The file photo shows the construction of the voice of America in Washington.
Andrew Harnik / AP
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Andrew Harnik / AP
The voice of America launched this week in an official journal of the social media publications of a national correspondent for potential prejudices against the Trump administration, aroused the concerns of a new burst of political interference to the international broadcaster funded by the federal government.
Steve Herman was placed under a paid “excuse absence” and told colleagues that he expected to lose his job. He confirmed his status on Friday evening but refused to comment.
Voice of America is supervised by the American agency for the world media. VOA is based on USAGM for human resources services. In a memo sent to Herman who was examined by NPR, the agency cited several policies to explain the reasons for examining his work, including a decree of President Trump entitled “A voice for America’s foreign relations“Among the elements of this decree:” The fact of not faithfully implementing the president’s policy is a reason for professional discipline, including separation. “”
In addition, Friday afternoon, VOA moved a veteran journalist who covers the White House, Patsy Widakuswara, to another beat. Network journalists said a clear justification was not offered.
This account is based on interviews with five people on the network with knowledge of events that have requested anonymity for fear of reprisals. A spokesperson for the American agency for the world media has not responded to requests for comments.
The New York Times First reported the investigation into Herman and the reallowing of Widakuswara, who had been the head of the White House office.
During the last year of President Trump’s first mandate, appointments to the American agency for the world media Likewise investigated Herman for prejudices. A federal judge noted that the head of the USAGM Michael Pack had acted unconstitutionally by assigning aid to investigate Steve Herman, the national correspondent during examination once again.
The USAGM also oversees other international broadcasters funded by the federal government, such as Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia and Radio Television Martí. Networks are responsible for providing direct news to companies where independent information coverage is either repressed or financially impossible and to model the value of the pluralist political debate in this coverage.
It serves 427 million listeners in 100 countries and 64 languages each week.
This week, USAGM hired the unsuccessful candidate for Arizona Maga and former presenter of local television Kari Lake as an advisor. Trump publicly announced that she was her choice to direct the VOA, but she cannot start until Trump’s candidate is USAGM Managing Director is approved by the Senate. The lake would then require the approval of a bipartite advisory council.
Lake said the network was plagued by liberal prejudices and that it just wanted to return opinions to Trump and his opinions.
The new investigation into Herman does not seem to trigger the legal issues cited by the federal judge, Beryl Howell, in 2020. She ruled in the fall of this year that the head of the USAGM Michael Pack – who had promised to “drain the marsh” at the VOA – had violated the rights of the first amendment of Herman and violated a firewall set up to protect the editorial information.
A federal survey noted that the pack has also repeatedly abused the powers of its office, breaks laws and regulations and initiates mismanagement of the agency and the international broadcasters which it supervises upside down.
In this case, on the other hand, the investigation was launched by journalistic leaders of the VOA itself. He is led by John Featherly – who is principal programming director – and he received the blessing of the director of VOA, Michael Abramowitz. He is a former veteran editor of The Washington Post And former president of Freedom House, a plea and research group dedicated to the promotion of journalism and freedom of expression.
Abramowitz was appointed director by the head of President Joe Biden of the American agency for the world media and is not considered an ideological figure.
But network journalists said they were afraid of pressure, explicit and other, officials of the Trump administration, including Lake.
In 2020, the White House had opposed several stories before the investigation, which focused on the articles by Retweette Herman which involved stories that are critically reflected in the Trump administration.
The leaders of the voice of the America told the associates that they simply found the review of Herman’s work on journalistic concerns. Likewise, they have internally quoted the pace and intensity of Herman’s retweets, which mainly focuses on controversies encompassing the Trump administration.
Earlier this year, Ric Grenell, appointed by Trump to be the interim chief of John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Called Herman to be dismissed During its tweets, relaying the reports of deep cuts in international aid programs in the United States.
“Why do you work against President Trump’s reform plans for the American budget?” Grenell asked. “It is not too much to suggest that it is betrayal.”
Lake, who is about to be the next director of VOA, posted several times on behalf of the president and his causes – including the most recently as Friday.