Voice of America (VOA) is the primary official worldwide broadcasting service of the United States. Its chief aims are to (1) present accurate information and news; (2) reflect the values, institutions, and way of life of the United States and its people; and (3) express policies of the U.S. government. VOA also seeks to support democratic ideals.
VOA began in 1942—during World War II—as a news service of the Office of War Information. Today, VOA reaches millions of people in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Pacific Islands. All broadcasts originate in the United States. Some programs are in English, but most are in other languages.
The nature of VOA programs has changed over the years. In early years, Voice of America broadcast largely to Communist countries, and much of the programming dealt with Cold War issues. Over the years, VOA has broadened its programming to include such subjects as American science, sports, and music. It has also expanded its service to reach a wider world audience.
From 1953 to 1999, VOA was part of the United States Information Agency (USIA). In 1994, the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) was created within the USIA, and VOA became part of the IBB. At the same time, the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) was created to oversee all nonmilitary U.S. government international broadcasting. In 1998, Congress voted to abolish the USIA and to make the BBG an independent agency with supervisory authority over the IBB and other U.S.-run international broadcasters. In 2018, the BBG was renamed the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM).
