A news media executive with a business and journalism background, Dan Austin was appointed to develop a strategic plan for implementing increased use of new media technology at VOA. While director, Austin is credited with growing audiences across all platforms, overseeing critical internal reorganizations, and developing new programming strategies to reach audiences through new media platforms. He was responsible for increasing VOA’s reach via television to important audiences in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Tibet, and for expanding radio broadcasts to Somalia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Burma, North Korea, Venezuela, Haiti, and Georgia.
Austin received his B.S. in journalism from the University of Kansas. After Army service in the Vietnam War, Mr. Austin joined the Dallas, Texas bureau of The Wall Street Journal as a staff reporter. After further journalistic positions at WSJ, Austin transitioned his career into business management, eventually rising to the rank of vice president and general manager. He also served as chairman and chief executive officer of the community-news publishing arm of Dow Jones & Co., parent company of the Journal.
In 2012, Austin became a member of the Board of Directors for the Global Press Institute, a non-profit which supports empowering women in developing media markets around the world by training them to produce high-quality local news.