Uncle Sam is using more new media tools to extend the reach of his “voice” these days.
One development is aimed at China and other parts of Asia; another is for listeners in Latin America.
The Voice of America is promoting a new Chinese language iPhone app that delivers VOA news programs and lets people — “citizen journalists” — upload news tips and photos from their phones. The organization says smartphone use in China has “exploded” in recent years.
VOA says the app uses simplified and traditional Chinese characters and is free at the iTunes store. Users can access VOA Chinese video, text and audio content.
VOA already offers “goEnglish.me,” an iPhone app for Chinese speakers who want to learn American English.
Platforms VOA uses to disseminate its Chinese services to Mandarin and Cantonese speakers include radio, television, mobile devices and the Internet including proxies and portal sites to get around censors.
Separately, VOA announced a partnership with AudioNow to stream radio content to mobile phones in Latin America.
“By simply dialing up the free service, mobile phone users can listen to VOA’s latest five-minute Spanish language newscast in Argentina, Colombia, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Venezuela,” it stated.
AudioNow technology allows fixed or mobile phones to access live and pre-recorded audio programming. Access numbers for mobile subscribers are posted on the VOA Spanish Service website.
