattack on Pearl Harbor,the U.S. government'sOffice of the Coordinator of Information(COI) had already begun providing war news and commentary to the commercial American shortwave radio stations for use on a voluntary basis, through its Foreign Information Service (FIS) headed by playwrightRobert E. Sherwood,who served as PresidentFranklin Delano Roosevelt's speech writer and information advisor.Direct programming began a week after the United States' entry into World War II in December 1941, with the first broadcast from the San Francisco office of the FIS via General Electric's KGEI transmitting to the Philippines in English (other languages followed). The next step was to broadcast to Germany, which was calledStimmen aus Amerika( "Voices from America" ) and was transmitted on February 1, 1942. It was introduced by the “Battle Hymn of the Republic"and included the pledge:" Today, and every day from now on, we will be with you from America to talk about the war... The news may be good or bad for us – We will always tell you the truth. "Roosevelt approved this broadcast, which then-ColonelWilliam J. Donovan(COI) and Sherwood (FIS) had recommended to him. It was Sherwood who actually coined the term "The Voice of America" to describe the shortwave network that began its transmissions on February 1, from 270Madison Avenuein New York City.

TheOffice of War Information,when organized in the middle of 1942, officially took over VOA's operations. VOA reached an agreement with theBritish Broadcasting Corporationto share medium-wave transmitters in Great Britain, and expanded intoTunisin North Africa andPalermoandBari, Italy,as the Allies captured these territories. The OWI also set up theAmerican Broadcasting Station in Europe.Asian transmissions started with one transmitter inCaliforniain 1941; services were expanded by adding transmitters inHawaiiand, after recapture, thePhilippines.

By the end of the war, VOA had 39 transmitters and provided service in 40 languages.Programming was broadcast from production centers in New York and San Francisco, with more than 1,000 programs originating from New York. Programming consisted of music, news, commentary, and relays of U.S. domestic programming, in addition to specialized VOA programming.About half of VOA's services, including theArabicservice, were discontinued in 1945.In late 1945, VOA was transferred to the US Department of State.

Also included among thecultural diplomacyprogramming on the Columbia Broadcasting System was the musical showViva America(1942–49) which featured the Pan American Orchestra and the artistry of several noted musicians from both North and South America, includingAlfredo Antonini,Juan Arvizu,Eva Garza,Elsa Miranda,Nestor Mesta Chaires,Miguel Sandoval,John Serry Sr.,andTerig Tucci.By 1945, broadcasts of the show were carried by 114 stations on CBS's "La Cadena de las Américas" network in 20 Latin American nations. These broadcasts proved to be highly successful in supporting President Roosevelt's policy ofPan-Americanismthroughout South America during World War II.

Cold War

TheIron Curtain,in black:

NATOmembers

Warsaw Pactcountries

The VOA ramped up its operations during theCold War.Foy Kohler,the director of VOA during the Cold War, strongly believed that the VOA was serving its purpose, which he identified as aiding in the fight against communism.He argued that the numbers of listeners they were getting such as 194,000 regular listeners in Sweden, and 2.1 million regular listeners in France, was an indication of a positive impact. As further evidence, he noted that the VOA received 30,000 letters a month from listeners all over the world, and hundreds of thousands of requests for broadcasting schedules.There was an analysis done of some of those letters sent in 1952 and 1953 while Kohler was still director. The study found that letter writing could be an indicator of successful, actionable persuasion. It was also found that broadcasts in different countries were having different effects. In one country, regular listeners adopted and practiced American values presented by the broadcast. Age was also a factor: younger and older audiences tended to like different types of programs, no matter the country.Kohler used all of this as evidence to claim that the VOA helped to grow and strengthen the free world. It also influenced the UN in their decision to condemn communist actions in Korea, and was a major factor in the decline of communism in the "free world, including key countries such as Italy and France.In Italy, the VOA did not just bring an end to communism, but it caused the country to Americanize.The VOA also had an impact behind theIron Curtain.Practically all defectors during Kohler's time said that the VOA helped in their decision to defect.Another indication of impact, according to Kohler, was the Soviet response. Kohler argued that the Soviets responded because the VOA was having an impact. Based on Soviet responses, it can be presumed that the most effective programs were ones that compared the lives of those behind and outside the Iron Curtain, questions on the practice of slave labor, as well as lies and errors inStalin's version ofMarxism.

In 1947, VOA started broadcasting to theSovietcitizens in Russia under the pretext of countering "more harmful instances ofSoviet propagandadirected against American leaders and policies "on the part of the internal Soviet Russian-language media, according to John B. Whitton's treatise,Cold War Propaganda.The Soviet Union responded by initiating electronicjammingof VOA broadcasts on April 24, 1949.

Charles W. Thayerheaded VOA in 1948–49.Over the next few years, the U.S. government debated the best role of Voice of America. The decision was made to use VOA broadcasts as a part ofU.S. foreign policyto fight the propaganda of theSoviet Unionand other countries. The Arabic service resumed on January 1, 1950, with a half-hour program. This program grew to 14.5 hours daily during theSuez Crisisof 1956, and was six hours a day by 1958.Between 1952 and 1960, Voice of America used a convertedU.S. Coast GuardcutterCourieras a first mobilebroadcasting ship.

Willis Conoverbroadcasting with Voice of America in 1969

Control of VOA passed from the State Department to theU.S. Information Agencywhen the latter was established in 1953to transmit worldwide, including to the countries behind the Iron Curtain and to the People's Republic of China. From 1955 until 2003, VOA broadcast American jazz on theVoice of America Jazz Hour.Hosted for most of that period byWillis Conover,the program had 30 million listeners at its peak. A program aimed atSouth Africain 1956 broadcast two hours nightly, and special programs such asTheNewport Jazz Festivalwere also transmitted. This was done in association with tours by U.S. musicians, such asDizzy Gillespie,Louis Armstrong,andDuke Ellington,sponsored by the State Department.From August 1952 through May 1953, Billy Brown, a high school senior inWestchester County, New York,had a Monday night program in which he shared everyday happenings inYorktown Heights, New York.Brown's program ended due to its popularity: his "chatty narratives" attracted so much fan mail, VOA couldn't afford the $500 a month in clerical and postage costs required to respond to listeners' letters.During 1953, VOA personnel were subjected toMcCarthyistpolicies, where VOA was accused by Senator Joseph McCarthy,Roy Cohn,andGerard David Schineof intentionally planning to build weak transmitting stations to sabotage VOA broadcasts. However, the charges were dropped after one month of court hearings in February and March 1953.

Sometime around 1954, VOA's headquarters were moved from New York to Washington D.C. The arrival of cheap, low-cost transistors enabled the significant growth of shortwave radio listeners. During theHungarian Revolution of 1956,VOA's broadcasts were deemed controversial, as Hungarian refugees and revolutionaries thought that VOA served as a medium and insinuated the possible arrival of the Western aid.

Throughout theCold War,many of the targeted countries' governments sponsoredjammingof VOA broadcasts, which sometimes led critics to question the broadcasts' actual impact. For example, in 1956,Polish People's Republicstopped jamming VOA transmissions,butPeople's Republic of Bulgariacontinued to jam the signal through the 1970s. In 1966Edward R. Murrowsaid that: "The Russians spend more money jamming the Voice of America than we have to spend for the entire program of the entire Agency. They spend about $125 million ($1,200,000,000 in current dollar terms) a year jamming it."Chinese-languageVOA broadcasts were jammed beginning in 1956 and extending through 1976.However, after the collapse of theWarsaw Pactand the Soviet Union, interviews with participants in anti-Soviet movements verified the effectiveness of VOA broadcasts in transmitting information to socialist societies.The People's Republic of China diligently jams VOA broadcasts.Cubahas also been reported to interfere with VOA satellite transmissions toIranfrom its Russian-built transmission site atBejucal.David Jackson, former director of Voice of America, noted: "TheNorth Koreangovernment doesn't jam us, but they try to keep people from listening through intimidation or worse. But people figure out ways to listen despite the odds. They're very resourceful. "

Martin Luther King's 1963 "I Have a Dream"speech

Buzz Aldrinon the moon, in a photograph taken byNeil Armstrong,who can be seen in the visor reflection along with Earth

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, VOA covered some of the era's most important news, includingMartin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 "I Have a Dream"speechandNeil Armstrong's 1969first walk on the Moon,which drew an audience estimated at between 615 and 750 million people. In 1973, due to the détente policies in the Cold War, Soviet jamming of the VOA ceased; it restarted in 1979.

In the early 1980s, VOA began a $1.3 billion rebuilding program to improve broadcast with better technical capabilities. During the implementation of theMartial law in Polandbetween 1981 and 1983, VOA's Polish broadcasts expanded to seven hours daily. Throughout the 1980s, VOA focused on covering events from the 'American hinterland', such as 150th anniversary of theOregon Trail.Also in the 1980s, VOA also added a television service, as well as special regional programs to Cuba,Radio MartíandTV Martí.Cuba has consistently attempted to jam such broadcasts and has vociferously protested U.S. broadcasts directed at Cuba. In September 1980, VOA started broadcasting toAfghanistaninDariand inPashtoin 1982.In 1981, VOA opened a bureau in Beijing, China.The next year, it began regular exchanges withRadio Peking.

In 1985, VOA Europe was created as a special service in English that was relayed via satellite to AM, FM, and cable affiliates throughout Europe. With a contemporary format including live disc jockeys, the network presented top musical hits as well as VOA news and features of local interest (such as "EuroFax" ) 24 hours a day. VOA Europe was closed down without advance public notice in January 1997 as a cost-cutting measure.It was followed by VOA Express, which from July 4, 1999, revamped into VOA Music Mix.Since November 1, 2014, stations are offered VOA1 (which is a rebranding of VOA Music Mix).

In 1989, Voice of America expanded itsMandarinandCantoneseprogramming to reach the millions of Chinese and inform the country about the pro-democracy movement within the country, including the demonstration in Tiananmen Square.Starting in 1990, the U.S. consolidated its international broadcasting efforts, with the establishment of the Bureau of Broadcasting.

Post–Cold War

With the breakup of the Soviet bloc in Eastern Europe, VOA added many additional language services to reach those areas. This decade was marked by the additions of services inStandard Tibetan,Kurdish(to Iran and Iraq),Serbo-Croatian(Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian),Macedonian,andRwanda-Rundi.

In 1993, theClinton administrationadvised cutting funding forRadio Free Europe/Radio Liberty,as it believed post-Cold War information and influence was not needed in Europe. This plan was not well received, and US PresidentBill Clintonthen proposed the compromise of theInternational Broadcasting Act,which he signed into law in 1994. This law established theInternational Broadcasting Bureauas a part of theUnited States Information Agency(USIA), and established theBroadcasting Board of Governors(BBG) with oversight authority, which took control from the Board for International Broadcasters which previously had overseen funding for RFE/RL.In 1998, the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act was signed into law, and mandated that the BBG become anindependent federal agencyas of October 1, 1999. This act also abolished the USIA, and merged most of its functions into those of the State Department.

In 1994, Voice of America became the first broadcast-news organization to offer continuously updated programs on the Internet.

Cuts in services

The Arabic Service was abolished in 2002 and replaced by a new radio service, called the Middle East Radio Network orRadio Sawa,with an initial budget of $22 million. Radio Sawa offered mostly Western and Middle Eastern popular songs with periodic brief news bulletins. Today, the network has expanded to television withAlhurraand to various social media and websites.On May 16, 2004,Worldnet,a satellite television service, was merged into the VOA network.

Radio programs in Russian ended in July 2008.In September 2008, VOA eliminated the Hindi-language service after 53 years.Broadcasts in Ukrainian, Serbian, Macedonian, and Bosnian also ended.These reductions were part of American efforts to concentrate more resources to broadcast to theMuslim world.In September 2010, VOA began radio broadcasts in Sudan. As U.S. interests inSouth Sudangrew, there was a desire to provide people with free information.

In 2013, VOA ended foreign-language transmissions on shortwave and medium wave to Albania, Georgia, Iran, and Latin America, as well as English-language broadcasts to the Middle East and Afghanistan.This was done due to budget cuts.On July 1, 2014, VOA cut most of its English-language transmissions to Asia,as well as shortwave transmissions in Azerbaijani, Bengali, Khmer, Kurdish, Lao, and Uzbek.The following month, the Greek service ended after 72 years on air.

Russia

In January 2016, upon his arrival in Moscow, Russian authorities detained and then deportedJeff Shell,the Chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors that oversees the Voice of America, despite his having a valid Russian visa.Russian authorities did not explain their actions.

In December 2017, under a new directive from Russia'sKremlinafter a new law was passed by theState Duma(Russia's lower house of parliament) and the upper houseFederation Counciland signed by Russian PresidentVladimir Putin,Voice of America was deemed a "foreign agent" under theRussian foreign agent law.In June 2021, the Russian news agencyTASSreported that Russia's state communications watchdogRoskomnadzorcomplained that the foreign agent Voice of America radio station challengingly refused to observe Russian law because it had not established a Russian legal entity.Roskomnadzoralso said that VOA was as a foreign agent "obliged to mark their content and provide information about all aspects of their activity, including a detailed description of contacts with the authorities."

In March 2022, VOA and other news broadcasters, including theBBC,Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty,andDeutsche Wellewere blocked in Russia,as after theRussian invasion of Ukrainein February 2022, Russian authorities increased censorship of independent journalism, anti-war protests, and dissenting voices.Nevertheless, many Russians have usedVPNsand other software to get around Russian government blocks.As of March 2022, VOA broadcasts were reaching people in Russia and the region through TV, FM and medium wave radio, digital, and direct-to-home satellite.In May 2023, Russia banned acting VOA chief Yolanda Lopez from ever entering the country.

List of directors

• 1941–1942Robert E. Sherwood(Foreign Information Service)

1. 1942–1943:John Houseman
2. 1943–1945: Louis G. Cowan
3. 1945–1946: John Ogilvie
4. 1948–1949:Charles W. Thayer
5. 1949–1952:Foy D. Kohler
6. 1952–1953: Alfred H. Morton
7. 1953–1954: Leonard Erikson
8. 1954–1956: John R. Poppele
9. 1956–1958: Robert E. Burton
10. 1958–1965:Henry Loomis
11. 1965–1967:John Chancellor
12. 1967–1968:John Charles Daly
13. 1969–1977:Kenneth R. Giddens
14. 1977–1979: R. Peter Straus
15. 1980–1981:Mary G. F. Bitterman
16. 1981–1982: James B. Conkling
17. 1982: John Hughes
18. 1982–1984:Kenneth Tomlinson
19. 1985: Gene Pell
20. 1986–1991:Dick Carlson
21. 1991–1993:Chase Untermeyer
22. 1994–1996:Geoffrey Cowan
23. 1997–1999:Evelyn S. Lieberman
24. 1999–2001:Sanford J. Ungar
25. 2001–2002:Robert R. Reilly
26. 2002–2006: David S. Jackson
27. 2006–2011: Danforth W. Austin
28. 2011–2015:David Ensor
29. 2016–2020:Amanda Bennett
30. 2020–2021:Robert R. Reilly
31. 2021–2024: vacant
32. 2024–present: Michael Abramowitz

The current director, Michael Abramowitz, assumed the position in July 2024. He previously served as president ofFreedom Houseand spent nearly 25 years as a reporter and editor forThe Washington Post.

Agencies

Voice of America has been a part of several agencies. From its founding in 1942 to 1945, it was part of theOffice of War Information,and then from 1945 to 1953 as a function of the State Department. VOA was placed under theU.S. Information Agencyin 1953. When the USIA was abolished in 1999, VOA was placed under the BBG which is an autonomous U.S. government agency, with bipartisan membership. The Secretary of State has a seat on the BBG.The BBG was established as a buffer to protect VOA and other U.S.-sponsored, non-military, international broadcasters from political interference. It replaced the Board for International Broadcasting (BIB) that oversaw the funding and operation ofRadio Free Europe/Radio Liberty,a branch of VOA.

52 Documentary

In 2021, Voice of America launched 52 Documentary, a series that publishes weekly films about human experiences.They publish on the streaming app, VOA+, and YouTube. Films average 10–15 minutes and are translated with captions in several languages, including Russian, Persian, Mandarin, Urdu, and English.Euna Leedirects the program.

Smith–Mundt Act

From 1948 until its amendment in 2013, Voice of America was forbidden to broadcast directly to American citizens, pursuant to § 501 of theSmith–Mundt Act.The intent of the 1948 legislation was to protect the American public from propaganda by its own government and to avoid any competition with private American companies.The act was amended via the passage of theSmith-Mundt Modernization Actprovision of theNational Defense Authorization Act for 2013.The amendment was intended to adapt the law to the Internet and to allow American citizens access to VOA content.

Policies

VOA charter

Under the Eisenhower administration in 1959, VOA DirectorHenry Loomiscommissioned a formal statement of principles to protect the integrity of VOA programming and define the organization's mission, and was issued by DirectorGeorge V. Allenas a directive in 1960 and was endorsed in 1962 by USIA directorEdward R. Murrow.VOA's charter was signed into law by PresidentGerald Ford.

VOA's charter requires it to "present the policies of the United States clearly and effectively."Academics including Téwodros W. Workneh have described this as apublic diplomacyfunction.VOA's charter also requires it to be "a reliable and authoritative source of news" which "shall be accurate, objective, and comprehensive".

"Firewall"

The Voice of America Firewall was put in place with the 1976 VOA Charter and laws passed in 1994 and 2016 as a way of ensuring the integrity of VOA's journalism. This policy fights against propaganda and promotes unbiased and objective journalistic standards in the agency. The charter is one part of this firewall and the other laws assist in ensuring high standards of journalism.

"Two-source rule"

According to former VOA correspondent Alan Heil, the internal policy of VOA News is that any story broadcast must have two independently corroborating sources or have a staff correspondent witness an event.

VOA Radiogram

"Shortwave Radiogram" redirects here. For the general topic of radiograms on shortwave, seeradiogram (message).

VOA Radiogramwas an experimental Voice of America program that started in March 2013 and ended in June 2017, which transmitteddigitaltext and images viashortwaveradiograms.There were 220 editions of the program, transmitted each weekend from the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station. The audio tones that comprised the bulk of each 30-minute program were transmitted via ananalogtransmitter,and could bedecodedusing a basicAMshortwave receiverwith freely downloadable software of theFldigifamily. This software was available forWindows,macOS,Linux,andFreeBSDsystems. Broadcasts could also be decoded using the free TIVAR app from theGoogle Playstore using anyAndroiddevice. The mode used most often onVOA Radiogram,for both text and images, wasMFSK32,but other modes were also occasionally transmitted. The final edition ofVOA Radiogramwas transmitted during the weekend of June 17–18, 2017, a week before the retirement of the program producer from VOA. An offer to continue the broadcasts on a contract basis was declined, so a follow-on show calledShortwave Radiogrambegan transmission on June 25, 2017, from theWRMItransmitting site in Okeechobee, Florida.

Shortwave Radiogramprogram schedule

Day	Time (UTC)	Shortwavefrequency(MHz)	Origin
Saturday	1600–1630	9.4	Space Line, Bulgaria
Sunday	0600–0630	7.73	WRMI,Florida
Sunday	2030–2100	11.58	WRMI,Florida
Sunday	2330–2400	11.58	WRMI,Florida

Transmission facilities

Edward R. Murrow Greenville Transmitting Station,the VOA broadcasting station in North Carolina'sInner Banks

TheDelanoTransmitting Station was closed in 2007.

TheBethany Relay Station,operational from 1944 to 1994, was based on a 625-acre (2.53 km²) site inUnion Township(now West Chester Township) inButler County, Ohio,nearCincinnati.Major transmitter upgrades first were undertaken around 1963, when shortwave and medium-wave transmitters were built, upgraded, or rebuilt.The site is now a recreational park with a Voice of America museum. Other former sites include California (DixonandDelano), Hawaii,Okinawa,Liberia (Monrovia), Costa Rica, Belize, and at least two in Greece (Kavalaand Rhodos).

Between 1983 and 1990, VOA made significant upgrades to transmission facilities in Botswana (Selebi-Phikwe), Morocco, Thailand (Udon Thani), Kuwait, andSão Tomé(Almas).Some of them are shared withRadio LibertyandRadio Free Asia.

VOA and USAGM continue to operate shortwave radio transmitters andantenna farmsatInternational Broadcasting Bureau Greenville Transmitting Station(known as "Site B" ) in the United States, close toGreenville, North Carolina.They do not useFCC-issuedcall signs,since the FCC does not regulate communications by other federal government agencies. TheInternational Broadcasting Bureaualso operates transmission facilities on São Tomé and Tinang,Concepcion, Tarlac,Philippines for VOA.

List of languages

Language	Target audience	from	to	Website	Remarks
English	Worldwide	1942	present	www.voanews.com
Mandarin Chinese	Republic of China(1941–1949) People's Republic of China(1949–present)	1941	present	Mỹ quốc chi âm	see alsoRadio Free Asia
Cantonese	Guangdong Guangxi Hong Kong(1997–present) Macau(1999–present)	1941 1949 1987	1945 1963 present	Mỹ quốc chi âm	see alsoRadio Free Asia
Brazilian Portuguese	Brazil	1941 1946 1961	1945 1948 2001	–
Amoy	Fujian(1941–1945, 1951–1963) Japanese Taiwan(1941–1945) Taiwan(1951–1963)	1941 1951	1945 1963	–
Tagalog/Filipino	Commonwealth of the Philippines(1941–1942, 1945–1946) Philippine Executive Commission(1942–1943) Republic of the Philippines(1943–1945)	1941	1946	–
Korean	Japanese Korea(1942–1945) People's Republic of Korea(1945) Soviet Civil Administration in North Korea(1945–1948) North Korea(1948–present) United States Army Military Government in Korea(1945–1948) South Korea(1948–present)	1942	present	VOA 한국어	see alsoRadio Free Asia
Indonesian	Japanese-occupied Dutch East Indies(1942–1945) Dutch East Indies(1945–1949) Netherlands New Guinea(1949–1962) West New Guinea (UN Protectorate)(1962–1963) Republic of Indonesia(1945–1949) United States of Indonesia(1949–1950) Indonesia(1950–present)	1942	present	Voice of America Indonesia|
Turkish	Turkey	1942 1948	1945 present	Amerika'nın Sesi VOA Türkçe
Spanish	Latin America	1942 1946 1953 1961	1945 1948 1956 present	Voz de América	see alsoRadio y Televisión Martí
Persian	Imperial State of Iran(1942–1945, 1949–1960, 1964–1966) Islamic Republic of Iran(1979–present)	1942 1949 1964 1979	1945 1960 1966 present	صدای آمریکا	see alsoRadio Farda
Thai	Thailand	1942 1962 1988	1958 1988 present	วอยซ์ ออฟ อเมริกา
Greek	Hellenic State(1942–1944) Axis-occupied Greece(1942–1944) Italian Islands of the Aegean(1942–1945) Kingdom of Greece(1944–1973) Hellenic Republic(1973–2014)	1942	2014	Φωνή της Αμερικής(no longer active, kept for historical reasons)
Bulgarian	Kingdom of Bulgaria(1942–1946) Bulgarian People's Republic(1946–1989) Bulgaria(1989–2004)	1942	2004	–	see alsoRadio Free Europe
Czech	Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia(1942–1945) Czech-inhabited lands ofCzechoslovak Republic(1945–1960) Czech-inhabited lands ofCzechoslovak Socialist Republic(1960–1969) Czech SR(1969–1990) Czech Republic(1990–2004)	1942	2004	–	see alsoRadio Free Europe
Hungarian	Kingdom of Hungary Hungarian Republic(1946–1949) Hungarian People's Republic(1949–1989) Hungary(1989–1993)	1942	2004	–	see alsoRadio Free Europe
Polish	General Government of Polish Region(1942–1944) Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany Republic of Poland(1944–1945) Republic of Poland(1945–1947) Polish People's Republic(1947–1989) Poland(1990–2004)	1942	2004	–	see alsoRadio Free Europe
Romanian	Kingdom of Romania(1942–1947) Romanian People's Republic(1947–1965) Socialist Republic of Romania(1965–1989) Romania(1989–2004)	1942	2004	–	see alsoRadio Free Europe
Slovak	Slovak Republic(1942–1945) Slovak-inhabited lands ofCzechoslovak Republic(1945–1960) Slovak-inhabited lands ofCzechoslovak Socialist Republic(1960–1969) Slovak SR(1969–1990) Slovakia(1990–2004)	1942	2004	–	see alsoRadio Free Europe
Arabic	Arab World	1942 1950	1945 2002	–	see alsoRadio SawaandAlhurra
Spanish	Spanish State(1942–1955, 1955–1975) Spain(1975–1993)	1942 1955	1955 1993	– (for local radio stations)
Portuguese	Portugal(1942–1945, 1951–1953) Portugal(1976–1987, 1987–1993)	1942 1951 1976 1987	1945 1953 1987 1993	– (for local radio stations)
German	German Reich(1942–1943) German-occupied Austria(1942–1945) Greater German Reich(1943–1945) Allied-occupied Germany(1945–1949) Saar Protectorate(1947–1956) Federal Republic of Germany(1949–1960) Allied-occupied Berlin(1949–1960) German Democratic Republic(1949–1960) Germany(1991–1993)	1942 1991	1960 1993	–
Japanese	Empire of Japan(1942–1945) Occupied Japan(1951–1952) Japan(1952–1962)	1942 1951	1945 1962	–
French	French State(1942–1944) Free France(1942–1944) Military Administration in France(1942–1944) French- andWalloon-inhabited lands ofMilitary Administration in Belgium and Northern France(1942–1944) French- andWalloon-inhabited lands ofReichskommissariat of Belgium and Northern France(1944) Italian Military Administration in France(1942–1943) Occupied Corsica(1942–1943) French Republic(1944–1946) French Republic(1946–1958) French Republic(1958–1961)	1942	1961	–
Italian	Kingdom of Italy(1942–1945) Italian Republic(1951–1957) Free Territory of Trieste(1951–1954)	1942 1951	1945 1957	–
Finnish	Finland	1942 1951	1945 1953	–
Afrikaans	Union of South Africa	1942	1949	–
Danish	Denmark	1942	1945	–
Flemish	Flemish-inhabited lands ofMilitary Administration in Belgium and Northern France(1942–1944) Flemish-inhabited lands ofReichskommissariat of Belgium and Northern France(1944) Reichsgau Flandern(1944–1945)	1942	1945	–
Norwegian	Reichskommissariat Norwegen	1942	1945	–
Serbian	Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia+German-occupied Montenegro(1943–1944) Federated State of Serbia+Federated State of Montenegro(1944–1946) People's Republic of Serbia+People's Republic of Montenegro(1946–1963) Socialist Republic of Serbia+Socialist Republic of Montenegro(1963–1992) Federal Republic of Yugoslavia(1992–2003) State Union of Serbia and Montenegro(2003–2006) Serbia(2006–present) Montenegro(2006–present)	1943	present	Glas Amerike	see alsoRadio Free Europe
Albanian	Albanian Kingdom(1943–1944) Democratic Government of Albania(1944–1945) People's Republic of Albania(1951–1976) People's Socialist Republic of Albania(1976–1998) Republic of Albania(1998–present) KosovoRepublic of Kosovo(2008–present)	1943 1951	1945 present	Zëri i Amerikës	see alsoRadio Free Europe
Burmese	State of Burma(1943–1945) Union of Burma(1951–1974) Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma(1974–1988) Union of Myanmar(1988–2011) Myanmar(2011–present)	1943 1951	1945 present	ဗီြအိုေအသတင္းဌာန	see alsoRadio Free Asia
Vietnamese	French Indochina(1943–1945) Empire of Vietnam(1945) Protectorate of Tonkin+Protectorate of Annam+French Cochinchina(1945–1946) State of Vietnam(1951–1955) North Vietnam(1955–1976) South Vietnam(1955–1975) Occupied South Vietnam(1969–1976) Vietnam(1976–present)	1943 1951	1946 present	Ðài Tiếng nói Hoa Kỳ	see alsoRadio Free Asia
Croatian	Independent State of Croatia(1943–1945) Federated State of Croatia(1945–1946) People's Republic of Croatia(1946–1963) Socialist Republic of Croatia(1963–1990) Republic of Croatia(1990–1991) Croatia(1991–2011)	1943	2011	–	see alsoRadio Free Europe
Swedish	Sweden	1943	1945	–
Slovene	Slovenian-inhabited lands ofReichsgau Steiermark,Reichsgau KärntenandOperational Zone of the Adriatic Littoral(1944–1945) People's Republic of Slovenia(1949–1963) Socialist Republic of Slovenia(1963–1990) Slovenia(1990–2004)	1944 1949	1945 2004	–
Wu Chinese	Shanghai	1944	1946	–
Dutch	Reichskommissariat Niederlande	1944	1945	–
Icelandic	Kingdom of Iceland	1944	1944	–
Russian	Russian SFSR(1947–1991) Russia(1991–present)	1947	present	Голос Америки	see alsoRadio Liberty
Ukrainian	Ukrainian SSR(1949–1991) Ukraine(1991–present)	1949	present	Голос Америки	see alsoRadio Liberty
Armenian	Armenian SSR(1951–1991) Armenia(1991–present)	1951	present (web)	Ամերիկայի Ձայն	see alsoRadio Liberty
Georgian	Georgian SSR(1951–1991) Georgia(1991–present)	1951	present (web)	–	see alsoRadio Liberty
Urdu	Pakistan	1951 1954	1953 present	وائس آف امریکہ
Azerbaijani	Azeri SSR(1951–1953, 1982–1991) Azerbaijan(1991–present)	1951 1982	1953 present (web)	Amerikanın Səsi	see alsoRadio Liberty
Hindi	NorthernIndia	1951 1954	1953 2008	–
Estonian	Soviet-occupied Estonia(1951–1990) Estonia(1990–2004)	1951	2004	–	see alsoRadio Liberty
Latvian	Soviet-occupied Latvia(1951–1990) Latvia(1990–2004)	1951	2004	–	see alsoRadio Liberty
Lithuanian	Soviet-occupied Lithuania(1951–1990) Lithuania(1990–2004)	1951	2004	–	see alsoRadio Liberty
Malayan	Federation of Malaya	1951	1955	–
Hakka	Hakka-inhabited lands of SouthernPeople's Republic of China	1951	1954	–
Hebrew	Israel	1951	1953	–
Swatow	Shantou	1951	1953	–
Tatar	Tatar ASSR	1951	1953	–	see alsoRadio Liberty
Tamil	Madras State(1954–1969) Tamil Nadu(1969–1970) Dominion of Ceylon(Sri Lanka,ex-Ceylon)	1954	1970	–
Khmer	Kingdom of Cambodia(1955–1957, 1962–1970) Khmer Republic(1970–1975) Democratic Kampuchea(1975–1979) People's Republic of Kampuchea(1979–1989) State of Cambodia(1989–1993) Kingdom of Cambodia(1993–present)	1955 1962	1957 present	វីអូអេ www.voacambodia.com	see alsoRadio Free Asia
Malayalam	Kerala Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi Islands	1956	1961	–
Gujarati	Gujarati-inhabited lands ofBombay State	1956	1958	–
Telugu	Andhra Pradesh	1956	1958	–
Belarusian	Byelorussian SSR	1956	1957	–	see alsoRadio Liberty
Bengali	Bangladesh India	1958	present	ভয়েস অফ আমেরিকা
French (to Africa)		1960	present	VOA Afrique
Sindhi	Pakistan	2022 July	present	VOA Sindhi
Lao	Kingdom of Laos(1962–1975) Lao People's Democratic Republic(1975–present)	1962	present	ສຽງອາເມຣິກາ ວີໂອເອ	see alsoRadio Free Asia
Swahili		1962	present	Sauti ya Amerika
English (to Africa)		1963 August 4	present	www.voaafrica.com www.voazimbabwe.com
Uzbek	Uzbek SSR(1972–1991) Uzbekistan(1991–present)	1972	present	Amerika Ovozi	see alsoRadio Liberty
Portuguese (to Africa)		1976	present	Voz da América
Hausa	Nigeria	1979 January 21	present	Muryar Amurka
Dari	Democratic Republic of Afghanistan(1980–1987) Republic of Afghanistan(1987–1992) Islamic State of Afghanistan(1992–1996, 2001–2002) Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan(1996–2001) Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan(2002–2004) Islamic Republic of Afghanistan(2004–2021)	1980	present	صدای امریکا
Amharic	Ethiopia	1982 September	present	የአሜሪካ ድምፅ
Pashto	Pashtun-inhabited lands ofAfghanistan	1982	present	اشنا راډیو
Creole	Haiti	1987	present	Lavwadlamerik
Tibetan	Tibet Autonomous Region Qinghai Bhutan	1991	present	ཨ་རིའི་རླུང་འཕྲིན་ཁང་། www.voatibetanenglish.com	see alsoRadio Free Asia
Kurdish	Iraqi Kurdistan Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria Kurdish inhabited lands of Turkey Kurdish inhabited lands of Iran	1992	present	دهنگی ئهمهریکا Dengê Amerîka
Somali	Somalia Somaliland	1992 2007	1995 present	VOA Somali
Nepali	Kingdom of Nepal	1992	1993	–
Afaan Oromo	Oromia Region	1996 July	present	Sagalee Ameerikaa
Bosnian	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1996	present	Glas Amerike	see alsoRadio Free Europe
Kinyarwanda/Kirundi	Rwanda Burundi EasternDemocratic Republic of the Congo SouthernUganda NorthwesternTanzania	1996 July	present	Ijwi ry'Amerika
Tigrinya	Eritrea	1996 July	present	ድምፂ ረድዮ ኣሜሪካ
Macedonian	Republic of Macedonia	1999	2008	–	see alsoRadio Free Europe
Ndebele	Zimbabwe	2003	present	VOA Ndebele
Shona	Zimbabwe Mozambique	2003	present	VOA Shona
Pashto	Pashtun-inhabited lands ofPakistan	2006	present	ډیوه ریډیو
Bambara	Mali	2013 March	present	VOA Bambara

Controversies

Mismanagement and Abuse of Power

On June 12, 2024, the House Foreign Affairs Committee concluded that there was "credible evidence of corruption" regarding the matter of Setareh Derakhshesh Sieg, the former director of Voice of America's Persian News Network (PNN).Following a series of whistleblower complaints and an extensive internal investigation by civil servants, Sieg had been terminated in January 2021 for falsifying her education credentials, severe abuses of taxpayer dollars for personal benefit, and engaging in a pattern of favoritism that materially benefitted some employees and contractors at the expense of the public.However, within hours after President Biden took office, Sieg was reinstated then transferred to a different role by then-acting VOA Director Yolanda Lopez and cleared of wrongdoing.Lopez abruptly resigned in September 2023 as the Committee intensified its investigation.In its June 2024 report, the Committee found that the original allegations had merit and were supported by substantial evidence.Sieg remains employed at VOA.

Abdul Malik Rigi interview

On April 2, 2007,Abdul Malik Rigi,the leader ofJundullah,an Iranian MuslimSunniSalafimilitant group with possible links toal-Qaeda,appeared on Voice of America'sPersian-languageservice. The interview was condemned by theIranian government.Jundullah was linked to attacks on both Iranian military and civilians.Rigi was captured by the Iranian security services and executed in 2010 inEvin PrisoninTehran.

Tibetan alleged protester

In February 2013, a documentary released byChina Central Televisioninterviewed a Tibetan allegedself-immolatorwho failed to kill himself. The interviewee said he was motivated by Voice of America's broadcasts of commemorations of people who committed suicide in political self-immolation. VOA denied instigating self-immolations and demanded that the Chinese station retract its report.

Trump presidency politicization efforts

After theJanuary 2017 inaugurationof US PresidentDonald Trump,tweets by Voice of America (one of which was later removed) seemed to support the widely criticized statements by White House press secretarySean Spicerabout the crowd size and biased media coverage. This raised concerns over possible attempts by Trump to politicize VOA.This amplified already growing propaganda concerns over the provisions in theNational Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017,signed into law byBarack Obama,which gave the powers of the board of theBroadcasting Board of Governors,which was relegated to an advisory role, to a CEO appointed by the president. Trump sent two of his political aides to the agency to aid its CEO during thetransition to the Trump administration.Criticism was raised over Trump's choice of aides; Matthew Schuck was a staff writer forright-wingwebsiteThe Daily Surgeuntil 2015, while Matthew Ciepielowski was a field director at the conservative libertarian advocacy groupAmericans for Prosperity.VOA officials responded with assurances that they would not become "Trump TV".BBG head John F. Lansing toldNPRthat it would be illegal for the administration to tell VOA what to broadcast, while VOA directorAmanda Bennettstressed that while "government-funded", the agency is not "government-run".

On April 10, 2020, theWhite Housepublished an article in its daily newsletter critical of VOA coverage of thecoronavirus pandemic.Emails revealed in aFreedom of Information Actrequest showedCenters for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) press official Michawn Rich had sent a memo to agency employees stating in part, "as a rule, do not send up [interview] requests for [VOA contributor]Greta Van Susterenor anyone affiliated with Voice of America ", referencing the White House story.On April 30,The Washington Post,referring toSteven L. Hermanwho covered the White House for VOA, reported Vice PresidentMike Pence's office "threatened to retaliate against a reporter who revealed that Pence's office had told journalists they would need masks for Pence's visit to theMayo Clinic– a requirement Pence himself did not follow. "

On June 3, 2020, the US Senate confirmedMichael Pack,a conservative documentaries filmmaker and close ally ofSteve Bannon,to serve as head of the US Agency for Global Media, which oversees VOA.Subsequently, Director Bennet and deputy director Sandy Sugawara resigned from VOA.CNNreported on June 16 that plans for a leadership shakeup at VOA were being discussed, including the possibility that controversial former White House aideSebastian Gorkawould be given a leadership role at VOA.On June 17, the heads of VOA's Middle East Broadcasting, Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the Open Technology Fund were all fired, their boards were dissolved, and external communications from VOA employees were made to require approval from senior agency personnel in what one source described as an "unprecedented" move, whileJeffrey Scott Shapiro,like Pack a Bannon ally, was rumored to be in line to head the Office of Cuba Broadcasting.Four former members of the advisory boards filed suit challenging Pack's standing to fire them.On July 9, NPR reported VOA would not renew the work visas of dozens of non-resident reporters, many of whom could face repercussions in their home countries.In late July, four contractors and the head of VOA'sUrdu-language service were suspended after a video featuring extensive clips from a Muslim-American voter conference, including a campaign message from then-Democratic presidential candidateJoe Biden,was determined not to meet editorial standards and taken down.

On August 12, 2020, USAGM chief financial officer Grant Turner and general counsel David Kligerman were removed from their positions and stripped of their security clearances, reportedly for their opposition to what Turner called "gross mismanagement", along with four other senior agency officials.Politicoreported on August 13 that Trump administration official and former shock jockFrank Wucohad been hired as a USAGM senior advisor, responsible for auditing the agency's office of policy and research.As a radio host, Wuco issued insults and groundless claims against former US President Barack Obama, CIA DirectorJohn O. Brennan,and Speaker of the HouseNancy Pelosi.VOA's Twitter account during this period featured stories favorable to Vice President Mike Pence and White House advisorIvanka Trump.

In response to Pack's August 27 interview withThe Federalistwebsite, a group of VOA journalists sent a letter to VOA Acting Director Elez Biberaj complaining that Pack's "comments and decisions 'endanger the personal security of VOA reporters at home and abroad, as well as threatening to harm U.S. national security objectives.'"VOA's response was that "it would not respond directly to the letter because it was 'improper' and 'failed to follow procedure.' Instead, the leadership of USAGM and VOA 'are handling the choice of complaint transmission as an administrative issue,' which suggested that the journalists could face sanctions for their letter," according toThe Washington Post.In the same story, thePostreported that VOA Spanish-language service White House correspondent's Brigo Segovia's interview with an official about the administration's response to Pack's personnel and other moves had been censored and his own access to VOA's computer system restricted.

On July 20, 2020, District of Columbia attorney generalKarl A. Racinefiled suit under the District's Nonprofit Corporations Act to reverse Pack's replacement of theOpen Technology Fund(OTF) board.Beginning in August 2020, OTF came under increasing pressure from Peck and USAGM leadership. According to Axios,this was related to OTF's reluctance to extend grants toFalun Gong-related enterprises working on technology directed against China'sGreat Firewall;The New York Timesnoted Falun Gong and itsEpoch Timesmedia group frequently supported the Trump administration.On August 18, USAGM announced it was setting up its own Office of Internet Freedom with less strict grant requirements and began soliciting OTF's grantees to apply to the new office.On August 20, OTF sued USAGM in the US Court for Federal Claims for withholding nearly $20 million in previously agreed grant funds.On October 15,summary judgmentwas granted nullifying Pack's attempt to replace the OTF board.

On September 29, six senior USAGM officials filed a whistleblower complaint in which they alleged that Pack or one of his aides had ordered research conducted into the voting history of at least one agency employee, which would be a violation of laws protecting civil servants from undue political influence.NPR reported that two Pack aides had compiled a report on VOA White House bureau chiefSteven L. Herman's social media postings and other writings in an attempt to charge him with a conflict of interest, and that the agency released a conflict of interest policy stating in part that a "journalist who on Facebook 'likes' a comment or political cartoon that aggressively attacks or disparages the President must recuse themselves from covering the President."Apreliminary injunctionissued on November 20 barred Pack "from making personnel decisions involving journalists at the networks; from directly communicating with editors and journalists employed by them; and from investigating any editors or news stories produced by them," and characterized the investigation of Herman as an "unconstitutional prior restraint" of his, his editors', and fellow journalists' free speech.

Suspended officials from Voice of America sued the agency news outlet on October 8. They accused Pack of using Voice of America as a vehicle to promote the personal agenda of President Trump and of violating a statutory firewall intended to prevent political interference with the agency, and they sought their reinstatement.

In June 2020, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's campaign told Vox News that Biden would fire Pack if Biden won election.In November 2020, US District CourtJudge Beryl Howellfound Pack violated theFirst Amendmentrights of Voice of America journalists.

In December 2020,The Washington Postreported that Pack was refusing to cooperate withPresident-electBiden's transition team and, in an end run around the court order, had persuaded VOA Acting Director Biberaj to step down, replacing him withRobert Reilly,a former VOA director who had written critically of Muslims, gays, and lesbians.On December 19, 33 days before President-elect Biden's inauguration, Pack named Ted Lipien, a former VOA veteran journalist who headed the Polish Service during the final struggle for democracy in Poland in the 1980s and a former acting associate director of VOA who, according to NPR, "became a sharp critic of USAGM, VOA and the other affiliated networks on a pair of blogs" and "of the three network presidents affected, the only one without established partisan ties," as head of RFE/RL, andJeffrey Scott Shapiro,a writer forBreitbartandThe Washington Timeswho had claimed President Obama "hates America," as head of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting.On December 30, NPR reported Pack was attempting to add contractual language that would make it impossible to fire the broadcasting board members he had installed for two years, after which they could only be fired "for cause."Reportedly the new contracts were withdrawn after inquiries from media and Congress.

Then-Secretary of StateMike Pompeospeaks at VOA headquarters in January 2021.

On January 11, 2021, VOA interim director Reilly ordered veteran reporterPatsy Widakuswaraoff the White House beat. Earlier that day, Widakuswara had followed US Secretary of StateMike Pompeoout of the building after his speech criticizing the VOAand his VOA-sponsored interview with VOA Director Robert Reilly during which reporters were not allowed to ask questions.Widakuswara asked Pompeo what he was doing to repair the international reputation of the U.S. and whether he regretted saying there would be a second Trump administration.The theme of the preceding interview with VOA Director Robert Reilly was reportedly the dangers of censorship.In response, dozens of VOA journalists, including Widakuswara, wrote and circulated a petition calling on Reilly and public affairs specialist Elizabeth Robbins to resign.In a statement,U.S. House Foreign Affairs CommitteeChairmanGregory Meeksand ranking memberMichael McCaulsaid, "Absent a legitimate reason for this move, which has not been provided, we believe she should be reinstated".Widakuswara was reinstated to the White House beat after President Biden requested the resignation of Michael Pack.

On January 19, the nonprofitGovernment Accountability Project,representing fired USAGM employees and whistleblowers, sent a letter to the congressional foreign affairs committees, theU.S. Office of Special Counsel,and theInspector General of the US Department of State.The letter said that Pack had hired theMcGuireWoodslaw firm to investigate USAGM employees and the OTF at a cost of over $2 million in the last quarter of 2020, bypassing US government investigators including USAGM's own Office of Human Resources, and called for further investigation of what it termed a gross misuse of taxpayer dollars.The Washington Postlater reported that a second law firm, Caplin & Drysdale, had also been granted a similarno-bid contractin possible violation of federal contracting regulations for a total cost of $4 million.

Also on January 19, the last full day of the Trump presidency, Pack named a slate of five directors to head each of the three USAGM boards for RFE/RL, Radio Free Asia, and Middle East Broadcasting Networks: conservative radio talk show host Blanquita Cullum,Liberty Counselofficer Johnathan Alexander, former White House staffer Amanda Milius, conservative writer Roger Simon, andCenter for the National InterestFellow Christian Whiton.

The following day, Pack resigned at the request of the Biden administration.On January 21, Shapiro resigned from the Office of Cuba Broadcasting. Biden named veteran VOA journalistKelu Chaoto replace Pack. Chao in turn dismissed Riley and Robbins from VOA, naming Yolanda Lopez, another VOA veteran, as acting director; Lopez had also been reassigned in the wake of the Pompeo interview.On January 22, the Biden administration firedVictoria Coatesand her deputy Robert Greenway from the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, naming Kelley Sullivan as acting head.

Guo Wengui interview

Guo Wengui

On April 19, 2017, the VOA Mandarin Service interviewed Chinese real estate tycoonGuo Wenguiin a live broadcast. Thegovernment of Chinawarned VOA representatives not to interview Guo about his "unsubstantiated allegations".The interview was scheduled by the team for 3 hours. After Guo alleged that he had evidence of corruption among the members of thePolitburo Standing Committee of China,the highest political authority of China, the interview was abruptly cut off by VOA leadership, after one hour and 17 minutes. Guo's allegations involved Fu Zhenhua andWang Qishan(a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, and the leader of the anti-graft movement).

On August 27, four U.S. Congressmen requested that theOffice of Inspector General(OIG) conduct an investigation into the interruption.The OIG investigation concluded that the VOA leadership decision to curtail the Guo interview was based solely onjournalistic best practices,rather than due to any pressure from the Chinese government.Another investigation, byMark Feldstein,Chair of Broadcast Journalism at theUniversity of Maryland, College Park,concluded that "VOA’s senior management did its best to make decisions consistent with journalism’s best practices and industry standards,” and “was not improperly influenced by the Chinese government or anyone else. The failure [of the VOA Mandarin Service interview team] to comply with leadership's instructions during the Guo interview 'was a colossal and unprecedented violation of journalistic professionalism and broadcast industry standards.'"The Feldstein report also noted that "There had been a grossly negligent approach" by the VOA Mandarin Service interview team to pre-interview vetting, and failure to "corroborate the authenticity of Guo's evidence or interview other sources," in violation of industry standards. The VOA Mandarin Service interview team apparently "demonstrated greater loyalty to its source than to its employer  –  at the expense of basic journalistic standards of accuracy, verification, and fairness," the Feldstein report concluded.

Relay station used as a CIA black site

It has been reported that a Voice of America relay station inUdon Thani Province,Thailandwas used as aCIA black sitereferred to as "Cat's Eye" or "Detention Site Green".

Horn of Africa service

The Amharic Service was started in 1982.From 1982 to 1986, the VOA service had a mix of staff consisting of former members of theEthiopian People's Revolutionary Party(EPRP) and US-educated staff without strong political involvement in the 1974Ethiopian Revolutionand the associated student movement of the revolutionary period. Reporting was mostly critical of theDergled byMengistu Haile Mariam.

The 1986 to 1996 phase was according to Annette Sheckler, who became head of the VOA Horn of Africa Service in December 1998, opposed to theTigray People's Liberation Front(TPLF)/Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front(EPRDF), which took control of Ethiopia in 1991. According to Sheckler, the reporting became more politicized due to the loss of qualified staff, the role of EPRP-supporting staff being opposed to the TPLF government, and the role of former Derg officials who were recruited to the Service. US ambassadors to Ethiopia Mark Bass, Irvin Hicks, and David Shinn objected to what they saw as a lack of balance in the Service. Sheckler believed the Chief of the Horn of Africa service's EPRP background was a factor in what she viewed as imbalanced reporting. Broadcasts inTigrinyaandOromowere added in addition to Amhara.Sheckler sees the 18-month period during 1996–98, with a new temporary service Chief, as having become "essentially ungovernable" with a "legacy of personal animosity, hostility and complete lack of professionalism".Sheckler described the June 1998 phase of theEritrean–Ethiopian Waras exacerbating ethnic conflicts within the service. Sheckler wrote memos to VOA leadership describing her assessment of serious problems in the service, and was fired on November 20, 1998, officially for "a lack of professional journalistic ethics"; she describes the reason for her firing as "telling the truth".

Peter Heinlein led the service from 2012 to 2014. In 2013, he wrote a complaint about his view of problems in the service. He saw a significant flaw being the confusion of roles in which translators, untrained in the principles and methods of journalism, took on the role of journalists.The service was mostly seen as anti-Ethiopian government until 2018, when Negussie Mengesha, the head of the VOA Africa division for several years, met the newly appointed Ethiopian prime ministerAbiy Ahmed.

In May 2021, several former employees accused VOA'sAmharicservice, under the leadership of Negussie Mengesha, of being biased in favor of the government of Abiy Ahmed, including failing to report onatrocitiescommitted during theTigray War.VOA journalist Jason Patinkin said that he had reported the problems "at every level of the VOA hierarchy". Patinkin resigned from the service, saying that VOA had "sided with the perpetrators both by commission and omission" of "potential crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing and perhaps even genocide".

In June 2021,Mail & Guardianreported on an investigation based on "hundreds of internal memos and interviews with about a dozen former and current members" of the VOA Horn of Africa service.Mail & Guardianstated that during the Tigray War, the only major foreign news service that was not harassed by Ethiopian security services was VOA. VOA gave frequent coverage to theMai Kadra massacre,mostly attributed to Tigrayan youth and documented byAmnesty International,while later focusing on the Ethiopian government's dismissal of Amnesty International's report on theAxum massacrerather than on the methods and content of the report itself. During 107 meetings of the Horn of Africa service from November 4, 2020, to April 30, 2021, during the Tigray War, most (81%) of the meetings did not have approvals by Tizita Belachew, head of the service, or by Solomon Abate, of stories on the war that included Tigrayan points of view; a majority of the stories only showed government or military officials' points of view; a fifth of the meetings had no reports on the war. Instructions emailed to staff stated that the terms "civil war" and "war" were forbidden in reporting on the Tigray War, with Scott Stearns writing on 14 November, according toMail & Guardian,"There are to be no deviations from these instructions by any member of any Africa division language service on any platform."

Twitter label controversy

AfterElon Muskacquired social media platformTwitter,in April 2023National Public Radio's main Twitter account was briefly designated as "US state-affiliated media", a label typically reserved for foreign media outlets that directly represented the point of view of their respective governments, like Russia'sRTand China'sXinhua.A few days later, Twitter changed the designation of NPR's account from "state-affiliated" to "government-funded".Twitter then added the label to other sources such asPBS,theBBC,and Voice of America, which all three objected to.VOA criticized the decision, stating "the label gives the impression that VOA is not an independent outlet," and that "its editorial independence is protected by regulations and a firewall."The controversy prompted Congress to reduce the budget of VOA's parent organization, USAGM.

Hamas coverage

After theOctober 7, 2023 Hamas attackon Israel, an email was sent to Voice of America staff from the associate editor for news standards with guidance related to how to refer to the actions ( "terrorist acts" or "acts of terror" ) and advice about how to refer to individual members of Hamas, i.e. to use the term "terrorist" only in direct quotes from sources.At the time, VOA was not the only news outlet with journalists discussing how to objectively refer to theIsraeli–Palestinian conflict.Six Republican members of Congress signed a letter sent by SenatorBill Hagerty,which criticized and strongly objected to the editorial guidance about how to refer to individual members of Hamas.USAGM chief executive Amanda Bennett sent a letter to the senators to clarify that the VOA email was guidance only, and "There is no policy prohibiting the use of the words 'terror,' 'terrorism,' or 'terrorist'" at VOA, and stating the news organizations within USAGM "counsel care and attention in the use of the words but do not place any restrictions on the appropriate use."

In different regions

China

A study was done on Chinese students in America. It found that through the VOA, they disapproved of the actions of the Chinese government.Another study was done on Chinese scholars in America, and found that the VOA had an effect on their political beliefs. Their political beliefs did not change in relation to China, though, as they did not tend to believe the VOA's reports on China.

Kurdistan and Iran

VOA's service in Iran had a negative impact onKurdsandKurdistanaccording to the publicationKurdish Lifein 2000. They claimed that the VOA exacerbated the conflict between theTalabaniand theBarzani.They further claimed that the VOA covered up wrongful imprisonments, wrongful arrests, and the building of extremist mosques. According to the same publication, Kurds were being turned into fanatics, and a new generation of terrorists was forming because of the VOA. They claimed the VOA was doing this to helpPUK.

Pakistan

The VOA's DEEWA Radio airs in Pakistan. Although in 2015 some listeners were suspicious that the program was promoting an American agenda, others said they were experiencing a positive effect. Some listeners felt that the programs were giving a voice to the voiceless, giving them a sense of empowerment.In 2018, the Pakistani authorities blocked the website of VOA's Pashto and Urdu language radio service.

Russia

In response to the request of theUnited States Department of JusticethatRTregister as a foreign agent under theForeign Agents Registration Act,Russia's Justice MinistryKonovalovlabeled Voice of America andRadio Free Europe/Radio Libertyasforeign agentsin December 2017.

Turkey

On June 30, 2022, the Turkish media watchdog,Radio and Television Supreme Council(RTÜK), blocked access to VOA's website amerikaninsesi.com inTurkeybecause VOA had not applied for the necessary licence, which would subject VOA to certain obligations.The RTÜK regulation requires foreign news outlets that publish in Turkey to apply for publication licenses, mandates that at least half of the media organization be owned by a Turkish citizen, and would force VOA to remove content deemed inappropriate by RTÜK.VOA Turkish subsequently broadcast over a different VOA website domain name, voaturkce.com, which in August 2023 was blocked as well.VOA said that "Given VOA's status as a public service international broadcaster legally required to provide 'accurate, objective, and comprehensive' news coverage to its global audience, VOA cannot comply with any directive intended to enable censorship."VOA Turkey, after it was blocked, shared instructions on its social media accounts as to how to use VPN to access its content.

See also

• List of public broadcasters by country
• List of state media by country
• List of world news channels

References

Bibliography

• Dizard, Wilson P. (2004).Inventing Public Diplomacy: The Story of the U.S. Information Agency.Lynne Rienner Publishers.ISBN1-58826-288-X.
• Pomar, Mark G. (2022)Cold War Radio: The Russian Broadcasts of the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty(University of Nebraska Press, 2022)online scholarly book review
• Rugh, William A. (2006).American Encounters with Arabs: The "Soft Power" of U.S. Public Diplomacy in the Middle East.Praeger.ISBN978-0-275-98817-3.