Take Over of Voice of America

I will admit ignorance of the VOA until now. But reading about it, I'm wondering about what it will mean that a Trump appointee has taken control. All non partisan players have been removed and replaced by people with little to no journalism experience.

Is this the new propaganda arm for Trump, or just efforts to clean up?

"The bodies continue to pile up at the nation’s government-funded but editorially independent news services, raising fears that they will soon become a propaganda arm of the Trump administration.

If that happens, the loss of credibility to a 78-year-old effort to bring straight news to people around the world where it is often in short supply, will be immeasurable.

The respected Voice of America and its affiliates, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia, are all part of the US Agency for Global Media, which this month came under the leadership of Trump appointee Michael Pack. Pack is a conservative filmmaker and ally of former Trump strategist Steve Bannon with whom he has done several film projects."

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/06...ee-launches-assault-voice-america-affiliates/

 

No big deal. All despots do it.

 

I've never heard of VOA.

I have consistently been a proponent of honest, unbiased news.

That said, even if VOA became rightwing biased now, leftwingers are going to look like flaming hypocrites if they complain, considering how long they've supported NPR.

(I couldn't get the link in the OP to open, fwiw.)

 

Here's their website : https://www.voanews.com/

It is funded by the US government but is maintained as an independent voice in journalism. The question is whether it will continue to be that way.

 

Never heard of it.

Is that good or bad?

 

Well if it is his attempt at forming a propaganda arm then I say it would be fair game considering the left has NPR.

 

I've never used VOA for my media consumption(it's the rough equivalent of NPR.) In fact, I hate when any company uses such a pretentious name like VOA, without the following to back it up. Even a following of a few million statistically is still too much of a footnote to call yourself the 'voice of America'.

That would be like calling myself the voice of Nationalism in the US. Might be true, but probably objectively not true.

 

It's a relic from the Cold War.

Good is relative. During the Cold War it was a lot better than soviet 'news' if you were behind the Iron Curtain.

Unless it changed, it does take the position that we are the good guys. The veracity of that claim has been in decline.

 

Thank you.

I clicked on their article about the "protests" and was not impressed. Among other things, they consistently refer to them as "protests" and "demonstrations", without mention of the violence, rioting, or looting. And they summarize the cause of the Civil War as ignorantly as many posters here. If that's what we're funding in the name of news, I expect much better than something which just sounds like more leftwing ignorance and spin.

Maybe VOA really is in need of an overhaul so it's not just another subtle leftwing mouthpiece.

 

Never heard of it. Clearly this just just another alarmist orange man bad article trying to find any excuse, no matter how insignificant, to throw shade at Trump.

 

It's astounding that with these few posts how many are saying they never heard of VOA. Especially since people here are interested in politics.

 

Fair enough. But do you think the head of that publication should be appointed by Trump? And do you think that the new board members should have journalistic backgrounds?

 

I agree. Guilty of it myself.

 

The problem is that Trump has not cleaned up anything. He lied that he was going to drain the swamp bit instead he just removed profession patriotic American government employee with his friends, his family members, and replaced them with the most traitorous most corrupt people. The replacements only qualifications for the jobs are blind and total loyalty to the Trump.

 

Actually, it isn't. I read about it and was interested in thoughts. Did I throw shade in the OP? Or did I ask for opinions?

 

You threw shade. It is clear as day what your intentions are.

 

But Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Mussolini just had anyone who told the truth executed. Wait wait WAIT ..... Bolton said that Trump did say that journalists should executed.

 

1. I don't have a problem with the President appointing the head of this government funded publication.

2. I don't have a journalistic background and I'm adept at detecting bias and propaganda. If the goal is to clean things up and squelch the biased reporting, I don't know that the task necessarily requires someone with a specific "journalistic background".

3. The elephant in the room, in my opinion, is how bias and propaganda has penetrated so much of our so-called news, to the point where most people can't even recognize it any more. I support anything which encourages unbiased reporting and journalistic integrity. If that means cleaning house, I'm ok with that.

 

Let's be fair, the four 'major' networks: MSNBC, FOX, CNN, and ABC they consume most media coverage. And if one wanted to be independent, the major independent English outlet of choice for me is BBC. Even though BBC is also left-leaning, it's more left-center and thus acceptable to me.

 

The VOA system is meant for external consumption. Those of my family members who were stuck "" living " in the Soviet Union were glad for the VOA. And for RFE- Radio Free Europe, and Radio Liberty along with the BBC when it was safe to listen.

 

The VOA has been the shortwave equivalent of NPR, both spreading the truth. So this takeover by Trump is to change that. This makes your defense of the action look shallow and uninformed.

 

Then you would love Rachel Maddow. She confirms her stories and brings out the facts. She interviews top experts and always asks them to correct anything she said in the intro that they may wish to correct or elaborate on in any way. They "always" say she was spot-on.

She digs up details that no one else does.

 

VOA is a broadcasting information service that provides radio, TV, and digital broadcast. I would not call it a publication.

What I know Trump wants is for the VOA to broadcast lies, propaganda, and made up schiest that paints ego tictical him as some honest and good person. Telling the truth is something Trump hates that is why he wants his own lemmings and synchophants heading up and running all US agencies.

 

This verifies my stance is correct, thank you.

Thanks also for the laugh at the idea NPR is "spreading the truth".

I don't join you in your apparent desire to see the media used as a leftwing propaganda dispersal system ---- particularly not if it is government funded.

I guess I should applaud Trump's administration for being on top of something so many of us weren't even aware of, and for being unafraid to tackle fixing it.

 

Because Trump is the evilest person ever!!!!!!!(I wish I could say I'm being sarcastic, but let's be honest that's how he's viewed by his opponents.)