Congressional letter reveals job cuts of VOA

 

Congressional letter obtained by AP outlines drastic job cuts expected at Voice of America

By  DAVID BAUDER and AAMER MADHANI

Updated 6:09 PM CDT, June 4, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration appointee overseeing the Voice of America has outlined job cuts that would reduce employment at the state-run news organization from over 1,000 people to 81.

The Voice of America, which has delivered news to countries all over the world for the better part of a century, has been largely silent for two months following an executive order by President Donald Trump. He believes Voice of America, and similar organizations like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, have reported with a liberal bias.

Most of VOA’s employees have been on administrative leave since mid-March amid reports that layoff notices were forthcoming.

Additional story from AP at: 

https://apnews.com/article/voa-radio-trump-media-cuts-5f87df41daf0748e755ed9bc87dfcb3d

VOA and RFE/RL status updates

 

Voice of America Fights Its Way Back

A federal judge halts the dismantling of the U.S.-funded international broadcaster (for now)

By Randy J. Stine

Published: March 28, 2025, Updated: March 30, 2025

Recent efforts by the Trump administration to defund and shut down international news organizations like Voice of America have hit some roadblocks this past week. 

On Friday, a Manhattan federal judge temporarily blocked the White House from silencing VOA, according to a blog post by legal news service Law360.

After a morning hearing, U.S. District Court Judge J. Paul Oetken issued a temporary restraining order saying the funding cut by the U.S. Agency for Global Media, VOA’s parent company, was a “classic case of arbitrary policymaking.”

A group including six VOA journalists filed a federal lawsuit on March 21 to halt the cuts by USAGM, which is the federal agency overseeing all U.S. civilian international media. The plaintiffs in their suit cited the “lawlessness and discriminatory animus” of USAGM’s actions as reason for the court’s needed intervention. 

The VOA employees, which includes VOA’s White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara, specifically named Victor Morales, CEO of USAGM, and the government agency’s special advisor, Kari Lake, in their suit. They also cited President Trump’s longtime displeasure with the news coverage disseminated by USAGM networks worldwide. 

Additional story at: 

https://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/headlines/voice-of-america-fights-its-way-back?utm_term=A8208372-8B15-4B60-A12B-B5B02339D50A&lrh=5fe29bca13dc3e17fdcf1cf80df5f0574faf550d6593cce4d12e8d4836f3656a&utm_campaign=0028F35E-226C-4B60-AC88-AB2831C8A639&utm_medium=email&utm_content=BAFF1B03-6CF4-4579-B941-6AEB57163E6C&utm_source=SmartBrief

Tiny URL https://tinyurl.com/2epb56eh

RFE/RL Back in Business

"

"This is an encouraging sign that RFE/RL’s operations will be able to continue"

By RW Staff

Published: March 27, 2025, Updated: March 28, 2025

Update: On Friday March 28, RFE/RL said it was still awaiting the promised funds described below. “Until then, we will pursue all necessary legal remedies to ensure that Congressional intent is respected,” it said in a release.

The U.S. Agency for Global Media has rescinded its letter terminating RFE/RL’s grant agreement for fiscal  2025. “The agreement is therefore back in effect,” RFE/RL said in a press release.

According to the website The Hill, the Trump administration restored funding for both Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the Open Technology Fund after the groups sued. The Hill reports that the judge will hold a hearing Monday if the agreement falls through.

(Radio World)

The future for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty ??

 

Novinky, March 16th, 1318, translation of Czech:

 

Lipavský would be in favor of financing Radio Free Europe from European money

 

The European Union should consider taking over the financing of Radio Free Europe after the Donald Trump administration no longer wants to pay for the station's operation. Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský said this on Sunday in a discussion program on Czech Television.

We have to think in Europe about whether we want Radio Liberty to continue," the minister said. He added that he wants to discuss this with the foreign ministers of the EU countries in the coming days.

According to the minister, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), which is based in Prague, needs about three billion crowns a year to operate. According to Lipavský, the station's broadcasts are "an anchor for many democratically minded people" in a number of countries, such as Iran, Russia and Afghanistan.

On Friday, the US president (Donald Trump) ordered several agencies, including the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which funds the station, to limit their activities "to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law." He justifies the restriction by reducing the federal bureaucracy.

 

Gift to enemies

The station's chief executive, Stephen Capus, called the move "a huge gift to America's enemies." "As a result of this move, up to 50 million listeners in closed societies who depend on us every week for accurate news and information will not have access to the truth about America and the world," Capus said. "The demise of RFE/RL after 75 years would be celebrated by autocrats in Moscow and Minsk," he added.

In addition to RFE/RL, the changes will also affect Radio Voice of America, whose employees have already received a message not to go to work.

 

https://www.novinky.cz/clanek/domaci-lipavsky-by-byl-pro-financovani-radia-svobodna-evropa-z-evropskych-penez-40513245

(Mike Barraclough UK/BDXC) 

Additional post:

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský plans to discuss with his EU counterparts, at a meeting on Monday, the continuation of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), which will no longer be funded by the US administration. "It is in Europe's interest for these broadcasts to continue," the Czech foreign minister said. For her part, MEP Danuše Nerudová wants to discuss the future of the Prague-based media outlet at a meeting of the European Parliament.

"It is in Europe's interest for such broadcasts to continue," Lipavský said, emphasizing that RFE/RL supports democratic forces in Eastern Europe and Asia.

Additional text: https://www.facebook.com/Radiosdumonde/

Kyrgyzstan Seeks To Close US-funded Radio Station

 

By AFP - Agence France Presse

Kyrgyzstan is seeking to shut down the local service of US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty over a report on last year's fatal clashes with Tajikistan, the authorities said on Monday.

The culture ministry said it had filed a lawsuit to shut down award-winning Radio Azattyk, one of the main media outlets in the Central Asian country.

The former Soviet republic enjoys relative freedom of speech compared to other countries in the region but rights groups have repeatedly denounced growing pressure on the media.

A representative of the culture ministry confirmed to AFP that a lawsuit had been filed.

Earlier in the day, Azattyk said the radio station was in hot water over its refusal to remove a video about last year's deadly clashes between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in September, in which around 100 people died.

Azattyk has nearly two million subscribers on its Youtube channel. It regularly reports on the political opposition and investigates alleged corruption.

Additional story at: 

https://www.barrons.com/news/kyrgyzstan-seeks-to-close-us-funded-radio-station-01674484808

Central Asia in Focus: Attacks on RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service

 

Attacks on RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service, Kazakhstan oil exports, human rights in Turkmenistan, Kyrgyz-Tajik ties, elections in Turkmenistan, and more.

What's Happening in the Region

Rights Groups Call on Kyrgyz Authorities to Stop Attacks on RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service

The Civic Solidarity Platform condemns the Kyrgyz government's actions against RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service, known locally as Azattyk.

Kyrgyz authorities have blocked Azattyk’s Kyrgyz and Russian websites since late October.

On October 31, Kyrgyzstan’s Demirbank froze Azattyk’s bank account.

Kyrgyz authorities said the reason for blocking Azattyk’s websites was RFE/RL’s refusal to remove a video from RFE/RL’s Russian-language TV channel Current Time about the September fighting along the Kyrgyz-Tajik border.

Demirbank said the decision to freeze Azattyk’s bank account was done at the request of the State Committee for National Security (UKMK).

Additional story at: https://pressroom.rferl.org/a/32229340.html

New Chief at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Is a Hopeful Sign for Much-Needed Leadership Change

Helle Dale, 19 July 2019

The announcement of new leadership at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty could signal the beginning of a new era in U.S. international broadcasting.

Last week, foreign policy specialist and German Marshall Fund senior fellow Jamie Fly was appointed Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s new president, a choice that bodes well for the mission and for management of the Prague-based media operation.

Story link from Radio World: https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/07/19/new-chief-at-radio-free-europe-radio-liberty-is-a-hopeful-sign-for-much-needed-leadership-change/

Unprecedented international audience growth to 278 million

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Broadcasting Board of Governors today released its annual impact numbers which show the agency had its largest ever increase in its weekly worldwide audience to 278 million people, up from 226 million in 2015. These increases occurred across all platforms with digital platforms seeing the largest percentage growth, followed by radio and television.

"The unprecedented growth we've seen this year further illustrates the need for U.S. international media particularly in parts of the world where access to balanced, impartial news is severely limited or non-existent," said BBG CEO and Director John Lansing. "In media markets increasingly dominated by disinformation and propaganda, more and more people are turning to BBG networks for fair, accurate, fact-based reporting."

The increases include gains in highly competitive media markets that are of strategic importance to the United States. Digital audiences increased from 32 million to 45 million while those for radio rose by 27% to 130 million. Television audience also grew, increasing 23% to 174 million.

In addition to weekly audience size, the BBG measures its impact using quantitative, qualitative, digital and anecdotal data on a wide range of factors including program quality and credibility, engagement with the news process, and audience understanding of current events. Key accomplishments include:
MBN's Raise Your Voice-Iraq developed new television programs encouraging Iraqis to share their thoughts and opinions on extremism and the underlying causes of terrorism. This programming provides firsthand accounts of the realities of life under ISIL, including the pain and suffering of families and communities.

RFE/RL and VOA actively engaged online in providing alternatives to Russian disinformation. In FY 2016, RFE/RL's DIGIM, the social media arm of Current Time, received 120,000 average weekly engagement actions on Facebook and VOA Russian averaged 45,000 per week.

VOA and RFA increased their social media outreach in Southeast Asia with huge gains in video viewing and engagement on Facebook and YouTube. VOA Vietnamese averaged 2.7 million video views weekly on YouTube, and RFA averaged over 600,000.

OCB hosted a two-day conference on internet freedom in Cuba. The event convened a broad spectrum of digital innovators and independent journalists from Cuba and elsewhere to exchange ideas and provide important information about the state of the internet in Cuba.
(VOA/photo via VOA)

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty slashes summer schedule

BBG
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) cancelled all transmissions in the following languages; Avari, Belarussian, Kabardian, Russian, and Russian Caucasus Echo on June 26, 2016.

Current sked:

All times UTC

Avar ? / Adyghe / Chechen
0400-0420 daily Cau 7270lam, 9520bib
1600-1620 daily Cau 11780bib, 11815lam
Tajik
1400-1600 daily TJK 7475udo, 15450wof
1600-1700 daily TJK 7475erv, 11910lam
Turkmen
1400-1500 daily TKM 9740kwt, 15255wof
1500-1600 daily TKM 9740kwt, 15255wof
Uzbek
1400-1500 daily UZB 13630udo, 15180lam
1600-1700 daily UZB 9390udo, 11790bib
(Top Nx 1259/07 Jul 2016)

Masters of bad timing: BBG to eliminate Radio Liberty’s shortwave broadcasts in Russian

Masters of Bad Timing
by Ted Lipien

The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), the U.S. federal agency in charge of media outreach abroad, is planning to eliminate all shortwave radio broadcasts in Russian by U.S. taxpayer-funded Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) as of June 26, 2016. Radio programming in Russian by Radio Liberty’s Russian Service will, however, continue 24/7 online on the RFE/RL website. Radio Liberty’s Russian audio will also be available 24/7 on two satellites, Hot Bird and AsiaSat, according to the RFE/RL’s Russian-language announcement. Radio Liberty Russian Service will also continue to use 1386 kHz medium wave radio frequency from midnight to 6 AM and from 9 PM to to 10 PM Moscow time. This frequency can only be heard in some parts of European Russia. The BBG’s other entity, the Voice of America (VOA), has not been using shortwave radio transmissions to Russia since 2008.They were eliminated by the BBG a few weeks before the August 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia. Talk about bad timing.

I have always said that we don’t need the CIA. Reliable predictions as to where the next international crisis will happen can be made by looking at program cutting decisions by the Broadcasting Board of Governors. If you look at BBG’s past decisions to cut programming — not just shortwave radio but also entire services and/or satellite television transmissions — they included broadcasts to Russia, China, Tibet, Georgia, and Ukraine. The BBG bureaucracy usually made these decisions a few weeks or months before a major crisis erupted in these countries. They have missed hints of internal repression or external aggression with remarkable consistency. It happens because the BBG has no executives with strong foreign policy and international affairs backgrounds as the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty did during the Cold War. The BBG has been an absolute disaster, a “practically defunct” agency, to use former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s description of the BBG. When she made her comment to Congress in 2013 she herself was an ex officio member of the BBG board.

Additional story at:
http://bbgwatch.com/bbgwatch/masters-of-bad-timing-bbg-to-eliminate-radio-libertys-shortwave-broadcasts-in-russian/

BBG Denounces Harsh Treatment of RFE/RL Baku Journalists

Call for Bureau Reopening

WASHINGTON - The Broadcasting Board of Governors today called on Azerbaijani authorities to cease their investigations of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) Baku bureau journalists  and to immediately permit the news bureau to reopen.

In the past three days 23 RFE/RL journalists were interviewed by Azerbaijan's state prosecutor's office. A lawyer representing the Baku bureau staff said people were being "dragged" to the prosecutor's office "by force and threats." Another 13 RFE/RL journalists are waiting to be summoned for questioning. Authorities also began to question family members of journalists. The investigations follow the raid and closure of the RFE/RL Baku bureau  on Friday, December 26. In early December, authorities also arrested and jailed prominent Azerbaijani investigative reporter Khadija Ismayilova, a contributor to RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service programming.

"This harsh treatment, including direct threats against our journalists, violates every principle of media freedom," said BBG Chairman Jeff Shell. "We again call on Azerbaijani authorities to permit RFE/RL's Baku bureau to reopen, to halt the investigations and harassment of RFE/RL journalists and their families, and to release Khadija Ismayilova."

In a related development, on December 26 a Baku court heard and rejected Ismayilova's appeal . She remains in prison after being sentenced to two months of pre-trial detention on charges of inciting a colleague to attempt suicide. Reporters Without Borders has called this "the latest example of the appalling harassment to which this trailblazer of investigative journalism has been subjected for years by [Azerbaijan's] government in its drift towards despotism."

RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service is one of the last remaining independent media outlets in Azerbaijan.   Several international organizations that support civil society, including IREX , the National Democratic Institute, and Oxfam have been forced to suspend their operations in Azerbaijan this year.

(BBG/29 Dec)

(earlier post of raid on December 26)

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Baku office raided

WASHINGTON - The Broadcasting Board of Governors today condemned the raid and closure of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Baku office by Azerbaijani authorities.

 Investigators from Azerbaijan's state prosecutor's office entered the RFE/RL bureau on the morning of December 26 accompanied by armed police officers. They searched the company safe, ransacked files and equipment, and ordered staff members to leave the building after holding them in a room for several hours without telephone or computer access. Several staff members later were summoned for questioning.

"This unwarranted action is an escalation of the Azeri government's abusive attempt to intimidate independent journalists and repress free media," said BBG Chairman Jeff Shell. "We call on the authorities to immediately allow RFE/RL to resume its important journalistic work from Baku, and to release investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova."


The government raid comes three weeks after the arrest and detention in Baku of prominent Azerbaijani investigative reporter Khadija Ismayilova, a contributor to RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service programming. Ismayilova was sentenced to two months of pre-trial detention, and if convicted could serve three to seven years in prison. Khadija's arrest has been widely condemned, including by the BBG. Amnesty International has declared Ismayilova a prisoner of conscience, "detained solely for exercising her right to freedom of expression."

"The raiding of our Baku bureau is a flagrant violation of every international commitment and standard Azerbaijan has pledged to uphold" said Nenad Pejic, RFE/RL's editor in chief and co-CEO.  "The order comes from the top as retaliation for our reporting, and as a thuggish effort to silence RFE/RL. This is not the first time that a regime has sought to silence us, and we will continue our work to support Azeris' basic right of free access to information and to report the news to audiences that need it."

"The operation of our bureau is incapacitated in Baku," said Kenan Aliyev, director of RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service. "There has been a long ongoing crackdown on the media and NGOs in Azerbaijan, including the arrest of Khadija Ismayilova, the host of our show and our contributor. We view this as part of this ongoing campaign against independent media."
 
The Broadcasting Board of Governors is an independent federal agency, supervising all U.S. government-supported, civilian international media, whose mission is to inform, engage and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy. BBG networks include the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa), Radio Free Asia, and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (Radio and TV Marti).
(BBG/VOA/photo BBG)

BBG Examines RFE/RL and Shortwave

Ben Rhodes Outlines Role of International Media, Board Examines RFE/RL and Shortwave

WASHINGTON - The Broadcasting Board of Governors met yesterday in Washington, DC, to examine the activities and accomplishments of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and to explore the agency's impact and reach in an increasingly competitive media environment.
In remarks to the Board, Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting Ben Rhodes reiterated the President's commitment to U.S. international media.   He commended the historical legacy of the networks while observing that this is a critical juncture for U.S. international media in an increasingly competitive international marketplace.

Rhodes praised the Board for its strategic vision and emphasized the value of international media, saying the BBG and its networks can "significantly strengthen American foreign policy, increase interest in and understanding of priority issues and open access to information where it may be denied or misrepresented."

"We have the right team in place," he added, referring to the Board, "to make a lasting contribution."

Separately, RFE/RL leadership outlined the network's activities and initiatives in reaching audiences in 28 languages. Nenad Pejic and John Giambalvo, Interim Managers of RFE/RL, led the "deep dive" presentation, which emphasized the network's forward thinking approach to providing unbiased news and information on multiple distribution platforms to regions affected by war, conflict and authoritarian regimes.

RFE/RL executives, editors and journalists participating via video from Prague, highlighted the network's achievements in digital and social media, programming, technology, and impact throughout its broadcast regions.

Discussion covered the network's response to the crisis in Ukraine, including the creation of additional programming, increasing reach through new partnerships, and on-the-scene coverage despite the increasingly dangerous reporting environments.

"I want to commend your efforts to expand the Russian language newscasts," said Rick Stengel, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. "Given the information battlefields we are seeing in Russia and Ukraine, this represents a true realization of your mission."

In addition to the in-depth look at RFE/RL, the Board held a business meeting, which began with an update on recent threats to BBG journalists. The list, BBG Chairman Jeff Shell lamented, is unfortunately growing and includes death threats, injuries and detainment of BBG journalists in Iraq, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Crimea, Ukraine, Vietnam and South Sudan. Shell also noted the upcoming second anniversary of the  disappearance of Alhurra reporter Bashar Fahmi.

Chairman Shell recognized the decades of hard work and dedication of Voice of America's Greek Service, which ended broadcasts on August 11 as well as the 60th anniversary of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service.

During the business meeting, Director of the Office of Strategy and Development, Bruce Sherman presented an overview of the agency's 2014 strategic review process which evaluated outcomes and impacts on a country and regional level.

Governor Matt Armstrong, chairman of the Board's Special Committee on the Future of Shortwave Radio Broadcasting, summarized the recently released report, "To Be Where The Audience Is." The report is the result of a comprehensive review of the efficacy of shortwave radio as a distribution platform for U.S. international media.

A recording of the meeting and related documents are available here.

(BBG)

BBG makes drastic cuts to Voice of America, RFA and RFE schedules

Unfortunate news from the Voice of America: Congress has approved major cuts to US international broadcasting over shortwave. Thanks to Dan Robinson for sharing this significant news. Dan writes:

This news emerging from VOA late Friday:
VOA to end shortwave broadcasts in English and several language services Monday.

Received this late Friday afternoon: "FAREWELL TO SHORTWAVE".

We were informed late Friday that BBG's proposed shortwave cuts for FY2014 have been approved by theCongress. As of the end of the day on Monday, June 30th, all shortwave frequencies for the English News 

programs to Asia will be eliminated. We will no longer be heard via shortwave in the morning (12-16 UT), 

and in the evening (22-02 UT) ... mostly in Asia.

Shortwave frequencies for the following services will also be eliminated:

Azerbaijani, Bangla, English (Learning), Khmer, Kurdish, Lao and Uzbek.

Shortwave being used by services at RFE/RL and RFA are also being cut. Because shortwave has been a cheap and effective way to receive communications in countries with poor infrastructure or repressive
regimes, it was a good way to deliver information. But broadcasting via shortwave is expensive, and its use by listeners has been on the decline for years. At the BBG, the cost vs. impact equation no longer favors
broadcasts via this medium to most of the world.

Important for us is that we will continue to be heard on shortwave frequencies during those hours we broadcast to Africa. Also, we know through our listener surveys that about half of our audience in Asia and the rest of the world listens to us via the web and podcast - so all is not lost.

Let's break the news about this change to our audiences starting Sunday night. I doubt specific frequencies are critical to announce. The important point to make for our listeners is that we encourage their continued 

listening through local affiliates, and on the web at "voanews.com."
(Dan Robinson-USA via Dave Porter G4OYX {ex-VoA / BBC Woofferton site}

Sweeping cuts to VOA, RFE and RFA shortwave services.

Bureaucrats gave listeners little time to learn about shortwave cuts by VOA, RFA, and RFE/RL.

(WWDXC/Top News 1167/29 June 2014)

BBG Watch Commentary

Executives in charge of the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB), which operates radio transmissions for 

the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), have once again shown their contempt for loyal radio listeners of many years, as well as for Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Asia (RFA), and Radio Free Europe / 

Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) journalists and broadcasters who prepare shortwave radio broadcasts, which IBB 

just announced it wants to terminate at the end of the day on June 30, 2014 in a massive and in most cases 

complete cut affecting many countries without free media:

Belarus, Caucasus, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Iraq (Kurdish), Cambodia, Laosand Vietnam.

At the very least, BBG members should intervene and tell IBB executives that they cannot give radio listeners only a day or two to adjust to such a major change. They should also demand that IBB executives show a 

little more respect for managers and journalists at VOA, RFA, and RFE/RL.

All shortwave frequencies will also be eliminated for Voice of America English radio broadcasts to Asia, 

Voice of America's English teaching programs, and VOA programs to Bangladesh.

(additional story at: http://bbgwatch.com/bbgwatch/bureaucrats-gave-listeners-little-time-to-learn-about-shortwave-cuts-by-voa-rfa-and-rferl/

USA   

Voice of America to end shortwave broadcasts in English and several language services. From Monday June 30 all shortwave frequencies for English News programs to Asia will be eliminated. We will no longer be heard via shortwave in the morning 2200-0200 UT and in the evening 1200-1600 UT.

Shortwave frequencies for the following services will also be eliminated:

There are no listings below for additional VOA Asian services including Burmese, Cantonese, 

Chinese, Korean and Tibetan.

All times UTC

Azerbaijani
1730-1800  7435 KWT 250 kW 058 deg to CeAs
1730-1800  9490 BIB 100 kW 080 deg to CeAs
1730-1800 11985 SMG 250 kW 073 deg to CeAs

Bangla
1600-1700  7475 UDO 250 kW 300 deg to SoAs
1600-1700 11850 UDO 250 kW 300 deg to SoAs

English
2200-2300  5895 IRA 250 kW 065 deg to SoEaAS Sun-Thu
2200-2300  5915 UDO 250 kW 018 deg to EaAS   Sun-Thu
2200-2300  7480 KWT 250 kW 058 deg to SoAS   Sun-Thu
2200-2300  7575 PHT 250 kW 270 deg to SoEaAS Sun-Thu
2200-2300 12150 TIN 250 kW 313 deg to EaAS   Sun-Thu
2300-2400  5895 PHT 250 kW 275 deg to SEAs
2300-2400  7480 UDO 250 kW 018 deg to EaAs
2300-2400  7575 PHT 250 kW 270 deg to SEAs
2300-2400 12150 TIN 250 kW 313 deg to EaAs
0100-0200  7425 KWT 250 kW 082 deg to SoAs
0100-0200  9780 IRA 250 kW 356 deg to SoAs
0100-0200 15205 UDO 250 kW 292 deg to SoAs
1200-1300  7575 UDO 250 kW 018 deg to EaAs
1200-1300  9510 PHT 250 kW 283 deg to SEAs
1200-1300 12075 PHT 250 kW 349 deg to SEAs
1200-1300 12150 PHT 250 kW 270 deg to EaAs
1300-1400  7575 UDO 250 kW 018 deg to EaAS   Sat/Sun
1300-1400  9510 PHT 250 kW 283 deg to SoEaAS Sat/Sun
1300-1400 12075 TIN 250 kW 305 deg to EaAS   Sat/Sun
1300-1400 12150 PHT 250 kW 349 deg to SoEaAS Sat/Sun
1400-1500  7575 UDO 250 kW 268 deg to SoAS   Mon-Fri
1400-1500 12110 PHT 250 kW 270 deg to SoAS   Mon-Fri
1400-1500 15490 PHT 250 kW 270 deg to SoEaAS Mon-Fri
1500-1600  7575 UDO 250 kW 268 deg to SoAs
1500-1600 12110 PHT 250 kW 270 deg to SoAs
1500-1600 15490 UDO 250 kW 280 deg to SoAs

English Learning
2230-2300  7460 PHT 250 kW 270 deg to SEAs
2230-2300  9570 UDO 250 kW 018 deg to EaAs
2230-2300 11840 PHT 250 kW 349 deg to EaAs
2300-2400  7460 PHT 250 kW 270 deg to SEAs
2300-2400  9570 UDO 250 kW 018 deg to EaAs
2300-2400 11840 PHT 250 kW 349 deg to EaAs
0030-0100  7425 KWT 250 kW 082 deg to SoAs
0030-0100  9790 KWT 250 kW 078 deg to SEAs
0030-0100 12015 UDO 250 kW 030 deg to EaAs
0030-0100 12150 UDO 250 kW 280 deg to SEAs
0030-0100 15290 PHT 250 kW 349 deg to EaAs
0030-0100 17820 PHT 250 kW 021 deg to EaAs
1500-1600  6140 UDO 250 kW 284 deg to SoAs
1500-1600  7540 PHT 250 kW 270 deg to SoAs
1500-1600  9400 PHT 250 kW 349 deg to EaAs

Khmer
2200-2230  5905 PHT 250 kW 270 deg to SEAs
2200-2230  9320 PHT 250 kW 270 deg to SEAs
1330-1430 11695 IRA 250 kW 073 deg to SEAs

Kurdish
0500-0600 11995 SMG 250 kW 114 deg to WeAS
0500-0600 15560 IRA 250 kW 310 deg to WeAS
0500-0600 17870 BIB 100 kW 085 deg to WeAS
1400-1500 15470 BOT 100 kW 010 deg to WeAS
1400-1500 17870 IRA 250 kW 299 deg to WeAS
1700-1800  7365 BIB 100 kW 105 deg to WeAS
1700-1800  9850 BIB 100 kW 105 deg to WeAS
1700-1800 11995 IRA 250 kW 315 deg to WeAS

Lao
1230-1300 11965 PHT 250 kW 270 deg to SEAs

Uzbek
1500-1530 11810 KWT 250 kW 046 deg to CeAs
1500-1530 11920 SMG 250 kW 073 deg to CeAs
1500-1530 13650 UDO 250 kW 316 deg to CeAs
1500-1530 17600 KWT 250 kW 046 deg to CeAs

Shortwave being used by services at Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia are also being 

cut. (Ivo Ivanov-BUL, via wwdxc BC-DX TopNews June 28)

(Top Nx 1167/WWDXC)

BBG Activities to Continue During U.S. Government Shutdown

Editors Note:
Contrary to earlier reports...the Voice of America IS NOT shutting down due to U.S. government shutdown. This has been reported by various sources in the blogispere
Gayle Van Horn

Core BBG Activities to Continue During U.S. Government Shutdown October 1, 2013

Many parts of the Broadcasting Board of Governors have had to shut down due to a lapse in appropriations for the U.S. federal government, but BBG-supported media are still bringing news and information programs to audiences around the world.

U.S. international media activities under the BBG that are deemed "foreign relations essential to national security," such as news programming and distribution, are excepted from the shutdown and will continue. Information follows on ongoing operations as well as cancellations.

Broadcasting and Distribution of Programming

The networks under the BBG will continue to produce and distribute news and information in 61 languages to audiences in more than 100 countries. This programming from both the federal and non-federal networks will carry on with support from a reduced staff of the International Broadcasting Bureau.

Voice of America (VOA) and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (Radio and TV Martí), along with the grantee broadcasting networks -- Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa) -- will continue programming during the appropriations lapse.

The BBG networks will cover breaking news and high-priority live programming. The current broadcasting distribution schedule will remain in place, while the numbers of support personnel are reduced. Internet and new media operations will continue as necessary for overseas audiences. Further information detailing the agency's operations plan for a lapse in appropriations, along with FAQs can be found here.


Events and Other Activities

The BBG-Gallup Research Briefing planned for October 2 on media use in Mali and Somalia is postponed until further notice.

Updates to the BBG website www.bbg.gov will be limited to information about the shutdown and any other essential notices. Employees can call 202-382-8222 for information on the status of agency operations.

Contractors will continue work unless otherwise notified by their contract officer. Questions concerning contract work should be directed to the Office of Contracts.

For any media questions concerning agency activities during the lapse in appropriations, please contact Letitia King at 202-203-4400 or lking@bbg.gov.
 (BBG/PA)

Radio Farda schedule update

Effective to: 30 Oct 2011

All times UTC

RFE/RL/Radio Farda


Persian
0030-0100 on 1314 1575 5860 5940 7585
0100-0130 on 1314 1575 5860 5940 7295 7585
0130-0200 on 1314 1575 5860 5940 7295 7585 9805
0200-0230 on 1575 5860 7295 7585 9805
0230-0300 on 1575 5860 7280 7585 9805 15690
0300-0330 on 1575 5860 5885 7280 9805 15690
0330-0400 on 1575 5860 5885 7280 9805 11635 15690
0400-0430 on 1575 5860 5885 11635 13810 13860 15690
0430-0530 on 1575 5860 5885 11635 13810 13860 15690 17880
0530-0600 on 1575 5885 7220 11635 13810 13860 15690 17880
0600-0630 on 1575 5885 7220 11635 13810 13860 15690 17845
17880
0630-0800 on 1575 5885 7220 11635 13860 15690 17810 17845
17880
0800-0830 on 1575 5885 7220 13860 15690 17810 17845
0830-0930 on 1575 5885 7220 13860 15690 17695 17810 17845
0930-1000 on 1575 5885 13860 15610 15690 17695 17845
1000-1130 on 1575 5885 7435 13860 15610 15690 17695
1130-1200 on 1575 5885 7435 13860 15690 17695
1200-1330 on 1575 7435 13860 15690 17695 17755
1330-1400 on 1575 7435 13860 15680 15690 17695 17755
1400-1430 on 1314 1575 11520 13860 15680 17695
1430-1500 on 1314 1575 11520 13860 15555 15680 17695
1500-1530 on 1314 1575 11520 15555 15680 17695
1530-1600 on 1314 1575 7585 11520 15110 15555 15680 17695
1600-1630 on 1314 1575 7585 11520 15110 15555 15680
1630-1700 on 1314 1575 7585 9760 11520 15110 15555 15680
1700-1730 on 1314 1575 7585 9760 11520 15110 15680
1730-1830 on 1314 1575 5830 7585 9760
1830-2130 on 1314 1575 5830 7585
2130-0030 on 1314 1575 7585
(DX Mix News 687 via Ivo Ivanov, Bulgaria)

RFE's Pakistan broadcast boosted to nine hours a day

RFE’s broadcasts to the Pashtun regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan have expanded from six to nine hours a day, as of yesterday. Amid the growing number of extremist-controlled radio stations in the region, Radio Mashaal (”Torch” in Pashto) covers local and international news with independent reports on terrorism, politics, women’s issues, and health care. Broadcasts on 621 kHz are now at 0400-1300 UTC. The expanded schedule on shortwave is as follows:

0400-1300 UTC on 12130 kHz
0400-0900 UTC on 15175 kHz
0400-0900 UTC on 15740 kHz
0900-1300 UTC on 12030 kHz
0900-1300 UTC on 15360 kHz
(Source: RFE/RL/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

RFE/RL hit by cyber attack

Several websites run by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) have been hit by an unprecedented cyberattack, making them inaccessible to the outside world. The attack, which started on 26 April, intially targeted the website of RFE/RL’s Belarus Service, but quickly spread to other sites. Within hours, eight RFE/RL websites (Belarus, Kosovo, Azerbaijan, Tatar-Bashkir, Radio Farda, South Slavic, Russian, and Tajik) were knocked out or otherwise affected.
The “denial-of-service” (DOS) attack was intended to make the targeted website unavailable to its users, according to RFE/RL’s Director of Technology Luke Springer. “The way this is normally done is by flooding the target website with fake requests to communicate, thereby using up all [the website’s] free resources and rendering the site useless to all the legitimate users,” Springer said.
RFE/RL has been hit before by denial-of-service attacks, but this attack was unprecedented in its scale, as RFE/RL websites received up to 50,000 fake hits every second.
Springer says this more sophisticated assault is known as a “distributed denial-of-service” attack, in which “the attacker has made use of other machines, distributed its intentions out to other machines, and then all of these machines attack at the same time.”
DOS attacks are difficult to protect against, and the software required to carry them out is available on the Internet.
RFE/RL Belarus Service Director Alexander Lukashuk said he began getting e-mails from frustrated web visitors about two hours after the attack began on 26 April. He noted that the problems began on an important date in Belarus - the 22nd anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe.
Lukashuk said that a large Internet audience was relying on RFE/RL’s Belarus Service to report live on a rally of thousands of people, organized by the Belarusian opposition. The demonstrators were protesting the plight of uncompensated Chernobyl victims and a government decision to build a new nuclear power station.
Other Belarusian websites were also hit, including the Minsk-based nongovernmental organization Charter 97. Since the attacks, many other independent websites in Belarus have carried content from RFE/RL’s Belarus Service.
RFE/RL President Jeffrey Gedmin said he is deeply concerned by the attacks. “If free and independent media existed in these countries where we’re working and broadcasting, we would have no reason to exist,” Gedmin said. “The Belarusians, the Iranians - they all have basically the same objective. They see free information - flowing information of ideas and so forth - as the oxygen of civil society. They’ll do anything they can to cut it off. If it means jamming, if it means cyberattacks, that’s what they’ll do.”
RFE/RL has taken countermeasures and restored full service to most of its Internet sites.
(Source: RFE/RL/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)