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At Voice of America, Trump Appointee Sought Political Influence Over Coverage
https://www.npr.org/2020/09/02/907984631/at-voice-of-america-trump-appointee-sought-political-influence-over-coverage
September 2, 2020 5:00 AM ET
DAVID FOLKENFLIK
U.S. Agency for Global Media CEO Michael Pack may have breached a firewall meant to insulate Voice of America journalism from political meddling.
At the Voice of America, staffers say the Trump appointee leading their parent agency is threatening to wash away legal protections intended to insulate their news reports from political meddling.
"What we're seeing now is the step-by-step and whole scale dismantling of the institutions that protect the independence and the integrity of our journalism," says Shawn Powers, until recently the chief strategy officer for the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees VOA.
Voice of America's mission is a form of soft diplomacy: to embody democratic principles through fair reporting and to replace a free press in countries where there is none. VOA and its four sister networks together reach more than 350 million people abroad each week.
Since taking office in June, Pack has upended the agency. In a podcast interview last week with the pro-Trump website The Federalist, Pack said he had to take action because many executives and journalists were disregarding the agency's ethical standards.
</snip>
September 2, 2020 5:00 AM ET
DAVID FOLKENFLIK
U.S. Agency for Global Media CEO Michael Pack may have breached a firewall meant to insulate Voice of America journalism from political meddling.
At the Voice of America, staffers say the Trump appointee leading their parent agency is threatening to wash away legal protections intended to insulate their news reports from political meddling.
"What we're seeing now is the step-by-step and whole scale dismantling of the institutions that protect the independence and the integrity of our journalism," says Shawn Powers, until recently the chief strategy officer for the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees VOA.
Voice of America's mission is a form of soft diplomacy: to embody democratic principles through fair reporting and to replace a free press in countries where there is none. VOA and its four sister networks together reach more than 350 million people abroad each week.
Since taking office in June, Pack has upended the agency. In a podcast interview last week with the pro-Trump website The Federalist, Pack said he had to take action because many executives and journalists were disregarding the agency's ethical standards.
</snip>
