Y’all remember Voice of America, that taxpayer-funded US propaganda machine promoting freedom, human rights and the American Way since WWII? A crucial instrument penetrating the Iron Curtain during the Cold War??? Kept communism from spreading further in Asia and Africa?? Well, unfortunately they’re just a bunch of Deep State traitors now. How dare they talk about China lifting restrictions in Wuhan!!
Just another reminder that anything Trump does, Putin and Xi Jinping will benefit from.
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Trump and his supporters have accused the outlet of “disgraceful” reporting and are now pushing hard to install their choice to run the government agency that oversees VOA and its affiliates. That battle is about to hit Congress, where partisan lines have been drawn amid a debate that could have a significant impact on the future of the global broadcaster.
Over the objections of Democrats, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee plans Thursday to vote on Trump’s nominee to head the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which runs VOA and its sister outlets like Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the Cuba-focused Radio Marti. The Republican-controlled committee is expected to vote on party lines to advance the nomination.
Democrats fear that candidate, conservative filmmaker and former educator Michael Pack, could turn the organization into a Trump propaganda machine funded with more than $200 million a year in taxpayer money. Trump has mused about his desire to control a media outlet. At his confirmation hearing last September, Pack dismissed concerns he would allow that to happen, but the recent furor has reignited those concerns.
The spat has dismayed many who watch U.S. international broadcasting closely, including some who believe the USAGM and VOA are in need of reform, particularly as changes to the agency’s governing rules mean the its next chief will be able to bypass its board in making personnel and policy decisions.
“All of this is a distraction from what I think is a legitimate debate about what its role should be,” said Tom Kent, a former Associated Press editor who went on to head Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. “It needs to be clear whether VOA’s role is to advocate for democracy and American values in general or whether it is supposed to be a PR agent for the president and the State Department on current issues.”
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The Democrats’ stated objections to Pack, a one-time associate of former Trump adviser Steve Bannon who used to work for the conservative Claremont Institute in California, center in part on his refusal to answer questions about his previous business dealings.
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Matt Armstrong, a former Republican appointee to the board of the USAGM’s predecessor, the Broadcasting Board of Governors, said the Trump administration had shown a “gross misunderstanding the agency’s mission” in attacking VOA. He also questioned why the administration was using the controversy to push for Pack’s nomination when it could have made personnel changes already.
“I think they’re snowflakes, pretending to be upset about something that they shouldn’t be,” he said. “The Trump administration’s tantrum over VOA is huffing and puffing over something they could have done years ago. This episode further reveals their inability to manage the government they are in charge.”
Just another reminder that anything Trump does, Putin and Xi Jinping will benefit from.
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Trump's surprising target in war on media: Voice of America
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump' has had many targets in his war against the media, but perhaps none is more surprising than the Voice of America, the venerable U.S.
apnews.com
Trump and his supporters have accused the outlet of “disgraceful” reporting and are now pushing hard to install their choice to run the government agency that oversees VOA and its affiliates. That battle is about to hit Congress, where partisan lines have been drawn amid a debate that could have a significant impact on the future of the global broadcaster.
Over the objections of Democrats, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee plans Thursday to vote on Trump’s nominee to head the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which runs VOA and its sister outlets like Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the Cuba-focused Radio Marti. The Republican-controlled committee is expected to vote on party lines to advance the nomination.
Democrats fear that candidate, conservative filmmaker and former educator Michael Pack, could turn the organization into a Trump propaganda machine funded with more than $200 million a year in taxpayer money. Trump has mused about his desire to control a media outlet. At his confirmation hearing last September, Pack dismissed concerns he would allow that to happen, but the recent furor has reignited those concerns.
The spat has dismayed many who watch U.S. international broadcasting closely, including some who believe the USAGM and VOA are in need of reform, particularly as changes to the agency’s governing rules mean the its next chief will be able to bypass its board in making personnel and policy decisions.
“All of this is a distraction from what I think is a legitimate debate about what its role should be,” said Tom Kent, a former Associated Press editor who went on to head Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. “It needs to be clear whether VOA’s role is to advocate for democracy and American values in general or whether it is supposed to be a PR agent for the president and the State Department on current issues.”
...
The Democrats’ stated objections to Pack, a one-time associate of former Trump adviser Steve Bannon who used to work for the conservative Claremont Institute in California, center in part on his refusal to answer questions about his previous business dealings.
...
Matt Armstrong, a former Republican appointee to the board of the USAGM’s predecessor, the Broadcasting Board of Governors, said the Trump administration had shown a “gross misunderstanding the agency’s mission” in attacking VOA. He also questioned why the administration was using the controversy to push for Pack’s nomination when it could have made personnel changes already.
“I think they’re snowflakes, pretending to be upset about something that they shouldn’t be,” he said. “The Trump administration’s tantrum over VOA is huffing and puffing over something they could have done years ago. This episode further reveals their inability to manage the government they are in charge.”