VOA (Voice of America) is a radio and television broadcasting service of the United States. It has began its work in 1942. The first broadcast of VOA was on 24 February 1942. It was during the World War II. William Harlan Hale was speaking in German. He told his listeners: "Here speaks a voice from America. Every day at this time we will bring you the news of the war. The news may be good. The news may be bad. We shall tell you the truth."
It is broadcasted on TV, Internet, radio. It broadcasts in 44 languages (including Ukrainian and Russian), some of them are televised. It is fully funded dy U.S. taxpayer.
VOA has its own newsroom, where hundreds of journalists and dozens of correspondents get information, which then is translated in 44 languages and broadcasted on the radio and 25 televised. VOA has about 30 correspondents around the world. They work within 22 news bureaus in the United States and other countries. VOA also employs "stringers", who freelance for the VOA on story assignments. That is how the information is received by an audience of some 94 million worldwide.
No wonder why it is watched by these people. It offers educational programs, features on American life, it clearly represents the policies of the United States at home and abroad and much more…it even has Special English programming that is made for people that are not native speakers. It uses plain English and simple structures to convey information and to promote English learning. It provides information about American culture and life.
Its characteristics are: accuracy, objectivity, comprehension.
It aims to represent all segments of American society and thought.
