Voice of America

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

The Voice of America, which first went on the air in 1942, is a multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. government through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. VOA broadcasts more than 1,000 hours of news, information, educational, and cultural programming every week to an estimated worldwide audience of more than 115 million people.

Fast Facts
Audience: more than 115 million weekly
Budget: $166 million (FY 2006)
Media: radio, television, and the Internet
Headquarters: Washington, D.C.
Languages: 45
Employees: more than 1,100
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 television studios, 20 video editing suites, and facilities for master control, recording, scheduling, and feed intake.
History: Broadcasts began in 1942, as a response to the need of peoples in closed and war-torn societies for reliable news.

VOA Broadcasts
• We produce more than 1,000 hours of programs each week.
• 25 of VOA's 45 languages broadcast on television.
• Program content includes news, features, education, and culture, in discussion, call-in, live, and pre-recorded formats.
• 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.

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 transmitting stations operated by the international Broadcasting Bureau, along with some leased stations, sends VOA's programs instantaneously around the world.
• The website, http://www.voanews.com/, provides a wide range of English-language news reports and serves as a portal to homepages of all 45 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.