Latest news with #VoiceofAmerica
Rhyl Journal
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Rhyl Journal
PBS sues Trump administration over defunding
In the claim, PBS relies on similar arguments, saying Mr Trump was overstepping his authority and engaging in 'viewpoint discrimination' because of his claim that PBS' news coverage is biased against conservatives. 'PBS disputes those charged assertions in the strongest possible terms,' lawyer Z W Julius Chen wrote in the case, filed in a US court in Washington. 'But regardless of any policy disagreements over the role of public television, our constitution and laws forbid the president from serving as the arbiter of the content of PBS's programming, including by attempting to defund PBS.' It was the latest of many legal actions taken against the administration for its moves, including several by media organisations impacted by Mr Trump's orders. A PBS spokesman said that 'after careful deliberation, PBS reached the conclusion that it was necessary to take legal action to safeguard public television's editorial independence, and to protect the autonomy of PBS member stations'. Mr Trump's order 'would have profound impacts on the ability of PBS and PBS member stations to provide a rich tapestry of programming to all Americans,' Mr Chen wrote. PBS said the US Department of Education has cancelled a 78 million dollar grant to the system for educational programming, used to make children's shows like Sesame Street, Clifford the Big Red Dog and Reading Rainbow. Besides Mr Trump, the claim names other administration officials as defendants, including US education secretary Linda McMahon, treasury secretary Scott Bessent and homeland security secretary Kristi Noem. PBS says its technology is used as a backup for the nationwide wireless emergency alert system. The administration has fought with several media organisations. Government-run news services like Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty are also struggling, The Associated Press has battled with the White House over press access and the Federal Communications Commission is investigating television news divisions.
New York Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Voice of America's remaining 800 employees to get termination notices: report
The roughly 800 remaining full-time staffers at Voice of America are preparing for the worst as the US-funded international broadcaster is expected to issue mass termination notices this week, according to a report. Four VOA employees familiar with internal discussions told the news site Politico on Wednesday that the network's employees have been advised to expect reduction-in-force (RIF) notices in the coming days. A senior staffer said conversations with officials at the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which oversees VOA, indicate that the planned notices will effectively shut down the historic broadcaster, Politico reported. Advertisement 3 Voice of America's remaining 800 full-time employees are expected to receive termination notices this week, according to a report. AP The looming layoffs follow the earlier dismissal of nearly 600 contractors earlier this month by the Trump administration. One VOA employee said the agency's human resources department had been informed that RIF notices could go out as early as Wednesday. The wave of cuts comes in the wake of a March 15 executive order signed by President Donald Trump, which called for Voice of America and several other agencies to be 'eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.' Advertisement The president has frequently attacked the broadcaster, calling it 'anti-Trump' and dubbing it 'The Voice of Radical America.' VOA employees, however, maintain they have adhered to their mission of delivering nonpartisan journalism. 'Even if somehow the organization can survive in some form, it would take years for our newsroom to overcome the trauma of being beaten up just for doing our job,' said VOA White House bureau chief Patsy Widakuswara, one of several plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the administration. Advertisement 3 President Trump signed an executive order in March calling for VOA and other agencies to be 'eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.' REUTERS 'I don't know how we can return to our mandate to report the facts without fear or favor.' Since March, most VOA operations have remained dark. A limited number of staffers have returned to the office in recent weeks, which employees believe is an attempt by USAGM senior adviser Kari Lake, a close Trump ally, to maintain the legal bare minimum required for agency operation. Lake has also announced that content from the right-leaning One America News Network will now be distributed through VOA channels. Advertisement Despite legal challenges mounted by VOA employees claiming the shutdown violates First Amendment protections, a federal appeals court last week declined to block the administration's efforts. 3 Kari Lake, a former GOP candidate in Arizona, was tapped by Trump to head the agency overseeing VOA. AP The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents VOA staff, has demanded to bargain over the RIFs, but two employees say USAGM has yet to respond — a move that could breach the union's collective bargaining agreement. USAGM, the Department of Government Efficiency, and the White House all declined to comment. As the final staff departures appear imminent, VOA's website remains frozen in time. Its most recent article is dated March 15 — the day the president's order was signed.
Express Tribune
2 days ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
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. VOA has been on the chopping block since March, when President Donald Trump ordered the gutting of the government-funded media outlet's parent, the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), along with six other federal agencies. Earlier this month, nearly 600 VOA contractors were dismissed, leaving the roughly 800 remaining workers. Prior to the cuts, VOA reached 360 million people a week, many living under authoritarian regimes.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Termination notices expected to go out to all remaining Voice of America employees this week
All remaining staff at Voice of America are expected to receive reduction-in-force notices this week, likely closing the book on the network founded 80 years ago to combat Nazi disinformation during World War II. Employees are anticipating termination notices to go out this week to all full-time staff at the embattled news network, according to four VOA employees familiar with the situation granted anonymity to discuss unannounced plans. Those terminations would affect the 800 remaining workers at the agency, after nearly 600 VOA contractors were dismissed by the Trump administration earlier this month. Employees have been advised by management to expect termination notices in the coming days. A senior VOA employee told POLITICO that based on his team's conversations with staff at the U.S. Agency for Global Media, VOA's parent company, the notices will likely affect all staff, effectively shutting down the international broadcasting network. Human resources at USAGM were told that RIF notices will likely go out as soon as Wednesday, according to another VOA employee. Thus far, USAGM has not responded to the unions demand to bargain RIFs, which two of the employees said would be a violation of its collective bargaining agreement. A representative for the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents VOA, declined to comment on the record. USAGM, the Department of Government Efficiency and the White House also did not respond to requests for comment. The expected move comes as VOA has largely remained dark since March 15, when President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for VOA to be 'eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law,' along with several other agencies and offices. Trump has claimed that the network is 'anti-Trump' and referred to it as 'The Voice of Radical America.' Its employees say they have stood by their commitment to reporting nonpartisan news. Since then, a few dozen VOA staffers have returned to office, which staffers believe is an effort from USAGM senior adviser Kari Lake — a staunch Trump ally — to maintain statutory minimums. The most recent article leading VOA's website is from March 15. Earlier this month, Lake announced that VOA would receive content from One America News Network, a far-right, pro-Trump network that has propagated conspiracies around Covid-19 and the 2020 presidential election. VOA has taken the Trump administration to court in the months following the order, arguing that the agency's closure was unlawful under the First Amendment. But last week, a federal appeals court said it would not intervene in the administration's efforts to dismantle the network. The latest round of terminations could affect the ongoing litigation, but employees aren't optimistic. 'Even if somehow the organization can survive in some form, it would take years for our newsroom to overcome the trauma of being beaten up just for doing our job,' said VOA White House bureau chief Patsy Widakuswara, one of the plaintiffs in the case. 'I don't know how we can return to our mandate to report the facts without fear or favor.'
Politico
3 days ago
- Politics
- Politico
Termination notices expected to go out to all remaining Voice of America employees this week
All remaining staff at Voice of America are expected to receive reduction-in-force notices this week, likely closing the book on the network founded 80 years ago to combat Nazi disinformation during World War II. Employees are anticipating termination notices to go out this week to all full-time staff at the embattled news network, according to four VOA employees familiar with the situation granted anonymity to discuss unannounced plans. Those terminations would affect the 800 remaining workers at the agency, after nearly 600 VOA contractors were dismissed by the Trump administration earlier this month. Employees have been advised by management to expect termination notices in the coming days. A senior VOA employee told POLITICO that based on his team's conversations with staff at the U.S. Agency for Global Media, VOA's parent company, the notices will likely affect all staff, effectively shutting down the international broadcasting network. Human resources at USAGM were told that RIF notices will likely go out as soon as Wednesday, according to another VOA employee. Thus far, USAGM has not responded to the unions demand to bargain RIFs, which two of the employees said would be a violation of its collective bargaining agreement. A representative for the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents VOA, declined to comment on the record. USAGM, the Department of Government Efficiency and the White House also did not respond to requests for comment. The expected move comes as VOA has largely remained dark since March 15, when President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for VOA to be 'eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law,' along with several other agencies and offices. Trump has claimed that the network is 'anti-Trump' and referred to it as 'The Voice of Radical America.' Its employees say they have stood by their commitment to reporting nonpartisan news. Since then, a few dozen VOA staffers have returned to office, which staffers believe is an effort from USAGM senior adviser Kari Lake — a staunch Trump ally — to maintain statutory minimums. The most recent article leading VOA's website is from March 15. Earlier this month, Lake announced that VOA would receive content from One America News Network, a far-right, pro-Trump network that has propagated conspiracies around Covid-19 and the 2020 presidential election. VOA has taken the Trump administration to court in the months following the order, arguing that the agency's closure was unlawful under the First Amendment. But last week, a federal appeals court said it would not intervene in the administration's efforts to dismantle the network. The latest round of terminations could affect the ongoing litigation, but employees aren't optimistic. 'Even if somehow the organization can survive in some form, it would take years for our newsroom to overcome the trauma of being beaten up just for doing our job,' said VOA White House bureau chief Patsy Widakuswara, one of the plaintiffs in the case. 'I don't know how we can return to our mandate to report the facts without fear or favor.'
