Trump’s shuttering of global media agency endangers reporters, staff say
Employees who may have to return home risk death or imprisonment at hands of authoritarian governments
Foreign workers at US government-backed media outlets being cut by the Trump administration say they face deportation to their home countries, where some risk imprisonment or death at the hands of authoritarian governments.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration moved to defund the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), an independent federal agency that oversees the Voice of America (VoA), the US’s largest and oldest international broadcaster, and provides grants to Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe and other news agencies. Staff have been placed on administrative leave and contractors have been fired. The agency had around 3,500 employees with an annual budget of $886m in 2024.
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The Trump administration axed Voice of America, and China's state media are delighted
Chinese state media are celebrating President Donald Trump’s move to gut Voice of America and other U.S. government-funded news outlets that push back against authoritarian regimes.NBC News - Mar. 17 -
Chinese state media celebrates Trump’s cuts to Voice of America and Radio Free Asia
Global Times hails US president’s order to strip back government funding to news organisations he deems ‘radical’. Chinese state media has reacted gleefully to the Trump administration’s decision ...The Guardian - Mar. 18 -
Trump dismantles Voice of America and other government-funded news outlets
President Trump is dismantling Voice of America and other government-funded news outlets. All full-time employees and contractors with the broadcaster have been put on leave with staff losing ...CBS News - Mar. 17 -
Chinese state media welcomes Trump's cuts to Voice of America
Chinese state media is applauding President Trump's decision over the weekend to shutter the government agency that oversees Voice of America (VOA). "The so-called beacon of freedom, VOA, has now ...The Hill - Mar. 18 -
Voice of America reporter reacts to Trump's gutting of outlet
All full-time employees and contractors working for the government-funded international broadcaster Voice of America have been put on leave by the Trump administration as part of its push for ...CBS News - Mar. 17 -
The Trump administration is descending into authoritarianism
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Trump administration sued over shuttering of VOA
The Voice of America (VOA) workers, reporters, unions and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, contending that shuttering the U.S.-funded news agencies ...The Hill - 3d -
Trump administration launching an AI tool for government use
The General Services Administration is launching a new artificial intelligence tool for government use, designed to support staff at the agency in their regular, daily work, with the goal of ...NBC News - 4d -
EU debates ways to keep Radio Free Europe afloat after Trump orders staff cuts
European Union government ministers are debating ways to keep Radio Free Europe afloat after the Trump administration stopped grants to the pro-democracy media outlet over the weekendABC News - Mar. 18
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