Date: February 1, 1942
Title: “The News May Be Good or Bad, We Shall Tell You the Truth.”
That was the line. The first words ever spoken on VOA. It was wartime. The world was breaking. And in the middle of chaos, America spoke—not with propaganda, but with principle.
Broadcast in German to audiences under Nazi rule, it carried a dangerous kind of power: truth. Not comfort. Not spin. Just truth.
That promise became the DNA of VOA for decades to come. No matter who sat in the White House. No matter which party held power.
“We shall tell you the truth.”
That’s the bar we aim to meet again. Welcome to the new chapter.