VOA Russian Lands Exclusive Interview with Zelenskyy’s Chief-of-Staff
In an exclusive interview with VOA Russian, Andrii Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said he expects U.S. deliveries of F-15s and F-16s to Ukraine very soon. He also reiterated that Ukraine should join NATO, saying it is a key factor in ending the war. “I believe NATO needs Ukraine in order to have a new security structure in Europe and in the world," Yermak told VOA. The interview was also used by VOA Ukrainian, garnering more than 18K views, 5.2K interactions and 17 citations in Ukrainian media, including Ukrayinska Pravda, European Pravda and UNIAN.
News Center Question to U.S. Senator Draws Widespread Attention
Eastern Europe Bureau Chief Myroslava Gongadze asked U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) a question during a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine. Senator Graham's response attracted more than 131K views on YouTube and nearly 6K views on Twitter since it was shared on May 27. Responding to VOA about whether the U.S. will support Ukraine’s bid to join NATO, Senator Graham said Ukraine will eventually become part of the alliance and a member of the EU, but for now, the priority is for Ukraine to “evict the invader.” Gongadze traveled in Ukraine from May 17 to May 28, reporting from Kyiv, Dnipro, Vinnytsia and elsewhere.
VOA Turkish and Kurdish Services Generate Significant Traffic on Turkish Election Day
VOA Turkish and Kurdish services covered the second and final round of presidential elections in Turkey with a strong media presence in major electoral battlegrounds. VOA Turkish reporters filed stories from Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep and Mersin, generating 1.3M views on social media platforms. VOA Kurdish’s Sorani Facebook page registered a 39 percent increase in page likes and reached more than 2M followers. The services collaborated with the newsroom and other language services to provide unique multimedia content for social media platforms for the worldwide audiences.
Chinese State Media, Popular Digital Platform Cite VOA Mandarin’s In-depth Reporting on Sino-US Ties
Mandarin’s timely coverage of volatile Sino-American relations – coinciding with news of the arrival of China’s new ambassador in Washington – made a significant impact on Chinese sites. On May 26, the popular QQ.com quoted Mandarin’s analytical piece on the challenges the two superpowers faced even as Ambassador Xie Feng arrived and as the two countries held cabinet-level trade talks seen in part as a bid to stabilize ties. That same week, Chinese news sites such as Sohu, Global Times and Taiwanese newspaper China Times also referred to VOA Mandarin’s report.
Bipartisan Immigration Reform Bill Coverage Draws Nearly 1M Views
Congress introduced the bipartisan "Dignity Act" for immigration reform, offering a legal pathway for select undocumented migrants while including stricter measures and penalties for irregular migration. U.S. Representative María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) and U.S. Congresswoman Verónica Escobar (D-TX), who co-sponsored the bill, spoke to VOA Spanish about the "Dignity Act." Coverage included reports on the bill's provisions, migrant border stories, and reports about the immigration debate returning to Congress and the diverse nationalities and professions of migrants at the US-Mexico border. All of this coverage garnered 939K+ digital platform views between May 21 and 28, while the story about the diversity of migrants at the border generated a total of 86K+ views. The latter was shared by Veneportal and Lasteles.es.
VOA Africa Delivers Exclusive Coverage of the Basketball Africa League for Third Year in a Row
VOA's Africa Division concluded its coverage of the Basketball Africa League’s third season in partnership with the NBA. Coverage included nearly 40 radio and digital broadcasts in English, French, Portuguese, Kinyarwanda and Bambara, along with live play-by-play, video highlights for daily TV shows, 30-minute weekly podcasts in English and French, and on-site reporting from the game venues. This valuable partnership allowed VOA to bring to the forefront the importance of this league on the continent, while highlighting a U.S. big four sport.
High Audience Engagement to VOA Persian's Coverage of Execution of Protesters
VOA Persian’s extensive coverage of the execution of protesters after sham trials drew more than 743,557 audience views between May 22 and May 29 on digital platforms. Two imprisoned female journalists are facing a closed trial, and Guita Aryan reported the State Department’s response. Afshar Sigarchi reported on the continuation of protests amidst prisoners' public execution. Ye-One Rhie, German parliament member and political sponsor of Toomaj Salehi, told VOA, “We must stand united and hold the regime accountable for these executions.” Correspondents delivered live hits from protest locations in Toronto, Germany and Washington, D.C.