Abbreviation | RFA |
---|---|
Formation | March 12, 1996[1] |
Type | 501(c)(3) organization |
52-1968145 | |
Purpose | Broadcast Media |
Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
Official languages | Burmese, Cantonese, English, Khmer, Korean, Lao, Mandarin, Tibetan, Uyghur, and Vietnamese |
Owner | U.S. Agency for Global Media |
President | Bay Fang[2] |
Executive Editor | Min Mitchell[3] |
Carolyn Bartholomew (Chair), Michael J. Green, Michael Kempner, Keith Richburg, Shanthi Kalathil, Allison Hooker | |
Parent organization | U.S. Agency for Global Media |
Budget | $51.3 million (2023) |
Staff | 253[4] |
Website | rfa |
Radio Free Asia (RFA) is an American government-funded non-profit corporation operating a news service that broadcasts radio programs and publishes online news, information, and commentary for its audiences in Asia.[5][6][7][8] The service, which provides editorially independent reporting,[6][7][8][9][10][11] has the stated mission of providing accurate and uncensored reporting to countries in Asia that have poor media environments and limited protections for speech and press freedom[12][13][14] and "advancing the goals of United States foreign policy."[15]
Based on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and preceded by the CIA-operated Radio Free Asia (Committee for a Free Asia), it was established by the US International Broadcasting Act of 1994 with the stated aim of "promoting democratic values and human rights", and countering the narratives and monopoly on information distribution of the Chinese Communist Party, as well as providing media reports about the North Korean government.[16][page needed] It is funded and supervised by the U.S. Agency for Global Media[17] (formerly Broadcasting Board of Governors), an independent agency of the United States government.
RFA distributes content in ten Asian languages for audiences in Mainland China, Hong Kong, North Korea, Laos, Cambodia,[18] Vietnam and Myanmar.[19]
Their reporting for the U.S. government-funded news organization has offered one of the only independent sources of information about the crackdown in the province
USAGM, which runs Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia, and other networks, is funded by the government but operates under an editorial "firewall" designed to block any interference in its coverage.
RFA is funded by the US Congress but with a mandate of editorial independence.