VOA's Deewa Radio Goes on Satellite TV to Pakistan

Deewa Radio, Voice of America's popular Pashto language news service to the volatile border region of north western Pakistan, has launched a new television program that is now being broadcast on direct to home satellite TV.

Here's more info

VOA Deewa Radio on new 621 kHz via Afghanistan

Logged VOA Deewa Radio in Pashto on 621 kHz on 2nd May during check at around 1750 UTC , this is via the new MW transmitter site in Afghanistan located in Tani-Khost (33°19'54.76N, 69°56'10.84E), near airport. A 200 kW Harris -transmitter was installed recently.

Schedule : 0100-0400 & 1300-1900 UTC on 621 kHz in Pashto

However this frequency is still not listed on the VOA schedule page :

http://author.voanews.com/english/about/frequenciesAtoZ_p.cfm

Here's an audio file :

http://sites.google.com/site/alokeshgupta2/deewa_radio_voa_621_1758-1800utc_2may2010r.mp3?attredirects=0&d=1

VOA Boosts Broadcasts Across Pakistan on AM and FM Stations

Washington, D.C., October 13, 2009 - The Voice of America (VOA) is expanding its reach across Pakistan. A new arrangement with Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) now allows VOA to broadcast Pashto language programs on medium-wave (AM) radio and Urdu broadcasts on FM stations for the first time."We're delighted Pakistan's Cabinet has ratified our agreement with PBC," said VOA Director Danforth W. Austin. "This arrangement will allow millions of people in all parts of Pakistan to listen to the VOA's popular news and information programs.

"VOA's Deewa Radio, a Pashto language service for people in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region, is now available on medium wave (AM) at 540 kHz from a transmitter in Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province.From 1800 to 2200 daily, Deewa Radio's AM signal will broadcast news and current affairs programming plus call-in shows on politics, literature and poetry. Deewa, which began in 2006, continues to broadcast nine hours of radio programming daily on shortwave, FM (transmitters located in Afghanistan) and Internet (www.VOANews.com/Deewa/).For the first time, VOA's Urdu language program Radio Aap Ki Dunyaa (Your World) (www.VOANews.com/Urdu) will be heard on the FM band. A 30-minute morning program at 0900 and a 30-minute evening program at 1800 will air on 11 FM stations across Pakistan, including Islamabad and Lahore.VOA's audience is strong in Pakistan, with almost 12 percent of the population listening to or watching Urdu programs. Beyond the Headlines is a 30-minute television program that airs on Geo News, Pakistan's leading cable and satellite TV news channel

(VOA Press Release)

BBG Broadcasters Offer Afghans Unprecedented Access to Candidates in Advance of Presidential Election

Washington, DC, 08/11/2009

Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, reaching the largest combined audience of any radio broadcaster in Afghanistan, are helping Afghans engage with presidential candidates in the lead up to the August 20 presidential election.VOA and RFE/RL, overseen by the Broadcasting Board of Governors, both air in Dari and Pashto and will give audiences unprecedented access to the candidates. RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan is hosting call-in shows where presidential candidates take questions from the audience, and is airing interviews with each of the 41 contenders. VOA's Radio/TV Ashna will also interview the three top prospects, as well as Shahla Atta, one of two women in the running. The BBG broadcasters both produce programming in Dari and Pashto, the most widely spoken languages in Afghanistan.On August 16, RFE/RL plans to co-host with Afghan State TV a debate among presidential candidates including current president and leading contender Hamid Karzai, who has declined to appear in other debates. Radio Free Afghanistan Director Akbar Ayazi will moderate the debate, which will be seen and heard nationwide.Three days of live TV shows from Kabul will cap off VOA's extensive coverage, which also includes live radio shows, while RFE/RL plans 12 hours of live programming around the election, keeping voters informed of the latest developments and analyzing them as they happen.Broadcast media are critical sources of information for the largely rural and illiterate people of Afghanistan. TV has expanded dramatically since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, but radio remains the nationwide medium of choice for daily news. Only word of mouth, with Afghans turning to friends, family, and tribal elders, rivals radio as a source of information.VOA and RFE/RL are also highlighting the views and opinions of ordinary Afghans both within and outside the country. VOA will host a series of six talk shows broadcast from Kabul University and from a camp for internally displaced Afghans, and will feature reports from remote locations throughout Afghanistan. In-depth coverage has been examining topics from the role of religious leaders to the effect of young voters.In addition, VOA's Deewa Radio, targeted at the Afghan-Pakistan border region, will report the attitudes of the two million Afghan refugees in Pakistan who are ineligible to vote, as well as the perspectives of Afghans living in the United States.VOA's Persian News Network and Arabic-language Alhurra TV have sent reporters to Kabul to cover the election for viewers in the Middle East, and broadcasts in many other languages will also focus on the election.VOA and RFE/RL broadcast to Afghanistan a combined 24 hours a day on radio in Dari, Pashto and Special English, and VOA broadcasts an additional 6 hours a week on television. The programs are also available online. VOA and RFE/RL broadcasts reach over 56% of Afghans each week, almost 10 million people.VOA also operates Deewa Radio with nine hours daily of live Pashto-language programming targeted at the Afghan-Pakistan border region.

(BBG Press Release)

RFE/RL & VOA to Expand Reach into Afghanistan-Pakistan Border Region

Washington, DC, 06/25/2009

Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) will receive additional resources to expand critical radio broadcasts to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region as part of the $106 billion emergency war bill signed today. With the exception of VOA's Radio Deewa, little independent news and information is available in the volatile border region. Extremist radio stations have proliferated in recent months, and the new programs will bolster current U.S. efforts to provide an alternative source of independent news and information to the Pashto speaking people in Pakistan. The expanded programming of Radio Deewa, and new programming from RFE/RL's Radio Azadi, will feature a wide range of news, political, and cultural programs with call-in shows and content geared toward women and youth. Programs will be distributed via shortwave, FM and the Internet. "Radio is a powerful medium. Extremists encouraging violence understand this," said D. Jeffrey Hirschberg, of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) which oversees both VOA and RFE/RL. "Our broadcasts are an antidote to such extremism and we are grateful for the opportunity to expand our programs. They will be central to providing an alternate view, one based on accuracy and balance, which is generally absent from local media."About Deewa Radio Created in October 2006, Deewa Radio targets an estimated 35 million Pashto-speaking people in Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan, including the NWFP where some 2.5 million people have been displaced as Pakistani military battle Taliban fighters. Deewa also reaches Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Baluchistan.Earlier this month, Deewa Radio added three hours of programming in the morning to complement the six hours of evening news and information broadcasts. In addition to news, programs include information about health, shelter, social issues, education, science and culture. The program provides a lifeline to Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in camps and elsewhere. Up to 300 people per day routinely call in to Deewa Radio programs. VOA also reaches millions of people daily through its popular radio and TV Ashna in Dari and Pashto, as well as its Urdu radio program Aap Ki Dunya and Beyond the Headlines Urdu television program. About Radio Azadi RFE/RL will launch a new radio program for the Pashto-speaking people of Pakistan, complementing VOA's existing programming to the volatile region. This expands RFE/RL's existing Afghan service, Radio Azadi, the most popular radio station in Afghanistan which reaches more than 50% of the adult population withprograms in Dari and Pashto. It was launched in 2001 as part of an effort to build a peaceful and democratic Afghanistan following the ouster of the Taliban.

(BBG Press Release)

VOA Expands broadcasting to war-torn Pakistan border region

Washington, D.C., June 3, 2009 – Deewa Radio, the Voice of America’s (VOA) popular Pashto service broadcast to the war-torn Pakistan- Afghanistan border region, is expanding to nine hours daily starting Saturday, June 6, 2009. “The time is right to add three more hours to Deewa’s original programming,” said Steve Redisch, VOA’s executive editor. “Deewa is often the only source of accurate news and information for the millions of people living in Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) and elsewhere. They rely on us daily for basic information.” Created in October 2006, Deewa is aimed at an estimated 40 million Pashto-speaking people in Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan, including the NWFP where some 2.5 million people have been displaced as Pakistani military battle Taliban fighters. Deewa also reaches Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Balochistan.Along with news, Deewa provides information about health, shelter, food, social issues, education, science and culture. The program reaches people in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps and elsewhere. Up to 300 people routinely call in to Deewa during shows.“Deewa is full of information,” said Syed Inam Rahman of the Centre for Media and Communications, International Islamic University of Islamabad, Pakistan. Rahman estimated the majority of people in Charsadda and Peshawar districts listened to Deewa regularly. The newest block of programs will focus on news and current affairs, including regional and international news, reports from a network of more than 20 local free-lance journalists, segments on Muslims in America and on youth, a world press round-up and interviews with significant personalities. The second hour will be a topical call-in show featuring a wide variety of issues affecting those in the targeted region. The final hour will be a repeat of the previous day’s morning call-in show, until July 4, when it will become a live news and current affairs program. Deewa Radio is distributed on shortwave, FM, and by the Internet at www.VOANews.com/Deewa.

(VOA Press Release)

Frequencies :

VOA DEEWA Radio in Pashtun:

1200-1300 9780 IRA 340

1200-1300 9380 UDO 311

1200-1230 9310 KWT 070

1200-1300 7495 IRA 340

1230-1300 9310 UDO 300

1300-1500 9780 IRA 340

1300-1800 9380 UDO 311

1300-1700 9310 IRA 334

1300-1800 7495 IRA 340

1500-1700 9780 UDO 300

1700-1800 9780 WER 090

1700-1800 9310 KWT 078

ADDITIONAL transmissions from UTC June 7 :

0000-0230 12015 KWT 078

0000-0100 11535 KWT 078

0000-0230 9380 IRA 334

0100-0200 11535 IRA 332

0200-0300 11535 UDO 300

0230-0300 12015 UDO 297

0230-0300 9380 IRA 332

(Dragan Lekic via DXLD)