“When VOA Bangla launched in January 1958, Bangladesh was known as 'East Pakistan' and it was a territory under martial law with no television or private radio,” said John Lippman, acting programming director. “VOA’s shortwave radio transmissions from outside the borders were a lifeline to the Bangla-speaking population for independent news and information.”While the service’s shortwave radio audience is now less than one percent, VOA Bangla social media audiences have grown significantly in recent years. “As the demand for TV and online access to news in Bangladesh expands, VOA’s Bangla service programme offerings need to be on the platforms its audience already is most active.”“VOA Bangla radio broadcasts brought world events to its audiences since the days when radio was the primary news medium,” Satarupa Barua, acting Bangla Service chief, told staff this month. This change in radio programming will not affect broadcasts of “Lifeline”, a 30-minute daily radio programme in the Rohingya language, spoken by Muslim refugees in Bangladesh who fled ethnic violence in Myanmar. Produced by the Bangla service, the programme launched in July 2019.

Source: bd News24 July 14, 2021 03:21 UTC