Voice of America (VOA) established since 1942 is the United States largest international broadcaster that provides news to over 275m people globally. The channel produces content in 40+ languages for digital, TV and radio platforms. It can be accessed using satellite and cable subscriptions while FM and MW transmissions can be used to receive radio stations. The affiliate stations of network are more than 2,200.

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The comprehensive coverage of news through World War II, Cold War era, and War against terror has been a long journey since the inception of America’s international broadcaster. VOA is a division of U.S. Agency for Global Media. USAGM administers United States’ non-military broadcasting globally and is financed by the Congress under the budgeting of embassies and consulates for external operations. The channel is headquartered in Washington, DC. The tax-payer annual fund of USD 218.5m was allocated to the station in 2016. The weekly programming produced by the agency rose to 1800 hours of radio and television combine. It would then reach to 236.6m employees while the number of staff employed by the stations was around 1,050.

History

All American shortwave stations were under private ownerships before World War II. The networks included International Network owned by National Broadcasting Company (a multi-lingual network that would broadcast in six languages), Corsley Broadcasting Corporation and Latin American International Network owned by Columbia Broadcasting System (a chain of 64 stations operating in 18 countries). FCC in 1939 devised the new policy:

A licensee of an international broadcast station shall render only an international broadcast service which will reflect the culture of this country and which will promote international goodwill, understanding and cooperation. Any program solely intended for, and directed to an audience in the continental United States does not meet the requirements for this service.

World War II

The US government even before the attack by Japanese on Pearl Harbor started to feed commercial shortwave transmitters about the news and war commentary through Office of Coordinator of Information (COI). The initial move was to source the channels on voluntary basis through FIS: Foreign Information Service, however, it later in Dec 1941 after US formally entered the war started direct programming from San Francisco office. Philippines was the first location, followed by Germany on Feb 1, 1942 through launch of “Stimmen aus Amerika” (Voices from America). Sherwood of Foreign Information Service (FIS) was the one who created the term “The Voice of America which formally started its operations on Feb 1, 1942 from 270 Madison Avenue, NY City.

Somewhere in the middle of 1942, OWI: Office of War Information took the control of VOA operations. It reached an agreement with BBC: British Broadcasting Corporation to share medium-wave transmitters in Britain and later expanded its reach into Tunis, Palermo, Italy and Bari after the allies successfully captured those areas. American Broadcasting Station in Europe was structured during the same time. Asian broadcasts premiering from California in 1941 were expanded to Hawaii and Philippines after recapture.

Cold War and Post-Cold War Times

VOA began to air programming in Russia to counter communist propaganda of the Soviet Regime in 1947. Soviet Unions on April 24, 1949 in response jammed the signals of the service. Charles W. Thayer would head the station in 1948-1949. The Arabic service resurfaced on Jan 1, 1950 and regularly updated it listeners during Suez Canal Crisis in 1956. During 1960s and 1970s, the channel aired some of history’s most highlighted events including Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech and Armstrong’s first walk on the moon. It also aired round-the-clock transmissions during Cuban Missile Crisis. In 1982, the channel started Dari and Pashto broadcasts in Afghanistan. Expansion to Mandarin and Cantonese was made in 1989.

Controversies

The controversies attached with station include Mullah Omar Interview in late September 2001, Abdul Malik Rigi interview and Tibetan protester and Guo Wengui interviews.

VOA believes in journalistic codes and values, accuracy and balance, fairness and context and comprehensiveness, Audiences can listen and watch the station online with United States and World news from Americas, Middle East, South & Central Asia, Europe, Africa and East Asia. You can connect with station using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. Here is the website: www.voanews.com

Programs

RT America established in Feb 2010 is an American pay TV that operates from Washington, D.C. and is O&O by RT network, a multi-language news service sponsored by state of Russia. It hosts the US-based programming of the network. The channel works to cover the news in US from a Russian perspective. The guests invited are mostly American journalists, activists, contributors and academic that come up with an alternative or some time deviant perspective. The issues highlighted by the service are different from mainstream news and stories. Wealth inequality, use of non-GMO, environmental issues and Anti-capitalistic views mostly dominate the programming. Apart from its America-specific content, the channel produces simulcasts of RT International.

Watch RT America Live Streaming Online

Slogan: Question More

Siblings: RT UK, RT Actualidad, RT Arabic, RT Deutsch, RT en français, RT Documentary and RT International are the sisters of the Washington-based news outlet.

Website: www.rt.com/usa

History

In a move to expand the reach of its network, RT in Feb 2010 launched the American service. The Arabic service, Rusiya Al-Yaum established in 2007, RT Actualidad in 2009 and RT Documentary signing on air in 2011 were the part of the bigger move. A promo of Politicking with Larry King, a political talk show emerged on June 13, 2013, the preview would discuss the whistleblowing of PRISM by CIA employee Edward Snowden. Ora TV originally produces the programs of King. Former Governor of Minnesota, Jess Ventura and late MSNBC primetime host Ed Schultz are among the notable personalities who appeared on the station.

There have been reports of network’s involvement in the US elections in 2016. According to The New York Times: “The attack was carried out through the targeted use of real information, some open and some hacked, and the creation of false reports or fake news aired by RT and its sister in US.”

US Department of Justice on Nov 13, 2017 sanctioned RT as a foreign agent under FARA which was immediately accepted by network’s editor-in-chief, Margarita Simonyan.

Controversies

Abby Martin on March 4, 2014 hosting her show Breaking the Set communicating directly with the viewers showed her disagreement over Russia’s intervention in Ukraine saying “what Russia did is wrong.”

Anchor Liz Wahl one day after Martin’s statement recorded her on-air resignation saying: “I cannot be part of a network funded by the Russian government that whitewashes the actions of Putin. I am proud to be an American and believe in disseminating the truth. And that is why, after this newscast, I am resigning.” The Interruption of C-SPAN signal during a live House of Representatives debate on the Securities and Exchange Commission on Jan 12, 2017 was another incident which the network described as a mistake happened while it was checking its systems for the inauguration of Donald Trump.

Programs

Personalities

Fox Business Network is a business news channel owned by Fox News Group through Fox Corporation and is headquartered in New York City, NY. Kevin Magee leads the American Pay Television Business news channel while content and business news coverage is seen by Neil Cavuto. It is available to 74,224,000 households in US as per 2015 estimates.

Watch Fox Business Network Live Streaming Online

Slogan: The Power to Prosper

Sisters: Fox News, FS2, FS1, Fox, My NetworkTV, Movies!

Website: www.foxbusiness.com

History

Rupert Murdoch during McGraw-Hill Media Summit on Feb 8, 2007 talked about the launch of his pipeline project as News Corporation Chairman. He previously had also asserted that if News Corporation could buy The Wall Street Journal, the service would be rebranded keeping “Journal” in it. News Corporation on July 11, 2007 confirmed that the news channel would be branded as Fox Business Network (FBN). The “Channel” was dropped in favor of Network as the pre-existing abbreviation FBC would clash with that of Fox Broadcasting Company’s “FBN.

FBN Signed on air on Oct 15, 2007 and occupied Ch 43 in the NYC market, a home to NASDAQ and NYSE. The newly launched service their joined its sister Fox News Channel which would shift to Ch 44. Initially the subscribers used Cablevision’s IO Digital Package to receive the Ch 106. CNBC was carried on Ch 15 by Time Warner Cable systems at that time and according to a Multichannel News article, NBC Universal spent several million dollars in order to guarantee the different dials for the two opposite services and hold its premium long-used slot. Fox Business Network at that time circulated in New York City only through analog service while relying on digital cable packages in other markets, a costly deal for its subscribers. It can also be have through FiOS TV premier lineup on Ch 617 while Dish Network started to carry the station on Feb 2, 2009. DirecTV at Ch 359 also offers the carriage.

As a part of revamping campaign on May 12, 2008, the FBN included Fox Business Bulls & Bears and Countdown to the Closing Bell in its lineup (daytime). The Opening Bell on Fox Business, Countdown to the Closing Bell, The Noon Show, Money for Breakfast Cavuto and Fox Business Bulls moved to Studio G stet on April 20, 2009. Opening Bell with Maria Bartiromo premiered on Feb 24, 2014 while occupying the last 20 minutes of Imus in the Morning and also shifting Varney & Company to Easter Time slot of 11am.

The Channel on Nov 10, 2015 co-hosted its maiden Republican Presidential primary debate with The Wall Street Journal; the event set the ratings record of 13.5m viewers while also delivering 1.4m concurrent streams to become most streamed debate in history by surpassing 2015 Super Bowl by 100,000 in live-streams. The Second Republican primary debate was hosted on Jan 14, 2016 in Charleston, SC; Maria Bartiromo and Neil Cavuto anchored the debate in South Carolina.

Programs

Presenters/Hosts/Reporters/Contributors

Competitive Environment Prior to the Launch

A media summit organized by BusinessWeek was the first platform where News Corporation Chairman Rupert Murdoch explained as how their service would be different from the pre-existing arch-rival CNBC. Murdoch was quoted as saying Consumer News and Business Channel approach was “too negative towards business” while adding that their service would be more business “friendly” as compared to their nemesis. The other international competitors of the service include BBC World News, CNN, Your Money, France 24, CGTN News, Deutsche Welle, Euro News and Bloomberg Television.

Recent Ratings (Lou Dobbs Tonight)

Already in June 2012 making an average of 154,000 viewers on FBN to beat its direct competition: Kudlow & Company produced by CNBC, it surpassed Consumer News and Business Channel in ratings for 9 months in a row in Aug 2017 as the most-watched business news program. Following the results CNBC in 2015 asserted that it would not take Nielsen ratings for the daytime broadcasts and would rather prefer rival Cogent Reports.

FBN got its strongest ratings since its inception in the first quarter of 2016 by observing 111% in total viewers during daytime schedule while amassing 130% in 25-54 age group.

Sports Programming

In the cast of conflict between its sports siblings Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2particualry during College Football, FBN serves to clear the overflow observed by the sisters.

Bloomberg owned by Bloomberg L.P. is a 24×7 American Cable and Satellite business news service that airs from News York City. European headquarters of the station are located in London while Asian headquarters are maintained in Hong Kong. The channel is globally distributed to 310 million plus audiences. International Exchange, This is Bloomberg and Business Finance Money are the catchphrases used by the business news broadcaster.

Watch Bloomberg Live Streaming Online

Sister Stations  

Bloomberg not directly holding and operating has no less than 10 channels linked with it which franchise the branding: Bloomberg and also borrow some of the English language stuff produced at the station. Bloomberg TV US, Bloomberg TV Europe, BNN Bloomberg and Mexico-based Spanish and English language El Financiero are some the stations.

US Franchise

Justin Smith, CEO of Bloomberg Media Group who replaced Andy Lack (now with NBC News) leads the channel’s United States operations. It also finances and gives space to PBS/WNET nightly broadcasts of Charlie Rose.

History

Bloomberg first singed on air on Jan 1, 1994 as Bloomberg Information TV before adopting the shorter version in 1998. Soon after the launch of the service, American Independent Network (now defunct) started carrying simulcasts of the upstart business station during different times in weekdays from 1995 to 1997. The early morning show at that time remained a big attraction for different stations of the network. It also provided pre-opening bell broadcasts to USA Network in the form of paid content until 2004 when the network merged with NBC Universal. As USA possibly going to join its future sister CNBC after the completion of deal, the simulcast shifted to E! until Jan 2009.

On screen revamp came in Jan 2009; the change was implemented firstly on Starting Bell before its full adaptation of the new graphics on Feb 17, 2009. The programming also experienced a revamp during the same time. A new graphics package was introduced in Oct 2009. It signed a deal with Gas Station TV (GSTV) to produce personal finance and business news to over 24 million monthly viewers using GSTV pumps.

The HD feed premiered on May 9, 2011; Time Warner Cable was the maiden carrier of the network via cable. By mid-April 2013, DirecTV began to carry the High Definition service.

International Variants

The channel in Feb 2009 announced that it would operations of some of its international franchises in order to strengthen its original service. In line with the decision, the localized versions in Italy, Spain, Germany and France stopped their operations on March 9 2009. Today, Bloomberg Europe serves the audiences in the region via its cable and digital transmissions. The network since March 2009 offers a mix of programming from its Hong Kong, America and Europe facilities. The early morning programming comes from Bloomberg Asia, late morning comes from London (Bloomberg Europe) while afternoon content is sourced from New York City headquarters. All international stations offers localized adverts for their respective audiences. The service went silent in Oct 2017 as the network partnered with BNN: Business News Network to incorporate new identity BNN Bloomberg. The new channel would give a combo of existing business programming and Bloomberg content.

Programs

Personalities

Programming and Availability

Mobile devices and apps can also be used to stream the channel live i.e. using iPad, android and iPhone applications. You can follow the station on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for the rebroadcasts and clips of news and programming hosted by the network. Here is the website for all the business, banking and investment news: www.bloomberg.com

One American News Network aka (OANN) or One America News is an American conservative media outlet owned by Herring Networks, Inc. AWE is the sister of the channel stationed in San Diego, California with bureaus in New York City and Washington, D.C.
 

Launched on July 4, 2013, the right-wing pay television was intended to serve conservative viewership. The channel aims to propagate authentic national and international news via its rolling hour bulletins while the prime time content of OAN shows the conservative tilt. The Washington Post describes channel as a pro-Trump media outlet infamous for spreading conservative agenda and anti-liberal bias in the United States. In Aug 2017, President Trump hailed OAN saying “It’s a great Network.” Your Nation, Your News is the catchphrase of the Network.

History

Herring Networks, Inc. on March 14, 2013 revealed about their upcoming project. The company already had ownership over AWE (previously WealthTV) when OAN debuted in 2013. Upon its launch it had a limited partnership with The Washington Times. Meant to serve the taste of conservative and center-right audiences, the President of OAN, Charles Herring assured that news and opinion content would be entirely separated to promote objectivity in the upstart network. He also announced that straight news reporting would be emphasized with a select space given to the commentary and personality-based Talk shows and opinion-drive programming during evening time. The formal launch of the channel took place on July 4, 2013. The news and production facilities were relocated to 101 Constitution Avenue NW near the US Capital. With this move, the channel ended its affiliation with The Washington Times which was sourcing news and analysis. Despite previously sharing space for its Washington Bureau in Times building, the broadcaster remains an independent service with Herring having sole editorial control over OAN.

On Point with Tomi Lahren was launched in Aug 2014 and in no time gained popularity with a number of its clips with Lahren’s commentary going viral in 2015. Lahren did her show finale on Aug 19, 2015. This was followed by a guest host appearance by Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin on Aug 24, 2015. The channel reached 35 million households in Aug 2017 and was available across states via Verizon Fios, CenturyLink PRISM TV, DirecTV and AT&T U-verse. A number of regional video distributors were also carrying the OAN. Here is the website of One America News: www.oann.com/

Shows

CNN: Cable News Network is AT&T’s WarnerMedia station owned through its division Turner Broadcasting System and operates domestically in America. The well known television was launched in 1980 by Ted Turner as a 24×7 all-news channel. CNN today operates mainly from Washington D.C., Los Angles and Time Warner Center in New York City. Headquartered in Atlanta, the CNN Center is used only for weekend broadcasts. Available to 100 million homes in United States as per Aug 2010 data, the viewers in North America/Canada have the station via subscription. In July 2015, the channel was seen reaching 96,374,000 domestic households. CNN International; CNNI is the sibling of the channel with presence in 2012 countries.

History

CNN/U.S. was launched on June 1, 1980 as the husband and wife duo Lois Hart and David Walker shared the first newscast between them. The first hiring was made by Vice President, Burt Reinhardt to staff 200 employees including Bernard Shaw, the first news anchor of the station.

Since the foundation of Cable News Network, it has consistently expanded its scope to satellite TV providers, closed-circuit stations and various websites.

MSNBC is a US-based news station owned by NBCUniversal News Group which is a part of NBC Universal Television Group and the Television Group in turn is a subsidiary of NBCUniversal and the whole chain is owned by Comcast. The pay TV and its web-portal were established in 1996 as a joint venture between Microsoft and General Electric’s NBC Unit. The two media assets besides having the same corporate name had different corporate identities in term of structures, news operations and others.