“Dra. Isabel,” a self-help Spanish-language talk show, began airing on Radio Martí in July 2016
RFA’s documentary “I am Chut Wutty” is available on its website after Cambodian authorities banned screenings in the country.
RFE/RL’s Georgian Service “Be Our Guest with Zurab Dvali” also airs on the Current Time digital television network
Documentaries
BBG networks curate world-class quality documentaries from major broadcasters and independent producers worldwide, including PBS, CBS, BBC, Bloomberg, ITN, National Geographic, A&E, and Discovery. The programs are customized with language dubbing, subtitling and on-screen graphic translation. Topics complement news presentations, provide context to the daily headlines and call attention to noteworthy annual events such as Arab American Heritage Month, World AIDS Day, Global Entrepreneurship Week, Hajj, International Youth Day, Ramadan, World Refugee Day, the 9/11 anniversary, and International Women’s Day.
In 2016, Alhurra launched Alhurra Files, a collection of independent programs that address issues including political strife, terrorism, inequality, and cross-cultural conflict.
In late April, RFA’s Khmer Service made available on its website a documentary about a murdered Cambodian environmental activist. The film, I Am Chut Wutty, was banned by Cambodian authorities from being publicly screened in the country. A Facebook post, directing people to watch the video on the RFA Khmer website, was shared more than 30,000 times, with more than 600 comments and half a million reactions–with Cambodians discussing the documentary’s subject and sharing concerns about media freedoms declining in their country. Almost 500,000 people clicked the link to the RFA Khmer website.
News and Entertainment
Voice of America airs a variety of news and information programs such as PBS’s NewsHour, America’s Heartland and MotorWeek, as well as weekly features from the National Science Foundation. In 2016, VOA’s Persian Service expanded its prime-time programming with acquired content including Farsi-versioned Bloomberg TV shows, such as the award-winning Brink, Game Changers, C-Suite, and Inside Series.
In July, Radio Martí began broadcasting the nationally syndicated call-in radio program Dra. Isabel. Hosted by Cuban-born psychologist and best-selling author Dr. Isabel Gómez-Bassols, known to listeners as “The Angel of the Radio,” the daily self-help talk show takes live calls and emails from Martí’s audience in Cuba.
RFE/RL’s Current Time digital television network curates content from regional partners, including the travel show Be Our Guest with Zurab Dvali, Baltic Week, and Business Plan. RFE/RL also commissions an automotive show and a science show from Deutsche Welle, and airs documentaries produced throughout its target region.
RFE/RL’s Balkan series Perspektiva, which looks at the lives of young people and their problems, is produced by a local media company and supported by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). The show airs on more than 30 TV partners in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and Croatia.
Alhurra’s news magazines series Focus and To Know repackages selected segments from PBS NewsHour, CBS 60 Minutes, and CBS Sunday Morning, and dubs them into Arabic.