US EditionSenate Democrats Urge Trump to Protect U.S. Agency for Global Media Journalists
- Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Chris Van Hollen called on President Trump to safeguard journalists employed by media organizations funded by the U.S. Government amidst plans for layoffs and budget reductions in May 2025.
- The Trump administration issued a March executive order to dismantle USAGM, leading to termination notices for roughly 800 Voice of America employees and 600 contract workers.
- Voice of America, established in 1942 to combat Nazi propaganda, broadcasts in nearly 50 languages and has played a vital role in delivering impartial news to audiences in countries with restricted media freedom.
- Reporters Without Borders called the layoffs a "direct threat to global press freedom," with nearly 60 J-1 visa journalists facing possible forced departure due to job loss.
- The layoffs represent a departure from U.S. Soft power efforts and have raised global alarm among media professionals, foreign service officials, and defenders of civil liberties about potential threats to press independence and the well-being of those reporting the news.
11 Articles
11 Articles
RFE/RL Journalist Marks Year Behind Bars In Azerbaijan
Farid Mehralizada, an economist and journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, marked one year in prison on May 30. He was arrested after making public statements criticizing the policies of the Azerbaijani government. State authorities have charged him with smuggling, tax evasion, and forgery, but observers say the case is politically motivated. RFE/RL President Stephen Capus has repeatedly called for Mehralizada's release from imprisonmen…
R.E.M. Gang Mobilizes to Save a Radio Symbol of Freedom During the Cold War that Trump Has Left without Funds
And on the third day, R.E.M. went to the rescue. Radio Free Europe, the legendary pirate station with which Eisenhower set out to take “the voice of freedom” to the other side of the steel curtain, languished since last March. The U.S. government had decided to withdraw from it the financial aid it had been providing since the late 1980s. Donald Trump had become an ineffective and obsolete propaganda tool, a mere relic of the Cold War. That jeop…
VOA nears its mic-drop moment
Termination notices are expected to go out to all remaining Voice of America employees this week, Politico reported on Wednesday, likely marking the end for a media broadcaster founded in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda. The termination notices would affect the 800 remaining workers at the agency, which operates in nearly 50 languages and broadcasts to authoritarian regimes, Politico reported, citing four VOA employees familiar with the matter. …
The Kyiv Independent
einnews.comRemaining Voice of America employees expected to receive termination notice this week, Politico reports
Approximately 800 remaining full-time Voice of America (VOA) employees are expected to receive a notice of termination this week amid the Trump administration's funding cuts, Politico reported on May 28, citing four VOA employees.On March 15, Trump administration officials gutted funding for the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees VOA.In an email obtained by the Kyiv Independent in March, employees at VOA were instructed "not to…
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