Voice of America

With a weekly audience of nearly 172 million people, VOA is a trusted source of news and information in 45 languages for audiences in more than 100 countries. VOA’s global network of reporters and its firm commitment to sound journalistic principles give it a platform to engage audiences in discussions about events around the world.

Through innovative TV programming and diverse delivery platforms, VOA is attracting new audiences in competitive markets such as China, Indonesia, Iran and Latin America. Content on mobile devices and through social media grew exponentially in the past year along with direct-to-home satellite and targeted FM streams. VOA maintains its role as a shortwave broadcaster in information-deprived markets such as North Korea and Tibet.


Voice of America

With a weekly audience of nearly 172 million people, VOA is a trusted source of news and information in 45 languages for audiences in more than 100 countries. VOA’s global network of reporters and its firm commitment to sound journalistic principles give it a platform to engage audiences in discussions about events around the world.

Through innovative TV programming and diverse delivery platforms, VOA is attracting new audiences in competitive markets such as China, Indonesia, Iran and Latin America. Content on mobile devices and through social media grew exponentially in the past year along with direct-to-home satellite and targeted FM streams. VOA maintains its role as a shortwave broadcaster in information-deprived markets such as North Korea and Tibet.

Budget

$201.6 million in FY 2014

Budget

$201.6 million in FY 2014

Employees

1,115 employees

Employees

1,115 employees

Mobile Apps

available in 43 versions Apple iOS and Android

Mobile Apps

available in 43 versions Apple iOS and Android

Online

voanews.com
@VOA_News

Online

voanews.com
@VOA_News

Africa

Somalia

With the international community backing regional efforts to defeat al-Shabaab, more than half of Somalis each week get their news from VOA. The weekly VOA Somali television show Qubanaha (Variety) airs on Universal TV and Somali National Television with a mix of U.S., international, and regional news as well as reports from journalists inside Somalia.

Learn more in Growing Impact.

Ebola

VOA reporters traveled to the hardest-hit regions of West Africa to tell the stories of Ebola victims and joined with BBC in a groundbreaking partnership sharing content on the outbreak.

Learn more in Crisis Response.

East Asia

Thailand

When the Thai military suspended radio and TV broadcasts as part of its May coup, VOA Thai launched a daily, live 30-minute satellite radio-on-TV and webcast while ramping-up social media outreach on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

Burma/Myanmar

VOA’s Burmese Service chief Than Lwin Htun traveled to Myanmar’s capital Naypyitaw in November and scored four exclusive interviews that made headlines inside and outside the country. Lwin’s interview with President Thein Sein about constitutional reforms and ethnic issues ran on MRTV, SkyNet, and Myanmar National TV. Other interviews included the speaker of parliament, Thura Shwe Mann, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and the first-ever media interview with Burma’s Military Chief of Staff, Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. Three weeks after Lwin asked the president about greater media access, the government in Naypyitaw announced the start of weekly press briefings.

China

VOA News ranks first among measured non-Chinese news apps, and its Mandarin-language social media
platforms inside China are helping build new audiences, 75 percent of which are below the age of 35. Those larger audiences got important news they couldn’t get from official Chinese media, including comprehensive coverage of the protests that rocked Hong Kong in September and October. In the first three weeks of the protests, VOA Chinese produced 102 videos on YouTube, that got more than 851,000 views.

Eurasia

Russia

Denied program placement on Russian media, VOA’s Russian Service employed a digital-first strategy to connect with audiences across desktop, mobile and social platforms. VOA provided the Russian Business Channel (RBC), a Moscow-based business television station that reaches 11 percent of adults every week, with daily financial reports from the New York Stock Exchange on the global economy and the effects of President Putin’s financial and foreign policies.

Ukraine

Throughout 2014, VOA dramatically increased its programming to Ukraine, doubling its audience with new television affiliates and reporting from both sides of the conflict now reaching more than 18% of adults weekly.

Learn more in Crisis Response.

Latin America and South Asia

Venezuela

When violence between Venezuelan protestors and security forces killed more than 40 people, President Nicolas Maduro clamped down on reporting of the violence, blaming the United States for plotting a fascist coup. VOA broke through that censorship with balanced reporting from Washington and Caracas on leading networks in Colombia, Nicaragua, Argentina, Ecuador and Peru—all of which are seen inside Venezuela–-and with Internet censorship circumvention tools to thwart online suppression of the news. VOA coverage of the crisis surrounding unaccompanied minors from Central America crossing the southern U.S. border included reports from the White House and Capitol Hill, correspondent interviews with regional affiliates, and reports from the region.

Pakistan

When Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager who survived a Taliban assassination attempt, was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, more than 300 news organizations sought an interview. She granted only seven—including VOA Urdu. The seven-minute interview, conducted immediately before she went onstage to accept the Peace Prize, was distributed across Pakistan, including to the state-owned PTV, the Pakistan Television Corporation, and to VOA’s worldwide audience. At the award ceremony in Oslo, she requested a song written and performed by VOA Deewa Service poet Sardar Ali. “Bibi Shereena” or “Adorable Lady” salutes the importance of women’s education.

Broadcasting in 100+ Countries

Broadcasting in 100+ Countries

Latin America

Creole Creolevoanouvel.com

Spanish Españolvoanoticias.com

Global

English (including Learning English)

VOA Background Image Captions

  1. Refugees in the Kakuma Camp in Kenya watch VOA’s award-winning documentary “AIDS: Living in the Shadows” in the waiting area of the camp’s main hospital. Samuel Otieno/FilmAid
  2. VOA Burmese Service chief Than Lwin Htun interviews a military general. VOA
  3. VOA’s Myroslava Gongadze co-moderated a series of nationally televised debates that took place before the parliamentary elections in Ukraine. First National TV Channel
  4. Paramedics and family members rush a student injured in the Peshawar attack to safety. VOA