COLD WAR RADIO MUSEUM

TIMELINE

TIMELINE

1938
1938-10-30
John Houseman. VOA Photo.

Future First Voice of America Director Introduces Americans To Entertainment Fake Radio News in 1938

Photo of Orson Welles meeting with reporters in an effort to explain that no one connected with the War of the Worlds radio broadcast had any idea the show would cause panic. Future first Voice of America (VOA) director John Houseman was the producer of the War of the Worlds fake entertainment newscast.

Cold War Radio Museum   One of the main reasons John Houseman was selected to produce the first Voice of..Read More

1942
1942-01-11
Religious Fanatical Crusade Nelson Poynter 1942 Government Memorandum
1942-02-01

First Radio Broadcast of Future Voice of America

First Radio Broadcast of Future Voice of America

On February 1, 1942, the first Voice of America (VOA) radio broadcast in German may have gone on the air...First Radio Broadcast of Future Voice of America

1942-02-01
1942-06-13
Photograph President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in front of microphones of U.S. radio networks.

FDR Creates Office of War Information

Photograph President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in front of microphones of U.S. radio networks.

  President Franklin Delano Roosevelt established the Office of War Information (OWI) on June 13, 1942 through the Executive Order..FDR Creates Office of War Information

1943
1943-03-04

Members of Congress Exposed Domestic Government Propaganda

Members of Congress Exposed Domestic Government Propaganda

  During World War II, the federal government’s Office of War Information (OWI), which launched Voice of America (VOA) radio..Members of Congress Exposed Domestic U.S. Government Propaganda in 1943

1943-04-05
1943-04-06

Sumner Welles Warns White House About First Voice Of America Director Hiring Communists

Sumner Welles Warns White House About First Voice Of America Director Hiring Communists

Cold War Radio Museum In 2018, the online Cold War Radio Museum presented for the first time to a broader online audience..Read More

1943-05-03
1943-07-28

New York Times Exposes Voice of America “Moronic Little King of Italy” Broadcast Condemned By Roosevelt And Eisenhower

New York Times Exposes Voice of America “Moronic Little King of Italy” Broadcast Condemned By Roosevelt And Eisenhower

Cold War Radio Museum In 1943, in the middle of the war, the U.S. Congress almost completely de-funded domestic propaganda..Read More

1943-10-04
Former Office of War Information (OWI) journalist Julius Epstein explaining how the AFL and the CIO American labor federations broke their cooperation with the Voice of America because of communist influence over VOA broadcasts.

American Labor Federations AFL And CIO Break Cooperation With OWI Over Communist Influence At Voice of America

Former Office of War Information (OWI) journalist Julius Epstein explaining how the AFL and the CIO American labor federations broke their cooperation with the Voice of America because of communist influence over VOA broadcasts.

Cold War Radio Museum Julius Epstein[ref]“How a refugee journalist exposed Voice of America censorship of the Katyn Massacre,” Cold War..Read More

1944
1944-01-12
Office of War Information (OWI) Personnel Card for Voice of America (VOA) first chief news writer and editor Howard Fast, the future Communist Party USA recipient of the Stalin Peace Prize.

Communist Writer And Future Stalin Peace Prize Winner Howard Fast Resigns From Voice of America

Office of War Information (OWI) Personnel Card for Voice of America (VOA) first chief news writer and editor Howard Fast, the future Communist Party USA recipient of the Stalin Peace Prize.

Cold War Radio Museum On January 12, 1944, Howard Fast, best-selling author, a Communist Party USA activist, and a future..Read More

1944-04-15
Konstanty Broel Plater OWI Personnel Record Card Photo

Broel Plater Resigns In Protest Against Soviet Propaganda On Voice Of America

Konstanty Broel Plater OWI Personnel Record Card Photo

By Ted Lipien for Cold War Radio Museum We know of only one Voice of America (VOA) journalist, Konstanty Broel..Broel Plater Resigns In Protest Against Soviet Propaganda On Voice Of America

1945
1945-05-15

President Truman and General Eisenhower Shut Down OWI Attempt To Control U.S. Media Access To Occupied Germany

President Truman and General Eisenhower Shut Down OWI Attempt To Control U.S. Media Access To Occupied Germany

Cold War Radio Museum In the presidential news conference on May 15, 1945, President Truman sided with General Eisenhower and..Read More

1945-08-31

President Truman Abolishes Office Of War Information, Moves Voice of America To State Department

President Truman Abolishes Office Of War Information, Moves Voice of America To State Department

Cold War Radio Museum In his Executive Order 9608 issued on August 31, 1945, President Truman abolished the functions of..Read More

1947
1947-02-17

Voice Of America Launched Soft Broadcasts to Soviet Russia

Voice Of America Launched Soft Broadcasts to Soviet Russia

The first Voice of America broadcast in Russian aired from New York on February 17, 1947. Before that date, VOA..Voice Of America Launched Soft Broadcasts to Soviet Russia

1947-12-31

Quote: OWI’s [VOA’s agency] mission was to cure “misunderstanding” of Soviet Russia — Oliver Carlson, 1947

Quote: OWI’s [VOA’s agency] mission was to cure “misunderstanding” of Soviet Russia — Oliver Carlson, 1947

— Oliver Carlson (1899–1991) founder of the Young Communist League of America who became an anti-communist writer, University of Chicago political..

1948
1948-01-27

President Truman Signs Smith-Mundt Act Limiting Domestic Use Of Voice Of America Programs

President Truman Signs Smith-Mundt Act Limiting Domestic Use Of Voice Of America Programs

The U.S. Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 (Public Law 80-402), known as the Smith–Mundt Act was signed into..Read More

1948-05-26
1950
1950-04-20

President Truman Launches The “Campaign of Truth”

President Truman Launches The “Campaign of Truth”

Cold War Radio Museum President Harry Truman unveiled the “Campaign of Truth”– a multi-faceted U.S. government’s international information policy –..Read More

1950-07-04

Radio Free Europe Launched in 1950

Radio Free Europe Launched in 1950

Radio Free Europe started broadcasting on July 4, 1950. The first broadcast was to Czechoslovakia. It originated from New York..Radio Free Europe Launched in 1950

1950-12-11
1951
1951-07-24

Congressman Reveals Voice Of America To Behind Iron Curtain Is “Drab” And “Unconvincing”

Congressman Reveals Voice Of America To Behind Iron Curtain Is “Drab” And “Unconvincing”

Cold War Radio Museum Speaking in the U.S. House of Representatives on July 24, 1951, Congressman Richard B. Wigglesworth (Republican-Massachusetts)..Read More

1951-12-18
Voice of America (VOA) Director Foy D. Kohler
1952
1952-01-01

State Department on Voice of America and ‘The Campaign of Truth’

State Department on Voice of America and ‘The Campaign of Truth’

In the early 1950s, the U.S. State Department launched its public diplomacy program called “The Campaign of Truth” designed to..U.S. State Department Describing Voice of America for ‘The Campaign of Truth’ Circa 1952

1952-03-04

President Truman Launches Voice Of America Transmitter Ship “Courier”

President Truman Launches Voice Of America Transmitter Ship “Courier”

Cold War Radio Museum President Truman repeated many of his “Campaign of Truth” themes in an internationally broadcast address from..Read More

1952-12-22

Bipartisan Madden Committee Condemns Voice of America’s Russia Reporting

Bipartisan Madden Committee Condemns Voice of America’s Russia Reporting

Cold War Radio Museum In its final report issued on December 22, 1952, the bipartisan Madden Committee of the U.S...Read More

1953
1953-04-20

Senator Hickenlooper Questions Voice of America Audience Claims For VOA English Broadcasts, Notes Improvement Of News To Soviet Block

Senator Hickenlooper Questions Voice of America Audience Claims For VOA English Broadcasts, Notes Improvement Of News To Soviet Block

Cold War Radio Museum At a hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations’ Subcommittee on Overseas Information Programs..Read More

1953-08-01
Walter Lippmann, c. 1920. Harris & Ewing, photographer - Library of Congress

Quote: “For ANY Government agency to call itself the Voice of America is an impertinence.” – Walter Lippmann

Walter Lippmann, c. 1920. Harris & Ewing, photographer - Library of Congress

– Walter Lippmann, “Why the Voice of America Should Be Abolished,” Reader’s Digest, August 1953. Condensed from New York Herald..Read More

1953-08-01

United States Information Agency (USIA) Becomes Parent Agency For Voice of America

United States Information Agency (USIA) Becomes Parent Agency For Voice of America

Cold War Radio Museum   The United States Information Agency (USIA) was created on August 1, 1953, by Executive Order..United States Information Agency (USIA) Becomes Parent Agency For Voice of America

1954
1954-04-22

Former Voice Of America Chief News Editor Collects His Stalin Peace Prize

Former Voice Of America Chief News Editor Collects His Stalin Peace Prize

The International Stalin Prize for Strengthening Peace Among Peoples was established on December 21, 1949 by a decree of the..Read More

1957
1957-07-07

VOA Discontinues Direct Broadcasts to Italy

VOA Discontinues Direct Broadcasts to Italy

Cold War Radio Museum Direct Voice of America broadcasts from Washington, DC to Italy ended on July 7, 1957. The..VOA Discontinues Direct Broadcasts to Italy

1961
1961-03-21
Edward R. Murrow, United States Information Agency (USIA) Director

Edward R. Murrow Becomes USIA Director, Apologizes For Censorship

Edward R. Murrow Becomes USIA Director, Apologizes For Censorship

President John F. Kennedy sworn in Edward R. Murrow as Director of the United States Information Agency  (USIA)    on..Edward R. Murrow Apologizes for Censorship

1962
1962-02-26

President Kennedy Comments On Voice of America and RFE

President Kennedy Comments On Voice of America and RFE

  In his February 26, 1962 speech to mark the 20th anniversary of the Voice of America (VOA), President John Kennedy discussed..President Kennedy Comments On Voice Of America and RFE

1976
1976-07-12

President Ford Signs The VOA Charter

President Ford Signs The VOA Charter

Cold War Radio Museum Drafted in 1960, the VOA Charter was signed into law on July 12, 1976 by President..Read More

1980
1980-08-20
Voice of America Director Mary Bitterman, 1980.
1982
1982-02-24

Special Voice of America 1982 40th Anniversary Broadcast

Special Voice of America 1982 40th Anniversary Broadcast

On February 24, 1982, the Voice of America held a celebration to mark the 40th anniversary of its founding. It..Voice of America 1982 40th Anniversary Broadcast

1983
1983-02-28

Solidarity Leader Praises Ronald Reagan, Voice Of America

Solidarity Leader Praises Ronald Reagan, Voice Of America

Right after the declaration of the martial law in Poland in December 1981, U.S.-funded Voice of America and Radio Free..Solidarity Leader Praises Ronald Reagan, Voice Of America

1990
1990-01-24

Voice Of America 1990 Polish-English Bilingual News

Voice Of America 1990 Polish-English Bilingual News

Cold War Radio Museum 1990 VOA Polish Service Bilingual Polish-English Newscast The Cold War was almost over in 1989-1990. The..Polish-English VOA Newscast 1990

2011
2011-12-31

Study For BBG By Independent Russian Journalist Finds “Pro-Putin Bias” At Voice of America

Study For BBG By Independent Russian Journalist Finds “Pro-Putin Bias” At Voice of America

Cold War Radio Museum an independent Russian journalist,Dr. Nikolay Rudenskiy, warned in 2011 about “pro-Putin” bias of the Voice of..Read More

2013
2013-01-23
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton Declares U.S. Broadcasting “Practically Defunct”

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

Cold War Radio Museum During testimony on January 23, 2013 before the House Foreign Affairs Committee meeting chaired by Rep...Hillary Clinton Declares U.S. Broadcasting “Practically Defunct”

2016
2016-10-09
Voice of America VOA Ukrainian Service Facebook anti-Trump-video -screenshot, 2016-10-11-at-7.54-PM-ET.

Voice of America Posts Its First Ever U.S. Election Campaign Ad

Voice of America VOA Ukrainian Service Facebook anti-Trump-video -screenshot, 2016-10-11-at-7.54-PM-ET.

Cold War Radio Museum In an unprecedented break with longtime practice and in violation of the VOA Charter, the Voice..Voice of America Posts Its First Ever U.S. Election Campaign Ad

2017
2017-10-06
AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY COUNCIL U.S. PERSIAN MEDIA STUDY Final Synthesis Report October 6, 2017

Washington Think Tank Found Appearance Of Pro-Regime Propaganda In Voice of America And Radio Farda Broadcasts To Iran

AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY COUNCIL U.S. PERSIAN MEDIA STUDY Final Synthesis Report October 6, 2017

Cold War Radio Museum On October 6, 2017, the American Foreign Policy Council (AFPC) released a highly critical study of..Read More

2018
2018-10-28
Chinese Influence and American Interests Study by Asia Society and Hoover Institution, 2018.
2020
2020-08-16
Zofia Korbonska, Voice of America (VOA) Polish Service editor and broadcaster, circa 1975.

USAGM honors VOA Polish broadcaster Zofia Korbońska in 2020

Zofia Korbońska and Tadeusz Lipien in the Voice of America (VOA) Polish Service office in Washington, DC, c. September 1974. Ted Lipien and Cold War Radio Museum photograph.

Cold War Radio Museum During the short tenure of Michael Pack, the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) CEO..USAGM honors VOA Polish broadcaster Zofia Korbońska in 2020

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