BBG Watch Commentary
The VOA English news website had no original reporting on major anti-government demonstrations in Kiev, Ukraine, on Sunday. On Saturday, VOA English News had only one sentence on U.S. reactions to the use of force against the demonstrators.
The VOA English news item on Sunday had only 221 words. It appeared to be a shortened version of a Reuters news report. It has one photo from Reuters. VOA had no video or any original at the scene reporting.
By 9PM ET Sunday, the VOA report had only 19 Facebook “Likes” and 14 Tweets.
By contrast, both BBC and Russia Today provided extensive coverage of the Sunday anti-government protests in Kiev.
The BBC news report had 551 words. It had video, original reporting, and several photos. By 9PM ET Sunday, the BBC report had 2,364 Facebook “Likes” and 652 Tweets.
Russia Today offered the most extensive coverage of the Ukrainian protests Sunday. Its news report had over 1,400 words and included numerous videos and photos.
By 9PM ET Sunday, the Russia Today report had over 3,200 Facebook “Likes,” 442 Tweets and 263 comments from readers. By contrast, the VOA report, which had only 19 Facebook “Likes,” had only one comment.
While both Russia Today and BBC have been updating their reports from Ukraine throughout the day, the VOA English news website has not updated its report.
The VOA Ukrainian Service, however, has provided far more extensive and superior news coverage. But inadequate coverage by VOA English News of the Ukrainian protests on Sunday meant that the vast majority of other VOA language services also had inadequate coverage.