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"It is not possible to get the truth from domestic Chinese sources. In order to get the truth in China, one has no choice but to become a faithful listener to the Voice of America." - Chinese dissident, Wei Jingsheng

“Thanks to VOA, the people of Vietnam know about the international community’s support for human rights, democracy and true freedom in our country.” -- Vietnam’s most prominent dissident, Dr. Nguyen Dan Que

“I have come to appreciate deeply the quality of your professionalism as journalists, and your search for truth and balance.  Thank you for what you do, the skill you have and the information you provide.” -- Former Congressman Lee Hamilton, during a visit to VOA

These quotes reflect the recognition of more than 94 million people who turn to VOA at least once a week that VOA is a reliable source of news and information about world events. Today in the 21st century, VOA it is one of the largest multi-media news-gathering organizations in the world, using radio, TV, the Internet, and satellite feeds to local stations to reach a worldwide audience. However, its primary purpose remains the same as it was on its first broadcast on February 24, 1942: to broadcast accurate, balanced, and comprehensive information to an international audience. Multi-media technology lets us do this faster and reach a broader audience than ever before in 53 languages, including English. VOA receives more than 250,000 letters from overseas every year.

In 2001, VOA's budget is $147 million. This includes funding for television programs, but does not include engineering and other support activities. More than 1,200 employees work in radio, television, and the Internet at the Voice of America.

The VOA Charter

To protect the integrity of VOA programming and define the organization's mission, the VOA Charter was drafted in 1960 and signed into law on July 12, 1976, by President Gerald Ford. It reads:

VOA is an intellectual lifeline of information for its overseas audience in both times of peace and political upheaval. Covering such stories as conflict in the Balkans and the campaign against terrorism in Afghanistan, VOA is on the scene to report news as it happens. Over 50 writers and editors in VOA's newsroom and more than 30 VOA correspondents at 25 news bureaus in the U.S. and throughout the world write and report an average of 150 news stories each day. Several hundred freelance reporters, known as "stringers," file additional reports in English and many of VOA's other languages, broadening the range of breaking stories.

VOA English Broadcasts

VOA English-language broadcasts are heard worldwide. VOA News Now, a fast-paced mix of news and features, is available in almost every corner of the globe 24 hours a day on satellite and the Internet and at select times during the day on shortwave . Special English, with a slow-paced delivery and simpler vocabulary, and other teaching programs provide listeners an opportunity to learn American English. English to Africa airs programs on regional news and issues produced especially for VOA listeners on the African continent.

VOA Affiliate Stations

The dramatic rise in the number of local FM radio and television stations around the world has made a significant impact on how international audiences receive their news and information. Since the late 1980's international radio and television stations have been rebroadcasting VOA programs to their local audiences. The Office of Marketing and Program Placement (formerly the Office of Affiliate Relations) was created in 1992 to serve these stations. Today, Voice of America has a worldwide network of over 1,200 affiliates. VOA affiliates can access programs in 53 languages via VOA's global satellite delivery system.

VOA Television

Twelve VOA language services produce television programming, including Albanian, Arabic, Bosnian, English, Farsi, French, Indonesian, Mandarin, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, and Ukrainian.  Programming is offered in a variety of formats, including news and public affairs shows, call-in discussion programs, topical feature magazine programs, and live coverage of special events.  Much of the television programming is simulcast live on radio and the Internet and available for later access on the Internet.  VOA videojournalists, including many of VOA’s correspondents and stringers overseas, videotape many of their stories using hand-held state-of-the-art digital video cameras.   The work of VOA-TV journalists has been recognized and awarded in such prestigious competitions as the New York Festivals and by the Society of Professional Journalists.

On the Internet

The VOA Internet site www.voanews.com provides the latest news and information, updated minute by minute, 24 hours a day.  English text is presented with photos, audio, and video.  In addition, news is increasingly being made available in languages--Arabic, Chinese, and Russian have their own Internet staffs--with others coming online weekly.  Audio files are available in all 53 languages broadcast by VOA, and live or pre-recorded video feeds are also available in many of the languages as well. Information about the Voice of America is available on the site, as are program schedules, times and frequencies, satellite circuits, and information about such radio programs as VOA News Now and the radio-TV-Internet simulcast programs Talk to America and Straight Talk Africa.

From Washington Across the Airwaves

VOA's Washington, D.C., headquarters, where VOA produces all programming, is equipped with more than 40 radio studios and three television studios, a digital stereo master control with 432 incoming circuits and 360 outgoing circuits, and two centers to record reports from VOA correspondents around the world.

A network of 22 transmitting stations operated by the International Broadcasting Bureau, along with some leased stations, send VOA's programs across oceans and continents to its international audience via satellite, shortwave, and medium wave. The connection is instantaneous, so listeners may never realize that the signal passes through several different channels before it reaches their receivers.

How It All Began

"The news may be good. The news may be bad. We shall tell you the truth," said announcer William Harlan Hale during the first VOA broadcast in German from New York on February 24, 1942 -- just 79 days after the United States entered World War II. During the war, VOA operated under the Office of War Information but was moved to the Department of State when the war ended. VOA became part of the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) in 1953, when the Agency was established to carry out the overseas informational and cultural exchange programs of the U.S. Government. On October 1, 1999, USIA was merged into the U.S. State Department, and the VOA, along with WORLDNET Television, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (Radio and TV Marti), and the Office of Engineering and Technical Services became an independent U.S. Government entity under the authority of the Broadcasting Board of Governors. In 2002, IBB will undergo another transition when WORLDNET Television is merged into the Voice of America, becoming VOA TV.

The IBB and BBG

The Voice of America along with Television, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (Radio and TV Marti), and the Office of Engineering and Technical Operations form the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB). The IBB was established when President Clinton signed the International Broadcasting Act of 1994. The IBB reports to a nine-member, bipartisan Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG). Eight board members are appointed by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and the ninth ex officio member is the Secretary of State.

The BBG supervises the operations of the three federally funded broadcast elements of the IBB, which are VOA, WORLDNET, and Radio and TV Marti. The BBG also administers congressionally appropriated grants to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and Radio Free Asia (RFA), two non-profit corporations. The BBG became an independent federal entity on October 1, 1999.