Latest news with #MichaelAbramowitz
The Guardian
16-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Trump administration fires more than 600 contractors at Voice of America news network
The administration of Donald Trump has terminated nearly 600 contractors at Voice of America (VOA), the US-funded international news network known for delivering independent journalism to countries with restricted press freedom. The firings, announced on Thursday, appeared to defy a recent court order requiring the government to preserve strong news operations at VOA. The US president has criticized the news network and accused it of spreading 'radical' content. The cuts, announced on Thursday, affected mostly journalists along with some administrative staff and represented more than one-third of VOA's workforce. Among those dismissed are journalists from authoritarian countries who now face deportation, as their visas are linked to their jobs at VOA. The administration cited 'the government's convenience' as the justification for the layoffs, taking advantage of the workers' status as contractors rather than full federal employees. Michael Abramowitz, the director of VOA, called the move 'inexplicable' and said he was 'heartbroken' in an email to staff obtained by the New York Times. Abramowitz has filed a lawsuit to stop the Trump administration from closing VOA. The notification to employees told terminated staffers that they will be let go as of 30 May and instructed them to return their press credentials, badges and other VOA property by that time, according to the Hill. Kari Lake, a Trump ally and senior adviser at the US Agency for Global Media, which oversees VOA, defended the decision as legally permissible. Lake had previously denounced the agency as 'unsalvageable' and accused it of corruption without presenting evidence. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion The federal building that houses the VOA news outlet in Washington DC was also listed for sale on Thursday. The firings are the latest in a string of moves by the Trump administration targeting independent news organizations. The Federal Communications Commission, led by Trump appointee and Project 2025 author Brendan Carr, has ordered investigations into NPR and PBS. Trump is also in an ongoing legal battle with 60 Minutes and CBS, and his administration previously barred the Associated Press from the Oval Office.
New York Times
16-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Trump Administration Fires Hundreds of Voice of America Employees
The Trump administration on Thursday fired nearly 600 employees at Voice of America, a federally funded news network that provides independent reporting to countries with limited press freedoms. The layoffs targeted contractors, most of them journalists but also some administrative employees, and amounted to over a third of Voice of America's staff. They signaled that the Trump administration planned to continue its efforts to dismantle the broadcaster despite a court ruling last month that ordered the federal government to maintain robust news programming at the network, which President Trump has called 'the voice of radical America.' In another sign of the Trump administration's hostility toward the broadcaster, the federal building in Washington that houses the media organization was put up for sale on Thursday. Michael Abramowitz, the director of Voice of America, said in an email to his staff on Thursday that the firings were 'inexplicable.' 'I am heartbroken,' he said. Kari Lake, a senior adviser at the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees Voice of America, said that the Trump administration had acted within its legal authority. 'We are in the process of rightsizing the agency and reducing the federal bureaucracy to meet administration priorities,' Ms. Lake, who is leading the efforts to ramp down the operations of Voice of America, said in a statement. 'We will continue to scale back the bloat at U.S.A.G.M. and make an archaic dinosaur into something worthy of being funded by hardworking Americans.' She added: 'Buckle up. There's more to come.' Some of the journalists who were terminated on Thursday were from countries with repressive governments that persecute journalists for independent reporting, Mr. Abramowitz said in the email to employees on Thursday. Those journalists now have to leave the United States by the end of June, as their immigration status is tied to employment at the news organization. In a letter sent on Thursday to employees who had been fired, the Trump administration cited 'the government's convenience' as a reason for the terminations. The employees were under so-called personal services contracts, making them easier to let go than regular full-time employees with full civil service protections. Mr. Trump has accused the outlet, which delivers news to countries with repressive regimes — including Russia, China and Iran — of spreading 'anti-American' and partisan 'propaganda.' In March, Ms. Lake, a Trump ally and unsuccessful candidate for governor and Senate in Arizona, had declared her own workplace 'unsalvageable.' She has also claimed that the U.S. Agency for Global Media and its newsrooms were rampant with 'waste, fraud and abuse,' without providing evidence. Ms. Lake said last week that Voice of America would incorporate content from One America News Network, a pro-Trump television channel that has endorsed falsehoods about the 2020 presidential election. Voice of America, which was founded in 1942, halted operations on March 15, a day after Mr. Trump signed an executive order seeking to gut the U.S. Agency for Global Media. Its news programming has been partly restored since the April court ruling that stopped the Trump administration from dismantling the agency and other newsrooms it oversees. The Trump administration has challenged the April ruling, claiming that the lower court had gone too far in halting other firings that took place in March. In early May, a federal appeals court paused parts of the April lower court order that required the Trump administration to rehire the employees. The Trump administration did not appeal parts of the April order that mandated the resumption of Voice of America's news programming. The lower court found that Congress had required the executive branch to keep the network as 'a consistently reliable and authoritative source of news.' The Trump administration has since kept most of Voice of America's operations shuttered while restoring parts of its service. Its Mandarin and Persian services, for example, were restored. But the news organization's English website has stopped updating since March 15.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump order guts Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Asia
The Brief Almost all Voice of America and Radio Free Europe and Asia employees have been placed on paid leave after President Trump ordered deep cuts to the organizations. "For the first time in 83 years, the storied Voice of America is being silenced," Michael Abramowitz, the organization's director, said in a statement. The cuts are a dramatic blow to a staple of the post-Cold War order that has long had bipartisan support. The Trump administration is making huge cuts to Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Asia, and other pro-democracy programming, and all Voice of America employees have been put on leave. On Friday night, shortly after Congress passed its latest funding bill, Trump directed his administration to reduce the functions of several agencies to the minimum required by law. That included the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which houses Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Asia and Radio Marti, which beams Spanish-language news into Cuba. Trump's order requiring reductions also includes several other, lesser-known government agencies such as the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a nonpartisan think tank, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness and the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. What they're saying On Saturday morning, Kari Lake, the failed Arizona gubernatorial and U.S. Senate candidate whom Trump named a senior adviser to the agency, posted on X that employees should check their email. That coincided with notices going out placing Voice of America staff on paid administrative leave. The Agency for Global Media also sent notices terminating grants to Radio Free Asia and other programming run by the agency. RELATED: Hundreds of Venezuelans deported by Trump administration despite judge's order The letter places employees on administrative leave and says staff would continue to receive pay and benefits "until otherwise notified." It ordered employees not to use Agency for Global Media facilities and return equipment like phones and computers. A video posted on X by Lake on Saturday talked about cost-cutting measures, not mentioning the employees and the mission of Voice of America. Her video was made at a building leased by VOA that Lake described as a waste of money. She said she would try to break the agency's 15-year lease on the building. The other side "For the first time in 83 years, the storied Voice of America is being silenced," Michael Abramowitz, the organization's director, said in a statement. He added that "virtually" the entire 1300-person staff was placed on leave. One reporter, who spoke under the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press, said: "We expected something like this to happen, and it just happened to be today." RELATED: DOGE closures: List, timeline of government offices that may close this year The press advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said it "condemns this decision as a departure from the U.S.'s historic role as a defender of free information and calls on the U.S. government to restore VOA and urges Congress and the international community to take action against this unprecedented move." "The cancellation of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's grant agreement would be a massive gift to America's enemies," said the network's President and CEO, Stephen Capus, in a statement. The backstory "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," Abramowitz said. Voice of America transmits United States domestic news into other countries, often translated into local languages. Radio Free Asia, Europe and Marti beam news into countries with authoritarian regimes in those regions like China, North Korea and Russia. Combined, the networks reach an estimated 427 million people. They date back to the Cold War and are part of a network of government-funded organizations trying to extend U.S. influence and combat authoritarianism that includes USAID, another agency targeted by Trump. Dig deeper The reduction is a dramatic blow at a staple of post-Cold War order that has long had bipartisan support. Voice of America's directors have included Dick Carlson, the father of conservative commentator Tucker Carlson. Thomas Kent, former president and CEO of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, said that Trump's intentions for the agencies are still foggy. Without these news sources, it will be that much harder for the country to get its messages to the world, he said. "Without the international broadcasting, the image of the United States and the Trump administration will be in the hands of others, including the administration's opponents, (and) countries and people who consider the United States an enemy," said Kent, an international consultant on media ethics. The Source This report includes information from The Associated Press.
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump silences biggest US global broadcaster for ‘radical propaganda'
All full-time staff at the US's biggest international broadcaster have been placed on leave after Donald Trump ordered the government-funded agency to be scaled back for being 'radical' and 'anti-Trump'. The 1,300 Voice of America (VOA) employees were informed of the decision via email on Saturday, US media reported. Staff have been blocked from accessing the broadcaster's offices in Washington, DC, meaning freelancers and stringers worldwide have had to stop working as there is now no way to pay them, an insider told CBS News. Michael Abramowitz, Voice of America's director, said nearly his entire staff of journalists, producers and assistants had been suspended, crippling the broadcaster that operates in almost 50 languages. 'I am deeply saddened that for the first time in 83 years, the storied Voice of America is being silenced,' Mr Abramowitz said on LinkedIn, adding that the broadcaster has played an important role 'in the fight for freedom and democracy around the world'. The US president issued a sweeping executive order on Friday gutting the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) – Voice of America's parent agency – and several other government departments. USAGM has also terminated its grants to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which was set up during the Cold War and continues to broadcast to countries in Eastern Europe, including Russia and Ukraine. Radio Free Asia, which broadcasts to China and North Korea, was also targeted in the order. A White House statement said that the order 'will ensure that taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda'. It included a link to a report alleging that VOA reporters had posted 'anti-Trump' content on social media. VOA was founded in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda and reaches 360 million people a week. As a group, USAGM employs roughly 3,500 workers with an $886 million budget in 2024, according to its latest report to Congress. Experts have warned that the president's directives could devastate an organisation that is intended to be a source of reliable news in authoritarian countries. William Gallo, VOA's Seoul bureau chief, said on Sunday he had been locked out of all company systems and accounts. 'All I've ever wanted to do is shoot straight and tell the truth, no matter what government I was covering. If that's a threat to anyone, so be it,' he said on social media. Jan Lipavsky, the Czech foreign minister, said Radio Free Europe had been a 'beacon' for populations under totalitarian rule. 'From Belarus to Iran, from Russia to Afghanistan, RFE and Voice of America are among the few free sources for people living without freedom,' he wrote on X. Bay Fang, Radio Free Asia's president, said the cancellation of its funding was 'a reward to dictators and despots, including the Chinese Communist Party, who would like nothing better than to have their influence go unchecked'. However, Kari Lake, a former news anchor nominated by Mr Trump to be director of VOA, issued a statement describing USAGM as 'a giant rot and burden to the American taxpayer' and said it was 'not salvageable'. Meanwhile, Elon Musk, who has spearheaded government cuts as head of the Department of Government Efficiency, wrote on X: 'While winding down this global government propaganda agency, it has temporarily been renamed the Department of Propaganda Everywhere (DOPE).' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
16-03-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Trump silences biggest US global broadcaster for ‘radical propaganda'
All full-time staff at the US's biggest international broadcaster have been placed on leave after Donald Trump ordered the government-funded agency to be scaled back for being 'radical' and 'anti-Trump'. The 1,300 Voice of America (VOA) employees were informed of the decision via email on Saturday, US media reported. Staff have been blocked from accessing the broadcaster's offices in Washington, DC, meaning freelancers and stringers worldwide have had to stop working as there is now no way to pay them, an insider told CBS News. Michael Abramowitz, Voice of America's director, said nearly his entire staff of journalists, producers and assistants had been suspended, crippling the broadcaster that operates in almost 50 languages. 'I am deeply saddened that for the first time in 83 years, the storied Voice of America is being silenced,' Mr Abramowitz said on LinkedIn, adding that the broadcaster has played an important role 'in the fight for freedom and democracy around the world'. The US president issued a sweeping executive order on Friday gutting the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) – Voice of America's parent agency – and several other government departments. USAGM has also terminated its grants to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which was set up during the Cold War and continues to broadcast to countries in Eastern Europe, including Russia and Ukraine. Radio Free Asia, which broadcasts to China and North Korea, was also targeted in the order. A White House statement said that the order 'will ensure that taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda'. It included a link to a report alleging that VOA reporters had posted 'anti-Trump' content on social media. VOA was founded in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda and reaches 360 million people a week. As a group, USAGM employs roughly 3,500 workers with an $886 million budget in 2024, according to its latest report to Congress. Experts have warned that the president's directives could devastate an organisation that is intended to be a source of reliable news in authoritarian countries. 'Shoot straight and tell the truth' William Gallo, VOA's Seoul bureau chief, said on Sunday he had been locked out of all company systems and accounts. 'All I've ever wanted to do is shoot straight and tell the truth, no matter what government I was covering. If that's a threat to anyone, so be it,' he said on social media. Jan Lipavsky, the Czech foreign minister, said Radio Free Europe had been a 'beacon' for populations under totalitarian rule. 'From Belarus to Iran, from Russia to Afghanistan, RFE and Voice of America are among the few free sources for people living without freedom,' he wrote on X. Bay Fang, Radio Free Asia's president, said the cancellation of its funding was 'a reward to dictators and despots, including the Chinese Communist Party, who would like nothing better than to have their influence go unchecked'. However, Kari Lake, a former news anchor nominated by Mr Trump to be director of VOA, issued a statement describing USAGM as 'a giant rot and burden to the American taxpayer' and said it was 'not salvageable'. Meanwhile, Elon Musk, who has spearheaded government cuts as head of the Department of Government Efficiency, wrote on X: 'While winding down this global government propaganda agency, it has temporarily been renamed the Department of Propaganda Everywhere (DOPE).'
