The Voice of America (VOA), a dynamic multimedia broadcaster funded by the U.S. Government, broadcasts accurate, balanced, and comprehensive news and information to an international audience.
It started in 1942 as a radio news service for people living in closed and war-torn societies. It has grown into a multimedia broadcast service. VOA now reaches people on mobile devices and Facebook, through Twitter feeds and call-in programs – using the medium that works best for specific audiences.
President Gerald Ford at Voice of America, 1976.
VOA’s work in all languages and platforms is governed by the VOA Charter, signed into law by President Gerald Ford in 1976.
The Charter states, in part, that “VOA will serve as a consistently reliable and authoritative source of news. VOA news will be accurate, objective, and comprehensive.” That is why we feature those words on the VOANews.com banner. The Charter also states that “VOA will present the policies of the United States clearly and effectively, and will also present responsible discussions and opinions on these policies.”
VOA’s journalists also rely our Journalistic Code, which lays out the standards for reporting accurate, objective, and comprehensive news. The Code establishes VOA’s principles and practices for “sourcing” stories, and ensuring accuracy, balance, fairness, context, and comprehensiveness. All journalistic organizations conform to similar standards.
David Ensor, the 28th Director to lead Voice of America.
VOA's current director is
David Ensor, who began in August 2011. He joined VOA as its 28th director after an extensive career in journalism and communications.
There is information about VOA's senior managers in our Key Executives section, and you can check the History section for the names, dates of service, and photographs of all VOA’s Directors, beginning with John Houseman in 1942.