[HCDX] VOA Expands Programming to Africa

["Alokesh Gupta" <alokeshgupta@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

VOA Expands Programming to Africa

PRESS RELEASE -  Washington, D.C., Oct. 28, 2005 - Beginning October 31, the
Voice of America (VOA) will expand radio broadcasts to Western and Southern
Africa in response to listener requests for increased programming to the
region.
VOA's Hausa Language Service will expand its popular breakfast program to a
full hour. The new hour-long program, airing from 0430-0530 UTC (5:30-6:30
AM local) will offer listeners a comprehensive and timely broadcast of news
about Nigeria, Ghana, Niger and Cameroon from a network of stringers in West
Africa. The program will also offer more international news, special
reports, political discussion and interviews, as well as features on health,
agriculture, religion, youth, lifestyle, and traditional Hausa music.
Studio 7, VOA's news program for Zimbabwe, is set to feature a new evening
lineup in response to listener requests for increased broadcasts in the
Shona and Ndebele languages. From Monday through Friday, Studio 7 will
provide daily 30-minute reports in those languages and in English, expanding
the broadcast from 60 to 90 minutes. Zimbabweans will hear Shona at 7:00
p.m. local time, followed by English at 7:30, then Ndebele at 8:00 p.m.
VOA Hausa, which currently airs 10.5 hours of programming a week, has nearly
20 million listeners in Africa who receive its programs on shortwave, medium
wave (AM) and FM, and the Internet. VOA's popularity is reflected in a
recent letter from a listener in Kaduna, Nigeria, who wrote: "I am writing
this mail to commend you for telling the truth no matter how bitter it is
regarding the happenings around the world. It is true that VOA is second to
none in giving the recent news update and other programmes." For more
information on programs, frequencies and scheduling for VOA Hausa, please
visit the web site at www.VOAHausa.com.
Studio 7 is funded through a grant from the U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID), and is produced and managed by VOA's Africa Division.
Recent survey data show that Studio 7 has doubled its audience in the
southern African country since late 2003. Audience response also confirms
listener loyalty, reinforced by Studio 7 coverage of Harare's May-July urban
"cleanup" which left thousands homeless.  "I would like to express my
gratitude for the heroic work that you are doing for us all here back home,"
wrote one listener. "You tell us the truth of what exactly is taking place
in Zimbabwe," said another. For more information please visit the web site
at www.VOANews.com/english/africa/zimbabwe.

http://www.voanews.com/english/About/2005-10-29-africa-expansion.cfm
-------------------------
Alokesh Gupta
New Delhi, India.
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