HISTORY
VOA Lao Service came into being in February 1962 and today broadcasts a daily 30 minute program:
7:30-8:00 PM Lao time
1230-1300 UTC
The shows reach 5.8 million people in the communist nation of Laos, plus 7-8 million people who understand Lao in neighboring areas such as Northeastern Thailand and Burma, Western Vietnam, Southwestern China and northern Cambodia in both short wave from the Philippines and Udorn, Thailand, and medium wave from Bangkok, Thailand.
BROADCAST OVERVIEW
NEWS
News is the heart of VOA programs. Lao broadcasts start with 10 minutes of the latest news in Laos, Asia, the USA, as well as the rest of the world, and end with 2 to 3 minutes of updated news summaries. Our newscasts - one of the main attractions for our listeners - are accurate, reliable, current, and objective. Our editors always follow the “two source” rule. If a news item does not have two sources, then we don’t use it.
CORRESPONDENT REPORTS
Newscasts are supplemented by reports from VOA correspondents stationed in the world's major news centers. Background stories, U.S and world press round-ups, and editorials are also used.
FEATURES
Regularly scheduled features include our Laos Today program that focuses on current news in Laos - including stories that Lao government media does not report, and our Overseas Lao program that profiles Lao ethnics living outside Laos: in the USA, Europe and Australia - how they live, work, play and how they came to this country and how they achieved and became part of the mainstream America. Other features include stories about: Americana, women, education, economy and business, science, technology, health/medicine, environment, agriculture, Music USA per requests, and English lessons.
MUSIC
Both Lao and American popular music are played per audience requests on Sunday airshows. Programs always contain information about artists as well as musical events. Occasionally, samples of jazz, blues or gospel are also played.
ENGLISH
Another main attraction for our listeners is English lessons which are presented on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in two series:
For beginniners: Special English World Book and New Dynamic English
For the intermediate level we feature Business English and Functioning in Business