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133-473: Voice of America ( VOA or VoA ) is an international broadcasting state media network funded by the federal government of the United States of America . It is the largest and oldest of the U.S. international broadcasters. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content in 48 languages, which it distributes to affiliate stations around the world. Its targeted and primary audience is non-American outside of

266-434: A public diplomacy function. VOA's charter also requires it to be "a reliable and authoritative source of news" which "shall be accurate, objective, and comprehensive". The Voice of America Firewall was put in place with the 1976 VOA Charter and laws passed in 1994 and 2016 as a way of ensuring the integrity of VOA's journalism. This policy fights against propaganda and promotes unbiased and objective journalistic standards in

399-756: A contract basis was declined, so a follow-on show called Shortwave Radiogram began transmission on June 25, 2017, from the WRMI transmitting site in Okeechobee, Florida. The Bethany Relay Station , operational from 1944 to 1994, was based on a 625-acre (2.53 km) site in Union Township (now West Chester Township) in Butler County, Ohio , near Cincinnati . Major transmitter upgrades first were undertaken around 1963, when shortwave and medium-wave transmitters were built, upgraded, or rebuilt. The site

532-696: A converted U.S. Coast Guard cutter Courier as a first mobile broadcasting ship . Control of VOA passed from the State Department to the U.S. Information Agency when the latter was established in 1953 to transmit worldwide, including to the countries behind the Iron Curtain and to the People's Republic of China. From 1955 until 2003, VOA broadcast American jazz on the Voice of America Jazz Hour . Hosted for most of that period by Willis Conover ,

665-486: A day to 18 per day, and eventually twelve languages were broadcast on a 24-hour basis, including English. A 100 kilowatt transmitter and antenna complex was built at Zeesen , near Berlin. Specialty target programming to the United States began in 1933, to South Africa, South America, and East Asia in 1934, and South Asia and Central America in 1938. German propaganda was organized under Joseph Goebbels , and played

798-578: A few additional details. Kimball's battalion was dispatched to Murray , Kentucky, early in the Civil War , and Julia Ward Howe heard this song during a public review of the troops outside Washington, D.C., on Upton Hill , Virginia. Rufus R. Dawes , then in command of Company "K" of the 6th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, stated in his memoirs that the man who started the singing was Sergeant John Ticknor of his company. Howe's companion at

931-886: A foreign language, such as Radio Exterior de España 's Spanish class, Un idioma sin fronteras , or the Voice of America's broadcasts in Special English . In the case of major broadcasters such as the BBC World Service or Radio Australia , there is also an educational outreach. An additional reason for international broadcasting is to maintain contact with a country's citizens travelling abroad or expatriates who have emigrated and share news from home as well as cultural programming. This role of external shortwave broadcasting has declined as advances in communications have allowed expatriates to read news from home and listen and watch to domestic broadcasts in their own language via

1064-493: A formal and informal basis. In addition, many receivers used in Europe and Russia can receive the longwave broadcast band (150 to 280 kHz), which provides reliable long-distance communications over continental distances. Shortwave receivers are capable of receiving shortwave transmissions (2,000 to 30,000 kHz or 2 to 30 MHz). Depending on time of day, season of year, solar weather and Earth's geomagnetic field,

1197-470: A formal statement of principles to protect the integrity of VOA programming and define the organization's mission, and was issued by Director George V. Allen as a directive in 1960 and was endorsed in 1962 by USIA director Edward R. Murrow . VOA's charter was signed into law by President Gerald Ford . VOA's charter requires it to "present the policies of the United States clearly and effectively." Academics including Téwodros W. Workneh have described this as

1330-574: A high school senior in Westchester County, New York , had a Monday night program in which he shared everyday happenings in Yorktown Heights, New York . Brown's program ended due to its popularity: his "chatty narratives" attracted so much fan mail, VOA couldn't afford the $ 500 a month in clerical and postage costs required to respond to listeners' letters. During 1953, VOA personnel were subjected to McCarthyist policies, where VOA

1463-667: A key role in the German annexation of Austria and the Munich Crisis of 1938. In 1936, the International Radio Union recognized Vatican Radio as a "special case" and authorized its broadcasting without any geographical limits. On December 25, 1937, a Telefunken 25-kW transmitter and two directional antennas were added. Vatican Radio broadcast over 10 frequencies. During the Spanish Civil War ,

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1596-406: A more rhythmically active variation of the "Canaan" melody to accommodate the additional words in the verse. In Howe's lyrics, the words of the verse are packed into a yet longer line, with even more syllables than "John Brown's Body." The verse still uses the same underlying melody as the refrain, but the addition of many dotted rhythms to the underlying melody allows for the more complex verse to fit

1729-622: A nation's foreign policy interests and agenda by disseminating its views on international affairs or on the events in particular parts of the world. During the Cold War the American Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty and Indian Radio AIR were founded to broadcast news from "behind the Iron Curtain " that was otherwise being censored and promote dissent and occasionally, to disseminate disinformation . Currently,

1862-597: A new directive from Russia's Kremlin after a new law was passed by the State Duma (Russia's lower house of parliament) and the upper house Federation Council and signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin , Voice of America was deemed a "foreign agent" under the Russian foreign agent law . In June 2021, the Russian news agency TASS reported that Russia's state communications watchdog Roskomnadzor complained that

1995-556: A part of several agencies. From its founding in 1942 to 1945, it was part of the Office of War Information , and then from 1945 to 1953 as a function of the State Department. VOA was placed under the U.S. Information Agency in 1953. When the USIA was abolished in 1999, VOA was placed under the BBG which is an autonomous U.S. government agency, with bipartisan membership. The Secretary of State has

2128-730: A part of the United States Information Agency (USIA), and established the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) with oversight authority, which took control from the Board for International Broadcasters which previously had overseen funding for RFE/RL. In 1998, the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act was signed into law, and mandated that the BBG become an independent federal agency as of October 1, 1999. This act also abolished

2261-523: A pattern of favoritism that materially benefitted some employees and contractors at the expense of the public. However, within hours after President Biden took office, Sieg was reinstated then transferred to a different role by then-acting VOA Director Yolanda Lopez and cleared of wrongdoing. Lopez abruptly resigned in September 2023 as the Committee intensified its investigation. In its June 2024 report,

2394-533: A poem in The New Yorker magazine. "As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free" becomes "As He died to make men holy, let us die to make things cheap". The refrain "Glory, glory, hallelujah!" has been adopted by fans of a number of sporting teams, most notably in the English and Scottish Premier Leagues. The popular use of the tune by Tottenham Hotspur can be traced to September 1961 during

2527-533: A scholar in education of the blind. Both Samuel and Julia were also active leaders in anti-slavery politics and strong supporters of the Union. Samuel was a member of the Secret Six , the group who funded John Brown's work. The tune and some of the lyrics of "John Brown’s Body" came from a much older folk hymn called "Say, Brothers will you Meet Us", also known as "Glory Hallelujah", which has been developed in

2660-449: A seat on the BBG. The BBG was established as a buffer to protect VOA and other U.S.-sponsored, non-military, international broadcasters from political interference. It replaced the Board for International Broadcasting (BIB) that oversaw the funding and operation of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty , a branch of VOA. In 2021, Voice of America launched 52 Documentary, a series that publishes weekly films about human experiences. They publish on

2793-475: A signal might reach around the world. In previous decades shortwave (and sometimes high-powered mediumwave) transmission was regarded as the main (and often the only ) way in which broadcasters could reach an international audience. In recent years the proliferation of technologies such as satellite broadcasting, the Internet, and rebroadcasts of programming on AM and FM within target nations has meant that this

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2926-464: A single country, because domestic entertainment programs and information gathered by domestic news staff can be cheaply repackaged for non-domestic audiences. Governments typically have different motivations for funding international broadcasting. One clear reason is for ideological, or propaganda reasons. Many government-owned stations portray their nation in a positive, non-threatening way. This could be to encourage business investment in or tourism to

3059-537: A system of parabolic reflector antennae, Marconi's assistant, Charles Samuel Franklin , rigged up a large antenna at Poldhu Wireless Station , Cornwall , running on 25 kW of power. In June and July 1923, wireless transmissions were completed during nights on 97 meters from Poldhu to Marconi's yacht Elettra in the Cape Verde Islands . High speed shortwave telegraphy circuits were then installed from London to Australia, India, South Africa and Canada as

3192-603: A television service, as well as special regional programs to Cuba, Radio Martí and TV Martí . Cuba has consistently attempted to jam such broadcasts and has vociferously protested U.S. broadcasts directed at Cuba. In September 1980, VOA started broadcasting to Afghanistan in Dari and in Pashto in 1982. In 1981, VOA opened a bureau in Beijing, China. The next year, it began regular exchanges with Radio Peking . In 1985, VOA Europe

3325-601: A wider audience through other methods (particularly the internet and satellite television) and are cutting back on (or even entirely dropping) shortwave. An international broadcaster has several options for reaching a foreign audience: An international broadcaster such as the BBC, Radio France International or Germany's Deutsche Welle, may use all the above methods. Several international broadcasters, such as Swiss Radio International , have abandoned shortwave broadcasting altogether, relying on Internet transmissions only. Others, such as

3458-882: A year jamming it." Chinese-language VOA broadcasts were jammed beginning in 1956 and extending through 1976. However, after the collapse of the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union, interviews with participants in anti-Soviet movements verified the effectiveness of VOA broadcasts in transmitting information to socialist societies. The People's Republic of China diligently jams VOA broadcasts. Cuba has also been reported to interfere with VOA satellite transmissions to Iran from its Russian-built transmission site at Bejucal . David Jackson, former director of Voice of America, noted: "The North Korean government doesn't jam us, but they try to keep people from listening through intimidation or worse. But people figure out ways to listen despite

3591-425: Is a bigger trend towards TV (e.g. BBC World News, NHK World, CCTV-9) and news websites. Some services, such as Swiss Radio International, left shortwave altogether and exist in Internet form, Swissinfo . Radio Canada International ceased shortwave broadcasting in 2012 becoming a purely online service producing podcasts and maintaining a website in several languages. Radio Netherlands ceased broadcasting in 2012 and

3724-608: Is considered to be a data format, with email and RSS merely being refinements of the technology it can be said that international broadcasting has a deep relationship with modern-day datacasting. Battle Hymn of the Republic The " Battle Hymn of the Republic " is an American patriotic song written by the abolitionist writer Julia Ward Howe during the American Civil War . Howe adapted her song from

3857-422: Is known for quoting the "Battle Hymn" during his sermons. The tune has played a role in many movies where patriotic music has been required, including the 1970 World War II war comedy Kelly's Heroes , and the 1999 sci-fi western Wild Wild West . Words from the first verse gave John Steinbeck 's wife Carol Steinbeck the title of his 1939 masterpiece The Grapes of Wrath . The title of John Updike 's In

3990-486: Is marching on. ( Chorus ) Glory , glory, hallelujah ! Glory, glory, hallelujah! Glory, glory, hallelujah! His truth is marching on. I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps , They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps; I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps: His day is marching on. ( Chorus ) Glory, glory, hallelujah! Glory, glory, hallelujah! Glory, glory, hallelujah! His truth

4123-455: Is marching on. ( Chorus ) Glory, glory, hallelujah! Glory, glory, hallelujah! Glory, glory, hallelujah! Our God is marching on. * Some modern performances and recordings of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" use the lyric "As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free" as opposed to the wartime lyric originally written by Julia Ward Howe: "let us die to make men free." Howe's original manuscript differed slightly from

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4256-497: Is marching on. I have read a fiery gospel writ in burnished rows of steel: "As ye deal with My contemners, so with you My grace shall deal"; Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with His heel , Since God is marching on. ( Chorus ) Glory, glory, hallelujah! Glory, glory, hallelujah! Glory, glory, hallelujah! His truth is marching on. He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat; He

4389-479: Is no longer necessarily the case. Transmitter output power has increased since 1920. Higher transmitter powers do guarantee better reception in the target area. Higher transmitter power in most cases counteracts the lesser effects of jamming . International stations generally use special directional antennas to aim the signal toward the intended audience and increase the effective power in that direction. Use of such antennas for international broadcasting began in

4522-576: Is not at all unusual, as the first commonly agreed international broadcast was a Morse Code telegram transmitted from US President Wilson to the German Kaiser (mid-1918) via a high powered longwave transmitter on the US East Coast (this important event in international broadcasting history was described in depth in the IEEE "The History of International Broadcasting" first volume). As Morse Code

4655-768: Is now a recreational park with a Voice of America museum. Other former sites include California ( Dixon and Delano ), Hawaii, Okinawa , Liberia (Monrovia), Costa Rica, Belize, and at least two in Greece ( Kavala and Rhodos). Between 1983 and 1990, VOA made significant upgrades to transmission facilities in Botswana ( Selebi-Phikwe ), Morocco, Thailand ( Udon Thani ), Kuwait, and São Tomé ( Almas ). Some of them are shared with Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia . VOA and USAGM continue to operate shortwave radio transmitters and antenna farms at International Broadcasting Bureau Greenville Transmitting Station (known as "Site B") in

4788-525: Is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment-seat ; Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! Be jubilant, my feet! Our God is marching on. ( Chorus ) Glory, glory, hallelujah! Glory, glory, hallelujah! Glory, glory, hallelujah! Our God is marching on. In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me. As He died to make men holy , let us die to make men free , While God

4921-1078: Is still fairly small when compared to global radio listener numbers. The rural populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia (as well as East Asia) have radio listener bases that are far larger than the largest international TV broadcaster could hope for, yet they could be considered underserved since the end of the Cold War (when these regions had more radio broadcasts targeted at them). Many international television broadcasters (as well as domestic television broadcasters) have set up accounts on streaming video sites like YouTube to allow their news and information broadcasts to be globally distributed. The viewer numbers for these sites may seem huge. Cable, TVRO and terrestrial television broadcasters probably have 100 to 1,000 times larger audiences for their international broadcasting content. International broadcasters known to maintain their own streaming video sites: Many international broadcasters (television or radio) can reach "unreachable" audiences via email and RSS feeds. This

5054-551: The 1961–62 European Cup . Their first opponents in the competition were the Polish side Górnik Zabrze , and the Polish press described the Spurs team as "no angels" due to their rough tackling. In the return leg at White Hart Lane , some fans then wore angel costumes at the match holding placards with slogans such as "Glory be to shining White Hart Lane", and the crowded started singing the refrain "Glory, glory, hallelujah" as Spurs beat

5187-562: The 1983 FA Cup Final . As a result of its popularity with these and other British teams, it has spread internationally and to other sporting codes. An example of its reach is its popularity with fans of the Australian Rugby League team, the South Sydney Rabbitohs (Glory, Glory to South Sydney) and to A-League team Perth Glory . Brighton fans celebrate their 1970s legend by singing "Mine eyes have seen

5320-480: The 2nd Infantry Battalion of the Massachusetts militia , known as the "Tiger" Battalion, collectively worked out the lyrics to "John Brown's Body". Kimball wrote: We had a jovial Scotchman in the battalion, named John Brown. ... [A]nd as he happened to bear the identical name of the old hero of Harper's Ferry , he became at once the butt of his comrades. If he made his appearance a few minutes late among

5453-827: The Arabic service, were discontinued in 1945. In late 1945, VOA was transferred to the US Department of State. Also included among the cultural diplomacy programming on the Columbia Broadcasting System was the musical show Viva America (1942–49) which featured the Pan American Orchestra and the artistry of several noted musicians from both North and South America, including Alfredo Antonini , Juan Arvizu , Eva Garza , Elsa Miranda , Nestor Mesta Chaires , Miguel Sandoval , John Serry Sr. , and Terig Tucci . By 1945, broadcasts of

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5586-591: The BBC , Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty , and Deutsche Welle were blocked in Russia, as after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian authorities increased censorship of independent journalism, anti-war protests, and dissenting voices. Nevertheless, many Russians have used VPNs and other software to get around Russian government blocks. As of March 2022, VOA broadcasts were reaching people in Russia and

5719-631: The Clinton administration advised cutting funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty , as it believed post-Cold War information and influence was not needed in Europe. This plan was not well received, and US President Bill Clinton then proposed the compromise of the International Broadcasting Act , which he signed into law in 1994. This law established the International Broadcasting Bureau as

5852-805: The Columbia Broadcasting System 's Latin American international network, which consisted of 64 stations located in 18 countries, the Crosley Broadcasting Corporation in Cincinnati, Ohio, and General Electric which owned and operated WGEO and WGEA, both based in Schenectady, New York , and KGEI in San Francisco , all of which had shortwave transmitters . Experimental programming began in

5985-573: The Iron Curtain . Practically all defectors during Kohler's time said that the VOA helped in their decision to defect. Another indication of impact, according to Kohler, was the Soviet response. Kohler argued that the Soviets responded because the VOA was having an impact. Based on Soviet responses, it can be presumed that the most effective programs were ones that compared the lives of those behind and outside

6118-533: The Philippines . By the end of the war, VOA had 39 transmitters and provided service in 40 languages. Programming was broadcast from production centers in New York and San Francisco, with more than 1,000 programs originating from New York. Programming consisted of music, news, commentary, and relays of U.S. domestic programming, in addition to specialized VOA programming. About half of VOA's services, including

6251-416: The oral hymn tradition of revivalist camp meetings of the late 1700s, though it was first published in the early 1800s. In the first known version, "Canaan's Happy Shore", the text includes the verse "Oh! Brothers will you meet me (3×)/On Canaan 's happy shore?" and chorus "There we'll shout and give Him glory (3×)/For glory is His own." This developed into the familiar "Glory, glory, hallelujah" chorus by

6384-465: The 1850s. The tune and variants of these words spread across both the southern and northern United States . At a flag-raising ceremony at Fort Warren , near Boston, Massachusetts, on Sunday, May 12, 1861, the song " John Brown's Body ", using the "Oh! Brothers" tune and the "Glory, Hallelujah" chorus, was publicly played "perhaps for the first time". The American Civil War had begun the previous month. In 1890, George Kimball wrote his account of how

6517-553: The 1862 sheet music, the chorus always begins: Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!" In the years since the Civil War , "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" has been used frequently as an American patriotic song. The lyrics of "Battle Hymn of the Republic" appear in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 's sermons and speeches, most notably in his speech " How Long, Not Long " from

6650-493: The 1930s, but there were fewer than 12 transmitters in operation. In 1939, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission set the following policy, which was intended to enforce the US State Department 's Good Neighbor Policy , but which some broadcasters felt was an attempt to direct censorship: A licensee of an international broadcast station shall render only an international broadcast service which will reflect

6783-724: The Arab world; Israel's service, Kol Yisrael , served both to present the Israeli point of view to the world and to serve the Jewish diaspora , particularly behind the Iron Curtain . Radio RSA , as part of the South African Broadcasting Corporation, was established in 1966 to promote the image of South Africa internationally and reduce criticism of apartheid. It continued in 1992, when the post-apartheid government renamed it Channel Africa . Ironically,

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6916-497: The BBC World Service, have abandoned shortwave transmissions to North America, relying on local relays, the Internet, and satellite transmissions. Most radio receivers in the world receive the mediumwave band (530 kHz to 1710 kHz), which at night is capable of reliable reception from 150 to 2,500 km distance from a transmitter. Mediumwave is used heavily all over the world for international broadcasting on

7049-760: The Beauty of the Lilies also came from this song, as did Terrible Swift Sword and Never Call Retreat , two volumes in Bruce Catton 's Centennial History of the Civil War . Terrible Swift Sword is also the name of a board wargame simulating the Battle of Gettysburg . Words from the second last line of the last verse are paraphrased in Leonard Cohen's song "Steer Your Way". It was originally published as

7182-464: The British BBC launched international services in German , French and Italian. In 1942, the United States initiated its international broadcasting service, the Voice of America . In the Pacific theater, General Douglas MacArthur used shortwave radio to keep in touch with the citizens of the Japanese-occupied Philippine Islands. Several announcers who became well known in their countries included British Union of Fascists member William Joyce , who

7315-419: The Committee found that the original allegations had merit and were supported by substantial evidence. Sieg remains employed at VOA. International broadcasting International broadcasting, in a limited extent, began during World War I , when German and British stations broadcast press communiqués using Morse code . With the severing of Germany's undersea cables, the wireless telegraph station in Nauen

7448-457: The Coordinator of Information (COI) had already begun providing war news and commentary to the commercial American shortwave radio stations for use on a voluntary basis, through its Foreign Information Service (FIS) headed by playwright Robert E. Sherwood , who served as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt 's speech writer and information advisor. Direct programming began a week after the United States' entry into World War II in December 1941, with

7581-509: The Greek service ended after 72 years on air. RFE/RL launched the Russian language Current Time TV , in October 2014. In January 2016, upon his arrival in Moscow, Russian authorities detained and then deported Jeff Shell , the Chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors that oversees the Voice of America, despite his having a valid Russian visa. Russian authorities did not explain their actions. Round-the-clock broadcasting of Current Time began on February 7, 2017. In December 2017, under

7714-475: The House Foreign Affairs Committee concluded that there was "credible evidence of corruption" regarding the matter of Setareh Derakhshesh Sieg, the former director of Voice of America's Persian News Network (PNN). Following a series of whistleblower complaints and an extensive internal investigation by civil servants, Sieg had been terminated in January 2021 for falsifying her education credentials, severe abuses of taxpayer dollars for personal benefit, and engaging in

7847-592: The Iron Curtain, questions on the practice of slave labor, as well as lies and errors in Stalin 's version of Marxism . In 1947, VOA started broadcasting to the Soviet citizens in Russia under the pretext of countering "more harmful instances of Soviet propaganda directed against American leaders and policies" on the part of the internal Soviet Russian-language media, according to John B. Whitton's treatise, Cold War Propaganda . The Soviet Union responded by initiating electronic jamming of VOA broadcasts on April 24, 1949. Charles W. Thayer headed VOA in 1948–49. Over

7980-412: The Nationalist forces received a powerful Telefunken transmitter as a gift of Nazi Germany to aid their propaganda efforts, and until 1943 Radio Nacional de España collaborated with the Axis powers to retransmit in Spanish news from the official radio stations of Germany and Italy. During the Second World War , Russian, German, British, and Italian international broadcasting services expanded. In 1938

8113-408: The Poles 8–1, starting the tradition at Tottenham. It was released as the B-side to " Ossie's Dream " for the 1981 Cup Final. The theme was then picked up by Hibernian, with Hector Nicol's release of the track "Glory, glory to the Hibees" in 1963. "Glory, Glory Leeds United" was a popular chant during Leeds ' 1970 FA Cup run. Manchester United fans picked it up as "Glory, Glory Man United" during

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8246-420: The Republic" were published in Father Kemp's Old Folks Concert Tunes in 1874 and reprinted in 1889. Both songs had the same Chorus with an additional "Glory" in the second line: "Glory! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!" "Canaan's Happy Shore" has a verse and chorus of equal metrical length and both verse and chorus share an identical melody and rhythm. "John Brown's Body" has more syllables in its verse and uses

8379-435: The U.S. consolidated its international broadcasting efforts, with the establishment of the Bureau of Broadcasting. With the breakup of the Soviet bloc in Eastern Europe, VOA added many additional language services to reach those areas. This decade was marked by the additions of services in Standard Tibetan , Kurdish (to Iran and Iraq), Serbo-Croatian (Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian), Macedonian , and Rwanda-Rundi . In 1993,

8512-434: The U.S. government . Funds are appropriated annually under the budget for embassies and consulates. As of 2022, VOA had a weekly worldwide audience of approximately 326 million (up from 237 million in 2016) and employed 961 staff with an annual budget of $ 267.5 million. The Voice of America website had five English-language broadcasts as of 2014 (worldwide, Learning English , Cambodia , Zimbabwe , and Tibet ). Additionally,

8645-426: The US borders. As of November 2022, its reporting reached 326 million adults per week across all platforms. It is financed by the U.S. Agency for Global Media after approval by Congress. VOA was established in 1942, and the VOA charter was signed into law in 1976 by U.S. President Gerald Ford . It is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and overseen by the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), an independent agency of

8778-516: The US government's international English language TV service Worldnet , became part of VOA as "VOA TV". Radio programs in Russian ended in July 2008. In September 2008, VOA eliminated the Hindi-language service after 53 years. Broadcasts in Ukrainian, Serbian, Macedonian, and Bosnian also ended. These reductions were part of American efforts to concentrate more resources to broadcast to the Muslim world . In September 2010, VOA began radio broadcasts in Sudan. As U.S. interests in South Sudan grew, there

8911-409: The US in the 2000s. This is a popular method to reach listeners in cars that would otherwise not be accessible during that part of the day. However, in terms of the global international broadcasting audience the DAB listener base is very small—one can assume that it is less than 2% of the listener base globally. International broadcasting via 24 hour TV news channels has its origins in North America in

9044-460: The US operates similar services aimed at Cuba ( Radio y Televisión Martí ) and the People's Republic of China , Vietnam , Laos and North Korea ( Radio Free Asia ). The BBC World Service , the Voice of America , All India Radio and other western broadcasters have emphasized news broadcasts, particularly to countries that are experiencing repression or civil unrest and whose populations are unable to obtain news from non-government sources. In

9177-460: The US, Central and South America, and the Far East began in 1926. A second station, Zeesen , was added in 1931. In January 1932, the German Reichspost assumed control of the Nauen station and added to its shortwave and longwave capacity. Once Adolf Hitler assumed power in 1933, shortwave, under the Auslandsrundfunk (Foreign Radio Section), was regarded as a vital element of Nazi propaganda . German shortwave hours were increased from two hours

9310-630: The USIA, and merged most of its functions into those of the State Department. In 1994, Voice of America became the first broadcast-news organization to offer continuously updated programs on the Internet. The Arabic Service was abolished in 2002 and replaced by a new radio service, called the Middle East Radio Network or Radio Sawa , with an initial budget of $ 22 million. Radio Sawa offered mostly Western and Middle Eastern popular songs with periodic brief news bulletins. The Arabic Service expanded to television with Alhurra on February 14, 2004 (and later to various social media and websites). On May 16, 2004,

9443-420: The United States, close to Greenville, North Carolina . They do not use FCC -issued call signs , since the FCC does not regulate communications by other federal government agencies. The International Broadcasting Bureau also operates transmission facilities on São Tomé and Tinang, Concepcion, Tarlac , Philippines for VOA. [REDACTED]   Kosovo Republic of Kosovo (2008–present) On June 12, 2024,

9576-570: The VOA was serving its purpose, which he identified as aiding in the fight against communism. He argued that the numbers of listeners they were getting such as 194,000 regular listeners in Sweden, and 2.1 million regular listeners in France, was an indication of a positive impact. As further evidence, he noted that the VOA received 30,000 letters a month from listeners all over the world, and hundreds of thousands of requests for broadcasting schedules. There

9709-568: The VOA website has versions in 48 foreign languages. Radio programs are marked with an "R"; TV programs with a "T": The number of languages varies according to the priorities of the United States government and the world situation. Before World War II, all American shortwave radio stations were in private hands. Privately controlled shortwave networks included the National Broadcasting Company 's International Network (or White Network), which broadcast in six languages,

9842-518: The Web to be played back later, as " podcasts ". International broadcasting using the traditional audio-only method will not cease any time soon due to its cost efficiencies. However, international broadcasting via television is considered more strategically important at least since the early 2000s. The BBC World Service was the first broadcaster to consider setting up a satellite television news and information channel as far back as 1976, but ceded being

9975-647: The agency. The charter is one part of this firewall and the other laws assist in ensuring high standards of journalism. According to former VOA correspondent Alan Heil, the internal policy of VOA News is that any story broadcast must have two independently corroborating sources or have a staff correspondent witness an event. VOA Radiogram was an experimental Voice of America program that started in March 2013 and ended in June 2017, which transmitted digital text and images via shortwave radiograms . There were 220 editions of

10108-541: The battalion, together with publisher C. S. Hall. They selected and polished verses they felt appropriate, and may even have enlisted the services of a local poet to help polish and create verses. The official histories of the old First Artillery and of the 55th Artillery (1918) also record the Tiger Battalion's role in creating the John Brown Song, confirming the general thrust of Kimball's version with

10241-434: The broadcasts' actual impact. For example, in 1956, Polish People's Republic stopped jamming VOA transmissions, but People's Republic of Bulgaria continued to jam the signal through the 1970s. In 1966 Edward R. Murrow said that: "The Russians spend more money jamming the Voice of America than we have to spend for the entire program of the entire Agency. They spend about $ 125 million ($ 1,200,000,000 in current dollar terms)

10374-600: The case of emergencies, a nation may broadcast special programs overseas to inform listeners what is occurring. During Iraqi missile strikes on Israel during the 1991 Gulf War, Kol Israel relayed its domestic service on its shortwave service. Besides ideological reasons, many stations are run by religious broadcasters and are used to provide religious education, religious music, or worship service programs. For example, Vatican Radio , established in 1931, broadcasts such programs. Another station, such as HCJB or Trans World Radio will carry brokered programming from evangelists. In

10507-547: The case of the Broadcasting Services of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , both governmental and religious programming is provided. Stations also broadcast to international audiences for cultural reasons. Often a station has an official mandate to keep expatriates in touch with their home country. Many broadcasters often relay their national domestic service on shortwave for that reason. Other reasons include teaching

10640-554: The country. Kohler used all of this as evidence to claim that the VOA helped to grow and strengthen the free world. It also influenced the UN in their decision to condemn communist actions in Korea, and was a major factor in the decline of communism in the "free world, including key countries such as Italy and France. In Italy, the VOA did not just bring an end to communism, but it caused the country to Americanize. The VOA also had an impact behind

10773-625: The culture of this country and which will promote international goodwill, understanding and cooperation. Any program solely intended for, and directed to an audience in the continental United States does not meet the requirements for this service. Around 1940, shortwave signals to Latin America were regarded as vital to counter Nazi propaganda . Initially, the US Office of the Coordinator of Information sent releases to each station, but this

10906-598: The day before. I scrawled the verses almost without looking at the paper. Howe's "Battle Hymn of the Republic" was first published on the front page of The Atlantic Monthly of February 1862. The sixth verse written by Howe, which is less commonly sung, was not published at that time. The song was also published as a broadside in 1863 by the Supervisory Committee for Recruiting Colored Regiments in Philadelphia . Both "John Brown" and "Battle Hymn of

11039-587: The early 1980s, VOA began a $ 1.3 billion rebuilding program to improve broadcast with better technical capabilities. During the implementation of the Martial law in Poland between 1981 and 1983, VOA's Polish broadcasts expanded to seven hours daily. Throughout the 1980s, VOA focused on covering events from the 'American hinterland', such as 150th anniversary of the Oregon Trail . Also in the 1980s, VOA also added

11172-464: The early 1980s. CNN technically was the first 24-hour international news channel as it was made available in Canada soon after launch. The BBC World Service considered setting up a global TV news channel as far back as 1975, but abandoned the idea for internal reasons. Notwithstanding a large number of international 24-hour television news and information broadcasters, the television percentage of viewers

11305-514: The fact that John Brown was dead and that his body was undergoing the process of decomposition, began to be sung to the music of the hymn above given. These ditties underwent various ramifications, until eventually the lines were reached,— "John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the grave, His soul's marching on." And,— "He's gone to be a soldier in the army of the Lord, His soul's marching on." These lines seemed to give general satisfaction,

11438-459: The first African American Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church , delivered a sermon to the Church's General Convention on July 3, 2015, in which the lyrics of the "Battle Hymn" framed the message of God's love. After proclaiming "Glory, glory, hallelujah, His truth is marching on", a letter from President Barack Obama was read, congratulating Bishop Curry on his historic election. Curry

11571-642: The first broadcast from the San Francisco office of the FIS via General Electric's KGEI transmitting to the Philippines in English (other languages followed). The next step was to broadcast to Germany, which was called Stimmen aus Amerika ("Voices from America") and was transmitted on February 1, 1942. It was introduced by the “ Battle Hymn of the Republic " and included the pledge: "Today, and every day from now on, we will be with you from America to talk about

11704-465: The first to CNN (that had primary access to Canada soon after launch). The defunct BBC World Service Antigua Relay Station was built in 1976, but its setup costs were not known to have been part of the BBCWS decision processes at the time. In the early 1990s, many international (as well as domestic) 24-hour news and information channels launched as part of the post- Cold War prosperity bubble. There

11837-425: The foreign agent Voice of America radio station challengingly refused to observe Russian law because it had not established a Russian legal entity. Roskomnadzor also said that VOA was as a foreign agent "obliged to mark their content and provide information about all aspects of their activity, including a detailed description of contacts with the authorities." In March 2022, VOA and other news broadcasters, including

11970-466: The free TIVAR app from the Google Play store using any Android device. The mode used most often on VOA Radiogram , for both text and images, was MFSK32 , but other modes were also occasionally transmitted. The final edition of VOA Radiogram was transmitted during the weekend of June 17–18, 2017, a week before the retirement of the program producer from VOA. An offer to continue the broadcasts on

12103-418: The glory of the coming of the Lord, he played for Brighton and Hove Albion and his name is Peter Ward ". Some songs make use of both the melody and elements of the lyrics of "Battle Hymn of the Republic", either in tribute or as a parody: Other songs simply use the melody, i.e. the melody of "John Brown's Body", with no lyrical connection to "The Battle Hymn of the Republic": Irish composer Ina Boyle set

12236-411: The gray of the morning twilight; and as I lay waiting for the dawn, the long lines of the desired poem began to twine themselves in my mind. Having thought out all the stanzas, I said to myself, "I must get up and write these verses down, lest I fall asleep again and forget them." So, with a sudden effort, I sprang out of bed, and found in the dimness an old stump of a pencil which I remembered to have used

12369-434: The idea that Brown's soul was "marching on" receiving recognition at once as having a germ of inspiration in it. They were sung over and over again with a great deal of gusto, the "Glory, hallelujah" chorus being always added. Some leaders of the battalion, feeling the words were coarse and irreverent, tried to urge the adoption of more fitting lyrics, but to no avail. The lyrics were soon prepared for publication by members of

12502-524: The internet and satellite. A number of international services such as the original BBC Empire Service , Radio Netherlands , France's Poste Colonial (now Radio France International ) and others were founded in part with the goal of helping draw overseas empires closer to the mother country and provide closer cultural and communication connections between the home country and its colonies, a role that became largely obsolete due to decolonization . Because of this many broadcasters are discovering they can reach

12635-741: The isolationist Albania under Enver Hoxha , virtually a hermit kingdom , became one of the most prolific international broadcasters during the latter decades of the Cold War, with Radio Tirana one of the top five broadcasters in terms of hours of programming produced. Estimated total programme hours per week of some external broadcasters At the end of the Cold War , many international broadcasters cut back on hours and foreign languages broadcast, or reemphasized other language services. For example, in 1984, Radio Canada International broadcast in English, French, German, Spanish, Czech/Slovak, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian. In 2005, RCI broadcast in English, Chinese, Arabic, Russian, and Spanish. There

12768-677: The main element of the Imperial Wireless Chain from 1926. The Dutch began conducting experiments in the shortwave frequencies in 1925 from Eindhoven . The radio station PCJJ began the first international broadcasting on March 11, 1927, with programmes in Dutch for colonies in the Dutch West Indies and Dutch East Indies and in German, Spanish and English for the rest of the world. The popular Happy Station show

12901-487: The mid-1930s and became prominent by the 1950s. By using antennas which focus most of their energy in one direction, a modern station may achieve the equivalent, in that direction, of tens of millions of watts of radio power. Some international broadcasters have become available via digital audio broadcasting (DAB) in Europe in the 1990s, and in a similar limited way in the Americas via in-band FM ( IBOC ) DAB systems in

13034-974: The middle of 1942, officially took over VOA's operations. VOA reached an agreement with the British Broadcasting Corporation to share medium-wave transmitters in Great Britain, and expanded into Tunis in North Africa and Palermo and Bari, Italy , as the Allies captured these territories. The OWI also set up the American Broadcasting Station in Europe . Asian transmissions started with one transmitter in California in 1941; services were expanded by adding transmitters in Hawaii and, after recapture,

13167-409: The nation. Another reason is to combat a negative image produced by other nations or internal dissidents, or insurgents. Radio RSA , the broadcasting arm of the apartheid South African government, is an example of this. A third reason is to promote the ideology of the broadcaster. For example, a program on Radio Moscow from the 1960s to the 1980s was What is Communism? A second reason is to advance

13300-570: The next few years, the U.S. government debated the best role of Voice of America. The decision was made to use VOA broadcasts as a part of U.S. foreign policy to fight the propaganda of the Soviet Union and other countries. The Arabic service resumed on January 1, 1950, with a half-hour program. This program grew to 14.5 hours daily during the Suez Crisis of 1956, and was six hours a day by 1958. Between 1952 and 1960, Voice of America used

13433-481: The odds. They're very resourceful." Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, VOA covered some of the era's most important news, including Martin Luther King Jr. 's 1963 " I Have a Dream " speech and Neil Armstrong 's 1969 first walk on the Moon , which drew an audience estimated at between 615 and 750 million people. In 1973, due to the détente policies in the Cold War, Soviet jamming of the VOA ceased; it restarted in 1979. In

13566-873: The official service of the Soviet Union (renamed the Voice of Russia , following the collapse of the Soviet Union). Clarence W. Jones started transmitting on Christmas Day, 1931 from Christian missionary radio station HCJB in Quito , Ecuador . Broadcasting in South Asia was launched in 1925 in Ceylon – Radio Ceylon , now the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation is the oldest in the region. Shortwave broadcasting from Nauen in Germany to

13699-412: The program had 30 million listeners at its peak. A program aimed at South Africa in 1956 broadcast two hours nightly, and special programs such as The Newport Jazz Festival were also transmitted. This was done in association with tours by U.S. musicians, such as Dizzy Gillespie , Louis Armstrong , and Duke Ellington , sponsored by the State Department. From August 1952 through May 1953, Billy Brown,

13832-549: The program, transmitted each weekend from the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station. The audio tones that comprised the bulk of each 30-minute program were transmitted via an analog transmitter , and could be decoded using a basic AM shortwave receiver with freely downloadable software of the Fldigi family. This software was available for Windows , macOS , Linux , and FreeBSD systems. Broadcasts could also be decoded using

13965-414: The published version. Most significantly, it included a final verse: He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave, He is Wisdom to the mighty, He is Succour to the brave, So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of Time His slave, Our God is marching on. ( Chorus ) Glory, glory, hallelujah! Glory, glory, hallelujah! Glory, glory, hallelujah! Our God is marching on! In

14098-466: The region through TV, FM and medium wave radio, digital, and direct-to-home satellite. In May 2023, Russia banned acting VOA chief Yolanda Lopez from ever entering the country. The current director, Michael Abramowitz, assumed the position in July 2024. He previously served as president of Freedom House and spent nearly 25 years as a reporter and editor for The Washington Post . Voice of America has been

14231-556: The reunification of Germany on October 3, 1990, and Deutsche Welle took over its transmitters and frequencies. The Cold War led to increased international broadcasting (and jamming ), as Communist and non-Communist states attempted to influence each other's domestic population. Some of the most prominent Western broadcasters were the Voice of America , the BBC World Service , and the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty . The Soviet Union's most prominent service

14364-612: The review, the Reverend James Freeman Clarke , suggested to Howe that she write new words for the fighting men's song. Staying at the Willard Hotel in Washington on the night of November 18, 1861, Howe wrote the verses to the "Battle Hymn of the Republic". Of the writing of the lyrics, Howe remembered: I went to bed that night as usual, and slept, according to my wont, quite soundly. I awoke in

14497-407: The same melody as the comparatively short refrain. Howe submitted the lyrics she wrote to The Atlantic Monthly , and it was first published in the February 1862 issue of the magazine. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord ; He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword: His truth

14630-406: The show were carried by 114 stations on CBS's "La Cadena de las Américas" network in 20 Latin American nations. These broadcasts proved to be highly successful in supporting President Roosevelt's policy of Pan-Americanism throughout South America during World War II. The VOA ramped up its operations during the Cold War . Foy Kohler , the director of VOA during the Cold War, strongly believed that

14763-551: The significant growth of shortwave radio listeners. During the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 , VOA's broadcasts were deemed controversial, as Hungarian refugees and revolutionaries thought that VOA served as a medium and insinuated the possible arrival of the Western aid. Throughout the Cold War , many of the targeted countries' governments sponsored jamming of VOA broadcasts, which sometimes led critics to question

14896-538: The soldiers' song " John Brown's Body " in November 1861, and sold it for $ 4 to The Atlantic Monthly in February 1862. In contrast to the lyrics of the soldiers’ song, her version links the Union cause with God's vengeance at the Day of Judgment (through allusions to biblical passages such as Isaiah 63:1–6 , Revelation 19 and Revelation 14:14–19 ). Julia Ward Howe was married to Samuel Gridley Howe ,

15029-656: The steps of the Alabama State Capitol building on March 25, 1965, after the successful Selma to Montgomery march , and in his final sermon " I've Been to the Mountaintop ", delivered in Memphis, Tennessee , on the evening of April 3, 1968, the night before his assassination. The speech ends with the first lyrics of the "Battle Hymn": "Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord." Bishop Michael B. Curry of North Carolina , after his election as

15162-461: The streaming app, VOA+, and YouTube. Films average 10–15 minutes and are translated with captions in several languages, including Russian, Persian, Mandarin, Urdu, and English. Euna Lee directs the program. From 1948 until its amendment in 2013, Voice of America was forbidden to broadcast directly to American citizens, pursuant to § 501 of the Smith–Mundt Act . The intent of the 1948 legislation

15295-760: The war, the radio service operated in four languages. The British launched Radio SEAC from Colombo, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) during World War II. The station broadcast radio programs to the allied armed forces across the region from their headquarters in Ceylon. Following the war and German partition, each Germany developed its own international broadcasting station: Deutsche Welle , using studios in Cologne , West Germany, and Radio Berlin International (RBI) in East Germany. RBI's broadcasts ceased shortly before

15428-513: The war... The news may be good or bad for us – We will always tell you the truth." Roosevelt approved this broadcast, which then-Colonel William J. Donovan (COI) and Sherwood (FIS) had recommended to him. It was Sherwood who actually coined the term "The Voice of America" to describe the shortwave network that began its transmissions on February 1, from 270 Madison Avenue in New York City. The Office of War Information , when organized in

15561-407: The working squad, or was a little tardy in falling into the company line, he was sure to be greeted with such expressions as "Come, old fellow, you ought to be at it if you are going to help us free the slaves," or, "This can't be John Brown—why, John Brown is dead." And then some wag would add, in a solemn, drawling tone, as if it were his purpose to give particular emphasis to the fact that John Brown

15694-634: Was Radio Moscow and China used Radio Peking (then Radio Beijing , now China Radio International ). In addition to the U.S.-Soviet cold war, the Chinese-Russian border dispute led to an increase of the numbers of transmitters aimed at the two nations, and the development of new techniques such as playing tapes backwards for reel-to-reel recorders. West Germany resumed regular shortwave broadcasts using Deutsche Welle on May 3, 1953. Its Julich transmitter site began operation in 1956, with eleven 100-kW Telefunken transmitters. The Wertachtal site

15827-599: Was a desire to provide people with free information. In 2013, VOA ended foreign-language transmissions on shortwave and medium wave to Albania, Georgia, Iran, and Latin America, as well as English-language broadcasts to the Middle East and Afghanistan. This was done due to budget cuts. On July 1, 2014, VOA cut most of its English-language transmissions to Asia, as well as shortwave transmissions in Azerbaijani, Bengali, Khmer, Kurdish, Lao, and Uzbek. The following month,

15960-401: Was accused by Senator Joseph McCarthy, Roy Cohn , and Gerard David Schine of intentionally planning to build weak transmitting stations to sabotage VOA broadcasts. However, the charges were dropped after one month of court hearings in February and March 1953. Sometime around 1954, VOA's headquarters were moved from New York to Washington D.C. The arrival of cheap, low-cost transistors enabled

16093-489: Was an analysis done of some of those letters sent in 1952 and 1953 while Kohler was still director. The study found that letter writing could be an indicator of successful, actionable persuasion. It was also found that broadcasts in different countries were having different effects. In one country, regular listeners adopted and practiced American values presented by the broadcast. Age was also a factor: younger and older audiences tended to like different types of programs, no matter

16226-422: Was another burst of global news channels launching in the late 2000s as part the developing world trying to catch up with the developed world in this area. Broadcasters in one country have several reasons to reach out to an audience in other countries. Commercial broadcasters may simply see a business opportunity to sell advertising or subscriptions to a broader audience. This is more efficient than broadcasting to

16359-560: Was authorized in 1972 and began with four 500-kW transmitters. By 1989, there were 15 transmitters, four of which relayed the Voice of America. Meanwhile, in East Germany, the Nauen site began transmitting Radio DDR, later Radio Berlin International, on October 15, 1959. In addition to these states, international broadcast services grew in Europe and the Middle East . Under the presidency of Gamal Nasser , Egyptian transmitters covered

16492-465: Was created as a special service in English that was relayed via satellite to AM, FM, and cable affiliates throughout Europe. With a contemporary format including live disc jockeys, the network presented top musical hits as well as VOA news and features of local interest (such as "EuroFax") 24 hours a day. VOA Europe was closed down without advance public notice in January 1997 as a cost-cutting measure. It

16625-497: Was followed by VOA Express, which from July 4, 1999, revamped into VOA Music Mix. Since November 1, 2014, stations are offered VOA1 (which is a rebranding of VOA Music Mix). In 1989, Voice of America expanded its Mandarin and Cantonese programming to reach the millions of Chinese and inform the country about the pro-democracy movement within the country, including the demonstration in Tiananmen Square. Starting in 1990,

16758-402: Was inaugurated in 1928 and became the world's longest-running shortwave programme, continuing until 1995, transferring to Radio Netherlands after World War II. In 1927, Marconi also turned his attention toward long distance broadcasting on shortwave. His first such broadcasts took place to commemorate Armistice Day in the same year. He continued running a regular international broadcast that

16891-645: Was one of the two " Lord Haw-Haw "s; Frenchmen Paul Ferdonnet and André Olbrecht , called "the traitors of [Radio] Stuttgart"; and Americans Frederick William Kaltenbach , "Lord Hee-Haw", and Mildred Gillars , one of the two announcers called " Axis Sally ". Listeners to German programs often tuned in for curiosity's sake—at one time, German radio had half a million listeners in the U.S.--but most of them soon lost interest. Japan had " Tokyo Rose ", who broadcast Japanese propaganda in English, along with American music to help ensure listeners. During World War II, Vatican Radio's news broadcasts were banned in Germany. During

17024-555: Was picked up around the world, with programming from the 2LO station, then run by the BBC . The success of this operation caught the BBC's attention who rented out a shortwave transmitting station in Chelmsford , with the callsign G5SW, to Marconi. The BBC Empire Service was finally inaugurated on December 19, 1932, with transmissions aimed towards Australia and New Zealand. Other notable early international broadcasters included Vatican Radio (February 12, 1931), Radio Moscow ,

17157-429: Was really, actually dead: "Yes, yes, poor old John Brown is dead; his body lies mouldering in the grave." According to Kimball, these sayings became by-words among the soldiers and, in a communal effort—similar in many ways to the spontaneous composition of camp meeting songs described above—were gradually put to the tune of "Say, Brothers": Finally ditties composed of the most nonsensical, doggerel rhymes, setting for

17290-468: Was seen as an inefficient means of transmitting news. The director of Latin American relations at the Columbia Broadcasting System was Edmund A. Chester , and he supervised the development of CBS's extensive "La Cadena de las Américas" radio network to improve broadcasting to South America during the 1940s. Even before the December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor , the U.S. government's Office of

17423-482: Was the country's sole means of long-distance communication. The US Navy Radio Service radio station in New Brunswick, Canada, transmitted the ' Fourteen Points ' by wireless to Nauen in 1917. In turn, Nauen station broadcast the news of the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II on November 10, 1918. Guglielmo Marconi pioneered the use of short wave radio for long-distance transmissions in the early 1920s. Using

17556-707: Was to protect the American public from propaganda by its own government and to avoid any competition with private American companies. The act was amended via the passage of the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act provision of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2013 . The amendment was intended to adapt the law to the Internet and to allow American citizens access to VOA content. Under the Eisenhower administration in 1959, VOA Director Henry Loomis commissioned

17689-490: Was transformed into RNW Media , an NGO that trains youth in developing countries to use digital media for social change. Radio Moscow's successor, Voice of Russia , was disbanded in 2014 and replaced by Sputnik , a multimedia news platform, which does not broadcast on shortwave. Other shortwave broadcasters have ceased operations entirely since the 1990s. In addition, new standards, such as Digital Radio Mondiale , are being introduced, as well as sending programs over

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