Short answers, pulled from the story.
Voice of America began its first official transmission on the 1st of February 1942 from the San Francisco office of the Foreign Information Service. This initial program aired via General Electric's KGEI station to the Philippines in English and opened with the Battle Hymn of the Republic.
Robert E. Sherwood coined the term Voice of America to describe the shortwave network operating from 270 Madison Avenue in New York City. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt approved this initiative after recommendations from Colonel William J. Donovan and Robert E. Sherwood.
VOA broadcasts were deemed controversial during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 because refugees believed Western aid might arrive soon based on their reporting. The agency also faced electronic jamming initiated by the Soviet Union on the 24th of April 1949 which cost approximately $125 million annually to maintain.
As of 2022, the agency employed 961 staff members with an annual budget totaling $267.5 million. This workforce reached an audience of approximately 326 million people weekly compared to 237 million in 2016.
On the 14th of March 2025, President Trump signed an executive order labeling the agency as the Voice of Radical America and reducing functions to minimum legal requirements. Layoff notices were sent to six hundred thirty-nine employees on the 20th of June 2025 effectively shutting down most operations.