VOA Provides Expert Analysis, U.S. Position on Ukraine Peace Talks in Jeddah
VOA Russian and Ukrainian's comprehensive coverage of the Ukraine peace talks in Saudi Arabia featured interviews with U.S. experts and officials, including NSC Director of Strategic Communications John Kirby. Local media cited VOA's exclusive interview 36 times, including mentions by Ukrayinska-Pravda, Liga.net and Censor.net, while VOA’s Russian, Spanish and English teams also shared the interview. Kirby said the Biden Administration doesn't expect "tangible deliverables" from the talks, but rather a continuing discussion on President Zelenskyy's “peace formula" for ending the conflict. VOA reporters reacted to the summit while reporting from Brussels, the White House and State Department. Analysts told VOA they welcomed China's participation in the conference but noted Russia is not interested in accepting Zelenskyy's peace plan.
VOA Urdu and Deewa Coverage of Imran Khan’s Arrest Generate Millions of Views
Audiences in Pakistan and beyond tuned into social media platforms of VOA Urdu and Deewa services in significant numbers for comprehensive information about the arrest of Pakistan’s former prime minister, Imran Khan. The two services’ combined coverage included Facebook Live reports from the trial scene, an interview with a high-ranking government minister, a member of Imran Khan's legal team, experts and observers closely monitoring the case. One VOA Urdu report analyzing the arrest alone garnered 1.5 million views, whereas VOA Deewa's FB weekly views surpassed 11 million views.
VOA Interviews Niger's Ambassador as Country Undergoes Military Coup
As the situation in Niger continues to evolve, diplomatic pressure by the regional and international community has mounted to restore Niger’s democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum. In the midst of it all, Niger's Ambassador to the U.S. Mamadou Kiari Liman-Tinguiri spoke to VOA via Skype on August 1 in English, French and Hausa. Liman-Tinguiri said that Bazoum remains the legitimate president and the coup has to fail. While the French interview generated more than 40K Facebook views within five hours, the interviews in English, French, Hausa and Bambara generated a total of more than a quarter of a million views over four days.
VOA Spanish's In-Depth Trump Indictment Coverage Draws 570K+ Views
VOA Spanish's comprehensive team coverage of former President Donald Trump's four-count federal indictment, focused on an attempted overturn of the 2020 election, captivated Latin American audiences. Amid heightened security, journalists reported from the court where Trump pleaded not guilty. Reporters provided real-time updates and reaction from supporters and critics of the former President. The ‘Las Claves’ explainer detailed the charges, and Foro offered expert analysis. The coverage garnered 570K+ views with four reporters responding to 122 live and pre-taped affiliate requests on August 2 and August 3, showcasing VOA's comprehensive reach and impact.
VOA Mandarin Draws Torrential Audience Engagement on China’s Flood Response
“Our party is busy preventing people from uploading videos on the Internet,” wrote a viewer in the comments of VOA Mandarin’s digital platforms in response to the service's coverage of Beijing’s response to Typhoon Doksuri’s devastating impact. Residents told VOA that local leaders are “engaged in vanity projects while neglecting disaster readiness.” While one Twitter video of traumatized residents alone received 270K views (August 4 - August 7), a viewer thanked VOA Mandarin for “highly professional, detailed” expert analysis of the disaster and Beijing’s diversion of floodwaters to save the capital, which generated 148K+ YouTube views (August 4 - August 7).
VOA Persian’s Special on Jamshid Sharmahd Engages the Audience
VOA Persian produced a special program about Jamshid Sharmahd, a German-Iranian journalist and software engineer residing in the U.S., who was abducted during a stopover in Dubai by agents of the Islamic Republic. He has been sentenced to death. Siamak Dehghanpour interviewed Sharmahd's daughter Gazelle and U.S. Congresswoman Norma Torres (CA-35). Kambiz Tavana interviewed the family's lawyers, Jason Poblete and Wolfgang Kaleck. Dehghanpour reported on the events of the past three years, Sharmahd’s connection to Kingdom Assembly of Iran, and international efforts to free Sharmahd. From August 3 to August 7, audience engagement surpassed 540,441 on digital platforms.
News Center Investigates Growing Poland-Belarus Tension
Eastern Europe Bureau Chief Myroslava Gongadze traveled to the Poland-Belarus border to report on growing tension after two Belarusian military helicopters entered Polish air space. Anxiety is also rising over the presence of Russia-linked Wagner mercenaries in Belarus, where they have arrived by the thousands since a short-lived mutiny in Russia in June. Poland’s army has now moved additional troops and combat helicopters close to the border. Myroslava’s television piece attracted over 101K views on YouTube and 10K online since August 4, while her radio interview on Flashpoint Ukraine drew 40K hits since August 3.