VOA's+News+and+Information+Critical+to+U.S.+interests

VOA's News and Information Critical to U.S. Interests, Director tells congress

The Voice of America (VOA) which first went on the air in the year 1 942. The Voice of America is a multimedia international broadcasting service that is funded by the United States government and the broadcasting board of governors. The Voice of America is the largest United States international broadcaster reaching about 134 million people weekly, broadcasting approximately 1,500 hours of news, information, educational, and cultural programming every week. Programs on the Voice of America are produced in over 45 languages over the internet, radio, and television. The Voice of America’s director Dan W. Austin told c ongress while testifying before the United States House Committee on Foreign Relations’ subcommittee on Europe, that the Voice of America is a good investment for the United States taxpayers. Dan W. Austin believes that the Voice of America remains critical to U nited States interests and safety because it allows international audiences **to slice through the noise of high-pitched propaganda and the murkiness of misinformation and or disinformation** that makes up so much of the world’s media these days. President Obama has made international broadcasting a top priority for American F oreign policy makers, and it is imperative that c ongress provide additional funding and resources to give the United States international broadcasters the tools they need to ensure the free flow of information according to Robert Wexler, D-FLA., subcommittee chairman. This hearing comes at a critical time as the world’s most repressive regimes, in place such as Iran and North Korea are still in power.

**Criteria for Evaluation** - You have made an appropriate choice of reading matter that relates in some way to your research project. Where was this published? When was it written? - Your precis offers a specific summary of the key arguments, information and ideas. Certain passages are not clear-- what is meant by the US international broadcasters? - You have followed the guidelines about writing a precis. Several passages are not written in your own voice. - The quality of the writing is perfect with no spelling, usage or grammatical errors + 5. Your precis is about 250 - 400 words in length.

GRADE: C