Steve Herman

Well, yes and no, I would say. We went on the air in the early days of World War II. And, of course, you could actually be in the United States, turn on your radio, and you could hear the broadcast from Berlin about how the Germans were winning every victory and they were the greatest people on the planet and they were going to liberate the world.

VOA came on the air saying, whether the news is good or bad, we're going to essentially tell you everything. what it is like it is, which was a radical concept at the time because most state-funded broadcasters around the world, possibly with the exception of BBC, were propaganda outlets. That's what they were designed to do. And so VOA was very unique and unusual in that regard.

VOA came on the air saying, whether the news is good or bad, we're going to essentially tell you everything. what it is like it is, which was a radical concept at the time because most state-funded broadcasters around the world, possibly with the exception of BBC, were propaganda outlets. That's what they were designed to do. And so VOA was very unique and unusual in that regard.

VOA came on the air saying, whether the news is good or bad, we're going to essentially tell you everything. what it is like it is, which was a radical concept at the time because most state-funded broadcasters around the world, possibly with the exception of BBC, were propaganda outlets. That's what they were designed to do. And so VOA was very unique and unusual in that regard.

It's like, we're going to build credibility by getting people to believe that what we're putting out on the airwaves has some credibility, that it's true. Now, VOA was under the Office of War Information, which was under wartime censorship conditions. So the VOA reporters weren't just free to put on the air anything that they wanted.

It's like, we're going to build credibility by getting people to believe that what we're putting out on the airwaves has some credibility, that it's true. Now, VOA was under the Office of War Information, which was under wartime censorship conditions. So the VOA reporters weren't just free to put on the air anything that they wanted.

It's like, we're going to build credibility by getting people to believe that what we're putting out on the airwaves has some credibility, that it's true. Now, VOA was under the Office of War Information, which was under wartime censorship conditions. So the VOA reporters weren't just free to put on the air anything that they wanted.

And then after World War II, there was what I call a struggle for the soul of Voice of America, which has continued, I think, since then, about whether there was any need for it, whether it should continue. And with the Iron Curtain descending across Eastern Europe,

And then after World War II, there was what I call a struggle for the soul of Voice of America, which has continued, I think, since then, about whether there was any need for it, whether it should continue. And with the Iron Curtain descending across Eastern Europe,

And then after World War II, there was what I call a struggle for the soul of Voice of America, which has continued, I think, since then, about whether there was any need for it, whether it should continue. And with the Iron Curtain descending across Eastern Europe,

There were lawmakers on Capitol Hill said, hey, you know, we may have some qualms about the government being in the broadcasting business, but as long as it's not targeting the United States, as long as it's not a commercial operation, we'll fund this. And there are historians out there who would say Voice of America, Radio Liberty, Radio Free Europe,

There were lawmakers on Capitol Hill said, hey, you know, we may have some qualms about the government being in the broadcasting business, but as long as it's not targeting the United States, as long as it's not a commercial operation, we'll fund this. And there are historians out there who would say Voice of America, Radio Liberty, Radio Free Europe,

There were lawmakers on Capitol Hill said, hey, you know, we may have some qualms about the government being in the broadcasting business, but as long as it's not targeting the United States, as long as it's not a commercial operation, we'll fund this. And there are historians out there who would say Voice of America, Radio Liberty, Radio Free Europe,

contributed to the bringing down of the Berlin Wall, not only for the news and the information, giving hope to people, but also for putting on programs such as jazz music, which apparently was considered quite subversive if you were listening in communist countries at the time. And of course, it was assailed by those in Moscow, in Beijing, as American propaganda. And it still is.

contributed to the bringing down of the Berlin Wall, not only for the news and the information, giving hope to people, but also for putting on programs such as jazz music, which apparently was considered quite subversive if you were listening in communist countries at the time. And of course, it was assailed by those in Moscow, in Beijing, as American propaganda. And it still is.

contributed to the bringing down of the Berlin Wall, not only for the news and the information, giving hope to people, but also for putting on programs such as jazz music, which apparently was considered quite subversive if you were listening in communist countries at the time. And of course, it was assailed by those in Moscow, in Beijing, as American propaganda. And it still is.

In fact, the people who are celebrating the demise this week of VOA are those in the halls of power, in the autocratic regimes, in Moscow, in Beijing, in Naypyidaw, in Tehran.

In fact, the people who are celebrating the demise this week of VOA are those in the halls of power, in the autocratic regimes, in Moscow, in Beijing, in Naypyidaw, in Tehran.

In fact, the people who are celebrating the demise this week of VOA are those in the halls of power, in the autocratic regimes, in Moscow, in Beijing, in Naypyidaw, in Tehran.

You're not hearing any programming. And most, I think, people in Iran watch VOA. It comes to them via satellite television. A lot of people in Tehran have satellite dishes up to watch it. So there's just a video loop running. There's no programming. It's just a promo.