VOA staff object to changes in agency

WASHINGTON – A revolt is under way at the Voice of America radio and TV network, which is under a congressional mandate to broadcast news abroad objectively.

Nearly half of Voice of America’s (VOA) 1,000 staff have signed a petition protesting what they call the “piece-by-piece” dismantling of the 62-year-old service, which reaches 87 million people in 44 languages.

The petition asserts that the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees U.S taxpayer-funded broadcast outlets, has been funneling money into new radio and TV stations that are not subject to the same journalistic standards and monitoring as VOA. The new broadcast outlets are directed primarily at the Middle East, where the U.S. image is at a historic low.

Founded in 1942 during World War II, VOA has prided itself on resisting government pressure to distort the news, precisely because it is a government-funded operation.