TRANSCRIPT:
The information that Voice of America was providing to our members was fair, was balanced, and we felt that the Voice of America reporters didn’t have pressure on what they had to say. So, I think that’s really important for democracy in Latin America and for the freedom of speech of media outlets in Latin America.
Having a reporter and having someone local in the United States providing the stations a view of what’s going on in the United States was a really valuable asset. All 21 TV stations in AIL [Alianza Informativa Latinoamericana] are able to reach an audience — listen to this — near to 500 million people in all Latin America. So, the reach of our broadcasters is huge.
And now, those audiences are missing information that was provided by Voice of America. Now, our partners can tell the stories from China but not from the United States, which is very scary. And the stations are, of course, very concerned about this.
Published
Carlos Isaza is the executive director of the Alianza Informativa Latinoamericana (AIL), one of the most influential collaborative television news networks in Latin America and the Caribbean. AIL was a media affiliate of VOA before VOA's Spanish Service was silenced. The partnership allowed VOA to significantly expand its reach and visibility throughout the region.