The Business of Radio

hroughout its

history and that of

its predecessors, the

Broadcasting Board

of Governors has

relied on cross-

border radio to

reach audiences across the entire

globe. These days, while it

continues to expand its efforts on

television, online, on social media

and on mobile platforms, BBG

continues to expand its radio

operations and broadcasts more

than one million hours of radio

each year.

Around the world, 102 million

people consume BBG radio

programing from its five networks

– Voice ofAmerica, Radio Free

Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free

Asia, the Middle East Broadcasting

Networks (Radio Sawa) and the

Office of Cuba Broadcasting (Radio

Marti).

AFRICA ISKEY

The overwhelming majority of

BBG’s radio audiences reside in

Africa, where nearly 40 million

people listen to BBG radio

broadcasts per week. Southwest

Asia is next at 18.4 million,

followed by Latin America (15.2

million), East Asia and the Pacific

(12.7 million), the Middle East (10.3

million) and Eurasia (7.3 million).

The growing popularity of FM

radio in Africa has prompted the

BBG to increase its presence in

many countries across the

continent. In sub-Saharan Africa,

for instance, where radio remains

the most popular platform for

accessing news and information,

we are increasing our presence on

FM in major markets. We now own

and operate 19 FM stations across

the region, eleven of which have

been completed since 2011. In

January 2016 we opened the first of

four planned stations in the

Democratic Republic of Congo.

This first station serves the

country’s second-largest city,

Lubumbashi and airs VOA

broadcasts in French and Swahili.

Owned-and-operated FMs have

proven vital to staying on the air in

times of crisis, giving U.S.

international media the ability to

reach audiences in their times of

greatest need. When the Central

African Republic dissolved into

chaos in 2013 and all other radio

stations in Bangui went off the air

for extended periods of time, VOA

continued broadcasting via a secure

generator powered transmitter.

Last year, when all independent

stations in Bujumbura were

silenced amid Burundi’s political

crisis, which included violence and

civil unrest, VOA’s FM in

Bujumbura stayed on and served as

one of the only sources of news in

Kirundi, the local language. In such

a situation, the importance of

accurate news and information in

your local language cannot be

overstated, and I am proud of

VOA’s ability to leverage FM radio

to this end.

REACH IS GROWING

Across the continent, BBG is

increasing the reach of VOA and

Radio Sawa programmes. New

transmitters in Nouakchott,

Mauritania, Gao and Timbuktu in

Mali, as well as revamped FM

streams in Liberia, Sierra Leone,

Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso, are

making VOA programmes

available to millions of new

listeners. In Iraq, the Middle East

Broadcasting Networks’ Radio

Sawa is part of a multi-platform

initiative called ‘Raise Your Voice’

that enables ordinary people to

comment, discuss, and

constructively provide Iraqi leaders

with a clear picture of the lives and

hopes of Iraqi citizens.

In and near eastern Chad, MBN’s

Afia Darfur provides 30 minutes of

daily news and information, via

shortwave, focusing on the latest

news from Darfur and the plight of

its internally displaced people and

Darfuri refugees in eastern Chad

and the diaspora.

With the rise of extremist groups

Boko Haram, Al Shabaab, and Al

Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb,

access to credible news and

information is more important than

ever. Africa’s extremist groups have

destabilised major African states,

including parts of Nigeria, Mali

and Somalia, while so-called ISIS

continues its spread across North

Africa. As a matter of U.S. national

security, the BBG is providing

audiences in these countries with

accurate, unbiased news and

information, and our fast growing

radio broadcasts play a crucial role

in this initiative.

ADAPTING

As a 21st century media

organisation we must adapt to

changing audience needs and

preferred platforms, such as mobile

or digital, if we are to maximize our

impact. But radio remains a vital

tool to achieving our mission to

inform, engage and connect people

around the world in support of

freedom and democracy – and

today I am pleased to join AIB in

recognising this fact.

Gabe Joselow,

one of Voice of

America’s

network of

correspondents

in Africa

Across the

African

continent

the reach

of VOA

and Radio

Sawa

continues

to grow

“

”

JOHN LANSING

is is the CEO and

Director of the Broadcasting Board of

Governors, the independent federal

agency that oversees all U.S.

international broadcasting. He joined the

BBG in September 2015 after nine years

as President of Scripps Networks

AFRICA

THE BUSINESS OF RADIO

CELEBRATING RADIO

WORLD RADIO DAY 2016