VOA Timeline
1948: Smith Mundt Act signed, laying the foundation for U.S. government-funded international broadcasting.
1951: Waging the Campaign of Truth published by Wilson M. Compton (Administrator for the U.S. International Information Administration) part of President Truman’s Campaign of Truth focused on the use of media, including VOA, to fight Soviet Cold War propaganda.
1951: May 26, 1951: VOA Georgian Service 1st radio broadcast, Georgian Independence Day, featuring Dean Acheson’s address. Erekle Orbeliani (1901 – 1954) organized and staffed the editorial office and became the first Director of the Georgian Service at VOA.
1953: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, founded in 1950, begins broadcasting to USSR. On March 3rd, 1953, the Georgian Service airs for the first time from Munich, Germany. Initially, the radio was called “Radio Liberation,” and later renamed “Radio Liberty.” Radio Liberty becomes infamous for airing Stalin’s death two days later, on March 5th, 1953.
1954: Radio Liberation airs a rare audio recording of Grigol Robakidze’s (1880 – 1962) “Address to the Georgian Youth” (“მიმართვა ქართველ ახალგაზრდობას”) with Karlo Inasaridze (1919 – 2007). In this anti-Bolshevik address, Grigol Robakidze states: “Who is free in the U.S.S.R.? No one” (“ვინაა თავისუფალი საბჭოეთში? არავინ”). Throughout his entire life, Grigol Robakidze was an active advocate for a free, independent Georgia and a leader in the national liberation movement against Bolsheviks.
1958: August 24, 1958: The Georgian Association in the USA issues an appeal to preserve VOA Georgian Service amidst threat of discontinuation.
1968: Jamming of VOA Georgian, Armenian, and Ukrainian broadcasts begins in the U.S.S.R. Other affected media outlets included BBC, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Deutsche Welle, Radio Tirana, Radio Vaticana.
1973: Soviet jamming of VOA ceases with Détente – restarts in 1979.
1980s: VOA introduced TV broadcasts in addition to radio broadcasts.
1994: President Bill Clinton signs the International Broadcasting Act, creating the International Broadcasting Bureau under the United States Information Agency (USIA). Coordinates Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and Radio Martí.
2008: Russia’s August 2008 war against Georgia: VOA Georgian Service increases radio broadcasts to a full hour to meet the increased demand for information.
2010: VOA Georgian Service weekly 15-minute TV program launches in partnership with Georgia’s Public Broadcasting Corporation.
2013: VOA Georgian Service broadcasts 8:00am – 2:00am with Radio Tavisupleba (Radio Liberty) and “Ekho Kavkaza.”
2016: The United States Agency for Global Media passes a resolution honoring the 65th anniversary of VOA’s Georgian Service.
