VOA Provides multi-media 2008 election night coverage in 45 languages

Washington, D.C., Oct. 29, 2008 - Live reports from Kenya, home of Barack Obama's late father, and Vietnam, where John McCain was imprisoned for seven years, highlight the Voice of America's (VOA) special election programs around the globe November 4. VOA's coverage of the historic election will be available in English and 44 other languages that reach an estimated worldwide audience of 134 million. Comprehensive, multimedia coverage at VOA's new website, USAVotes2008.com, allows people to receive up-to-date news and information and post comments about the race. "The presidential contest of 2008 has riveted people around the world from Azerbaijan to Zimbabwe," said VOA Director Danforth Austin. "Because we broadcast in English and vernacular languages, VOA has the unique ability to deliver news and information about the election, the democratic process and the people of the United States," he said, adding, "We'll be using every technology possible to reach people with the results of this race." VOA's English-language radio and TV will air extensive election coverage, culminating in non-stop simulcast programming beginning at 10:00 p.m. EST (0300 UTC) and running until five minutes past the winning candidate's victory speech. Coverage will include the latest election returns, live
correspondent reports from the McCain and Obama camps and updates on key Congressional and regional races. Audiences in Kenya, Vietnam, and Indonesia, Obama's childhood home, have
shown a particularly keen interest in the race, prompting special VOA programs. On election night, the Swahili service will co-produce shows with Citizen FM and Radio Free Africa in East Africa; the Vietnamese service will fan out across the United States to interview people in Vietnamese communities; and the Indonesian service will participate in a 90-minute panel discussion on Metro TV.

Highlights of VOA language coverage include:

Radio:
- African affiliate stations in Rwanda and Burundi will expand programming from VOA's Kinyarwanda and Kirundi services with a live interactive show involving VOA reporters and RPA-FM in Kigali.
- VOA Kurdish will air an extra hour of programming to Iraq, from 0600 to 0700 UTC Wednesday morning (1:00-2:00 a.m. EST).
- VOA Spanish reporters will conduct live interactives with affiliate stations throughout Latin America.
- VOA Creole will have two live, one-hour interactive broadcasts with Haitian analysts and journalists in Washington and Port-au-Prince.

Television:
- VOA Persian will produce a live election night special 10:30-11:30 p.m. EST (0330-0430 UTC), including guest commentary and analysis, and reports from each candidate's campaign headquarters.
- VOA Albanian will cap a week of special programming with a 90-minute program on the elections, co-produced with Albania's Top Channel and co-hosted by Top Channel's news director.
- VOA Bosnian, Croatian, Macedonian, Serbian, and Ukrainian services will all provide live reports for affiliate stations.
- VOA Indonesian will deliver more than two dozen reports to seven Indonesian national TV networks throughout November 4, along with the 90-minute panel discussion with Indonesia's all-news station Metro TV.
- VOA Cantonese will supply live election updates to Asia TV, serving Hong Kong and southern China.
- VOA's Thai service will report on radio and through Thai TV networks MCOT and True Vision.
- VOA's Urdu service will broadcast election specials with the Pakistan Television Network (PTV), the state broadcaster.

On the web:
- VOA Russian will provide on-camera, hourly updates; blogs from Republican and Democratic headquarters; views and commentaries on how a new president may shape U.S.-Russian relations; and interactive dialogue about the election and process.
- VOA Mandarin will engage audiences through a live web chat with VOA reporters and U.S. experts.

(Press Release)