The station was a service of the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc., which also operates Alhurra Television and was publicly funded by the U.S. Agency for Global Media and the U.S.
Preexisting attitudes and concurrent reality of opinions[clarification needed] towards the United States led to the creation of Radio Sawa.
[citation needed] Radio Sawa and its sister-network, Al Hurra TV, are part of a larger U.S. Public Diplomacy effort in the Middle East.
"[2] Radio Sawa was first launched on 23 March 2002,[2] initially in Jordan, West Bank, Kuwait, UAE (Abu Dhabi), Qatar and Bahrain and eventually in the rest of the Arab World (see below for full list).
The BBG founded the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN), a non-profit news and information organization, to run Radio Sawa and Al Hurra TV.
[8] Radio Sawa has been subject to criticism from various observers, who question its effectiveness in conveying America's message to the Arab world.
[9] A study published in 2006, which surveyed college students at universities in five Arab countries, found that the students' attitudes towards U.S. foreign policy had actually worsened since they started listening to Radio Sawa and watching Al Hurra TV[10] Radio Sawa has also been criticized for its poor quality control and for its resistance to any outside review of its programming.