New Voice of America Sets Sights on European Youth

Voice of America will begin a round-the-clock broadcast to Western Europe at dawn Tuesday to counter what Washington fears are “misconceptions” about America among European youth.

“VOA-Europe will help correct the information deficit about the U.S. among . . . millions of young people who have grown up since World War II,” U.S. Information Agency Director Charles Z. Wick said.

The service will mark the first time in 25 years that the world radio network of the U.S. Information Agency has targeted programs at Western Europe.

Though deeply interested in the United States, young people “may have misconceptions about our country and people. Some may not understand how fully we share culture, values, traditions and a commitment to the common defense of freedom,” Wick said.

Concern over a rise in anti-American feeling in Europe has been fueled by mass demonstrations in recent years against Washington’s foreign and defense policies.

But this is disputed by those who say the heavily U.S.-influenced music, fashion and life-style trends in Europe, as well as the evidence of opinion polls, paint the transatlantic relationship in colors of robust health.

The new service, starting off in English, will blend news, commentary, music and entertainment with a large slice of what Voice of America-Europe’s Munich-based director, Frank Scott, calls “Americana”--scenes from the everyday life of ordinary Americans.

Eventually, the service aims to broadcast in German, Italian, French and Spanish, Scott said.

The service will kick off Tuesday in six West German cities on cable and in Paris on FM radio. Expansion to the rest of France, the Netherlands and Scandinavia is scheduled in the coming months.