"This is a Voice from America..."
“The news may be good. The news may be bad. We shall tell you the truth.” - William Harlan Hale; February 1, 1942
Such began the first broadcast of a small team of dedicated men transmitting live from a claustrophobic New York City studio into Nazi Germany. Their group had no name, although their first broadcast was titled Stimmen aus Amerika—Voices from America. The equipment they used was borrowed. They had no direction as to what they would broadcast, except the truth. At that moment, the United States stepped into a role as guardian of the power of ideas and honest messenger of information to all corners of the world.
From the very beginning, the Voice of America has held at its core the mission to present to the world the policies and culture of the United States, while reporting on global news events accurately, clearly, and objectively. It has been one of the U.S.’s most effective public relations initiatives. All around the world, the Voice of America is highly respected as an honest and fair messenger, and in many places, as the only comprehensive source of news free from propaganda. From Nazi Germany to Communist Eastern Europe to Kim Jong Il’s North Korea, VOA has often been the only connection to the outside world that people of repressive regimes have.
VOA operates under the direction of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, an independent U.S. government agency with eight members nominated by the President, and the ninth seat always held by the Secretary of State. Americans look suspiciously on news propagated by their government, however, and VOA has not been allowed to broadcast within the United States since 1948. Their relationship with the U.S. government has caused difficulties for the news organization overseas sometimes as well. Occasionally a diplomat may try to pressure the organization to report one such way on a story in order to further U.S. diplomatic interests; often, the fact that they are an entity of the U.S. government causes VOA to instantly lose credibility on a number of stories.
The journalists of VOA combat this perception by adhering strictly to a code of conduct that preserves the integrity of VOA and ensures accuracy, balance, and comprehensiveness in all their work. The code requires two independent sources before any information is broadcast as fact, presenting all sides of a story, avoiding judgment in reports, and eschewing any special benefits or treatment that journalists employed by the U.S. government might have. Because of VOA’s unique position as a government entity, others involved in foreign policy have tried in the past to push journalists to shape their stories in the U.S. government’s favor. In 1976, President Ford signed the VOA Charter into law, codifying the organization’s commitment to objectivity and journalistic integrity.
Today, VOA broadcasts through the Internet, television, and a network of AM, FM, and shortwave radio signals. The approximately 1500 hours of programs per week include features on American culture, learning English, international news, discussion programs, and regionally focused programs to address the needs of the local populations. VOA broadcasts in 43 languages, televising programs in 26 of those, and reaches 141 million people weekly. All this makes VOA one of the largest multimedia news organizations in the world.
Albania under Communism
“I think of all the countries that I cover, VOA had the greatest impact in Albania.” Elez Biberaj, Director of VOA’s Eurasia Division, did not mean to downplay the importance of the other six language services his division oversees, including Russian, Ukranian, Bosnian, Macedonian, Greek, and Serbian. However, Albania during the Cold War was the most Stalinist of the Eastern European Communist regimes, and the level of repression and isolation Albanians endured can only be compared to modern-day North Korea.
Using shortwave radio signals, VOA was able to send broadcasts behind the wall of silence; stories included not only the perspective of the United States on events of the day, but also of reform efforts occurring throughout Eastern Europe. VOA was the only alternative source of news to the Communist Party’s propaganda efforts, and the broadcasts helped “information-deprived Albanians keep their hope alive, and encourage the implementation of fundamental political and economic reforms,” according to Mr. Biberaj.
VOA was not able to send a reporter into Albania until May 1990, a little more than half a year before the country’s Communist regime would collapse. While the Albanian service became an outlet for dissent, countering the official propaganda, VOA reporters worked double time to ensure that all stories emerging from the closed society were reconfirmed with sources in neighboring Greece and Yugoslavia.
However, until Albania opened after the collapse of the government in 1990, VOA had no way of knowing what the impact of their broadcasts were. “In 1991,” Mr. Biberaj told the Diplomatic Courier, “USIA, then VOA's parent organization, commissioned its first-ever survey in Albania to discover that we indeed had an astoundingly large audience.” Seven in 10 Albanians listened to VOA broadcasts on a weekly basis, and Albanians from all walks of life have acknowledged the role the broadcasts played in bringing change to the country. Today, the Albanian Service is one of the most successful of VOA’s programs, with a June 2010 survey revealing it had a 45.6 percent weekly reach in Albania and 65 percent in Kosovo.
“I see a continuous need for our broadcasting,” Mr. Biberaj said when asked about the future of the Eurasia Division. “They have seen such tremendous, positive change...however, there is a need for audiences in those areas to hear the U.S. perspectives and to get information they do not get from their own sources. There is a lack of trust, all the way from Russia to Albania, in what the local media is reporting.”
VOA has proven itself to be a protagonist for the people, and, no matter what the current regime tries, an unstoppable source of honest and fair news for those pining for a beacon of hope from the outside world.
North Korea
Americans, in general, know very little about North Korea; however, it is not an exaggeration to say that North Koreans know almost nothing truthful about the United States. For years, Kim Jong Il’s regime conducted a systematic campaign throughout the country to instill hatred and fear of Americans. VOA fights back against this campaign, not only by telling the truth about the United States, but also by respecting the intelligence and the needs of North Koreans in their broadcasts.
North Korea is a highly educated society, with an illiteracy rate of less than one percent; education is mandatory through high school. However, it is in very many ways a somewhat feudal society, in which the family you are born into and the political ties of your parents determine your fate. Loyalist elites are more likely to live comfortable middle-class lives and have access to information from the outside world, but they are closely watched by the regime. This middle class is unhappy with the direction their country has taken, but they must be careful about expressing outright hostility towards the regime, unlike those who tend to live in more rural areas without access to comfort items and steady food supplies.
“When it comes to broadcasting in North Korea, you have to think about who your audiences are—that’s the most important thing—and what kind of political environment they are in,” said Dong Hyuk Lee, Chief of the Korean Service under the East Asia and Pacific Division.
The medium-wave radio broadcasts’ primary audience is middle class elites, because this growing audience is made up primarily by politically-conscious individuals who want to know what the international community is discussing with regards to their country. However, it is not always easy to report these stories, according to Mr. Lee, because many North Koreans have no concept of basic terminology and ideas the rest of the world takes for granted. For example, a broadcast discussing human rights violations in North Korea would have to explain what the concept of human rights actually is.
The Korean Service seeks to educate its eager audience about these issues, as well as providing more practical programs. English language instruction programs are very popular among the North Korean audience, as are basic weather forecasts warning about possible floods and programs introducing the basics of capitalism. Broadcasts such as the latter focus on skills middle class individuals can use to survive, a program that became particularly important after currency devaluations left middle class merchants destitute and with no other means of survival than participation in the country’s underground currency flow.
VOA has no means of measuring what their impact is, or how many people they reach within the Hermit Kingdom. Hopefully someday they will have the chance to find out, as they did in Albania.
Iran
The United States and Iran have a strained relationship that threatens to break out into war every few years. Mutual hostilities are emphasized by mutual suspicion. Within Iran, almost all American actions are painted with a broad stroke: the common dialogue is that the United States meddles constantly in Iranian politics, attempting to bring down the government, through CIA-backed ideas, missions, and programs.
But, as in every oppressive regime, the Iranian people are not as belligerent to the United States’ images as the government itself is, and VOA has found a devoted audience among Iranians both inside and outside of Iran who appreciate the space to challenge the Islamic Republic’s official discourse and lack of tolerance for dissent. VOA is one of the only foreign-based news organizations to offer an alternative to Iran’s tightly controlled state-run media.
The Persian News Network primarily broadcasts into Iran through satellite television, including the wildly popular Daily Show-style satire program, Parazit. The show, whose name references the static that shows on Iranian televisions when the government jams international satellite signals, regularly pokes fun at accusations that it is merely an extension of American imperialism; and the self-deprecating humor and irony is able to charm skeptics while still informing.
However, it is social media that has been the most vital means of keeping an open dialogue between America and Iranians. Parazit’s Facebook page has, as of January 26th, over 812,000 fans; its YouTube channel has 8.5 million views. Followers are able to interact with guests on the show by submitting questions or comments, essentially driving the show’s content with viewer ideas and demand.
“This is not about finding politically sensitive information, like finding out about the nuclear program--that’s not what this is about,” said Ramin Asgard, Director of VOA’s Persian News Network. “The whole idea is understanding what is happening in Iran. Whether it is a good thing or a bad thing, news is about understanding what is happening where your audience is.”
Credibility
“For you to be successful as a news organization, you cannot fool around with your credibility,” Mr. Biberaj stressed, repeating a theme that permeates the entire environment of the Cohen Building in Washington, DC.
Voice of America has spent 70 years keeping the highest level of integrity and honesty at the forefront of its operations, carrying the American belief in “a decent respect for the opinions of mankind” to the darkest, bleakest corners of the earth. From a small-underfunded studio in New York City, to a web presence that brings the light of knowledge to billions of homes around the world, Voice of America will continue to bring an accurate and comprehensive perspective of the news to the world.
This article was originally published in the Diplomatic Courier's January/February 2012 issue.
a global affairs media network
Voice of America at 70
January 26, 2012
"This is a Voice from America..."
“The news may be good. The news may be bad. We shall tell you the truth.” - William Harlan Hale; February 1, 1942
Such began the first broadcast of a small team of dedicated men transmitting live from a claustrophobic New York City studio into Nazi Germany. Their group had no name, although their first broadcast was titled Stimmen aus Amerika—Voices from America. The equipment they used was borrowed. They had no direction as to what they would broadcast, except the truth. At that moment, the United States stepped into a role as guardian of the power of ideas and honest messenger of information to all corners of the world.
From the very beginning, the Voice of America has held at its core the mission to present to the world the policies and culture of the United States, while reporting on global news events accurately, clearly, and objectively. It has been one of the U.S.’s most effective public relations initiatives. All around the world, the Voice of America is highly respected as an honest and fair messenger, and in many places, as the only comprehensive source of news free from propaganda. From Nazi Germany to Communist Eastern Europe to Kim Jong Il’s North Korea, VOA has often been the only connection to the outside world that people of repressive regimes have.
VOA operates under the direction of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, an independent U.S. government agency with eight members nominated by the President, and the ninth seat always held by the Secretary of State. Americans look suspiciously on news propagated by their government, however, and VOA has not been allowed to broadcast within the United States since 1948. Their relationship with the U.S. government has caused difficulties for the news organization overseas sometimes as well. Occasionally a diplomat may try to pressure the organization to report one such way on a story in order to further U.S. diplomatic interests; often, the fact that they are an entity of the U.S. government causes VOA to instantly lose credibility on a number of stories.
The journalists of VOA combat this perception by adhering strictly to a code of conduct that preserves the integrity of VOA and ensures accuracy, balance, and comprehensiveness in all their work. The code requires two independent sources before any information is broadcast as fact, presenting all sides of a story, avoiding judgment in reports, and eschewing any special benefits or treatment that journalists employed by the U.S. government might have. Because of VOA’s unique position as a government entity, others involved in foreign policy have tried in the past to push journalists to shape their stories in the U.S. government’s favor. In 1976, President Ford signed the VOA Charter into law, codifying the organization’s commitment to objectivity and journalistic integrity.
Today, VOA broadcasts through the Internet, television, and a network of AM, FM, and shortwave radio signals. The approximately 1500 hours of programs per week include features on American culture, learning English, international news, discussion programs, and regionally focused programs to address the needs of the local populations. VOA broadcasts in 43 languages, televising programs in 26 of those, and reaches 141 million people weekly. All this makes VOA one of the largest multimedia news organizations in the world.
Albania under Communism
“I think of all the countries that I cover, VOA had the greatest impact in Albania.” Elez Biberaj, Director of VOA’s Eurasia Division, did not mean to downplay the importance of the other six language services his division oversees, including Russian, Ukranian, Bosnian, Macedonian, Greek, and Serbian. However, Albania during the Cold War was the most Stalinist of the Eastern European Communist regimes, and the level of repression and isolation Albanians endured can only be compared to modern-day North Korea.
Using shortwave radio signals, VOA was able to send broadcasts behind the wall of silence; stories included not only the perspective of the United States on events of the day, but also of reform efforts occurring throughout Eastern Europe. VOA was the only alternative source of news to the Communist Party’s propaganda efforts, and the broadcasts helped “information-deprived Albanians keep their hope alive, and encourage the implementation of fundamental political and economic reforms,” according to Mr. Biberaj.
VOA was not able to send a reporter into Albania until May 1990, a little more than half a year before the country’s Communist regime would collapse. While the Albanian service became an outlet for dissent, countering the official propaganda, VOA reporters worked double time to ensure that all stories emerging from the closed society were reconfirmed with sources in neighboring Greece and Yugoslavia.
However, until Albania opened after the collapse of the government in 1990, VOA had no way of knowing what the impact of their broadcasts were. “In 1991,” Mr. Biberaj told the Diplomatic Courier, “USIA, then VOA's parent organization, commissioned its first-ever survey in Albania to discover that we indeed had an astoundingly large audience.” Seven in 10 Albanians listened to VOA broadcasts on a weekly basis, and Albanians from all walks of life have acknowledged the role the broadcasts played in bringing change to the country. Today, the Albanian Service is one of the most successful of VOA’s programs, with a June 2010 survey revealing it had a 45.6 percent weekly reach in Albania and 65 percent in Kosovo.
“I see a continuous need for our broadcasting,” Mr. Biberaj said when asked about the future of the Eurasia Division. “They have seen such tremendous, positive change...however, there is a need for audiences in those areas to hear the U.S. perspectives and to get information they do not get from their own sources. There is a lack of trust, all the way from Russia to Albania, in what the local media is reporting.”
VOA has proven itself to be a protagonist for the people, and, no matter what the current regime tries, an unstoppable source of honest and fair news for those pining for a beacon of hope from the outside world.
North Korea
Americans, in general, know very little about North Korea; however, it is not an exaggeration to say that North Koreans know almost nothing truthful about the United States. For years, Kim Jong Il’s regime conducted a systematic campaign throughout the country to instill hatred and fear of Americans. VOA fights back against this campaign, not only by telling the truth about the United States, but also by respecting the intelligence and the needs of North Koreans in their broadcasts.
North Korea is a highly educated society, with an illiteracy rate of less than one percent; education is mandatory through high school. However, it is in very many ways a somewhat feudal society, in which the family you are born into and the political ties of your parents determine your fate. Loyalist elites are more likely to live comfortable middle-class lives and have access to information from the outside world, but they are closely watched by the regime. This middle class is unhappy with the direction their country has taken, but they must be careful about expressing outright hostility towards the regime, unlike those who tend to live in more rural areas without access to comfort items and steady food supplies.
“When it comes to broadcasting in North Korea, you have to think about who your audiences are—that’s the most important thing—and what kind of political environment they are in,” said Dong Hyuk Lee, Chief of the Korean Service under the East Asia and Pacific Division.
The medium-wave radio broadcasts’ primary audience is middle class elites, because this growing audience is made up primarily by politically-conscious individuals who want to know what the international community is discussing with regards to their country. However, it is not always easy to report these stories, according to Mr. Lee, because many North Koreans have no concept of basic terminology and ideas the rest of the world takes for granted. For example, a broadcast discussing human rights violations in North Korea would have to explain what the concept of human rights actually is.
The Korean Service seeks to educate its eager audience about these issues, as well as providing more practical programs. English language instruction programs are very popular among the North Korean audience, as are basic weather forecasts warning about possible floods and programs introducing the basics of capitalism. Broadcasts such as the latter focus on skills middle class individuals can use to survive, a program that became particularly important after currency devaluations left middle class merchants destitute and with no other means of survival than participation in the country’s underground currency flow.
VOA has no means of measuring what their impact is, or how many people they reach within the Hermit Kingdom. Hopefully someday they will have the chance to find out, as they did in Albania.
Iran
The United States and Iran have a strained relationship that threatens to break out into war every few years. Mutual hostilities are emphasized by mutual suspicion. Within Iran, almost all American actions are painted with a broad stroke: the common dialogue is that the United States meddles constantly in Iranian politics, attempting to bring down the government, through CIA-backed ideas, missions, and programs.
But, as in every oppressive regime, the Iranian people are not as belligerent to the United States’ images as the government itself is, and VOA has found a devoted audience among Iranians both inside and outside of Iran who appreciate the space to challenge the Islamic Republic’s official discourse and lack of tolerance for dissent. VOA is one of the only foreign-based news organizations to offer an alternative to Iran’s tightly controlled state-run media.
The Persian News Network primarily broadcasts into Iran through satellite television, including the wildly popular Daily Show-style satire program, Parazit. The show, whose name references the static that shows on Iranian televisions when the government jams international satellite signals, regularly pokes fun at accusations that it is merely an extension of American imperialism; and the self-deprecating humor and irony is able to charm skeptics while still informing.
However, it is social media that has been the most vital means of keeping an open dialogue between America and Iranians. Parazit’s Facebook page has, as of January 26th, over 812,000 fans; its YouTube channel has 8.5 million views. Followers are able to interact with guests on the show by submitting questions or comments, essentially driving the show’s content with viewer ideas and demand.
“This is not about finding politically sensitive information, like finding out about the nuclear program--that’s not what this is about,” said Ramin Asgard, Director of VOA’s Persian News Network. “The whole idea is understanding what is happening in Iran. Whether it is a good thing or a bad thing, news is about understanding what is happening where your audience is.”
Credibility
“For you to be successful as a news organization, you cannot fool around with your credibility,” Mr. Biberaj stressed, repeating a theme that permeates the entire environment of the Cohen Building in Washington, DC.
Voice of America has spent 70 years keeping the highest level of integrity and honesty at the forefront of its operations, carrying the American belief in “a decent respect for the opinions of mankind” to the darkest, bleakest corners of the earth. From a small-underfunded studio in New York City, to a web presence that brings the light of knowledge to billions of homes around the world, Voice of America will continue to bring an accurate and comprehensive perspective of the news to the world.
This article was originally published in the Diplomatic Courier's January/February 2012 issue.
