Re: [Swprograms] DEATH OF VOA ENGLISH ACCELERATING

[Richard Cuff <rdcuff@xxxxxxxxx>]

In some ways I'm not surprised by this, particularly the reduction in
English hours.  My reasoning is that the need for an alternate English
language voice isn't all that great outside of Africa, if you analyze,
country-by-country, the openness of various countries' media
marketplaces.

However, there is a unique role that VOA should play in English --
something I'll call "American Voices".  This would be a program
modeled after DW's "Insight" or the BBC's "The Interview", and appears
to roughly exist today as "American Profiles".

My thinking is that "American Voices" would be a moderated focus group
in concept, where an issue of global interest is discussed through an
American perspective.

Perhaps you keep a half-hour current affairs program -- then this
"American Voices", plus two weekend-only features for each day, and
you have an hour in English that would have general global appeal.

Perhaps we should be pushing Congress at the same time to alter the
VOA's restrictions on targeting an American audience (Smith-Mundt), in
order to create more interest among Americans in how our tax dollars
are being spent.

Discussing this here within swprograms without turning up the heat in
US embassies abroad (or in the legislative branch in the USA) won't
accomplish much.

Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA  USA


On 2/6/06, Glenn Hauser <wghauser@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> This appears to effectively announce the impending end of VOA broadcasts in
> English, although it remains unclear exactly what VOA English broadcasting will
> consist of on the road to the end.
>

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