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Many thanks to SWLing Post friend and contributor David Goren, who produced this wonderful BBC Sunday Feature documentary, The Music Man for Africa.
The program explores the remarkable life of Leo Sarkisian, the legendary Voice of America broadcaster who spent decades traveling across Africa (and beyond) with a massive tape recorder, documenting traditional music and sharing it with the world through Music Time in Africa.
If the BBC is geofenced in your part of the world, you can also listen via SoundCloud here (note that it may require a SoundCloud free account to listen):
View of the Capitol Building from the roof of the Voice of America on 330 Independence Ave., S.W.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dennis Dura, who shares this Radio World report on a proposed U.S. congressional spending bill that would include continued funding for the Voice of America and its parent agency, the U.S. Agency for Global Media. The bipartisan proposal would allocate roughly $653 million to support VOA’s international broadcasting mission and related services, signaling congressional backing for global news and information distribution even as the bill still must clear final approval: https://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/business-and-law/proposed-congress-spending-bill-includes-voa-funding
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Richard Cuff, who highlights a recent Reuters report on Radio Free Asia’s plans to resume Korean-language broadcasts aimed at reaching listeners in North Korea after a period of reduced operations.
Radio Free Asia intends to restart weekly radio programming later this month alongside its revived digital content–a move that underscores the ongoing effort to provide uncensored news to audiences where such access is otherwise severely limited.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor David Iurescia, who shares this article from Radio Taiwan International highlighting how RTI’s Spanish and Japanese shortwave programs have placed in global listener polls, with the Spanish service especially popular across dozens of countries and the Japanese service recognized at Japan’s largest amateur radio event. Read the full article here: https://www.rti.org.tw/en/news?uid=3&pid=186281
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor David Iurescia, who shares an article from Radio Prague outlining how Radio Farda continues to report on protests in Iran despite aggressive censorship, internet blackouts, and significant risks to journalists and sources on the ground. Operating from Prague as part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Farda works creatively and persistently to gather and verify information under extremely challenging conditions, providing independent Persian-language reporting that remains a crucial lifeline for audiences inside Iran—and an important window for listeners and readers around the world.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor David Iurescia for the tip:
Working with commercial broadcasters, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Persian service Radio Farda has resumed shortwave broadcasts aimed at Iran, providing an alternative to state-controlled media amid an ongoing internet blackout imposed by the Iranian government. The return to shortwave is intended to help listeners inside the country continue receiving independent news and vital information at a time when digital access is restricted. Read more here: https://about.rferl.org/article/radio-farda-returns-to-shortwave-bypassing-irans-digital-blackout/
50 years ago, Voice of America broadcasts could be found all over the shortwave dial.
In addition to a number of transmitter sites located stateside, the VOA used to broadcast from a number of other facilities located in overseas countries in order to help get its signal into all corners of the globe. Many of these “relay” stations made for challenging DX catches and there was even an award offered by NASWA to those providing sufficient proof of reception of them all. An example of this can be found on this link: https://k5nd.net/2011/06/voice-of-america/
The familiar tune of Yankee Doodle (heard at the beginning and end of a transmission) along with station ID in English would often include the particular transmitter site in use. Several old recordings of these can be found on my links to these on the Internet Archive.
Technical staff hired to help maintain equipment at overseas facilities were often licensed amateur radio operators. See the attached scans of two QSL cards from amateurs who worked at the station near Monrovia, Liberia.
Most of the various VOA transmitter sites are listed below. Some include links that will lead to related historical information, articles and/or photographs and are well worth exploring.
A year ago, in January 2025, I made a couple of recordings, using remote SDR receivers, of some Voice of America programs being broadcast from their Botswana transmitter site. These have been uploaded to archive.org and can be found here: https://archive.org/details/voa-africa-via-botswana-relay-january-19-2025
Since March 16, 2025, it seems the only former VOA transmitters being used are Greenville, NC (Radio Marti), Tinang, Philippines (Radyo Pilipinas world service), and Wooferton, UK (BBC and others).
Many thanks to SWLing Post friend and contributor David Goren, who produced this wonderful BBC Sunday Feature documentary, The Music Man for Africa.
