Free Media Online reports that the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) is preventing the Voice of America from using an AM frequency [810 kHz] in Moscow for its Russian-language radio programes, even though the Russian authorities still allow the frequency to be occupied by VOA. It also says the BBG ignored directives from Congress and terminated all on air VOA Russian radio broadcasts on 26 July, just 12 days before the Russian army attacked Georgia.
The BBG’s plan also called for ending VOA radio programmes to Georgia, Ukraine, India and a few other countries. After the most recent Russian military intervention in the Caucasus, the Voice of America director Dan Austin has asked the Board for permission to temporarily continue VOA radio broadcasts to Georgia and Ukraine. He is said to be also considering asking the BBG to allow him to resume radio broadcasting to Russia, but he faces strong bureaucratic opposition from the Board’s executive director Jeff Trimble and his staff.
on Sep 28th, 2008 at 00:12
I’m surprised it took Free Media Online so long to report on this. VoA has carried pop-music, brief English news and ESL instruction on Moscow’s AM 810 since July 26. VoA’s Russian radio service was completely terminated 11 days before Georgia attacked S.Ossetia.
on Sep 28th, 2008 at 12:51
I would rather say that somebody found another excuse for bashing the voodoo doll called BBG one more time. Aaah, VOA has a mediumwave outlet in Moscow, a good reason for bringing up the matter of the closed Russian service again! Frankly: The campaign starts to become boring.
Btw, did you already know that Radio Liberty has not just 1044 kHz from Kurkino but is also on FM in Moscow, 68.30 MHz from Balashikha, shared with the minor relics of Radio-1? So they can really blame nobody but themselves for their meagre market share of 0.5 percent per average week, as reported here some time ago.
on Sep 30th, 2008 at 01:52
Kai, shhhh!
68.3 MHz is a super-secret frequency that is never announced by RL on the air! It’s not mentioned on their Russian site, either.
You don’t want the Russian authorities to find out about this last voice of freedom right in the heart of the ‘increasingly authoritarian Russia’, do you?