Quote counts as a success metric: quantifying a criticism of Voice of America

Abstract

ABSTRACTA leading criticism of American international broadcasting is that the flagship US external service Voice of America (VOA) does not consistently include quotes from US officials, or descriptions of US policy, in its foreign affairs reporting. That claim, however, has never been tested. In this study, a sample of VOA news reports filed during three recent periods of international conflict was analysed to determine the quantity that included quotes from American officials or descriptions of official US policy. Similar analyses were also run on Germany’s Deutsche Welle and Russia’s RT to determine the quantity of stories originating from those outlets which included official quotes and policy descriptions of the German and Russian governments, respectively. The study found that VOA did not include official quotes or policy descriptions in the majority of its news reports. However, when compared to Deutsche Welle and RT, VOA was found to have included official quotes and policy descriptions at a level consistent with those of these two peer brands. The results of this study may call into question the utility of using quote counts as a success metric in assessing the value of US government sponsored international broadcasting.