European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 24, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse Monday february 24, 1966 the stars and stripes Page 9 Voa broadcasts America to Europe stories and photos by Charlie Bowden Munich Bureau Munich born of an idea mentioned in a speech nearly a decade ago a fledgling radio station that signed on in october has grown into a Beacon that by the end of March could reach a potential audience of More than 26 million people in Western Europe. Says the station s Jingle we re an idea whose time has come we re Voa Europe broadcasts in English from studios in Washington. It first went live by satellite to Paris for re transmittal via pm in october. In january after 25 years of silence the Munich Headquarters came alive on medium wave frequency am 1197 with 300,000 Watts of Power six times As much As the strongest radio station in the United states. Depending on weather conditions the station s Sig Nal can reach As far As England Scandinavia and Rome during its three broadcast times 8 . To noon 2 . To 6 30 . And 1 . To 3 . Director Frank Scott lured from a top level position with Abc radio news says this is Only the beginning. The theory is to have a signal that covers Western Europe in one form or another Scott said. This could mean pm radio medium wave Cable radio Long wave or possibly in the future by direct broadcast satellite. We re in the process of developing that pattern and we optimistically say that yes eventually anybody in Western Europe will be Able to hear it but we can t say exactly when or what the frequency will the voice of America stopped broadcasting to Friendly nations in the 1950s when cuts in funds shut Down that capability in favor of concentrating on putting a signal behind the Iron curtain. Voa broadcasts in 42 languages plus worldwide in English Scott said. But it is primarily on the shortwave band and historically has broadcast to Cap Tive nations not so much the free Western in the 1970s, however a move began among some . Officials toward once again broadcasting to Friendly nations. In a 1977 speech marking the 35th anniversary of voice of America then director Ken Neth Giddens said we must get Back to broadcasting to our Scott in recounting the genesis of via Europe said there was a growing feeling among government officials that the countries in Western Europe were being bombarded with propaganda and disinformation and we were doing very Little to counter it that we really weren t doing anything to Tell them about Amer Frank Scott is on the or from Munich. Ica. There was a feeling that the younger generation did not know that we shared a common sense of values and that we were a very similar Congress first approved the idea of starting Voa Europe in English during the Carter administration but did not fund it until fiscal 1984. Enter Scott with nearly 30 years As a journalist Programmer and broadcaster. His task get the station on the air. But the station actually a network of affiliate stations needed a format and programming and listeners. That meant research if it were to be done right. In the us., if you Start a radio station you need to do reliable of dec five comprehensive Munich every Day that the new via Europe is on the air broadcasting its upbeat message of top 40 music it s also sending another More Subtle message to its potential audience of millions truth. The big difference in stations such As Voa the bbl. Radio free Europe radio Liberty and the Sta Tion radio Moscow is that we re charged with dealing in the truth said via Europe director Frank Scott. Radio Moscow has no such via Europe on the air since october but in plan Ning for nearly five years follows the same Credo adhered to by its big brother the voice of America. The purpose of Voa is to Tell the world about America and to Tell it in All of its facets Good and bad and in All of its Many aspects of society not just one particular aspect Scott said. The former Abc radio vice president discounts As unfounded some criticism that the station is just a propaganda " �1 he maintains that music is the Jelly use to get across the bread and butter message of news and information about America. On Voa we Don t pull any punches we report evenly on events affecting the United slates and the rest of the world he said. We re the Only news Gath ering organization in the United states and one of the few in die world that by Law must be objective news that requirement was formalized by Congress and Madea part of Voa s charter in 1976. Scott said. The succinctly worded charter lists three Basic and overriding principles Voa will serve As a consistently reliable and authoritative source of news which will be accurate objective and comprehensive. Voa will represent America not any single Sci Nikki Miller writes the Dally cultural Calendar. Ment of american society and will present a balanced and comprehensive projection of significant american thought and institutions. Voa will present the policies of the United states clearly and effectively and will also present responsible discussion and opinion on these policies. On Voa Europe subject to the same charter the news is a mix of items generated from its own Small staff and that of Voa one of the largest news gather ing organizations in the world. Sprinkled throughout the news and music on Voa Europe Are Short Ameri Cana items designed to Tell listeners in Western Europe what it s like to be an average american. The programming like that of Voa but on a smaller scale also features commentaries clearly identified As representing the official View of the . Govern ment. A pretty healthy piece of Market research to determine How to get your message across successfully he said. We be taken a similar tack in that we did a major piece of marketing research in Europe to discover How europeans of various Ages and backgrounds think what their interests arc their knowledge of the United states and their attitudes toward the . That gives us a handle on programming needs. What about the . Should we be telling them although the results arc not All in the preliminary research data gave Voa Europe a focal Point. We hear from europeans that they know about new York and a fair amount about Washington and California and Dallas and dynasty but they really Don t know much about average americans Ana that s what they said. They said we d like to know How an average american lives " another finding was that Young europeans apparently Don t realize How much americans Trace their cultural tics to other countries. A lot of europeans think that americans have no cultural lies at All Scott said. They Don t know that we re a country of people from other countries. And even though it might have been 200 years ago we still know that our ancestors came from Ireland or Viet Nam or Germany. That s important and that s part of the Voa Job and always has been. What is America what s it All about Well Tell them that. And we re going to do it with a lot of entertainment and a lot of things that people Here want to a crucial decision made Early in the development of Voa Europe was to stay away from shortwave broadcasting frequencies. We weren t going to be Able to broadcast in Short wave and get Many Western europeans listening to us said Scott. Shortwave is almost an elitist game just As it is in the United Stales. Not Rich people or socially prominent people but a relatively Small group of people who arc fascinated with International broadcasting. So they listen to he estimated that less than 1 percent of the people of a Western country listen to shortwave broadcasts. Voa Europe s audience is apparent at once. Its sound is top 40, its format upbeat and informative its announcers among the Best. Our format is what we would Call in the states a full service contemporary hit radio station although there s nothing quite like it in the slates Scott said. Most full service stations Don t play contemporary hit music they get into the softer sounds. We re playing what is the new term for Rock n Roll or top 40. We re playing the charts but we Are also heavy into news and current affairs rounding out the programming arc specially shows such As american top 40 with Casey Kasum american country countdown with Bob Kingsley Willis Conover s House of sounds jazz and Ray Freeman s love songs. All that makes us full service but the Backbone of our music is contemporary he said. But As another Jingle says we re music and the More is a mixture of news and information sprinkled with Short americana features euro Pean weather information listings of cultural and recreation events and interviews with Well known americans and europeans. From the downtown Munich building that once housed the . Consulate the Voa Europe staff coordinates correspondent activities and makes assignments for reporting in Europe. Also handled from Munich Are negotiations with other governments when necessary to get affiliate stations signed on. Ross Petzing who started with Voa 20 years ago before becoming a career foreign service officer handles much of the planning and coordination for the station s rapidly developing plans for expansion. We re pioneering new ground in the radio Broad cast Field said Petzing and spreading like an Ink much of the new ground is with the abundant and growing use of Cable radio systems in Western Europe. In addition to the Paris pm broadcasts the Munich transmitter and an pm transmitter in Berlin Voa Europe already is on five Cable radio systems in Germany. Other pm stations Are scheduled go on the air soon near Geneva Switzerland and Milan Italy. Negotiations Are under Way for pm transmission from Rome and with Cable systems in Belgium the Netherlands and Norway. We re Only just beginning to scratch the surface for expansion said Scott and we be got the product to do
