Tag Archives: The Voice of America

Radio Waves: Agriculture Supports AM, In-Car Radio Listening, Making Waves, and AI Future at the VOA

Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Dennis Dura, Rich Cuff, and Dan Robinson for the following tips:

Ag Coalition Speaks Up for AM Radio Bill (Radio World)

Access to radio becomes even more important for America’s producers in times of emergency.

Producers of milk, wheat, cotton, sugar, corn, rice and many other farm and ranch products in the United States are speaking up in support of the federal legislation that would require AM radio in new vehicles.

Twenty-five agricultural groups have sent a letter to Capitol Hill endorsing the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act. (Read the letter.)

The National Association of Broadcasters highlighted the letter. It said the bill has 196 cosponsors in the House and 44 in the Senate.

“Our members rely on AM radio and the vital services it provides daily,” they wrote.

“AM radio is a source of weather, commodity and national farm policy updates for our members. Access to radio becomes even more important for America’s producers in times of emergency.” [Continue reading…]

AM/FM In-Car Listening Surges to Pre-Pandemic Norms (Radio World)

Edison Research releases its latest “Share of Ear” data

Pierre Bouvard is chief insights officer for Cumulus Media and Westwood One. This story originally appeared on his blog.

Edison Research’s quarterly “Share of Ear” study is the authoritative examination of time spent with audio in America. Edison Research surveys 4,000 Americans annually to measure daily reach and time spent for all forms of audio.

Since “Share of Ear” has been running continuously since 2015, it affords an opportunity to examine an eight-year view of American audio usage. Here are the major trends:

The proportion of in-car AM/FM radio listening has surged from the prior year to pre-pandemic norms
For all ad-supported audio, the proportion of at-home listening remains elevated
Spoken word is on the rise: All forms of non-music content (News, Personalities/Talk, and Sports) increased strongly during the pandemic; Since then, spoken word growth has accelerated
Podcast shares are up +575% since 2016
Pandora/Spotify ad-supported music streaming shares are down -31% over the same period
AM/FM radio streaming’s audience share is now greater than Pandora/Spotify combined
At a 69% share overall and a massive 85% in-car share, AM/FM radio remains the dominant ad-supported audio platform. [Continue reading…]

Still making waves after 100 years (Mail and Guardian)

South Africa first came into my life as a young boy in Canada for two reasons.

One, I had an uncle who worked for a shipping company. Among other things, the company imported goods from and exported goods to South Africa.

A ship carrying South African tinned pineapple, bound for Montreal, sank in the St Lawrence River in the 1960s. My uncle was involved in the salvage operation, and, as a consequence, my family and many other relatives ate tinned pineapple from South Africa for the next few years — we grew to hate it.

The second reason was radio. My grandfather gave me a shortwave radio when I was about eight years old. One of the distant radio stations that blasted into my bedroom, loud and clear, was Radio RSA (now Channel Africa), the voice of the South African government of the day.

I listened to Radio RSA, as I listened to any shortwave station I could pick up, because it was exotic.

The easiest stations to pick up in those days were from the big broadcasting countries — the BBC, Radio France Internationale, the Voice of America, Radio Moscow and Radio Havana Cuba, to name but a few. Even Albania had a strong-signal broadcaster — Radio Tirana. [Continue reading…]

VOA faces internal backlash over newsroom guidance on use of generative AI to voice news reports (FedScoop)

Journalists at VOA have pushed back on newsroom leadership’s AI policy regarding “synthetic voices,” documents obtained by FedScoop show.

Dozens of journalists and staff at Voice of America are strongly opposed to the state-owned news organization’s plan to use AI-generated synthetic voices, documents obtained by FedScoop show, with employees expressing concerns that the tool could breed mistrust with its audience, cause misinformation to spread and potentially eliminate jobs within the newsroom.

VOA, which has a weekly worldwide audience of approximately 326 million, is the largest and oldest of U.S. government-funded news networks and international broadcasters.

The news organization released internal guidance on the use of artificial intelligence in November, following months of discussions with journalists and labor representatives that stirred up backlash and controversy within the news organization.

FedScoop obtained the new AI guidance as well as a letter of opposition — signed by dozens of journalists within the news organization — that was sent to VOA leadership in October and has not been made public until now.

“We are deeply concerned that a portion of the Artificial Intelligence guidance that the agency is preparing to issue will do more harm than good,” the signed letter said. “Specifically, we object to language that would allow Artificial Intelligence to be used ‘for voicing scripts.’” [Continue reading…]

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VOA Museum ‘Rock the Radio’ fundraiser gala September 22

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(Source: Southgate ARC via Richard Langley)

Event to be held on 74th anniversary of VOA-Bethany Station dedication

Whether you engaged in dance parties in the 50s, sock-hopped through the 60s, or grooved to music of the 70s, chances are that radio provided the music of the moment.

It also meant a lifeline of accurate Voice of America news, features and music for people living in war-torn or oppressed countries.

The National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting in West Chester will host its second annual fundraiser, “Rock the Radio” dinner-and-dance party on Saturday, Sept. 22 from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. at the VOA museum in West Chester. Blue Stone Ivory, Cincinnati’s premier horn-driven classic rock band, will provide music from the Cold War era to help celebrate the 74 th anniversary of the VOA-Bethany Station.

“We’ll have a cocktail reception in the museum, a fabulous dinner and irresistible dance music that will keep people tapping their toes or entice them out onto the dance floor,” said Jack Dominic, museum executive director. “Funds go toward museum renovation to make the first floor accessible to people of all abilities.”

The National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting gala committee. From left, back row: Greg Stevens, Chris Wunnenberg; Jack Dominic; Karl Ulrich. Front row: Patti Alderson and Melinda Zemper

The evening also includes the official opening of the museum’s new main exhibit hall and a private viewing of a Cold War exhibit supported by the U.S. Coast Guard’s alumni association for the USS Courier. The Courier was a floating Voice of America radio station stationed off the coast of Greece near the Panama Canal Zone from 1952-1964. It was tasked to defeat Soviet jamming near VOA target areas and contained a barrage balloon that held its medium-wave antenna aloft.

“Here in the U.S., we remember radio as entertainment, but it was a crucial way the Voice of America communicated throughout World War II and the Cold War to our troops and allies overseas and to people who lived in countries without a free press,” said Ken Rieser, president of the VOA museum board. “We want to recognize our nation’s commitment to tell the truth in media and educate people in countries where media is censored about what was going on in the world.”

Cost is $150 per person or $300 per couple, with various levels of sponsorship available for individuals, businesses and organizations. Sponsors so far include: Patti and Dick Alderson; Barbara and Larry Kellar; Mr. Mechanic; Oak Tree Communications; Sebaly, Shillito and Dyer; and Greg and Diane Stevens; Gary and Dee West; and Chris and Sandie Wunnenberg.

Sponsorship levels are: Platinum, $10,000; Gold, $8,000; Silver, $5000; and Bronze, $1,000. Sponsor recognition ranges run from free gala tickets, inclusion in the printed program, billing in all public relations and signage, recognition from the podium, logo inclusion on the museum website, and tables for 10 guests.

For 50 years, the VOA-Bethany Station transmitted Voice of America broadcasts to countries worldwide that lacked a free press, first in Europe during World War II and to South America during the Cold War. It was decommissioned by the federal government in 1994.

The iconic art deco building has been developed into the National VOA Museum of Broadcasting with the help of the entire community, mostly with volunteer labor. The Smith Family Foundation recently awarded the museum a $5,000 grant for education, event programming and exhibit development.

The museum is open Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. at 8070 Tylersville Road. Museum general admission is $5 for adults and $1 for children. The museum recently added three new docents, but is still accepting more docent volunteers.

For more information about gala sponsorships, tickets, or to volunteer, email [email protected] , call Dominic at (513) 777-0027, or go to www.voamuseum.org.