RADIO

Philomena Jurey, a voice heard ‘round the world--but not in the U.S.A--retires today after 14 years of covering U.S. presidents for the Voice of America. Voice of America broadcasts are heard in most countries by a weekly audience estimated at 130 million, but the agency is forbidden to direct its signal here. In an interview with the Associated Press, she recalled that in making trips overseas, she often was the one local people wanted to see, not the U.S. network news stars. On trips to China to cover Presidents Ford and Reagan, she said, “Chinese lined the streets, asking, ‘Where is Philomena? Where is Philomena?’ The rest of the press corps loved teasing Sam Donaldson about that.”