Voice of America Persian News Network
Voice of America Persian News Network (VOA-PNN) is a governmental international broadcaster of the United States of America in Persian language. Its headquarter is in Washington D.C. It started to broadcast its programs on 18 October 1994 with a one-hour television program. Its radio programs started on 22 November 1979 with 30 minutes broadcasting per day.
![]()  | |
| Country | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. | 
| Owner | U. S. federal government | 
| Parent | Voice of America | 
| Established | July 2003[1] | 
Launch date  | 18 October 1994 (TV) 22 November 1979 (Radio)  | 
Former names  | VOA Persia Service[1] | 
Budget  | $23.78 million (FY2010)[1] | 
Official website  | Official website | 
| Language | Persian | 
Managers
    

The first manager of the VOA-PNN was Ahmadreza Baharloo. Later managers were Kambiz Mohammadi, Shila Ganji, Behrouz Abbassi, Behrouz Souresrafil, James Glassman, Hida Fouladvand and Ramin Asgard. The current manager of the VOA-PNN is Setareh Derakhshesh.[2]
Programs
    
As of July 2007, VOA-PNN broadcast 1 hour of radio programming a day, 7 hours a day of original programming for television, and a website.[1]
Interview with Abdolmalek Rigi
    
In April 2007, VOA-PNN conducted a phone interview with Abdolmalek Rigi, the leader of Jundallah (which was later designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 2010 by the U.S.)[3] and introduced him as the leader of the "popular resistance movement".[4][5] Following the event, Iran accused the U.S. of supporting terrorists by giving them the opportunity to speak.[6] The New York Times Magazine quoted Mehdi Khalaji as "[VOA administrators] do not seem to be able to distinguish between journalism and propaganda. If you host the head of Jondollah and call him a freedom fighter or present a Voice of America run by monarchists, Iranians are going to stop listening".[7] The act resembled the "hallmark of ideological objectivity" in VOA, and was criticized as an "irresponsible American embrace of violent regime change", according to Suzanne Maloney.[8]
References
    
- Boon, Kristen; Huq, Aziz Z.; Lovelace, Douglas (2012), Global Stability and U.S. National Security, Terrorism Documents of International and Local Control, vol. 123, Oxford University Press, pp. 375–376, ISBN 9780199915897, ISSN 1062-4007
 - تلویزیون فارسی صدای آمریکا
 - "US Designates Iran Opposition Faction a Terrorist Group", Voice of America, 2 November 2010, retrieved 24 March 2020
 -  "Iran Jundullah leader claims US military support", BBC, 26 February 2010, retrieved 24 March 2020, 
April 2007 Mr Rigi appears on Voice of America radio
 -  Black, Ian (26 February 2010), "Execution of 13 for terror attacks reveals Iran's next move: intimidation", The Guardian, retrieved 16 July 2009, 
...there was fury when Rigi, Jundullah's leader, was interviewed on the (government-run) Voice of America in 2007 and described as the leader of a "popular resistance movement".
 - Haider, Kamran (5 April 2007), "Iranian speaker says U.S. supports "terrorists"", Reuters, Swissinfo, archived from the original on 5 December 2007
 - Azimi, Negar (24 June 2007), "Hard Realities of Soft Power", The New York Times Magazine, retrieved 24 March 2020
 - Maloney, Suzanne (2015), "Public Diplomacy in a Vacuum", in Wiseman, Geoffrey (ed.), Isolate or Engage: Adversarial States, US Foreign Policy, and Public Diplomacy, Stanford University Press, p. 182, ISBN 9780804795555
 
External links
    
- Official website (in Persian)
 - Voice of America Persian News Network's channel on YouTube
 - VOA Farsi on Facebook (in Persian)
 - VOA Farsi on Instagram (in Persian)
 
