Bringing the Presidential Inauguration to the World
Washington, D.C. – As the public swearing-in of U.S. President Barack Obama for his second term takes place, Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) journalists will be there to provide complete coverage of the day’s events along with expert commentary on U.S. policy, the 44th President and the road ahead.
Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa, Radio and TV Martí and Radio Free Asia (RFA) will all cover the January 21 historic event, capturing the U.S.’s role as a model of democracy, for their audiences around the globe.
VOA’s coverage started earlier this week, with multimedia reports on the election and the U.S. political system, features on the inauguration, and facts about the President Obama as he enters his second term in the White House.
Building on the success of social media outreach during the political conventions, debates and election night, VOA journalists will be live-blogging during the event and curating special web features including on inaugural history.
VOA’s Persian Service will cover the day-long inauguration from swearing-in through the parade with live reports and a 90-minute special profiling all 44 U.S. Presidents. Many of VOA’s 43 language services are hosting inauguration specials and providing translation of the day’s events, including Indonesian, Burmese, Korean, Khmer, Spanish, Creole, Ukrainian, Urdu, Bosnian, Serbian, and Macedonian.
Affiliate stations around the world will be relying on interactive newscasts from VOA journalists who will provide real-time reporting on the transfer of power. VOA’s two-hour Inauguration Day special will be seen across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East via TV and Radio affiliates, satellites and shortwave.
Alhurra’s coverage will start on Jan. 20 with two hour-long previews followed by Inauguration Day coverage of the swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol and the parade through the heart of Washington to the White House.
Alhurra’s Al Youm will be anchored from Washington, D.C. and include live conversation with Egyptian youth in Tahrir Square to gauge their feelings on President Obama’s inaugural address. The program will also examine how President Obama is perceived in the region through reports from bureaus in Cairo, Jerusalem, Dubai and Beirut.
Alhurra and Radio Sawa will broadcast a live translation of President Obama’s inaugural speech along with other live interviews, Tweets and photos from Washington.
Meanwhile, RFE/RL will issue live reports from Washington in Farsi to the Persian Service (Radio Farda), the Afghan Service (Radio Azadi), and the Tajik Service as well as inaugural previews and analysis by a presidential historian.
For its audiences in Cuba, Radio and TV Martí will offer live reports from Washing beginning today, special programming on January 20 and seven hours of coverage on Inauguration Day. The programming will be anchored in Washington with political analysis provided from studios in Miami.
RFA plans to report on reactions to the 2013 inauguration within its broadcast countries, utilizing feedback from listeners through social media and call-in shows. RFA also will interview members of the global North Korean defector community and share their perspectives on the day’s events and the larger U.S. electoral process.