Statement by VOA Director Concerning VOA Broadcasts to Zimbabwe

Voice of America Director David S. Jackson issued the following statement today concerning VOA broadcasts to Zimbabwe:

"There has been some jamming of our broadcasts of Studio 7, but so far the interference appears to be limited to medium wave broadcasts to Harare, so many of our loyal listeners throughout Zimbabwe have been able to hear our shows on shortwave and in other locations of the country without any problem. We take any interference seriously, however, and we will continue to monitor the situation."

VOA's Studio 7 is broadcast to Zimbabwe each Monday through Friday from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. local time (1700-1830 UTC) in 30-minute segments in Shona, English and Ndebele.

The Voice of America, which first went on the air in 1942, is a multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. government through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. VOA broadcasts more than 1,000 hours of news, information, educational, and cultural programming every week to an estimated worldwide audience of more than 100 million people. Programs are produced in 44 languages.
For more information, call the Office of Public Affairs at (202) 203-4959, or e-mail  publicaffairs@voa.gov.

Issued: June 29, 2006
Ref: 06/01