VOA to pull the plug on Chinese radio shows

BEIJING - Major Western media organizations, faced with big budget cuts, are turning to more modern ways to reach out to Chinese audiences, shifting their focus from shortwave radio to digital media.

Voice of America (VOA) became the second mainstream Western media organization this year to announce plans to cancel its radio broadcasts in Chinese, following the BBC World Service, which will end a number of foreign-language services including Chinese.

The VOA cuts will include the dismissal of 45 Chinese-language broadcasters, 38 from the 69-strong Mandarin service and all broadcasters from its Cantonese services, according to a report in The Washington Times on Wednesday.