Voice of America A Trusted Source of News and Information Since 1942

"The news may be good. The news may be bad. We shall tell you the truth."
- William Harlan Hale, 1st VOA broadcast (1942)

Mission

To broadcast accurate, balanced, and comprehensive news and information to an international audience.

Facilities

27 radio broadcast studios, 33 production and recording studios, 30 professional audio mixing and dubbing stations, 4 full-production television studios, 2 limited-production television studios, 21 video editing suites, and facilities for master control, recording, scheduling, and feed intake.

History

Broadcasts began in 1942, to get reliable news to people living in closed and war-torn societies.

VOA Broadcasts

• We transmit approximately 1,500 hours of programs each week
• 26 of VOA's 44 languages broadcast on television
• Program content includes news, features, education, and culture, in documentary, discussion, and call-in formats, both live and pre-recorded
• VOA has a growing worldwide network of more than 1,200 local affiliate stations, which include FM and medium wave (MW or AM) radio stations, television stations and networks, and cable systems

In 44 languages

Our broadcasts in 44 languages make VOA one of the largest multimedia news organizations in the world

• Afan Oromo
• Albanian
• Amharic
• Armenian
• Azerbaijani
• Bangla
• Bosnian
• Burmese
• Cantonese

• Creole
• Croatian
• Dari
• Deewa
• English
• French
• Georgian
• Greek
• Hausa

• Khmer
• Kinyarwanda
• Kirundi
• Korean
• Kurdish
• (Kurdi)
• Lao
• Macedonian
• Mandarin

• Ndebele
• Pashto
• Persian
• Portuguese
• Russian
• Serbian
• Shona
• Somali
• Spanish

• Swahili
• Thai
• Tibetan
• Tigrigna
• Turkish
• Ukrainian
• Urdu
• Uzbek
• Vietnamese

VOA Newscenter

• VOA's 30,000 square foot Newscenter is staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, providing between 150 and 200 news reports per day for all language services and programs
• There are also 22 domestic and 16 overseas correspondents, in addition to more than 90 part-time reporters, called "stringers"

VOA and Technology

• VOA has the largest integrated digital audio system in the world
• A network of AM, FM, and shortwave transmitting stations operated by the International Broadcasting Bureau, along with some leased stations, sends VOA's programs instantaneously around the world
• The website, www.VOANews.com, provides a wide range of English-language news reports and serves as a portal to homepages of all 44 languages broadcast by VOA, as well as other information about VOA
• VOANews.com pages feature text, audio/video files on demand, and live-streamed programs.

The VOA Charter

President Gerald Ford signed the VOA Charter into law in 1976. It protects the independence and integrity of VOA programming.

1. VOA will serve as a consistently reliable and authoritative source of news. VOA news will be accurate, objective, and comprehensive
2. VOA will represent America, not any single segment of American society, and will therefore present a balanced and comprehensive projection of significant American thought and institutions
3. VOA will present the policies of the United States clearly and effectively, and will also present responsible discussions and opinion on these policies

The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG)

• The BBG is an independent federal agency that oversees all non-military U.S. international broadcasting, including the Voice of America.
• The bi-partisan Board is comprised of nine members, appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, including the Secretary of State
• Its mission is "To promote freedom and democracy and enhance understanding through multimedia communication of accurate, objective, and balanced news, information and other programming about America and the world to audiences overseas."