[HCDX] VOA Stop Hindi Service

[sakthi vel <ardicdxclub@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

The US government broadcaster Voice of America (VOA)
has decided to shut down its daily 90-minute
short-wave radio capsule in Hindi citing budgetary
cutbacks, and the emergence of TV and the Internet in
India as the leading media to disseminate news.
Private FM radio stations have also affected its
listenership, according to Jagdish Sareen, editor, VOA
Hindi.

The decision, taken by the President-appointed
Broadcasting Board of Governors, is pending with the
US Congress for final approval. Says Brian Mabry,
senior public affairs advisor at Voice of America,
?Along with VOA Hindi, our services in Albanian,
Bosnian, Serbian, and Russian will also stop.?
Instead, he says, ?We will pursue a strategy of
reaching our audience through TV programming.?
Currently, VOA?s 30-minute television capsule in Hindi
is aired on Aaj Tak.

Sareen says he may have to lay some of the 13 staff
members and the 20-odd freelance reporters he has
across the US and India. 

?VOA Hindi has been broadcasting continuously since
July 1, 1954,? says Mabry, ?and it was one of the our
toughest decisions.? He adds, ?US international
broadcasting efforts are designed to prioritise those
regions that lack democracy or are still making the
transition to democracy.?

India, however, is a different market, VOA?s
management feels. ?India has a sophisticated media
market,? says Mabry. ?We are responding to  changes in
the market. Our audience in India has choices. Some
years ago, we stopped programming in European
languages for the same reason.?
++++++++++++++
Source:http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1033246
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Jaisakthivel,
Chennai.
 



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