COVERS 1-4/MANILA 8/6/01 11:48 AM Page 1 VOICE O F A M E R ...ontheshortwaves.com/Stations/VOA-A_Brief_History.pdf · cover news events. Behind the scenes, engi-neers maintain broadcast

A Brief History

VOICE O FAME RICA

COVERS 1-4/MANILA 8/6/01 11:48 AM Page 1

America’s Voice on theInternational Airwaves

The Voice of America has carried UnitedStates, regional, and world news to lis-teners around the globe for more than55 years. Founded less than three

months after the United States entered Wo r l dWar II, the Voice has been a beacon of hopefor those deprived of news.

William Harlan Hale opened the first VOAbroadcast on February 24, 1942, with thewords, “The Voice of America speaks. To d a y,America has been at war for 79 days. Daily,at this time, we shall speak to you aboutAmerica and the war—the news may be goodor bad—we shall tell you the truth.”

That willingness to report the news accu-rately and objectively—no matter what thesubject—has been a basic philosophy forevery VOA b r o a d c a s t e r. That is why VOAreporters told the world about such stories asVietnam, Wa t e rgate, and Iran-Contra. Itsreporters have never shied away from the con-troversial. Instead, they have reported thenews with the balance and objectivity thatV O A listeners rely on. Present the facts of anews story and let the listeners decide.

Voice of America broadcasts originate fromits headquarters building in Washington, D.C.,where staff prepare and broadcast newscasts,features, English-teaching programs, andmusic shows in 52 languages to audiencesaround the globe. VOA’s Washington news-room follows stories 24-hours-a-day, and a

network of 40 VOA correspondents and 100freelance reporters in major cities worldwidecover news events. Behind the scenes, engi-neers maintain broadcast equipment and pro-vide the technical expertise to broadcast morethan 700 hours of programming a week. Avast satellite network and a series of relay sta-tions around the globe carry VOA p r o g r a m-ming to millions of listeners each day.

An estimated 83 million listeners tune inV O A’s shortwave and medium wave broad-casts each week. A highly successful “affili-ates” program has placed VOA-producedprogramming on more than 1,100 radio sta-tions around the world. In 1994, VOA e n t e r e dthe world of television when it inaugurated“China Forum TV,” a Chinese-language TVprogram beamed by satellite to viewers in theP e o p l e ’s Republic of China.

In 1996, a new television studio was com-pleted, and VOA now simulcasts portions ofsome programs on radio and TV in such lan-guages as Arabic, Bosnian, Chinese, English,Farsi, Serbian, and Spanish. VOA also putsaudio and text on its Internet web site, and hasbegun an aggressive targeted e-mail programin countries where the web site is blocked.

As the Voice of America evolves into a 21st century international broadcaster utilizingall of the latest technologies, we must not f o rget that the “Voice” started from very meager beginnings to become a voice of hopeand freedom for many people whose governments told them only what they wantedthem to hear.

“...The news maybe good or bad— we shall tellyou the truth.”

— William Harlan Hale1 9 4 2

B e l o w, VOA headquarters at330 Independence Av e n u e ,SW in Washington, DC.

VOA HISTORY BOOK/TEXT PAGES 8/6/01 11:53 AM Page 1

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An American Voice Greets The World

In 1939, the American playwright RobertSherwood, who would become a speech-writer for President Franklin Roosevelt andl a t e r, the “father of the Voice of A m e r i c a , ”

predicted the impact of international broad-casting when he said:

“ We are living in an age when communica-tion has achieved fabulous importance. Thereis a new decisive force in the human race,more powerful than all the tyrants. It is thef o rce of massed thought—thought which hasbeen provoked by words, strongly spoken.”

In that year, the United States was the onlyworld power without a government-spon-sored international radio service. TheNetherlands had been the first country todirect regularly-scheduled broadcasts beyondits own borders, inaugurating shortwave pro-gramming to the Far East in 1927. Seeingradio as an instrument of foreign policy, the

Soviet Union built a radio center in Moscowand was broadcasting in 50 languages anddialects by the end of 1930. Italy and GreatBritain started their respective “empire ser-vices” in 1932, followed by France the nexty e a r. Nazi Germany built a massive networkof transmitters in 1933 and began to beamhostile propaganda into Austria. The samey e a r, Berlin started shortwave broadcasts toLatin America. Meanwhile, Japan was usingradio to promote its national ambitions in theFar East.

Despite the efforts of many prominent fig-ures, including New York CongressmanEmmanuel Celler (who introduced bills in1937, 1938, and 1939 to create a govern-ment station that could respond to Germanpropaganda), the United States entered the1940s with no plans to establish an officialU.S. presence on the international airwaves.

Above, an early view of the V O A newsroom. Right, President Franklin D. Roosevelt.


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The United States’ shortwave resourc e sconsisted of just over a dozen low-pow-ered, commercially owned and operatedt r a n s m i t t e r s .

In 1941, several of these private transmit-ters were leased by the U.S. Coordinator forI n t e r-American Affairs (CIAA) to broadcast toLatin America. In mid-1941, PresidentRoosevelt established the U.S. ForeignInformation Service (FIS) and named speech-writer Sherwood as its first director. Driven byhis belief in the power of ideas and the needto communicate A m e r i c a ’s views abroad,Sherwood rented space for his headquartersin New York City, recruited a staff of journal-ists, and began producing material for broad-cast to Europe by the privately-ownedAmerican shortwave stations. Sherwood alsotalked with officials in London about theprospect for relaying FIS material over thefacilities of the British BroadcastingCorporation (BBC).

With Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor andG e r m a n y ’s declaration of war against theUnited States, Sherwood moved into highg e a r. He asked John Houseman, the theatricalp r o d u c e r, author, and director, to take charg eof FIS radio operations in New York City.

In December 1941, FIS made its first directbroadcasts to Asia from a studio in SanFrancisco. On February 24, 1942—just 79days after the United States entered Wo r l dWar II—FIS beamed its first broadcast toEurope via BBC medium- and long-wavetransmitters. Announcer William Harlan Haleopened the German-language program withthe words: “The Voice of America speaks.”The name took hold, and within a fewmonths, it became the signature introductionon all Foreign Information Service broadcasts.From that moment, America had found its“voice” abroad.

B e l o w, broadcaster operates equipment in the early days ofVOA. Below left, American troops move towardFountainbleau en route to Paris during World War II.


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Let The Truth Be Told

From the beginning, VOA promised to tellits listeners the truth, regardless ofwhether the news was good or bad. A sJohn Houseman said later, “In reality, we

had little choice. Inevitably the news that theVoice of America would carry to the world inthe first half of 1942 was almost all bad. A sJapanese invasions followed one another withsickening regularity and the Nazi armiesmoved ever deeper into Russia and the NearEast, we would have to report our reverseswithout weaseling. Only thus could we estab-lish a reputation for honesty which we hopedwould pay off on that distant but inevitableday when we would start reporting our owninvasions and victories.”

By June 1942, VOA was growing rapidlyand had a new organizational home—theOffice of War Information (OWI). Tw e n t y -three transmitters had been constructed and27 language services were on the air whenthe Allied summit took place in Casablanca.

Above, Robert Bauer ofV O A’s German Service in1942. Right, an early photoof John Houseman, VOA’sfirst director.


The Post-War Blues

As the war drew to a close, however,many of VOA’s broadcast services werereduced or eliminated. Then in late1945, a State Department-appointed

committee of private citizens chaired byColumbia University professor A r t h u rMcMahon advised that the U.S. governmentcould not be “indifferent to the ways inwhich our society is portrayed to other coun-tries.” Consequently, on December 31, 1945,V O A’s and CIAA’s broadcast services to LatinAmerica were transferred to the Departmentof State, and Congress reluctantly appropriat-ed funds for their continued operation in1946 and 1947.

The reluctant support for internationalbroadcasting disappeared in 1948. That year,members of Congress were heavily influ-enced by the escalation of the Cold War andhostile international broadcasting by the

Soviet Union and Soviet-controlled countries.The Berlin Blockade in 1948 confirmed theneed for an American radio voice to theworld. The enactment of the Smith-MundtAct that year permanently establishedA m e r i c a ’s international informational and cul-tural exchange programs, a function VOAhad already been carrying out for the past sixyears on its own.

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Right, Senator H. A l e x a n d e rSmith of New Jersey and SenatorKarl E. Mundt of South Dakota.B e l o w, listeners gather aroundthe radio to hear an early Vo i c eof America broadcast.


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A Voice of Freedom Or of Fear

For the next two years, officials in the U.S.government debated the proper role ofA m e r i c a ’s official international broad-casting service. Was it to report the news

and reflect America, or was it to be used asan instrument of U.S. foreign policy and as a“weapon” against the Soviet Union? Congresssaw it increasingly as fulfilling the latter role.With the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950,V O A added new language services anddeveloped plans to construct transmitter com-plexes on both the east and west coasts of theUnited States.

In early 1953, Senator Joseph McCarthychaired several weeks of hearings to investi-

gate programming and engineering practicesat VOA and allegations that there were “sub-versives on the staff guilty of negligence favor-ing communism.” The inquiry also examinedmanagement practices and plans to buildnew VOA transmitters. While the charges ofsubversive activity were never proven, wide-spread dismissals and resignations followed.In the wake of the congressional hearings,V O A’s budget was reduced, the transmitterconstruction program was halted, and a number of language services were terminated.

Above, early photo of broadcasters from several VOAlanguage services. Right, VOA correspondent on assignmentduring the Korean Wa r.


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A New Beginning

Even before the McCarthy hearingsended, however, a commission appoint-ed by President Eisenhower had begun areview of U.S. foreign information activi-

ties, including the Voice of America. Thecommission, chaired by former PresidentHerbert Hoover, concluded that these pro-grams should be separated from theDepartment of State. On August 1, 1953, theUnited States Information Agency was estab-lished, and VOA became its single largest ele-ment. A year later, VOA moved itsheadquarters from New York City to its pre-sent site on Independence Avenue, SW, notfar from the U.S. Capitol building inWashington, DC.

The crises in Hungary and Suez, the begin-nings of American-Soviet summitry, and thedawning of the space age in the late 1950sand the early 1960s offered new opportunitiesfor VOA to provide reliable and comprehen-sive reporting of world events. New and cre-ative programming reflecting America wasintroduced. In 1959, VOA i n a u g u r a t e dSpecial English—slow-paced, simplifiedEnglish broadcasts—to facilitate comprehen-sion for millions of listeners.

Top right, on February 25,1957, President Dwight D.Eisenhower spoke during aprogram titled, “Freedom toListen.” This was the firsttime a President of theUnited States had spokendirectly to the peoples ofthe world over the U.S.g o v e r n m e n t ’s internationalradio network. His speechwas translated in Russian,French, Chinese, andSpanish as well as 38 otherforeign languages.Below,satellite dish on roof ofV O A headquarters building overlooking U.S.Capitol building.


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The Stamp of Approval

In 1960, USIA Director George A l l e nendorsed the VOA Charter that had beendrafted by VOA staff members between1958 and 1959 to put in writing a formal

statement of principles that would governV O A broadcasts. The Charter said in part that:

( 1 ) V O A will serve as a consistently reli-able and authoritative source of news. VOAnews will be accurate, objective, and com-p r e h e n s i v e .

( 2 ) V O A will represent America, not anysingle segment of American society, and willtherefore present a balanced and comprehen-sive projection of significant A m e r i c a nthought and institutions.

( 3 ) V O A will present the policies of theUnited States clearly and effectively and willalso present responsible discussions and opin-ion on these policies.

In July 1976, Representative Bella A b z u gand Senator Charles Percy sponsored legisla-tion making the VOA Charter Public Law 94-350. President Gerald Ford signed thelegislation on July 12, 1976.

Left, USIA Director George V. Allen endorsed the VOAC h a r t e r, which states VOA’s mission as an internationalb r o a d c a s t e r. Below, President Gerald Ford signed legislationfor the VOA Charter (Public Law 94-350) on July 12, 1975.


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Accepting The Challenge

Acomplete roster of the men and womenwho formed and nourished the Voice ofAmerica in its infancy, John Housemanrecalled, “would reveal a collection of

U.S.-born and foreign luminaries in their vari-ous fields—journalists, publishers, executives,actors, directors, economists, philosophers,poets, artists, musicians, educators, andfinanciers—of such celebrity in their past andfuture lives that it is almost impossible tobelieve they were all ever assembled underone roof.”

Twenty-five years later, former DirectorJohn Chancellor wrote, “There’s a peculiarsort of ramshackle excellence about theVoice of America. I came to work there withthe standard conceptions and misconceptionsof an outsider. I did think of it as a calm anddignified group of broadcasters. To my sur-prise, I found that I had misjudged the spir-it—indeed, the clamor—that exists inside the

Voice. It was like walking into a stately build-ing to find the residents holding up the wallswith broomsticks while carrying on a terrifica rgument. There is a fine, antic sense of mad-ness about the place and after a year and ahalf of taking my turn at the broomstick, Iview the Voice and its employees with a feel-ing of pride and affection... .” He continued,“they are, to a remarkable degree, people ofspirit and intelligence, whose passion is torepresent the United States in the best possi-ble manner. ”

”...they are, to a remarkabledegree, people of spirit and i n t e l l i g e n c e ,whose passion isto represent theUnited States inthe best possiblem a n n e r.”

— Director John Chancellor

Clockwise, long-time VOA jazz presenter Willis Conover interviews Irving Berlin. Conover andLouis Armstrong talk during VOA’s “Music USA.” Actress Helen Hayes answers questions dur-ing early VOA program “Have You a Question?” John Chancellor was VOA director from 1965to 1967.


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Getting Down to Business

In the 1960s and 1970s, VOA took giantsteps toward becoming the world’s leadinginternational broadcaster. During thetenure of Director Henry Loomis from

1958 to 1965, the VOA Charter was written,and technical facilities and programming forevery part of the world were expanded.

When NBC newsman John Chancellortook up the reins in 1965, he promised thatV O A broadcasts “would swing a little.” VOAbegan to produce livelier and more creativeprograms in both English and foreign lan-guage broadcasts. News-gathering resourc e swere increased, making possible more live,on-the-scene reporting. In 1969, when NeilArmstrong set foot on the moon, nearly 800million people were tuned to the Voice or tothe hundreds of stations around the worldthat were relaying VOA’s live coverage. In

1977, VOA became the first internationalbroadcaster to use a full-time satellite circ u i tto deliver programming from its own studiosto an overseas relay station—in this case, the VOA Arabic programs from Wa s h i n g t o nto the Voice transmitters on the Greek islandof Rhodes.

During Kenneth Giddens’ tenure as direc-tor from 1969 to 1977, the longest of anyV O A d i r e c t o r, VOA dramatically enhanced itscredibility through its straightforward report-ing of two events that traumatized thenation—the war in Vietnam and the constitu-tional crises posed by Wa t e rgate. VOA’sreporting not only drew praise from theAmerican press, but also from listeners inevery part of the world, as tens of thousandswrote to express their admiration for VOA’scomprehensive and objective coverage.

Above, VOA correspondent interviews a worker who helped in the construction of a scientific base on an ice flow near the North Pole. Right, in warmer climes, a VOAcorrespondent conducts an interview near Cairo, Egypt.


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The cessation of Soviet and Soviet-blocjamming, which took place throughout theCold War; an expanding audience in China;and the introduction of new and expandedprogramming for listeners in Iran, A f g h a n i s t a n ,and Poland were opening up vast new audi-ences for VOA. As Giddens had predicted,h o w e v e r, VOA’s potential to reach an ever-increasing number of the world’s citizens wasbeing handicapped by insufficient resourc e s .As the 1970s came to an end, the gapbetween VOA’s extensive programmingrequirements and the level of funding had ledto serious deficiencies in both personnel andfacilities. Almost every language service wasshort-staffed. It was not unusual to find trans-l a t o r-announcers working two and threeweeks without a day off. VOA’s antiquatedstudios and master control complex werebreaking down with increasing frequency

despite the best efforts of a dedicated techni-cal staff skilled in fabricating spare parts nolonger manufactured.

Listeners in many parts of the world werecomplaining that VOA signals sounded weakand distorted. By the early 1980s, many VOAtransmitters were more than 30 years old andsome were over 40. Few were capable of pro-ducing the 500,000-watt signals being gener-ated by VOA’s leading competitors. And thecompetition itself was increasing. In the mid-1980s, some 160 stations were crowding theinternational spectrum with upwards of25,000 hours of programming a week.

V O A Director Kenneth Giddens1969 - 1977


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No Better Time Than the Present

In 1983, VOA launched a $1.3 billion pro-gram to rebuild and modernize VOA p r o-gramming and technical capabilities.H o w e v e r, due to government-wide budget

constraints at the time, VOA was forced toreduce the funds devoted to this project.Despite less funding, major new and upgrad-ed radio transmission facilities were complet-ed in Botswana, Morocco, Thailand, Kuwait,and São Tomé over the next several years. InWashington, 19 “state-of-the-art” studioswere constructed, a new Master Controlcomplex was installed, and a NetworkControl Center was built to coordinate anddirect VOA’s domestic and overseas relaytransmitter stations.

In 1985, Congress established a specialservice to Cuba known as Radio Martí, whichbroadcasts news of that country. A l t h o u g hRadio Martí followed VOA editorial guide-lines, it operated separately from the Vo i c eand had its own Washington studios. A t e l e v i-sion service, TV Martí went on the air in

1990, and in 1996, Radio and TV Martíbegan to transfer their operations to Miami, amove which would be completed by 1998.

V O A Mandarin and Cantonese broadcastswere increased in 1989 to bring hundreds ofmillions of Chinese listeners accurate reportsof the pro-democracy movement that filledB e i j i n g ’s Tiananmen Square and the streets ofdozens of Chinese cities. In the fall and win-t e r, VOA reported the historic changes thatwere sweeping Eastern Europe and the SovietUnion—changes that some have ascribed, atleast in part, to the Voice and other westerninternational broadcasters. With the arrival ofthe 1990s, VOA Russian covered the attempt-ed August 1991 coup against then Sovietleader Mikhail Gorbachev and the dissolutionof the Soviet Union at the end of the samey e a r.

Following the formation of theCommonwealth of Independent States (C.I.S.)and the collapse of communist governmentsthroughout Eastern Europe, VOA continued adaily flow of news and information to the

B e l o w, steerable beamantennas can fine tune theirtransmission qualities foroptimum broadcasts. Inset,V O A Master Control coor-dinates all broadcast signalsbefore they are sent bysatellite to relay stationsaround the world.


region. All of these newly formed govern-ments had been trying, with varying degreesof success, to embrace democracy and itsunderlying principles. East European leaderssuch as the Czech Republic’s Václav Havelasked the West to help them understand howto establish the infrastructure of democratic institutions. VOA responded with program-ming designed to explain how democracyworks in the West and how marketeconomies function.

While there was a great need to maintainV O A broadcasts to the C.I.S. and EasternEurope, the Voice of America continued toprovide news and information to people inother parts of the world. On March 25, 1991,V O A launched a 15-minute Tibetan program,which the Chinese government promptlystarted to jam. Kurdish-language broadcasts tolisteners in Iraq and Iran went on the air onApril 25, 1992.

In response to the breakup of the formerYugoslavia into several republics in 1991,V O A divided its Yugoslav Service into twoseparate language services—Croatian andSerbian—on February 21, 1993. Both servicesexpanded their broadcast hours to the regionand, along with VOA’s Slovene Service,maintained a constant flow of news and infor-mation to listeners in the Balkans. A B o s n i a nService was added in 1996.

V O A also established a network ofCroatian and Serbian local radio stations tocarry VOA-produced programming. OnOctober 1, 1996, Radio 101 FM began tocarry VOA Croatian, making it the first stationin Zagreb to include programming from aninternational broadcaster in its schedule. Thatsame year, VOA Serbian increased its dailybroadcasts to two and a half hours when itadded a 30-minute, medium-wave broadcast.

A live 15-minute VOA Bosnian “feed” ser-vice, which was transmitted to local radiostations via satellite, was established on A p r i l

22, 1996. VOA later increased the Bosnian-language program to 30 minutes andlaunched direct broadcasts in Bosnia late thesame year.

When the Milosevic government inBelgrade banned broadcasts of Radio B-92and other independent local radio stations onDecember 3, 1996, VOA rebroadcast B-92reporter newscasts from Belgrade.Realizing that it could not stifle theflow of information, the Milosevicgovernment allowed Radio B-92 to resume broadcasts twodays later on December 5. Onthe same day that B-92resumed its broadcasts, VOAbegan pilot simulcasts on radioand TV of its 11:30 p.m. (Serbianlocal time) newscast. The program isrelayed by Serbian independent TV stationswith a potential viewership of four million.

On July 15, 1996, the Voice of A m e r i c aadded broadcasts in Afan Oromo andTrigigna—its 49th and 50th languages—for listeners in Eritrea and Ethiopia. Tigrigna is one of the working languages of the independent nation of Eritrea, and A f a nOromo is spoken by the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia. The two languages joinedV O A Amharic, which has been on the airsince 1982.

On the same day, VOA introduced Kirundiand Kinyarwanda language programming forlisteners in conflict-ridden Central Africa. VOA,which was already broadcasting in English,French, and Swahili to the region, increased itsaudience. With funding from the U.S. A g e n c yfor International Development, the two ser-v i c e s — V O A’s 51st and 52nd languages—wenton the air on July 15, 1996, with a 30-minuteweekday program. The following Novemberthey expanded the show to seven days a weekand one month later increased their Saturdayand Sunday programs to one hour.

Producers work behind thescenes to direct all VOAp r o g r a m m i n g .

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V O A also established refugee hotlines inboth the Balkans and Central Africa in 1996.V O A Serbian and Croatian launched theirhotline on August 14, and Kirundi andKinyarwanda on November 30. VOA l a n-guage broadcasts to both regions offered lis-teners a means through which they could bereunited with friends and family separated bywar and personal hardship.

When citizens in Tirana and otherAlbanian cities protested the proliferation ofillegal financial schemes in February 1997,V O A Albanian broadcasts were a primes o u rce of news for the people of that country.By March 1997, the crisis had deterioratedinto civil conflict, and the Albanian govern-ment cut off VOA Albanian program feeds tolocal affiliate stations in Tirana, Elbasan,G j i r o k a s t e r, Shkoder, and Kukes for a shorttime. VOA expanded its broadcast hours bothon shortwave and medium wave at the heightof the crisis to provide the maximum newspossible to the people of Albania.

In 1997, an agreement signed between theInternational Broadcasting Bureau and A s i a

Satellite Telecommunications Company(AsiaSat) gave the Voice of America and otherU.S. government civilian international broadcasters access to AsiaSat 2, a satellitewith a footprint reaching more than 60 per-cent of the world’s population. Now, by satel-lite, VOA, WORLDNET Television and FilmService, Radio Free Asia, and Radio FreeEurope/Radio Liberty, provide 24-hour, seven-day-a-week service to listeners and viewers inmore than 53 countries in Asia, the MiddleEast, Australia, and much of the Common-wealth of Independent States. Affiliated stations, along with listeners and viewersusing small satellite dishes, are able to receivestereo radio and television programming.


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B e l o w, a VOA/WORLDNET television broadcast.

The Changing Face ofInternational Broadcasting inthe 1990s

Starting in 1990, all U.S. governmentinternational broadcasting servicesbegan to work more closely together.That year the U.S. Information A g e n c y,

V O A’s parent agency, established the Bureauof Broadcasting to consolidate its three broad-casting services—the Voice of A m e r i c a ,WORLDNET Television and Film Service, andRadio and TV Martí—into one cohesive andefficient element, supported by a single Officeof Engineering and Technical Operations.

In 1991, the Bureau created the Office ofAffiliate Relations and Audience A n a l y s i s(later renamed the Office of Affiliate Relationsand Media Training in 1996) to establish andmaintain a network of “affiliated” radio and

TV stations around the globe that wouldbroadcast VOA and WORLDNET producedprograms. To d a y, more than 1,100 radio andTV stations receive programming through theOffice of Affiliate Relations.

The Office of Business Development wasestablished in 1994 to work with the privatesector on a wide range of ventures, includingthe possible privatization of VOA l a n g u a g eservices, procurement of corporate underwrit-ing for broadcasts, co-productions with majorbroadcast networks, and fundraising fromvarious foundations. (These initiatives benefitnot only VOA, but also WORLDNETTelevision and Film Service and Radio andTV Martí.) From 1994 through 1996, theoffice raised $4 million.


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U.S. government international broadcast-ing was consolidated even further whenPresident Clinton signed the InternationalBroadcasting Act (Public Law 103-236) onApril 30, 1994. The legislation established theInternational Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) with-in the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) andcreated a Broadcasting Board of Governors(BBG) with oversight authority over all civil-ian U.S. government international broadcast-ing. The Voice of America, WORLDNETTelevision and Film Service, and Radio andTV Martí—the three federally-funded servicesof the former Bureau of Broadcasting—com-prise IBB. The bipartisan BBG includes theU S I A Director (ex officio) and eight membersappointed by the President and confirmed bythe Senate. The first Broadcasting Board ofGovernors was sworn in on August 11, 1995.

The BBG oversees VOA, the WORLDNETTelevision Service, and Radio and TV Martí,

as well as two grantee international broadcastservices—Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty(RFE/RL) and Radio Free Asia (RFA). (RFA w a sestablished under the 1994 legislation.)R F E / R L and RFA are private, non-profit corpo-rations that receive annual congressionally-appropriated grants from the BroadcastingBoard of Governors.

The International Broadcasting Act alsocentralized the Office of Engineering andTechnical Operations within IBB, making itresponsible for planning and maintainingbroadcast facilities for VOA, WORLDNET,and Radio and TV Martí as well as Radio FreeEurope/Radio Liberty and Radio Free A s i a .Transmitter sites that had formerly broadcastR F E / R L programs to the former Soviet Unionand Eastern Europe were integrated into a single network operated by IBB Engineering.


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Innovations for a New Century

Although historically an internationalradio broadcaster, VOA began to simul-cast programs on radio and TV in themid-1990s. The first, “China Forum TV, ”

aired on September 18, 1994. This one-hourMandarin telecast was beamed into theP e o p l e ’s Republic of China by satellite. Tw oyears later, VOA’s Arabic Branch teamed upwith WORLDNET Television Service and theMiddle East Broadcasting Centre (MBC) inLondon to launch “Dialogue With the We s t . ”The success of these two programs encour-aged VOA, with the assistance of WORLD-NET Television, to build a new TV studio atits headquarters. The first program, a Farsisimulcast, was telecast on October 18, 1996.Since the first Farsi program, VOA has airedsimulcasts in Arabic, Bosnian, English, Farsi,Mandarin, Serbian, and Spanish; VOARussian, Thai, and Turkish services prerecordprograms for local stations in those countries.

In 1994, the Voice of America became thefirst international broadcaster to offer materialon the Internet. Initially, the site offered infor-mation through two simple text-based for-mats, and in 1996, VOA added a Web Page.

To d a y, the site offers the VOA News andEnglish Broadcasts newswire, VOA p r o g r a mschedules, frequency lists, digitized audiofrom many VOA language programs, andChinese and Croatian program scripts withadditional languages to follow.

With the approach of the next century,V O A will continue to examine new technolo-gies and refine its programming to reflect theneeds of its listeners. One goal remains, h o w e v e r, for the hundreds of professionalswho make up the Voice of A m e r i c a — t odeliver comprehensive, timely, truthful infor-mation. The VOA will continue to broadcastthe sounds of freedom and serve as a beaconof hope for its millions of listeners around the world.

Above, VOA Farsi broadcaster prepares to goon the air. Farsi, which isbroadcast to Iran, was thefirst language service to usethe new Studio 47. Belowleft, VOA C h i n e s e - l a n g u a g etelevision program toChina. Below, a VOAInternet web page with linksto other information aboutV O A language services.


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Voice of America Directors

The Voice of A m e r i c a ’s first organizational home was the U.S. Foreign Information Service,which later became the overseas branch of the Office of War Information. FIS’ first directorwas Robert E. Sherwood; Joseph Barnes was his deputy and chief of the New York Office.

Below is a list of VOA directors and selected photos of those who have guided VOAover the years.

John Houseman February 1942 – July 1943

Louis G. Cowan August 1943 – August 1945

John Ogilvie September 1945 – January 1946

Charles Thayer January 1948 – October 1949

Foy David Kohler October 1949 – September 1952

Alfred Morton October 1952 – April 1953

Leonard Erikson July 1953 – April 1954

John R. Poppele May 1954 – July 1956

Robert E. Button July 1956 – July 1958

Henry Loomis July 1958 – March 1965

John Chancellor August 1965 – June 1967

John Charles Daly September 1967 – June 1968

Kenneth R. Giddens September 1969 – April 1977

R. Peter Straus July 1977 – October 1979

Mary Bitterman M a rch 1980 – January 1981

James Conkling August 1981 – March 1982

John Hughes M a rch 1982 – August 1982

Kenneth To m l i n s o n December 1982 – September 1984

Gene Pell June 1985 – October 1985

Richard W. Carlson November 1986 – September 1991

Charles Untermeyer September 1991 – January 1993

G e o ffrey Cowan M a rch 1994 – November 1996

Evelyn S. Lieberman M a rch 1997 – present

John Houseman

Foy David Kohler

Alfred Morton


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John R. Poppele

John Charles Daly

Mary Bitterman

Charles Untermeyer

Robert E. Button

Kenneth R. Giddens

Kenneth To m l i n s o n

Geoffrey Cowan

Henry Loomis

R. Peter Straus

Richard W. Carlson

Evelyn S. Lieberman


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Afan Oromo*1996 to present

A f r i k a a n s1942 to 1949

A l b a n i a n *1943 to 1945;1951 to present

A m h a r i c *1982 to present

A m o y1941 to 1945:1951 to 1963

A n n a m e s eSee Vi e t n a m e s e

A r a b i c *1942 to 1945;1950 to present

A r m e n i a n *1951 to present

A z e r b a i j a n i *1951 to 1953;1982 to present

B a n g l a *1958 to present

Bosnian* 1996 to present

B u l g a r i a n *1942 to presentB u r m e s e *1943 to 1945;1951 to present

B y e l o r u s s i a n1956 to 1957

C a m b o d i a nSee Khmer

C a n t o n e s e *1941 to 1945;1949 to 1963;1987 to present

C h i n e s eSee Mandarin and C a n t o n e s e

C r e o l e *1987 to present

C r o a t i a n *1943 to present

C z e c h *1942 to present

D a n i s h1942 to 1945

D a r i *1980 to present

D u t c h1944 to 1945

E n g l i s h *1942 to present

E s t o n i a n *1951 to present

F a r s i *1942 to 1945:1949 to 1960:1964 to 1966 (radio feed service);1979 to present

F i n n i s h1942 to 1945;1951 to 1953

F l e m i s h1942 to 1945

French* (to Africa)1942 to 1961

G e o r g i a n *1951 to present

G e r m a n1942 to 1960:1991 to 1993

G r e e k *1942 to present

G u j a r a t i1956 to 1958

H a k k a1951 to 1954

H a u s a *1979 to present

H e b r e w1951 to 1953

H i n d i *1951 to 19531954 to present

H u n g a r i a n *1942 to present

I c e l a n d i c1 9 4 4

I n d o n e s i a n *1942 to present

I t a l i a n1942 to 1945;1951 to 1957

J a p a n e s e1942 to 1945;

1951 to 1962

J a v a n e s eSee Indonesian

Voice of America Language Services

To d a y, VOA broadcasts in 52 languages to listeners in every world region. Other languageprograms are produced for transmission via satellite to foreign stations. Languages that pre-date February 1942 began under the Coordinator for Inter-American Affairs and theForeign Information Service.

* indicates a language currently on VOA's broadcast schedule.

* * indicates a VOA feed service, which provides VOA-produced programming to local radio stations


21

K h m e r *1955 to 1957;1962 to present

K i r u n d i *1996 to present

K i n y a r w a n d a *1996 to present

K o r e a n *1942 to present

Kurdish *1992 to present

L a o *1962 to present

L a t v i a n *1951 to present

L i t h u a n i a n *1951 to present

M a l a y a n1951 to 1955

M a l a y a l a m1956 to 1961

M a n d a r i n *1941 to present

N e p a l i1992 to 1993

N o r w e g i a n1942 to 1945

P a s h t o *1982 to present

P e r s i a nSee Farsi

P o l i s h *1942 to present

Portuguese* (to A f r i c a )1976 to present

Portuguese* (to Latin America)1941 to 1945;1946 to 1948(contracted privateradio stations to produce andtransmit programs to Latin America; 1961to present)

Portuguese (to Portugal)1942 to 1945;1951 to 1953;1976 to 1987;1987 to 1993 ( V O A produced programs for placement on localradio stations)

R o m a n i a n *1942 to present

R u s s i a n *1947 to present

S e r b i a n *1943 to present

Shanghai (Wu) 1944 to 1946

S l o v a k *1942 to present

Slovene* 1944 to end of World War II; 1949 to present

S o m a l i1992 to 1995

Spanish* (to Latin A m e r i c a )1941 to 1945;1946 to 1948; 1953 to 1956 ( V O A contracted private radio stationsto produce and transmit programs for Latin A m e r i c a ) ;1961 to present

Spanish* (Radio Martí)1985 to present

Spanish (to Spain)1942 to 1955;1955 to 1993 ( V O A p r o v i d e dplacement programming forlocal Spanish radios t a t i o n s )

S w a h i l i *1962 to present

S w a t o w1951 to 1953

S w e d i s h1943 to 1945

Ta g a l o g1941 to 1946

Ta m i l1954 to 1970

Ta t a r1951 to 1953

Te l e g u1956 to 1958

T h a i * *1942 to 1958; 1962 to 1988; 1988 to present

Ti b e t a n *During 1950s onV O A M a n d a r i nb r o a d c a s t s ;1991 to present

Ti g r i g n a *1996 to present

Tu r k i s h *1942 to 1945;1948 to present

U k r a i n i a n *1949 to present

U r d u *1951 to 1953;1954 to present

U z b e k *1958; 1972 to present

Vi e t n a m e s e *1943 to 1946;1951 to present

WuSee Shanghai


22

B i b l i o g r a p h yAyish, Muhammad I. “The VOA A r a b i cService: A Study of News Practices andOccupational Values.” Gazette 40 no. 2(1987): 121-130.

Borra Rajan. “The Problem of Jamming inInternational Broadcasting.” Journal ofB r o a d c a s t i n g 2 no. 4 (Fall 1967): 355-368.

Browne, Donald R. “The Voice of A m e r i c aPolicies and Problems.” (JournalismMonographs, no. 43), Lexington, KY,Association for Education in Journalism,1 9 7 6 .

Carlson, Richard W. “No More Static.” P o l i c yReview ( Winter 1988): 80-83.

Chancellor John. “The Intimate ‘Vo i c e . ’ ”Foreign Service Journal (February 1967): 1 9 - 2 2 .

C o f f e y, Fred A. “Voice of America: A Vi a b l eCommunications Instrument of Foreign Policyand National Security?” Research Paper,National War College, 1977.

Elliott, Kim A. “Too Many Voices of A m e r i c a . ”Foreign Policy ( Winter 1989/90): 11 3 - 1 3 1 .

Fitzgerald, Merni Ingrassia. The Voice ofA m e r i c a . New York: Dodd, Mead, 1987.

G r e y, Robin (pseud.). “Inside the Voice ofAmerica.” Columbia Journalism Review 2 1(May/June 1982): 23-30.

H a n d l e r y, G. “Propaganda and Information:The Case of U.S. Broadcasts to EasternEurope.” East European Quarterly 8 (January1975): 391-412.

Houseman, John. Front and Center. NewYork: Simon and Schuster, 1979.

Inkeles, Alex. “The Soviet Characterization ofthe Voice of America.” Columbia Journal ofInternational Affairs 4 no. 1 (Winter 1950):4 4 - 5 5 .

J u r e y, Philomena. A Basement Seat toH i s t o r y. Washington, D.C.: Linus Press,1 9 9 5 .

K e l l y, Sean. “The VOA C o r r e s p o n d e n t :Journalist or Diplomat?” Foreign ServiceJ o u r n a l 44 (April 1978): 13-15, 39-41.

Kretzmann, Edwin M. J. “McCarthy and theVoice of America.” Foreign Service Journal 4 4(February 1967): 26-27, 44-49.


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Matlack, Carol. “America’s Vo i c e . ”Government Executive 23 no. 7 (July 1991):1 0 - 11, 13.

McKenna, Paul R. “Vagabond A b l e . ”( “ Vagabond Able” was the S.S. Courier; aCoast Guard cutter stationed in Rhodes,Greece from 1952-1964, as a floating VOAradio station. It transmitted programs in six-teen languages to the Middle East and behindthe Iron Curtain.) Naval History ( S p r i n g1991): 25-29.

Nelson, Michael. War of the Black Heavens.New York: Syracuse University Press, 1997.

Piresein, Robert William. “An InternationalRadio History... the VOA.” Foreign ServiceJ o u r n a l 44 (February 1967) 23-25; 50.

Piresein, Robert William. The Voice ofAmerica: a History of the InternationalBroadcasting Activities of the United StatesGovernment 1940-1962. (Originally present-ed as the author’s thesis, NortheasternU n i v e r s i t y, 1970.) New York: Arno Press,1 9 7 9 .

Roberts, Chalmers M. “New Image for Vo i c eof America.” New York Times Magazine(April 13, 1980): 107-112, 11 4 .

Shulman, Holly C. “John Houseman and theVoice of America: American ForeignPropaganda on the A i r.” American Studies(1988): 23-40.

Shulman, Holly Cowan. The Voice ofAmerica: Propaganda and Democracy 1941-1 9 4 5. Madison: The University of Wi s c o n s i nPress, 1990.

Solzhenitsyn, A l e k s a n d r. “The Soft Voice ofAmerica.” National Review (April 30, 1982):4 7 7 - 4 8 1 .

“ Voice of America at the Crossroads: A P a n e lDiscussion of the Appropriate Role of theVOA.” Panel Proceedings. Washington, D.C.,Media Institute (1982): 70.

Washburn, Philo C. “Voice of America andRadio Moscow Newscasts to the ThirdWorld.” Journal of Broadcasting andElectronic Media 32 no. 2 (Spring 1988): 1 9 7 - 2 1 8 .

Wada, Hadiza I. M. “Voice of America: anInside Look at Its Africa Division.” M.A.Thesis, University of Kansas, 1989.


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