VOA Broadcasting in Kurdish
VOA’s Kurdish Service reaches its audience on radio, television and the Internet. In addition to shortwave and AM, the programs air on FM affiliates in several cities in Iraq (Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Kirkuk, Mosul, Baghdad, and Basra). VOA Kurdish also produces video reports that are streamed on both of its websites (Kurmanji and Sorani). The service’s audience consists of more than 30 million Kurds living in the Middle East and Eurasia and approximately one million Kurds living in Europe and North America. Audience research indicates that the broadcasts are popular among listeners in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.
Quick Facts
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Established: April 1992 Target Area: Iraq, Turkey, Iran and Syria Weekly Audience: 2.8% of Iraqis overall and 14.9% among Kurdish speakers Radio Programming: 10 hours/day on week days and 6 hours/day on weekends. TV Programming: 2 hours, 40 minutes per week
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Programs and Features
TV
Kurd Connection – A 30-minute television/web program airing on Tuesdays and Fridays through affiliate NRT in Northern Iraq. It includes a roundup of news-related material and features of interest to the Kurdish region. The program is also distributed via the web and YouTube.
Washington Eye – A 40-minute weekly program airing on Wednesdays through affiliate NRT in northern Iraq. It presents Washington’s viewpoint on regional and global developments.
Kurdvision -- A 30-minute weekly TV show airing through Ozgur Gun TV based in Diyarbakir Turkey. It is a roundup of news-related material and features of interest to the Kurds in Turkey. Video reports and on-camera interviews from the show are also streamed on both Sorani and Kurmanji Kurdish dialects websites.
Mêvan û Mijar "Guest & Topic" – a biweekly magazine TV show for web focusing on current affairs of the Kurdish region and the U.S.
Rojev "Agenda" -- a biweekly magazine TV show for web focusing on topics related to Iran and its minorities, such as Kurds, Arabs, Baluchis, etc.
Radio
The daily radio shows offer extensive regional and international news coverage, interviews with experts and newsmakers, stringer reports, panel discussions with Kurds in the greater Middle East and in the diaspora, and call-in shows that link listeners with guests who discuss topics of interest. The shows also include special features that focus on life in America, the Kurdish diaspora, youth issues, health literature and culture, women’s issues, science and technology and the economy.
Hello Washington on Friday – A 30-minute weekly current affairs program with expert guests taking calls from the Middle East and other areas of the world.
Three 30-minute call-in shows: We and Politics on Mondays, Dimensions of the Current Developments on Wednesdays, and With the Events on Thursdays.
Life with Culture – A weekly 30-minute arts and culture radio/web program airing on Sundays in Sorani dialect.
Deng U Reng (Sound and Color) – arts and culture feature in the Kurmanji dialect.
Rawanga (View) -- a roundtable discussion on Iran and Kurds in that country.
Tirej -- focuses mainly on Turkey Kurds and Syria in Kurmanji dialect.
Sense & Stance – a call-in program specifically on Syria.