Voice of America

Alan Heil talked about his book, Voice of America, published by Columbia University Press. The book is about the nation’s largest publicly funded broadcasting network. Voice of America first went on the air during World War II as a short-wave radio propaganda operation, but now it is a multimedia organization that encompasses radio, television and the Internet. Mr. Heil described VOA’s history from its founding to its sixtieth anniversary in 2002, as well as the investigations, political pressures, and restructuring the organization has undergone. During his presentation, he played audio excerpts of VOA broadcasts from around the world, including a program from China a few days before the pro-democracy demonstrations at Tiananmen Square, a weather report from Iraq, and a reporter’s observations on a civil war in Africa. After his presentation the author answered audience members' questions. close