VOA on the Hill

House members were really supportive of VOA at a hearing of the Foreign Affairs' subcommittee on Europe. Rep. Robert Wexler, the chairman, said international broadcasting was a "top priority" for President Obama. He added: "It is imperative that Congress provide additional funding and resources to give U.S. international broadcasters the tools they need to ensure the free flow of information." Check out VOA Director Dan Austin's testimony
http://www.voanews.com/english/About/2009-07-23-austin-testimony.cfm

SMS in Kenya

VOA just launched an SMS project in Kenya. In Swahili! Safaricom users will not be able to get text messages on their phones. SMS is really taking off in Africa. We had an earlier project during the Zimbabwe elections. Stay tuned...

VOA in Iran

VOA's continuing to broadcast into Iran. The government is trying to shut down Internet sites and jam broadcasts. We're still getting the news into Iran, however. We've even set up a special page to honor Neda, the 26-year-old woman who was slain during the demonstations.
http://www.voanews.com/persian/2009-06-24-voa16.cfm

And if you want to see VOA in action, check ohttp://bbgtunein.blogspot.com/2009/06/wusa-highlights-voas-pnn.htmlut this:

The role of women in Iran

This week has been exciting as VOA dominates the air waves going into Tehran. Thousands of Iranians are sending videos, emails and making calls -- up to one email a second -- as the post-election turmoil continues. One interesting observation: the number of women involved in the protests. VOA's show "Today's Woman" has been focusing on that. Check out www.voanews.com for the latest, and here's a story quoting me in the LA Times. Stay tuned. Joan http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iNjRcVeBG7x0QZ8p-AQIVSBuFKQwD98TTTP80

Iranians Watched Obama Speech on VOA

As Christiane Amanpour pointed out on CNN, Iranians were watching President Obama's spech on VOA -- which is illegal in Iran! There's a lot people breaking the law out there! Our surveys show one in four adults in Iran watches VOA. More later..

Also moderated a terrific panel at the Center for International Media Assistance (www.cima.ned.org) It looked at Radio's Role in Democracy and Development. Three of the most inspiring journalists ever -- Santoso of Indonesia, Tasneem Ahmar of Pakistan and Grace Githaiga of Kenya talked about their work. More to come

More on VOA Broadcasting in Pakistan

I'd like to pass along Kim Andrew Elliott's comments (http://kimelli.nfshost.com) about Rep. Mark Kirk's call for an investigation of VOA quotes from Taliban officials. Kim has succinctly defined VOA's role:

"Broadcasts that provide only the non-Taliban side of the story would not be "counter-programming." They would just be more propaganda. Real counter-programming is accurate, reliable, balanced news, which must necessarily include coverage of what opponents are doing and saying. If decision makers want to use broadcast media to transmit one-sided broadcasts into Afghanistan and Pakistan, they can do so. They can be public diplomacy under State, or information operations under Defense, as long as they are not part of or confused with US international broadcasting under the Broadcasting Board of Governors. While Taliban one-sided broadcasting might appeal to local prejudices and ideologies, US one-sided broadcasting would not (unless it is an uncommonly clever "black" clandestine operation). The latter would therefore probably not have much of an audience.

Washington Times Doesn't Tell the Whole VOA Story

Today's Washington Times (http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/02/voice-of-taliban-on-voa-queried/) features a story about VOA's coverage of Pakistan. REp. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., has called for an investigation of VOA for quoting the Taliban in stories. I think VOA Director Dan Austin says it all when he points out that in order to be a credible news source, VOA does have to quote sides. But VOA doesn't provide a platform for terrorists, has strict editorial guidelines and puts interviews in context. In sum: We are a news organization -- not a propaganda machine. And some people-- particularly those in the U.S. Government -- have a hard time getting their head around this notion that U.S. taxpayers fund news. That, by the way, is exactly how BBC's World Service works. Austin also points out that the Deewa stringers in the region -- there are about 20 of them -- are often threatened by the Taliban. They are brave journalists who we admire and respect.

And by the way, don't take my word for it. Please visit www.voanews.com to see the kind of work we are doing. and I invite everyone to take the VOA Studio Tour in Washington.

Meantime, please post your comments about the Washington Times story --call let me know your thoughts.