The Trump administration has abruptly suspended thousands of journalists at US-funded broadcasters, including Voice of America and Radio Free Asia in national interest. It is pertinent to mention here that hundreds of reporters and other staff at VOA, Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe and other outlets received a weekend email saying they will be barred from their offices and should surrender press passes, office-issued telephones and other equipment.
The US President in this regard issued an executive order on Friday listing the US Agency for Global Media as among “elements of the federal bureaucracy that the president has determined are unnecessary.” Carey Lake, a firebrand Trump supporter and former Arizona news anchor wrote an email to media outlets she supervises that federal grant money “no longer effectuates agency priorities.”
In this regard, VoA’s Director who took the charge of the office as 31st Direcotr in June last year said that he is deeply saddened that for the first time in 83 years, the storied Voice of America is being silenced. He said he was informed virtually the entire staff of Voice of America, more than 1300 journalists, producers and support staff ,has been placed on administrative leave today.
Expressing his rage the director said this action will leave Voice of America unable to carry out its vital mission. The Director said that mission is especially critical today, when America’s adversaries, like Iran, China, and Russia, are sinking billions of dollars into creating false narratives to discredit the United States. The Director further claimed that the VoA promotes freedom and democracy around the world by telling America’s story and by providing objective and balanced news and information, especially for those living under tyranny.
Michael Abramowitz said, for more than 80 years, Voice of America has been a priceless asset for the United States, playing an essential role in the fight against communism, fascism, and oppression, and in the fight for freedom and democracy around the world. It is noteworthy that the VoA reaches more than 360 million people every week, in 48 languages.
