The Voice of America is cracking after more than seventy years in existence and no one appears to be able to fix it. Over the past 25 years, the VOA has been having trouble with it's voice. Its been cracking much like it would when a child hits puberty. This is another example of our overspending government inaction.
VOA is a taxpayer-funded U.S. government-run foreign policy media organization charged by Congress with providing news about America and the world to international audiences, many of which cannot get uncensored news from their own media.
Current figures indicate that VOA’s audience is nearly the same as it was back in 1989 despite a 40% world population growth, the development of cutting edge technologies, and much higher budgets.
In 1989, the Voice of America broadcast over 1,050 hours weekly to 127 million people around the world in English and 42 foreign languages. The VOA operating budget for fiscal year 1989 was estimated to be $170 million.
Voice of America’s audience in 2013 is nearly the same as in 1989 despite about 40% population growth, new technologies, and higher budgets.
VOA Budget 1989 – $170 million
VOA Weekly Audience 1989 – 127-130 million (radio)
VOA Language Services 43
VOA Budget 2012 – $207 million
VOA Weekly Audience 2012 – 134 million (radio, TV, Internet, apps)
VOA Language Services 43
Not much appears to have changed in terms of the size of VOA’s global audience between 1989 and today despite a significant growth, about 40%, of the world’s population, introduction of Internet and other new media technologies, tremendous expansion of VOA’s and particularly International Broadcasting Bureau’s bureaucracy, replacement of many VOA full-time employees with contractors, and the growth of VOA’s budget itself from $170 million in Fiscal Year 1989 to well over $200 million.
The US General Accounting Office should be concerned with the lack of progress. http://www.gao.gov/assets/220/211532.pdf
Take a look at VOA's report on 2014 New Year Celebrated Around the World http://www.voanews.com/content/new-years-ball-drops-in-times-square/182… …